Oh my god. Is this actually happening? I nearly spat out my morning coffee when I saw the news. Comet—yes, THAT Comet—is making a comeback after more than a decade of being... well, dead.
Remember wandering through those blue-branded stores back in the day? I bought my first proper laptop there in 2007, spent a ridiculous £899 on what would now be considered a technological dinosaur. The sales guy convinced me I needed the extended warranty too. Classic.
The Phoenix Rises (With a £10 Million Jumpstart)
So here's the deal. Online marketplace OnBuy has snapped up the Comet brand and is pumping a whopping £10 million into bringing it back from teh grave. They confirmed to The Sun that we'll see the relaunch around September or October—definitely before Christmas shopping season kicks in.
They're not messing about either. The revamped Comet will stock thousands of products from the big boys—Apple, Samsung, Sony, LG—you know the drill.
Between 50 and 60 jobs will be created, which isn't exactly earth-shattering but hey, it's something in this economy.
Cas Paton, the founder and CEO of OnBuy, seems pretty chuffed about the whole thing. He's banging on about bringing "Comet back to its former glory in a modern world" and how the brand has "nostalgic value" for us Brits.
Listen. I'm not entirely convinced this isn't just a cynical attempt to cash in on nostalgia, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued.
Who the hell is OnBuy anyway?
Fair question. I had to look them up myself.
OnBuy is apparently one of those rapidly expanding e-commerce marketplaces that's been flying under the radar for some of us. They've got over 35 million products and make a big song and dance about being fair and transparent.
The company was launched back in November 2016 by this Paton character, based out in Dorset of all places. (I went to Dorset once for a weekend break in 2019—lovely coastline, terrible mobile signal.)
The Man with the Plan
Paton seems like your typical entrepreneur type. Started coding as a teenager, launched his first business while at uni, the usual success story template. In an interview with the Retail Bulletin last July, he dropped the classic "entrepreneurship has always been in my blood" line. My cousin says the same thing about his candle-making business that's run from his garage...
But I can't knock the results. The Financial Times apparently named OnBuy "Europe's fastest-growing ecommerce business," which is no small feat.
They went global in summer 2020 after securing £5 million investment. Talk about timing—right as the pandemic was forcing everyone online.
Ambitious? That's putting it mildly.
Paton isn't exactly shy about his ambitions. He's projected OnBuy to be turning over £2billion in sales by 2024. TWO BILLION. After seeing a 1,100% sales increase in 2019, they started an aggressive expansion into 140 territories including the US, Germany, France, Spain and the UAE.
They even tripled their workforce in 2020 to over 50 people. That's some serious growth.
In his own words: "We are well on track to claim 3-5 per cent of the £84billion UK eCommerce market in the next three years, and we're aiming for one per cent of the $3.46 trillion global e-commerce market, equating to $35bn, in the next five years."
Ambitious? Yes. Delusional? Maybe. But you've got to admire the confidence.
So... will it work?
I'm torn. Part of me thinks this is brilliant—I have weirdly fond memories of browsing Comet on Saturday afternoons with my dad. Another part wonders if the brand still means anything to anyone under 30.
The retail landscape has changed beyond recognition since Comet collapsed in 2012. We've seen Woolworths, Blockbuster, Toys R Us... all these giants toppled by the digital revolution.
Can a resurrected Comet actually compete with Amazon, Currys and AO? I guess we'll find out this autumn.
I just hope they keep those iconic blue price tags. Some things shouldn't change.
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