Eddie Grovu, Toolden, on Scaling a Retail Business from £11m to £70m With No Stores

Seven years ago, Toolden was an £11 million business competing in one of the most brutally thin-margin categories in e-commerce, up against Screwfix, Toolstation, and Amazon, with no stores, no outside investment, and no obvious right to win. Today the business is on track to turn over £70 million in 2026 and is growing at around 30% year on year. Jamie sits down with Eddie Grovu, Growth and E-Commerce Director at Toolden, to find out what that journey has actually looked like from the inside.

They get into the realities of operating on single-digit margins in a category where other retailers are pricing on post-rebate profit, how Toolden used COVID as an opportunity to launch 30,000 new DIY products and hit a record revenue and profit year, and why the Kit Builder that Eddie relaunched in February 2025 drove the platform's revenue contribution from around 3 or 4% to 70%. Eddie also explains how email automation unlocked a customer base that was already there, why Toolden pulled back from France and Germany after Brexit, and what he makes of brands going direct to consumers in a category where some are turning over close to half a billion a year in the UK.

It is a frank, grounded conversation from someone who has been on the front line of a hypergrowth e-commerce business throughout its most intense phase, picking in the warehouse during COVID, navigating technology decisions that cost them, and building the omnichannel and performance marketing infrastructure that now keeps Toolden ahead of players with far more resources.

About Toolden
Toolden is an independent UK power tool and hand tool distributor founded around 30 years ago and operating in its current form since being acquired by its current owners. The business sells over 50,000 active products online through its BigCommerce-powered website, serving trade professionals, government and public bodies, and DIY customers across the UK and Ireland. Stocking brands including DeWalt, Milwaukee, Makita, HiKOKI, Metabo, and Paslode, Toolden operates a custom Kit Builder that lets tradespeople configure their own tool kits rather than choosing from preset packages. The business is self-funded, has averaged approximately 32% growth year on year, and operates its primary fulfilment centre in the north-east of Scotland.