Stephensons Online Ltd, trading as Sol Retail, one of the UK’s leading online retail experts in health, beauty and wellness, has today been announced as a recipient of the King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade, one of the highest honours for UK businesses.
Northampton-based Sol Retail is one of just 197 organisations nationally to be recognised this year for outstanding achievement in enterprise. The accolade celebrates the company’s exceptional growth as a self-funded business in global markets and its continued role in championing British business abroad.
Standout achievements include:
- Started with just £10 and now turning over nearly £20m
- Entirely self-funded with no loans or external investment
- International sales up 224% over three years
- Delivering within 24 hours globally – sometimes within one hour
- 85% of turnover expected from exports by 2026–27
- Named one of the FEBE Growth Top 100
Founded in 2012 by husband-and-wife team, Barry and Katy Tong, Sol Retail has evolved from humble beginnings selling ornaments and DVDs on eBay to becoming one of Amazon’s premier global sellers, now ranked among the Top 100 sellers on Amazon UK & EU.
The business sells an item every 20 seconds, supports over 100 global brands, and helps its partners reach a combined audience of seven billion hits a month across third-party platforms worldwide.
Sol Retail’s unique model allows brands to hand over the full ecommerce journey, including product listing, brand positioning, fulfilment and delivery, enabling rapid, seamless growth across platforms like Amazon, eBay, Walmart, TikTok and Tesco Marketplace.
Sol Retail’s unique model allows brands to hand over the full ecommerce journey, including product listing, brand positioning, fulfilment and delivery, enabling rapid, seamless growth across platforms like Amazon, eBay, Walmart, TikTok and Tesco Marketplace.
Barry Tong, CEO of Sol Retail, said: “This award is a landmark not just for Sol Retail, but for the vision and perseverance that’s brought us here. When we started the business in a flat with £10 and a few eBay listings, we never imagined we’d be where we are today. We’re now enabling global success for over 100 brands, delivering to customers worldwide, sometimes within the hour. The King’s Award for Enterprise recognises the passion, grit and innovative thinking that our team bring to the table every single day, and it marks just the beginning of our journey to £50m and beyond.”
This recognition comes as Sol Retail enters an ambitious new phase, aiming for a £50m turnover by 2027 through continued global expansion and the development of AI-driven systems.
Alongside its own successful brands, which include The Bluebeards Revenge, Scrubbingtons, Below The Belt and Sol Beauty, Sol Retail supports health, beauty and wellness businesses that lack internal resources to expand globally. It offers a one-stop shop model, acting as a true brand partner to manage, scale and fulfil online retail operations across marketplaces.
Beyond its commercial success, Sol Retail is a proud supporter of UK charities and business networks, including working with The Lewis Foundation to donate over £500,000 of unwanted stock, donating to local food banks and supporting Northamptonshire’s Mother Christmas gift appeal. It also contributes actively to the local and national business community, engaging closely with The Department for Business and Trade, Innovate UK’s Scale-Up Programme, and SEMLEP.
Alongside Sol Retail, two more Northamptonshire businesses received the King’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade this year.
Enovation Consulting, based at Silverstone Technology Park is a B Corporation certified sustainability and strategic management consultancy, specialising in supporting sports venues and sports rights holders to embed environmental and social best practice in their organisations.
Established in 2018, Enovation Consulting collaborates with more than 40 international and national sports federations, championships, teams, manufacturers, suppliers, venues and events.
Ziggurat XYZ Ltd works with creators to help them put interesting and relevant products and content in front of their audiences. Services include talent representation, product development, media management and video production.
Each year, Ziggurat XYZ organises as two day programme of workshops, discussions and talks for content creators, giving them the opportunity to learn more about building their audience, growing their creative businesses and meet a wider community of their peers.
The King’s Awards for Enterprise, previously known as The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, were renamed in 2023 to reflect His Majesty The King’s desire to continue the legacy of HM Queen Elizabeth II by recognising outstanding UK businesses. The programme, now in its 59th year, is the most prestigious business award in the country, with successful businesses able to use the esteemed King’s Awards emblem for the next five years.
Find out more about Sol Retail at their website.
Applications for the King’s Awards for Enterprise 2026 open on May 6, 2025 For more information, visit their offical website.
