M and m direct

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M and M Direct

Type	Private
Founded	In 1987 in Leominster
Headquarters	Leominster, United Kingdom
Key people	Steve Robinson, CEO
Industry	Clothing
Products	Clothing, Sportswear, and Sports equipment
Employees	470
Website	www.mandmdirect.com

M and M Direct is a clothing store in the United Kingdom. They sell their products over the Internet and by mail order. Their catalogue is distributed quarterly. The specialise in buying clearance stock from manufacturers and pass the savings on to their customers.

[edit] History

The company was started in 1987 when Mark Ellis and Martin Churchward were introduced by their Nike representative Ken Mallender. The two founders started their careers with retail shops in Hereford and Stourbridge and joined forces to buy end-of-line clearance sports products.

The success of this lead the pair to venture off into off-page advertising, with the first advert appearing in Shoot magazine in 1987. National press adverts followed in 1990 specifically offering clothing and footwear. As both men lived in the area a site in Leominster was purchased and the company was born. Trading as M and M sports the company began to grow mainly through word of mouth.

After a management buy-out in 2004, the company identity changed to M and M Direct to reflect the company's move into selling fashion and lifestyle brands.

In February 2007 the company celebrated its 20th anniversary.