Net 1on1 Ltd, the company behind www.sextoys.co.uk, was formed in August 1998 by IT Professional, Dean Farebrother. This was before the Internet bubble had burst and all the talk in the media was of Internet millionaires and success stories.

Dean looked into various business options, but after 2 years of market research, he decided on selling sex toys. At the time, he was a senior IT manager for a well- known bank, but was frogmarched from their offices when they realised what he was working on in his spare time. Finding himself un-employed, Dean threw himself into setting up the first Net 1on1 web site, called 1on1sexshop. This website was to have a different approach to retailing adult products - it was trying to ditch the sleazy, cheep reputation the adult industry had up until that time and adopt a clean user friendly experience, where customers, particularly women, could shop without being offended.

After a short period of time it became apparent that Dean had hit on a niche market and as a result Net 1on1's attention was turned to developing the UK's first online adult superstore.

By early 1999 the business was experiencing growing pains as all of Dean’s time was consumed by running the operation. Dean took on another member of staff which enabled him to move the business forward and resulted in an explosion of growth, which saw the recruitment of more staff and bigger premises.

The year 2002 saw the company’s fourth move to a new 2000 sq ft warehouse with 6 full time staff. Early 2003, Net 1 on 1 bought the domain name sextoys.co.uk and due to its success they had to move again to a purpose built 5,000 sq ft warehouse and offices with 10 full time employees.

By 2004 the company decided they wanted to employ a PR to maximise sales by increasing brand awareness. This saw the appointment of Monique Carty.

Following her arrival the company saw another explosion in growth, which led to a further 3 employees joining the company.

2005 was the year for awards when sextoys.co.uk was awarded, Best Online Retailer by the industry’s trade press and Best Media Campaign by the local press. 2006 saw them reclaim the title of Best Online Adult Retailer and again in 2007, a fabulous achievement.

From the day they started, Net 1 on 1 Ltd has served over one quarter of a million customers and to this day is still growing.

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