Minifigs

With a company ‘headcount’ to rival most major multinational firms, it is little wonder that a home-grown enterprise arrived at the secure doors of Big Yellow in search of some operational breathing room. 

The business, which has seen its sales grow exponentially since being set-up by a husband-and-wife team in 2012, was not, however, looking for additional space to accommodate employees but rather literal heads… and boxes upon boxes of body parts.

Fortunately for the online retailer’s Big Yellow neighbours, there is nothing sinister or grisly about Minifigs or the human-sized team of 17 behind its ongoing success. The anatomical appendages in question are LEGO parts that are used to build a colourful cast of customised pop-culture inspired characters and bespoke mini figures designed by a buoyant brick-loving customer base.

And although Minifigs’ novel products are diminutive in size – most completed mini figures stand just four centimetres tall – the sheer volume of domestic and international orders received by the Sheffield-based business meant there was a sizeable storage headache in need or relief, according to the company’s officer manager Joe Hamby.

“When I joined the business in 2016 it was being run from the directors’ garage,” said Joe, explaining how Caroline and Nick Savage’s decision to build LEGO lookalikes of some of the stars of the London Olympics and Paralympics caught the attention of the media and transformed Minifigs from a part-time hobby for its owners into a prosperous venture which now helps raise funds for a host of charitable organisations. 

“The growth of the company has meant we’ve moved twice since then and we’re about to move again. We’ve added more staff over the last year, and Big Yellow has allowed us to create more desk space in the office for our designers and printing equipment.”   

While the proximity of the Sheffield store to Minifigs’ current headquarters meant opting for Big Yellow was a “no-brainer”, Joe insisted that there was far more to the relationship than just convenience.

“If I’m honest, it was the location that really mattered when it came to deciding on a storage solution but the experience at Big Yellow has been great,” he added, reflecting on the success of creating office legroom by finding an alternative home for Minifigs’ stock of plastic limbs. “I’m impressed with the flexibility and knowing our LEGO parts are safe from fire, floods and theft is good to know. 

“We are always greeted with a hello and the staff at the store are very helpful and have looked after a number of pallet deliveries for us, which has saved us a lot of lugging around. I can’t find fault with them – it’s been superb.”

For more information, visit www.minifigs.me