A SOUTH Lakeland business has been recognised as one of the country's top Internet trading firms.

Lakefield Marketing Limited of Staveley was one of five finalists for the marketing award in high profile Computer Weekly E-Business Excellence Awards 2001.

The firm was up against competition from much bigger businesses and was pipped at the post for the overall title by Virgin Wine Online.

Despite failing to land the big prize, Lakefield Marketing managing director Martin Scott said the firm had a lot to be proud of.

"The recognition that we have achieved is a credit to our mail order team and our Internet Service Provider, Locavista of Kendal," he added.

The firm was praised for its Character Gifts website (www.charactergifts.com) which sells merchandise such as gifts, clothing and collectibles.

Competition judges noted that the website, which went live in August 1999, receives more than 400,000 hits a month from

8,100 customers and turnover averages £12,500 a month.

As well as a central retail site, there are specialised sections linked to children's favourite characters such as Peter Rabbit, Paddington Bear and Postman Pat.

Many of the company's sales come from overseas, especially the US and Japan, and exports overall account for up to 80 per cent of orders.

Mr Scott said the company was now aiming to build on its success by carrying out a major overhaul of all its Internet shops, based on experience gained over the last two years and advances in technology.

"We aim to make our Internet shops faster, more intuitive and easier for our customers to shop," he explained.

One area Lakefield plans to develop is the way it handles e-mail inquiries from customers.

"People from all over the world make inquiries.

If properly handled, they can be converted into orders.

"People expect a response to an e-mail within 24 hours.

It's very much akin to a sales assistant talking to a customer in a shop.

We are providing that service for our customers," Mr Scott told Business Gazette.

Another new initiative could see the introduction of multi-currency transactions on the website, allowing customers to pay in dollars and euros.

With 2002 marking the centenary of the publication of Beatrix Potter's first Peter Rabbit book, Lakefield is looking to capitalise on the wave of publicity expected in the coming year.

As well as the e-commerce side of the business, Lakefield also runs a more traditional bricks-and-mortar retail operation with a chain of 15 Peter Rabbit and Friends shops, including six in the Lake District.