INSIDE AIRSOFT
JD AIRSOFT
The JD team: Tony, Phil, Joseph and Ross
Airsoft Action visited JD Airsoft in Cannock, and owner Phil
Corns gave us the lowdown on the company and where it’s headed
J
D Airsoft is a relatively small
shop in Staffordshire – but it’s
still a Mecca for airsofters.
More than 160 guns hang on
the walls and boxes upon boxes
of guns are stacked throughout the shop.
But it was very different in January
this year, when JD Airsoft was in a dire
position. Owner Phil Corns readily admits
that it looked for a while like the shop
would be forced to close.
Twelve months on, though, and the
company is in the midst of finding bigger
premises to keep up with the levels of
stock it needs to hold to meet demand. A
change in business tactics has reversed JD
Airsoft’s fortunes – and the next step is to
establish the company as a premier airsoft
superstore.
The Staffordshire-based retailer has
some 165 guns on its walls, probably
more than any other shop in the UK. By
buying huge quantities of guns direct from
manufacturers the company has cut its
prices on certain popular products, such as
the G&P Magpul MOE (see our Xmas Gift
Guide on p49!), which JD sells for £300.
For those that don’t know, JD Airsoft is
the third name the company has traded
under. Originally known as Airsoft Armoury
Midlands, Phil and his ex business partner
soon decided to go it alone. Together they
formed 6Mil Airsoft.
Unfortunately the VCR Act hit the
company hard – sales dropped by 50 per
cent overnight once the bill came into
effect. After splitting from his partner Phil
rebranded the company JD Airsoft (‘JD’ is
his son’s initials). Now the company has
just about managed to shed its reputation
as 6Mil – with good reason.
“When we changed the name we
changed our whole business ethos. At
that point we started buying stock in much
bigger quantities - in January this year we
spent literally every penny we had on guns
and accessories. Once we’d sold them we
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