End of the road for online food and drink retailer Elston & Son as founder dusts himself off and goes again

Elston & Son, a UK-based artisan food and drink retailer, has shut up shop.

In a LinkedIn post, founder Dave Elston, whose CV also includes eight years at Clarks where he served as E-commerce and Digital Director, said: “Over the last couple of months I’ve had to make the tough decision to close Elston & Son, the online retail business we launched from scratch a few years ago.”

“It wasn’t an easy decision to come to, but the numbers just weren’t there for it, unfortunately.”

He added: “I have learnt loads from running Elston & Son, from the initial set-up, building the website and running it so it was time well spent. So we dust ourselves off and go again, and so I’m now looking for a suitable opportunity in e-commerce/omnichannel/digital.”

“My speciality areas cover general e-commerce/omnichannel/digital leadership roles, delivering complex projects (I have delivered two website replatforms and multiple new websites as well as other super interesting digital projects), leadership, International, customer experience and strategy.”

“I’m very commercial and great at developing teams and individuals. It would be great to catch up if you have something interesting or know of any relevant opportunities. And any reposts to widen the reach would be much appreciated.”

2024 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Online retail is a key focus area for the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards, which is now open for entries.

The awards, sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud, Retail Technology Show 2025, and Business France, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

It’s free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.

Key 2024 dates

Friday, 25th October: Award entry deadline 

Tuesday, 29th October: 2024 shortlist revealed

30th October-6th November: Judging days

Thursday, 21st November: Winners announced at the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony, to be held at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London.