14/06/2026
This is Lee. He had to close his computer hardware business after struggling to compete with Amazon. 💔😢
His best sellers were computer memory sticks, but he was constantly being undercut by the internet giant, and his sales went from 60 a month to just two.
In December 2024 he reached his breaking point.
After closing his business, the dad-of-two admitted he obsessively thought about how he could build something that could stand up to Amazon and its sellers.
He said: "I was sat at my kitchen table, pretty much like most days, just thinking I can't just accept this. I can't keep complaining about Amazon and big tech and these companies that are practically destroying the high streets."
The answer Lee came up with was to build his own rival to the online shopping giant. 💪 While this might sound like a fanciful pipe-dream, that's exactly what he has done – but with a twist.
After months of late-night phone calls to web developers trying to fix bugs on his website, his Manchester-based online selling platform, Localito, went live in January. 💻
Lee calls his business the "anti-Amazon".
It’s an online marketplace dedicated to Greater Manchester's independent businesses and, what he hopes, will be "Manchester's digital answer to saving the high street". 🛍️
Operating similarly to the front end of the Amazon website, the platform now hosts over 350 independent businesses with thousands of products and services listed 🙌
"If you shop on Localito, you know that you're not just supporting a big tech platform, you're actually supporting local people. People with dreams, people with families, and people that are working for themselves," said Lee. 👏
Congratulations Lee, what an achievement 🥳
