Mark with fellow Just Airguns co-owner Harpreet Bhatia
Gun Trade Insider (GTI): When did you first become interested in airguns?
Mark Watts (MW): I had my first experience with an air rifle when I was 14 years old when my Dad bought one home for me and my brothers to target shoot in the garden. This was a small junior break-barrel with a wooden stock and open sights, but we thought it was the best thing ever.
GTI: When did your professional journey in the airgun industry begin and what motivated you to found Just BB airguns now Just Airguns in March 2009?
MW: We were one of the first online shops for Airsoft Guns, and Just BB Guns (JBBG) is still one of the largest retailers of Airsoft BB Guns in the UK. We decided to launch a sister website to JBBG called Just Air Guns. You can see a pattern here. A lot of our customers in Airsoft did not want to go to a skirmish site and play war games. They wanted more accurate guns for plinking, and 6mm low-powered airsoft guns were not cutting it. We moved into airguns to offer an alternative to our existing customers.
GTI: For the benefit of the uninitiated, can you explain what the “Just” brands are and what they offer?
MW: Our brands are ever-expanding, and as you expect, we keep all the major players. Every year, we take on a handful of new brands, some of which are exclusive to us, including Norica from Spain, Krown Land in Taiwan, and Winchester Rifles, which you will only see on other sites if we have supplied them. As we are part of Trimex UK, we have also just launched several rifles from our own brand, Trimex Arms.
These are mainly from Turkish manufacturers and offer incredible value for money.
GTI: What were those early years in business like, and how would you describe “Just” as it stands today?
MW: Things started slowly because we had a small selection of airguns in stock and did not offer home delivery at that time. However, we did see a demand for airguns, and unlike Airsoft customers, they loved that they could get a rifle or pistol that was more accurate and more reliable, plus all-black or wood stock, at a similar price to airsoft guns. Working hard with Visual Shop on the website’s SEO, we soon moved to the top of Google. Together, we were on the road to success by offering home delivery.
GTI: You have a large online presence but also a bricks-and-mortar store in Feltham. How do you balance the two so that they get the right amount of attention, but also ensure that important opportunities for either don’t get missed?
MW: With Visual Shop, we have developed bespoke software to track serial numbers and sales both online and in-store. This also manages stock, so both the store system and the website’s backend have real-time stock quantities. This means it is impossible to oversell, and the price in-store is always the same as online.
GTI: You also have operations overseas, where do these fit into your business and is the way they are operated influenced by your UK operation -and how do they, in turn, influence the UK operation, if at all?
MW: Having a shop in Dallas and Dublin means that when we are talking to suppliers and brands, we can commit to larger quantities for bigger discounts. However, with the issues in the US regarding tariffs and shipping issues at this time, the US setup is not a benefit for now. Although we are directly involved in our operations overseas, they are separate from the UK business.
GTI: How do you choose which brands you work with and how are those relationships maintained?
MW: This is a great question, and challenging to answer. At IWA in Germany, we have meetings with all airgun brands every year and they show us lots of generic PCPs. We always say what is new and different? The issue is that we have over 600 different PCP models in stock -so if it is a new model, why should it be added to the ever-growing number of PCP, and is it going to confuse many of our customers, with many of the same guns being from different brands? One of the key things for us is the time to restock. Being one of the largest airgun retailers and, through Trimex UK, also a wholesaler, we can move a lot of stock in a short amount of time, so we need fast replenishment.
GTI: Is there anyone within the manufacturing side of airguns who passed on some fantastic lessons?
MW: There are two owners of Just Air Guns, Harpreet Bhatia and myself. Harps and his family have been buying and importing products from around the world for many years. And the most significant advice from him is that no matter what the cost or the time it takes, you must go to the brand/ manufacturer for a face-to-face before you do any business. I know this sounds very old-fashioned, but it works; you can not have a long-term business relationship with someone or a company when you have never met them or seen their premises and products close up.
GTI: What are the most exciting innovations you’ve seen in airgun manufacturing and airgun retail since you started out in business -3D printing perhaps?
MW: Just Air Guns has partnered with Ballistic Designs, a 3D printing company that creates outstanding accessories, including silencers and items not available off-the-shelf. Some 3D-printed items work well, but some, like magazines, just do not work the same way. Although 3D printing is great and lets you try some new designs before going into manufacturing, it is still a bit techy for most people to do at home.
GTI: How would you describe the current health of the airgun world?
MW: The industry was steady before COVID and the lockdown. Then, during lockdown, it was crazy, and we could not find stock faster than we could sell it. Today, things are getting back to normal; however, with more tactical-looking rifles and pistols, a new generation is entering our hobby. Things are again on the up, and 2026 will be another bumper year for the industry.
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mark@justairguns.co.uk
justairguns.co.uk