A BELFAST entrepreneur is planning the expansion of his e-cigarette business - but has designs on even greater growth with several other ventures.
Steven Mealey started Ziggicig with a modest investment of £850 five years ago.
Now the company is spending £100,000 as it opens its 16th store in Northern Ireland.
The Newry branch will provide work for three new staff, but Mr Mealey revealed it is just a small part of the growth of parent company SM Innovation.
"Through this, I've found I really like business, so we've actually started a fit-out firm and that's going really well," he said.
"We do fit-outs, for Ziggicig but also Barnardos and others.
"It's just great to be working in different sectors and getting to know the businesses."
While the jump from rolling out a range of e-cigarette stores to fitting out interiors may appear natural, Mr Mealy's next idea could be considered a giant leap.
"We also now have Ziggi Zoom which are motion boards," he said.
"They are kind of like segways which are operated with the feet."
The boards - similar in design to the hover boards made famous in the Back to the Future movie - have been tipped for massive success.
For now though, Mr Mealey is focused on building the Ziggicig brand.
"When we started, we were one of the first to bring e-cigarettes into the UK," he said.
"Our plan is to have 30 stores. We think there is room for maybe 10 more in Northern Ireland and then the rest of the growth will be outside.
Nine of the company's current portfolio are completely owned by the company with the remainder operated by resellers.
"We have used a reseller model which works better for us than franchisees.
"Our focus is mainly on standalone shops.
"You are dealing with people who are addicted to nicotine and we want to provide the personal customer experience."
Mr Mealey started the company with partner Emma Chambers and sold the products in markets and car boot sales before opening the first Ziggicig store in 2011.
It is hoped 30 stores will be in operation by 2017, creating over 100 jobs and reaching a turnover of more than £6 million.
Mr Mealey added: “In 2009 I made the decision to try to quit smoking and ordered an e-cigarette online having heard about its popularity and the success people in America had with them.
“I found the product a lot more effective than other methods but as the concept was relatively new and the products weren’t available in Northern Ireland, I had to order from various sites and manufacturers and found the standard of the products varied greatly.
"We now work with manufacturers in China and the UK and have carried out a lot of research and development to ensure the quality is right."
