AN online vacuum cleaner bag retailer that started off as a market stall is cleaning up thanks to a boost in trade from mainland Europe.

Dustbag, in Sandown Road, Derby, has said it is on course to achieve a £1m turnover for the first time in its seven-year history.

The company supplies bags for a range of vacuum cleaners and sells them on its website.

Thanks to the weakness of the pound against the Euro, demand for its products has risen dramatically.

To cope with demand, the firm, which employs five full-time staff, moved from Alfreton Road to new, larger premises in January.

Managing director Nathan Wood said: "The weakness of sterling has really helped us and, as a result, we have been pretty much recession-proof.

"Orders have been coming in from all over Europe and even further afield. Orders have been placed as far afield as Thailand and Australia."

Research by manufacturer Electrolux showed 70% of all new vacuum cleaners bought in the UK were bagless.

But, in mainland Europe, 70% of cleaners sold needed bags, equating to 22.5 million vacuum cleaners.

Mr Wood said: "For some reason, people living in the rest of Europe still prefer vacuum cleaners that use bags.

"I'm not sure what the reason is but I think in Europe the supermarkets tend to stock more of a range of bags for the cleaners. So it's more convenient for them to buy a cleaner that takes bags."

Despite the recession, the firm has increased its turnover year on year. In 2008, the firm achieved sales of £600,000 and, last year, £750,000.

This year, Dustbag is on course to hit the £1m mark.

It is a far cry from the time when the business was a stall in the Eagle Centre Market.

He said: "We stocked both electrical equipment and accessories but it was a time when the big supermarkets started selling appliances at really cheap prices.

"I felt that people would always need vacuum cleaner bags and decided to focus on that. At the time, I knew the idea had legs because, although the supermarkets were selling these cheap cleaners, they didn't sell the bags to go with them.

"I managed to source bags from China and now we pretty much have a bag to fit every cleaner. We even have a small section of bags that fit cleaners that are around 40 years old."

Mr Wood said that some of the success of the business had been down to good timing.

He said: "We got out of the Eagle Centre just before Westfield started redevelopment work, which did cause some disruption for traders.

"The business has grown really quickly since then and, looking back, it was the right thing for us to do."