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Exquisitely British - The British Entrepreneur Club for Luxury Brands
Nikki Britton
Founder of Fred&Eve
By Clare Heighway - 5th March 2015
We chat to Lincolnshire based entrepreneur Nikki Britton, founder of British handbag company Fred&Eve.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I studied Fashion Design and Marketing at Teesside University before beginning a career as a fashion retail buyer, working for some of the UK’s largest high street retailers. With considerable experience of buying, product sourcing and production management in the Far East, I decided to pursue my dream of starting and managing my own company and in 2011 left my job to go it alone.
In February 2012 Fred&Eve was born, initially selling ranges of carefully selected fashion clothing, shoes and accessories. Following two years building the business, I decided to focus on our bestselling category - handbags. We relauched with three distinct British handbag brands: the eponymous Fred&Eve label, a top quality all leather range of exclusively designed, classically stylish handbags; SaintB, a faux leather range of quality handbags for the mid-level consumer and TrulyRocks, which caters to a younger, more fashion-led mass market sector.
I run the business with my husband, Jon (a former promotional merchandise executive). We live near Stamford, Lincolnshire and have two children, Lucy aged 10 and Daniel aged 7.
What's been your biggest challenge so far?
As a small business, I guess we share the same principal challenge as all the rest: “how do I make the most of the small pot of money I have at my disposal?” Cash is critical. Without it nothing happens but it’s not easy to come by at the beginning. We sold our house to generate the money we needed to push through that first production run. We’re about to begin the fund raising process to enable us to take the business forwards in a meaningful way. I suspect that will be our next biggest challenge!
And your biggest highlight?
My biggest highlight without doubt has been receiving the pre-production samples for our first designs. Seeing the physical pieces which I had only ever previously imagined was huge. Putting those products on sale to the general public was similarly incredible and we’re lucky to have had some amazing feedback.
What or who are you inspired by?
Mint Velvet are stand outs for me in terms of a business model I’d love to replicate. Strong on brand, quality and target market, they seem to just be getting it right at every turn. In terms of designers, I love Stella McCartney. Simple, understated and yet packing a massive punch.
My muse (although she probably doesn’t know it) is Emmanuelle Alt. She embodies the Fred&Eve brand and much of my inspiration came from her relaxed approach, casual and never under-dressed.
What do you think is important in developing a successful British brand?
To succeed you have to find your niche. Understand how your product fits your niche and then fill it.
We know our customer. We know what she looks like, we know where she shops and we know what she likes in her wardrobe.
Being niche doesn’t necessarily mean you’re targeting a small group of people, but it does mean that you’re not trying to reach everyone.
How do you manage the work/life balance?
In all honesty, the children take priority. Once they’re where they need to be I can focus on work. We do make sure we make time to do something together as a family on a Sunday and we always stop to eat together on Sunday afternoon. Apart from that, we do what we need to do and relax when we can. Sounds a bit haphazard but it works.
Do you have any favourite British brands?
I have real affinity for John Lewis. They know who their customer is and they never let them down. They aren’t losing sight of who they are in a quest for world domination and they just seem to keep getting it right. They’re a really good example of a company doing the basics right time after time. Sounds easy but it isn’t!
Visit Fred&Eve online at www.fredandeve.com
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Fred&Eve are a Best of British member. View their listing here.
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