It has been
said that retail has changed in the past five weeks more than the past five
years following the coronavirus lockdown.
And Jane Nketiah is probably
more aware of that than anyone, having signed up more shops for her online canine
outfitters business in the past two weeks than the past two months after the
seismic shift from bricks to clicks.
She creates unique outfits
for dogs, including collars and harnesses, leads, bow ties, and coats, but her
USP is she makes everything in ranges, and made-to-measure for non-standard
size pets, all tested by her own Jack Russell, Jack.
Her Marple-based Barkley andFetch business is well positioned to attract the more tech-savvy consumers
after a thorough grounding in e-tail through the Excelerate Labs initiative
offered to Greater Manchester entrepreneurs by social enterprise The Women’s
Organisation.
Since harnessing the latest
digital techniques and ecommerce platforms, Jane has experienced a 400%
increase in sales for the first quarter compared with the same period in 2019,
and a phenomenal 800% surge in turnover for May, against the same month last
year.
But she admits that before
she embarked on her business support programme, the prospect of turning her
passion into a commercial success seemed extremely unlikely.
She was splitting her time
between working four days a week as a freelance fashion designer and running
her canine outfitters business from home.
Jane was no longer enjoying
her mainstream job, but wasn’t confident enough to give it up and take the
plunge on her own.
She said: “I knew I had a
good range of products, but I didn’t feel ready to throw everything into it. I
was attending markets, selling bits online and also wholesaling. I really felt
like most of it was pure luck how I was getting sales and was always scared
that the luck would run out sometime soon.”
However, when the pandemic
hit in March Jane was immediately laid off from her freelance role: “This hit
me hard. As well as losing my steady income, sales literally dropped to zero
overnight.
“Everybody was out buying
toilet rolls and paracetamol, and nobody was buying non-essential items
anymore.
“I knew I had to do
something drastic to turn this around, so I concentrated on my online presence,
from Instagram and facebook to my website and Etsy store.
“It was so scary, but I tried
to stay positive throughout.
“I signed up for online
courses about Instagram, SEO, Pinterest, PR etc, and tried to learn as much as
possible and as quickly as possible.”
She acknowledges the help
her business advisor, Mike Marsden, was able to offer through the Excelerate
Labs programme: “He has questioned me and pushed me to do things much faster than
I would have done on my own.
“I really like having
someone to bounce ideas off and put pressure on me to get things done. I like
having a meeting date in the diary which I consider a deadline to work towards
and to tick off the things we discussed previously.”
She said the programme also
provided the perfect conditions for her business acumen to flourish: “I felt I
needed a helping hand as it can get very lonely and you can go up and down with
the belief in yourself when you’re on your own.
“I also did not think the
future for me was selling at makers’ markets, even though I enjoy this as it’s
great to meet customers etc. I knew my future was online and wholesale, but was
unsure on how to get there.”
Jane added: “Gradually my
sales started to increase, and I could see a light at the end of the tunnel.
People started spending again and the only place they could do this was online,
so it really took off.”
Barkley and Fetch now trades
across an impressive array of digital platforms, including her own website,
facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and Etsy, the American e-commerce website focused
on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies.
At the moment Jane works out
of a clothing and alterations business she shares with her husband and they
employ one full-time seamstress, but the aim is that from this September they
close the alterations shop and Barkley and Fetch becomes the seamstress’s
employer.
As the world begins to emerge
from lockdown, more opportunities are opening up. Jane said: “I have signed up
two new wholesale customers who will be opening their shops again in the next
couple of weeks and I am in discussions with a new dog grooming shop opening in
Islington as well, which has been a target of mine to sell in London.”
The Women 's Organisation's 'Excelerate Labs' programme is part funded by European Regional Development Fund to support women led Greater Manchester businesses to help them drive significant business
growth.
The initiative can help
generate more revenue and profit through access to new markets, while
attracting and retaining more customers.
It can also offer access to
targeted business networking, which drives sales, improves supply chains and
develops a business’s social capital. Or it can help create new
revenue streams, or reinvigorate/reinvent the company.
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