Member Article

Young entrepreneur expands business following international success

North East entrepreneur who started selling clothes with an initial investment of £90 now has a workforce of 40 and sells over 2,000 dresses a day.

Alice Blackie, 26, started Pink Boutique in 2012 to pay for the mortgage on her house. Now two years’ later the business operates from a 30,000 sq ft site in Newcastle upon Tyne and ships across the world.

With over 400k social media followers which contributes to 95% of the sales, the business has doubled its staff since March this year and has seen sales increase by 300% on 2013.

Alice said: “It’s a very exciting time for the business having grown so quickly from the set up in my living room two years ago.

“We’re already looking to expand our current premises after being here for two months due to sheer demand from customers and staff recruitment.”

After noticing a gap in the market for glam party dresses, Alice started to sell through eBay in 2012 before setting up a website six months later

She calculated that if she sold 250 dresses a month she could quit her other jobs as a full time supply teacher and bar worker.

Today Alice, who has a mentor via the Government-backed GrowthAccelerator scheme for fast-growth firms, is exporting to 50 countries and is starting to design in-house as well as buying in.

Alice concludes: “The brand is becoming increasingly popular across Europe, the USA and Australia. Satisfying this international demand is a priority and we’re due to launch a Polish website in the coming weeks.

“Pink Boutique is now worlds away from my daily routine of running to the post office in my lunch break with 40 parcels. I’m extremely positive for the future.”

www.pinkboutique.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Pink Boutique .