Member Article

Brighton baby clothing firm to take its first steps into South Korea

Hove children’s fashion label Bonnie Baby has secured a deal worth £200k a year to supply several of the country’s high end boutiques in South Korea.

Hove-based Bonnie Baby, which was set up by acclaimed designer Tracey Samuel in 2005, won the contract after visiting in 2012 with Government export body UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

The firm, which sell beautiful British designed clothing for babies and children, was created by Tracey after she was inspired by her first child; Alice Bee.

Gareth Griffiths, director, said: “We began to get enquiries from across Asia in 2010, so we approached UKTI for help. Asia is now a huge market for us with 50% of our turnover from sells in Hong Kong, mainland China and Japan each year.

“We opened our flagship store in Hong Kong in 2012 and we now have four points of sales in Shanghai and Beijing. Hong Kong was the natural gateway to mainland China.

“Our products are mainly sold via high end boutiques although a large percentage of our goods are sold online at www.bonniebaby.co.uk.”

“We arranged meetings with several potential customers in Seoul and most came back to us almost straight away, wanting to work with us.

“After an extremely successful first season we have finalised orders worth £200,000 a year. This means we can continue to invest in more skilled staff from the local area.

“The British brand and heritage is extremely popular in South Korea. They like the quality and playful designs. They trust it and customers aspire to buy British brands.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .