Member Article

Online fashion retailer launches first UK shop in Newcastle

Peak Boutique is marking its first year in business by launching its first shop in Newcastle, with more stores to follow for around the UK.

The online fashion retailer has received international acclaim since launching last April, receiving orders from across the world and building up a celebrity following in the process.

The business, which has so far retailed through peakboutique.co.uk and through its Ebay shop, has now opened its first store on Acorn Road in Jesmond, Newcastle.

The venue will help expand on the wide range of on-trend items at affordable prices for which Peak Boutique has become known throughout the fashion world.

Plans are already being considered for the opening of more stores, with Kings Road in Chelsea, Manchester and Glasgow being highlighted as likely locations.

Jenny Peng Gillender, owner of Peak Boutique - which previously had its head office in Fenham, Newcastle – is also planning to design her own fashion range within the next 12 months, which will retail exclusively through her business.

Jenny, daughter of one of the region’s most successful retail entrepreneurs, Wilf Gillender, a former master franchisee for the Body Shop, said: “It has been a fantastic first year for Peak Boutique. We have seen more than 75,000 visitors to the site from around the world and regular orders coming from as far afield as New York and Australia.

“Our clothes have been worn by a host of celebrities and reality TV stars, and we’ve attracted the attention of media across the country. We now sell from three different channels now that we have opened the shop, which is such an exciting new addition for us as we begin our second year in business.

“We have big plans for the coming months. I would like to pursue the avenue of opening more shops, and am already looking at potential locations. We get a lot of business from London, Manchester and Glasgow, so they are areas I am looking at seriously.

“I would also love to design my own fashion range – along with setting up a fashion business, designing my own collection is something I have always wanted to do. Hopefully within the next year or so, that will have become a reality too.”

Peak Boutique has been supported since its inception by Newcastle law firm Sintons.

Christopher Welch, Partner in the Corporate and Commercial team - who has acted for the Gillender family for over 20 years - oversaw the creation of Peak Boutique. Real Estate Partner Alok Loomba secured the lease for the premises in Jesmond.

Christopher Welch said: “In only a year, Peak Boutique has become a real force to be reckoned with in the fashion world. In addition to its thriving online operation, which is enjoying international success, there is now a store which will allow customers in its native North East to have the more traditional shopping experience.

“Jenny and her team have worked incredibly hard over the past year to make Peak Boutique the success that it is, and I am confident that success will continue as they embark on the next phase of the growth of the business.”

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