Gift Focus - Jan/Feb 2018 (Issue 105)

Tell us a bit about Roobarb and where the name came from. Roobarb opened in May 2014. We are both from a media background and had very little experience in retail. However, we always had a dream to open a shop with a strong brand selling product that couldn’t be easily sourced on the high street and online. We have a friend in Kenya who lives on a farm with his Kenyan wife. He was out taking photographs one day when he spotted a young zebra and watched it for a while and decided it was orphaned as it had been separated, so he caught it with the help of some of his workers. He kept it on the farm and named it Roobarb and she lived on the farm for two years. One day she disappeared and wasn’t seen again, until the following year. She then returned with her own foal. And now she still lives around the farm and with the herd she joined. We always liked that story and we vowed if we opened a store we would call it Roobarb. We now have a life size zebra in our window – a nod to Roobarb the zebra. When did the online store open and why did you feel it was important to have an online presence? Our online store loveroobarb.co.uk opened in October 2014. It was always in our business plan to open both bricks and mortar and an online offering. It’s vitally important that every shop like ours has an online site. From the customer who is looking for you to see what you sell, to the customer who is looking to buy from you. But you shouldn’t see it as an alternative to your shop, your online shop should be a supplement and part of your mix. Was this the first shop you opened? Roobarb, Bridgnorth is our first shop. We both have backgrounds in media, although it isn’t on the face of it the perfect experience for retail, there are so many transferrable skills, communication skills being the main one, along with marketing and social media experience, which are vital for a retail business. We both knew about building a strong brand and we took a long time working with our designer on our logo, to ensure it made a big impact and was sure to stand-out. What advice would you give to someone setting up a gift shop? Do your research on the location, the market place and whether your suggested product will do well with the potential customer base. Spend time in the location and watch people, talk to them and don’t be frightened to ask questions. Research until it hurts. Be careful Gift Focus speaks to Marcia Dale & Kevin Bellwood, owners of Bridgnorth-based gift shop Roobarb r obarb love giftfocus 67 retailer interview