Gift Focus - Jul/Aug 2018 (Issue 108)

Can you tell me about The Hambledon’s background? I don’t have any kind of background in jewellery specifically. But it has always been something we have sold at The Hambledon. However, we’re not exclusively jewellery – we sell across all sorts of product categories. I don’t really like calling us a concept or lifestyle store. We’re really a mini independent department store just selling things we genuinely love. We set up the shop in 1999. I had a mail- order business, and we knew that we had customers in and around Winchester, which was the sum total of my market research! I had a contact in the city who knew a good commercial agent that found the site for us. Once we’d seen the building, there was absolutely nowhere else we wanted to be. It’s a beautiful four-storey Georgian building just off the High Street that overlooks the cathedral. I had worked with my mum in her shop, The Hambledon Gallery in Dorset, and The Hambledon is inspired by and an homage to her. What challenges were overcome when the company was starting out? The challenges were mainly financial! When we first opened, customers thought we were closing down. We hadn’t quite realised how much stock it would take to make the building feel plentiful. I was very lucky to meet a new accountant who encouraged me to spend more money than I thought wise. As a result, we started to make more money. How are you different to similar competitors in the industry? We are sort of a mini department store. We sell all sorts of things across many different categories. We are not accessories specialists, but we are accessories enthusiasts. What is your product offering and how do you go about sourcing your stock? The product offering is very broad. And we source from all over the place. It might be trade shows, but it could equally be leads from customer recommendations, Instagram, The Hambledon owner, Victoria Suffield, gives us a brief overview of the independent department store’s evolution from a mail-order business to a thriving store selling fashion, accessories and gifts Passion makes PERFECT giftfocus 57 retailer interview