Gift Focus - Sep/Oct 2019 (Issue 115)

142 in with beautiful pieces too. We’re very much into recyclable and sustainable and I know our efforts won’t change the world, but when I look at how many sustainable products we sell, we must have had some effect. How often do you update your displays? Windows are updated regularly to avoid fading. If a huge delivery lands we tend to have a move around to make sure everything flows. It’s surprising how often we can move one item and then sell three in a day! What are your current bestsellers? Chilly bottles, anything botanical, bamboo cups and self-care books. Are you active on social media? How is this useful for the business? We are. It takes up a fair amount of time but the rewards are fantastic. We post on Facebook and Instagram, I’m not a fan of Twitter, I think people use that platform to moan a lot! We have a strong following on both channels, none of which have been purchased, all organically grown. I don’t see the point of buying likes, when a page has 4,000 followers and only gets a handful of likes on their posts, you start to wonder why. Spend your money on something else. Do you visit any trade shows? If so, which ones and why? Yes, pretty much all of them. We spend two to three days at Spring Fair, two days at Harrogate and a day at each of the others. I have a trusty team of assistant buyers which works well, they reign me in when I get carried away and have been known to come up with the odd best seller. There’s no point buying alone, you need to have different ages, budgets and values to get a good cross section of products. When do you start to stock up for Christmas? It’s ordered in January and February and will start to arrive in September. We order gifts later, mostly at Harrogate and will start taking delivery as soon as it’s available, providing it’s not Christmas specific. Our Christmas shop opens the last week of October. How are you finding the current economic climate? We’re doing really well, but we never get complacent. Our belief is to offer good quality products, at a fair price, in a clean and modern environment, within hours to suit our customers and with a smile on our face. It’s a bit of a mouthful, but surprisingly easy to do when you have the right team. What have been your highlights of shop life? Winning a Retas Award within two years of opening, I still have no idea how I became a finalist and totally didn’t expect to win, it was amazing. The other highlight is when I’m out and about and hear people talking about the shop, I love that! Do you have any tips for people looking to start their own retail venture? Don’t try to be what you’re not. I had a lady in from Cornwall asking me so many questions, it was obvious she was planning to open a shop. She asked everything from supplier info, to best sellers, to what colour our counter was painted. The trouble with that is our style just wasn’t her style, so it wouldn’t work and she wouldn’t have believed in her products. I can tell customers the story of exactly how we came about selling XYZ and generally it’s because I’ve spent hours researching or visiting trade fairs or receiving them as gifts myself. That said, I’ve helped a lot of people make that first leap, I genuinely enjoy telling people which trade shows to visit, which publications to subscribe to, where to buy bags and till rolls, I’ve even told them a few horror stories, but I believe the stock they sell should be a reflection of themselves. What are your plans for the future of the store? To keep growing and to be the best store in town … and then the world. For further information, visit 14 Ampthill, 14 Bedford St, Ampthill, Bedfordshire numberfourteenampthill.co.uk

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