Gift Focus inc Attire Accessories - September/October 2020

COMPANY PROFILE 139 BY MOLLIE&IZZIE www.mollieandizziewholesale.co.uk @bymollieandizzie our standard wish bracelets and stretch bracelets come with the option of being ‘naked’ without a plastic pouch. How often do you launch new lines? We try to launch brand new lines twice a year but we are always adding to existing lines in response to changes in trends and customer demand. What trade shows do you attend and why? We regularly attend Spring Fair, Harrogate Home & Gift and Scotland’s Trade Show in Spring and Autumn. We were booked to attend Autumn Fair for the first time this year. It’s great to get out of the studio and meet out customer face to face, it’s also really important for our customers to be able to see our products to know how they will look in their retail outlets. What are your current best-selling designs? Our wish bracelets are consistent good sellers, we have designs that are suitable for just about every occasion and type of retailer. Our latest range to launch is our luxury laser engraved jewellery. We have been blown away by the reception it has received and couldn’t be happier with the response. When was the website launched and how does it support the business? Our retail website has been in existence since the very beginning with our wholesale website launching two years ago at the same time that we launched into wholesale. All of our products can be viewed and purchased on our wholesale website – this is very important to us as it allows the team to spend more time fulfilling orders and less time sending out invoices etc. That being said, we do love to speak to our stockists and are always at the end of the phone for a chat! What have been the key milestones in the business? I hired my first staff member in March 2017, we very quickly scaled up to four and, with the launch of the wholesale side of the business in the summer of 2018, we increased that to six people and moved into a new, larger studio. In June 2019 we added the long- established brand Lily Belle to the business and also added another member of staff. How have you navigated COVID-19? COVID-19 has proven quite a challenge. As with all businesses we went into the pandemic having no idea how it would affect us. Staff were furloughed and we prepared for a quiet few months. How wrong were we! Due to the nature of our products being small and easy to store and all shipping as large letters, we saw a huge surge in demand. As retailers have had to quickly move online our products have been very popular. We now have six out of seven staff back, however, due to the small size of the studio those staff will remain working remotely for the time being. It has been challenging but we are making it work! How do you view the current market and what trends, both in business and product, do you see emerging over the coming months? I think that it goes without saying that there is going to be a large increase in online retailing over the next 12-24 months. The importance of offering products that can be shipped by retailers at a low cost is very important, which is something we always ensure is possible.