Gift Focus inc Attire Accessories - March/April 2021

RETAILER INTERVIEW 117 ALLURING BOUTIQUE +44 (0)1343 548 945 www.alluringboutique.co.uk Do you undertake any charitable initiatives? If so, what? We have in the past ran raffles for our local charities. Do you attend any trade shows and if so, which ones and why? We attend Scoop and Pure London mainly. A lot of our buying takes place in London. I had plans to attend CIFF in Copenhagen but all plans have of course been put on hold for now. They can be vital to attend to discover new and upcoming brands. Are you looking to open more stores across the UK? Not at this current time. What has been your standout moment since opening the store, and why? We were selected as finalists in the Drapers Independent awards and then again for Boutique Mag. We have also won our local BID award in the Retail category and have reached the finals again this year. Is Brexit/the coronavirus affecting your store at present? Every day is different at the moment with less gatherings allowed and events taking place, so we are selling much less occasion wear as well as clothing for weekends away etc. Casual wear has taken more of a prevalence. Fortunately, we were busy every day in lockdown as everyone was buying online, which exposed us to new customers also. How do you view the retail market at present, and what advice would you give other retailers? Independents appear to be thriving a lot just now in comparison to the larger retailers. Each lockdown and new restrictions has an impact, however, so I literally take each day as it comes. I intend on doing more videos to post on social media and continue to have a presence there. We have to remain optimistic and remember this is a temporary situation, not a permanent one. It’s important to support one another. What are your plans for the future? To remain here after COVID and continue to build up my customer base. I would like to venture into menswear at some point.