172 Online to high street Owner Mollie Butterworth talks about how fashion and accessories retailer Pretty Parade Boutique has gone from strength to strength Tell us a bit about your store and how you came to open the business. I opened the business on my return from travelling – the idea had come to me while in Australia and I just had this sudden feeling that this was something I was meant to do. When I returned from Australia, I had six months before my university place started, and I had a little bit of savings leftover so I thought why not? With the support of my family I launched my online store. We’d do regular pop-ups and even though not always successful it was clear to me I needed a physical store. Later the following year I went on to open our first bricks and mortar outlet, which has just celebrated its third year anniversary! Is the location important to the success of your store? Yes, absolutely. We are in a villager’s village, which means shopping local is a high priority. Therefore, being able to gain a loyal customer base from the outset was super important, and I think we have managed to do so successfully with our social media presence and our community feel in the shop. What challenges were overcome when the company was starting out? Being an online store only meant we were in a highly saturated market, and we found the biggest challenge was being able to gain the trust of the consumer, as there are so many fashion boutiques out there. Once we had a physical store, our online store grew, especially once we added Trustpilot to the website too. A challenge we faced upon opening our physical store was to ensure we were offering a point of difference as there were already several established boutiques in the area. We achieved this by securing exclusive brands only available to ourselves, and we have continued to build on this. What is your customer base? I am very lucky that my mum and I are able to buy together, which gives us the advantage of being able to achieve a really nice balance of different styles that are suitable for different ages. We also strongly believe the same style can be worn by different ages, it’s all down to how you style it. As a result, our customer base is wide and can’t be narrowed down to one specific age group – I would say our main customers are women aged 20-65. What’s your USP? Our USP is we have been fortunate to create relationships with our customers – this has enabled us to be able to pick out brands and styles we know they will love. It also means we are able to pick styles out for a customer as soon as they walk in, as we know they will instantly love it. I would also say another important aspect is I try on all the styles myself, meaning I am able to advise customers whether it’s true to size or a small fit etc. This means customers are not left guessing if it’s them or the style creating a more positive shopping experience. What are your current best selling lines? This is a hard one as we sell such a varied product range, but we have recently introduced Chelsea Peers pyjamas into the boutique and these have done absolutely amazing for us. Alongside this B.Young and ICHI are two really strong brands for us all year round.
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