An entrepreneur hopes to beat the credit crunch by selling children’s clothes from her bedroom.
Fashion graduate Kate Walker launched her nearly-new clothing website after realising discerning mothers wanted the best clothes for their children but could no longer afford them.
After only a week online her website, mimmii.co.uk, had received 200 hits and “a few” orders. She hopes the business will go from strength to strength as customers become mroe aware of the service.
Miss Walker, 25, said: “Now seemed the perfect time because the recession actually creates demand.
“There’re a generation of mums who want their kids to be in the best clothes but don’t want to pay the prices any more.”
Launching the site has been tough work for the Purley resident, who also works full-time designing store layouts for the fashion chain Alfred Dunhill.
She said she had spent every weekend over the last few months “trawling around in my little car looking for clothes” from charity shops, and car boot fairs. Miss Walker also dedicated every evening to the venture.
That work allowed her to gather a selection of “high end” clothes that are good enough to sell.
Miss Walker said she could have opened a shop but decided to start mimmii with a website to test the water.
She explained: “E-commerce is doing better at the moment and with a website you can see how you do before opening a shop.”
For the time being, she is happy keeping small and currently runs the website from her bedroom at her parents’ house in Haydn Avenue.
She said: “The bedroom’s just boxes and boxes, leaflets, computers, clothes hangers, everything. I give my parents six months to kick me out so this had better do well.”
Ultimately Miss Walker plans to set up a boutique in Croydon, which she said lacks independent stores. She also wants to involve student designers so her business can make its own clothes.
Miss Walker said she would advise anyone wanting to start a business to go for it.
She added: “It’s better to have tried and failed. If things didn't work out I’d still be glad I did it.”
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