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INSIGHT
NOT TOO SHABBY Why visit your website? We are obsessed about remaining at the forefront of interior styles and fashions. We regularly update our stock, and new items are added weekly. On average we remove and add over 100 SKUs per month. Name: Molly Robson Position: Director, and head of buying and merchandising Business: Shabby Store is an online boutique, selling luxury home furniture and accessories. The site offers a rolling average of approximately 1500 SKUs, and attracts around 350,000 unique visits each month – and boasts nearly 500,000 social media followers, with over 300,000 on Instagram alone. Molly acquired the business in 2018 – then a loss-making enterprise with a declining revenue. It now delivers consistent profitability, and is on track to reach revenues of £3m this year, and £5m in 2022. www.shabbystore.co.uk
How did you enter this industry? I’ve always loved interiors, and used my experiences in launching other online businesses to acquire and scale Shabby Store. Who is your ecommerce hero? Ben Francis, the founder of Gymshark. I have followed his journey from when he was printing T-shirts himself – the company’s growth is incredibly inspiring. Describe a typical working day Every day is different, which is why I enjoy what I do so much! I am head of buying and merchandising, so a lot of my day is spent finding new products our customers will love and bringing those to life. We also have a lot of big things planned for this year as a company, so a lot of my time is spent planning for the future, which is really exciting. What has been your greatest challenge to date? Turning the business from a lossmaking small business to recruiting some amazing staff and aligning our vision in such a short space of time.
Molly Robson
What part of your job would you prefer to avoid? Some of the general administrative elements of my role can be tedious, but are essential in ensuring our customers have the most up-to-date trends, and maintaining Shabby Store as the market leader in boutique furniture and accessories for your home.
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This year, we’ve invested in our own bespoke CRM and order management software, which will deliver an unrivalled customer experience and allow us to focus even more on product. How much do you invest in making your site more visible? We easily spend more than £50,000 per month in driving new customers to our business and products, maintaining a healthy return on spend which isn’t overly risky. What’s your take on how the relationship between online and physical retail might develop? We believe that whilst online is seeing a boom today, there will always be a place for physical stores. For me, it’s all about customer experience, and whilst the physical/online experience was previously very separate, I see a future where the two become much more of a hybrid. In fact, we are planning to open our first physical store this year, which backs up this vision. Do you have any other plans to grow your business? Yes, absolutely – but not at any cost. We are self-sufficient, and have not had any external investment or support. We want to retain control of our business and scale sensibly – for us, the customers are the most important element of our business, so any growth must allow us to maintain the exceptional product and service levels we offer today. What advice would you offer an aspiring etailer? Be ambitious, but be sensible in your approach. No business is built overnight – it takes time, and a smart strategy that you commit to. Also, don’t be scared to pivot or seize opportunities that arise
WHILST ONLINE IS SEEING A BOOM TODAY, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A PLACE FOR PHYSICAL STORES 28/01/2021 17:20