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10 minute read
At the edge
WINCHESTER INDEPENDENT SASS AND EDGE HAS ACHIEVED UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS SINCE OPENING IN 2017. GEMMA WARD MEETS CO-FOUNDERS RACHEL HUNT AND SALLY GOTT TO FIND OUT THEIR RETAIL SECRETS
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Sass and Edge in Winchester is one of those indie success stories that makes the rest of the industry sit up and take notice. Open for just six years, its original modestly sized shop has blossomed into an award-winning fashion retail business boasting strong profits and a staunch customer base. And while the pandemic was a challenging time for some indie retailers, the lockdowns and consequent boom in e-commerce proved to be pivotal in its success.
In 2021, the retailer moved to larger and more prominent city centre premises as well as investing in additional external space for its online operation. Today, with co-founders Rachel Hunt and Sally Gott at the helm and a 17-strong team behind them, it sells a skilfully curated edit of premium womenswear to Winchester locals, tourists and fashion fans nationwide.
Big retail energy
Sass and Edge’s owners have palpable energy and enthusiasm for the business - and their dedication and determination undoubtedly holds the key to its success. “Originally, we went into this hoping for a better work-life balance,” says Rachel. “It’s probably had the opposite effect as we work more now than we ever have” (daily from 8am – 7pm, in case you were wondering). She adds: “But the point is, it never feels like work. The shop is like a second home and there isn’t a single day we don’t want to be here.”
Both co-founders say they have worked in retail “forever” and bring decades of experience to the business. Sally previously held several senior positions with corporate high street brands such as Next and M&S while Rachel’s background in the independent sector has seen her working as a designer and for an indie retailer. They first met while working for The White Company in Winchester and fast became friends.
It was over festive drinks during a particularly frantic Christmas period that the initial idea for Sass and Edge began to take shape. “Opening a womenswear shop was something we’d both wanted to do separately for a number of years,” says Sally. “But after a lot of soul searching that night, we ultimately decided to just go for it - and we’ve never looked back.”
Shop local
Their vision was to create a shop selling stylish, premium fashion for women who were, in a lot of ways, just like them: “Our original target customer was a local woman who loves clothes and has some expendable income,” says Sally. “She was probably used to travelling to London to get her fashion fix, so our aim was to bring her sort of labels to the local high street. She’s still very much our core customer, but our true audience is much more varied; we have everyone from teenagers to elderly women buying from us.”
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A couple of months after their first brainstorm meeting, Sally and Rachel were at Pure London hunting down suppliers. They focused on sourcing premium European brands that weren’t necessary known in Winchester. “We knew how important it was to get the right mix of brands,” says Sally. “It’s not always easy getting the exact suppliers you’d like from the very beginning, so we went for good quality labels that weren’t being sold anywhere else locally.”
Today Sass and Edge stocks womenswear, footwear, accessories, jewellery and fragrances from over 70 different designers including Bash, Rails, Self-Portrait, Paige, Ash, Anna Beck, Kirstie Le Marque and Samsøe Samsøe.
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Both co-founders share the store’s buying responsibilities equally, travelling to showrooms and agents all over Europe. “To be honest, we’re never not buying,” says Rachel. “Wherever we go we’re forever searching for the next big thing. Often we’ll approach brands directly instead of relying on trade shows.”
Perfect premises
Another priority for the co-founders in the beginning was sourcing the right retail premises. “Finding a unit was probably our biggest challenge,” says Sally. “Rents and rates are so high in Winchester. Plus, we wanted to be in the centre but not actually on the high street; that doesn’t come up very often.”
As fate would have it, Rachel’s husband stumbled upon the perfect empty unit just a few months later: “A former café went onto the market and while it needed a lot of work, we just knew it was the one as soon as we saw it,” she says. By June, the co-founders had the keys in their hands and had completely refurbished and opened the shop just two months later.
Once the physical shop was in place, Sally and Rachel began setting their sights on e-commerce. They decided to sell via Trouva and Atterley “quite early on” to help drive online sales and promote the Sass and Edge brand. “We wanted to get our name out there, keep stock moving and help cashflow,” says Sally. “Trouva still works out well for us; it’s a completely different customer who buys different things, but we find it’s a great way to sell old stock and keep things ticking over.”
For the first few years, online sales made up just 12 per cent of the business. However, once the pandemic hit and the country went into lockdown, Rachel and Sally increased their social media presence in lieu of their physical store. “Things really started to change online for us in 2020,” says Sally. “We’d always used Instagram, but during the first lockdown we started broadcasting lives three times a week. It had such a huge impact on the business, and there was a direct link to sales.”
Currently, online versus in-store sales are near-evenly split with 40 per cent of Sass and Edge’s revenue coming from digital channels.
Online success
According to the duo, part of their success on Instagram – which saw them scoop Drapers’ Best Use of Social Media award in 2021 – is down to their laid-back approach: “We don’t take ourselves too seriously and customers really like that,” says Sally. “We’ve created an online community and it feels like we’re all in a big gang.”
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Sass and Edge now also employs a dedicated social media manager to oversee its Instagram and Facebook pages, which now boast a collective 16,000 followers. “We’re very dedicated,” says Rachel. “It’s not uncommon for me to answer customer enquiries from my bed at 5am.”
As the business flourished, the duo found they were outgrowing their original premises: “We’d been processing all our online orders from the shop floor but as our customer base increased, we needed to take on an external stock room,” says Sally. “We just didn’t have enough space.”
So, in the middle of the pandemic, the co-founders signed a lease for a much bigger shop while taking on another off-site unit to fulfil its online orders: “The move meant we were tripling our rent and rates, but we were confident we could do it,” she adds. “It’s in an amazing location in Winchester’s golden triangle and it’s a really lovely shop. It’s a completely different kettle of fish to our first unit but it has made the hugest impact to the business.”
As the cost-of-living crisis continues, Rachel and Sally admit they have been very lucky to remain largely unaffected in the “bubble of Winchester.” They say: “People have started talking about it more in the shop but that’s been quite a recent development. The amount shoppers are buying has stayed consistent year on year and so has our returning customer rate. We’re up +3 per cent on last year to date, which we’re delighted with as we had a really strong year in 2022.”
Driving sales
Sass and Edge’s customers are buying across the board with all product groups performing well. Dresses remains its strongest category followed by tops and shirts. Meanwhile, denim is a key year-round revenue maker alongside footwear.
When it comes to buying for SS24, the co-founders say they’ll be looking for newness and brands that will set the shop apart: “We’re always seeking to source different labels and products that other retailers don’t have,” says Sally. “It’s so hard though because as soon as you bring something in, everyone is following suit. We’re constantly aiming to stay one step ahead to keep it fresh. We never stop.”
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While the duo has certainly uncovered a winning formula with Sass and Edge, they have no plans to expand with other physical stores. Instead, their focus will be on growing the business with e-commerce while keeping customers and staff happy. “We like working together and if we opened another shop, we’d have to split ourselves in two,” says Rachel. “For us, that wouldn’t be Sass and Edge anymore. If you work as much as we do, you need to be having fun.”
Having each other has been key to the continued success of the business. As Sally concludes: “Running a shop on your own is hard, but when there’s two of you nothing feels difficult. If one of us is struggling, the other picks it up. We feel like we’ve sailed through the past few years on adrenalin. We absolutely love what we do.”
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Opened in 2015, Welsh womenswear boutique Kiti is a treasure trove of cool international brands handpicked by its stylish owner, Gwenno Penrhyn. From Farm Rio and Ganni to Bash and Anine Bing, it offers a curated edit of feminine and elegant pieces alongside an e xemplary service. Here the founder reveals what’s selling online and in-store as well as where she’ll be making her product selections for SS24…
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How is business at the moment?
Business is great! After a slow start to the year due to the cost of living crisis and the weather, we are pleased that sales have picked up over the last couple of months.
What are you currently selling most of both in-store and online?
In the summer season we are mainly known for the amazing range of dresses that we stock. Our customers have particularly loved a new brand called Celia B this season. Esska sandals have done incredibly well too. We can’t get enough in!
What’s been most popular for SS23 overall?
The new pre-fall Stine Goya collection has done amazingly well for us, which we are really pleased with.
Did you introduce any new brands this season and how well have they performed?
Celia B is a new brand for us and has very been popular among shoppers. Petite Mendigote is another label we’ve introduced for the first time this season and it has also performed well.
What will you be looking for when you start buying for SS24? Do you think you’ll be making any changes to your buy based on SS23?
We always seek out new brands so we will certainly be offering new UK and international brands for SS24. We would love to offer more occasionwear as we move forward as we will be collaborating with Alison Todd, the internationally renowned miller from Abergavenny.
Where will you be making your new season selections?
We mostly do our buying in London and Paris. As well as showrooms we’ll also be attending Scoop and Who’s Next.
What are the biggest challenges you’re currently facing as a small business?
Brexit has been devastating for small businesses such as us, as has the cost of living crisis. The soaring energy bills have been crippling for households and businesses alike.
Is there anything suppliers could be doing differently to support independent retailers?
Brands could make re-ordering more accessible, lower their minimum re-order requirements and support us with the ever-increasing delivery costs.
Do you have any events or promotions planned for the next few months to increase footfall?
We regularly host events at Kiti to showcase our brands. Recently, we hosted two events: one to celebrate our mention in The Guardian as number one boutique in the UK and the second to collaborate with a local jeweller. She was able to use our beautiful store to showcase her new collection to shoppers. Supporting other women in business is very important to us.
How optimistic are you about the final half of 2023?
Despite having a successful SS23, we are cautious going into AW23 as these are always tricker months to maintain footfall and high sales.
Everybody seems to be talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the moment. I recently attended a series of seminars and there is no doubt that it has emerged as a game-changer in various industries. At first it may seem that it is only something for the big businesses, but I can assure you that it will make a difference to independent retailers. Twelve months ago, very few of us knew anything about AI. Now it is at the forefront of technology developments and is expected to evolve at an even faster pace.
Most of the focus has been on ‘generative AI’ with the likes ChatGPT. This is a piece of technology that will answer questions in detail, in a particular style, using the number of words requested by the user. It was in the headlines because some students are using it to complete homework projects. It is clever – no doubt. From a retailing point of view, it is being used to create content for marketing and social media channels, enabling retailers to better engage with existing and potential customers by providing creative content. The more it is used, the smarter it becomes.
But it is not just in terms of generating content that AI can make a difference. AI is already being used in so many other ways. One of the key areas where AI can benefit independent retailers is inventory management. Keeping track of stock levels, predicting demand, and optimising inventory can be challenging for small businesses. However, AI-powered inventory management systems can analyse historical data and market trends to provide accurate demand forecasts. This enables retailers to optimise their inventory levels, reduce waste, and improve profitability.
AI can also revolutionise customer service. Chatbots and virtual assistants powered by AI can handle customer queries and provide personalised recommendations. These intelligent systems can understand natural language and engage in meaningful conversations, offering customers a seamless and efficient shopping experience – like they are ‘talking’ to a real person. Retailers can leverage AI to provide 24/7 support, address customer concerns promptly and enhance customer satisfaction.
An increasingly important business skill is the management of data, and AI can make a tangible difference in this respect. AI has the power to collect, analyse and draw conclusions from much more data more quickly than ever before. Understanding customer and business data will allow the business owner to make better informed decisions based on consumer behaviour, preferences, and buying patterns. These insights can also be used to tailor marketing campaigns, develop pricing strategies, and offer personalised recommendations to customers.
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In conclusion, AI has the potential to revolutionise the world of retail - and not just for the large chains. From inventory management and customer service to data analysis and automation, AI technologies can empower independent retailers to compete with larger players and deliver exceptional customer experiences.
It is not a subject that can be ignored, and indie retailers cannot afford to say that artificial intelligence is not applicable for them. It’s already being used on a widescale without us knowing. In fact, 90 per cent of this article has been written by generative AI – it may even replace CEOs!
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