Bill & Bert’s, Colchester

Bill & Bert’s gets bigger

‘We are enormous fans of trade shows and treat them very seriously. I firmly believe that suppliers need to exhibit, and retailers need to attend. If you want to find something interesting and new, you’ve got to walk the aisles’

Home & Gift enthusiast Bill Nettelfield, owner of Bill & Bert’s in Colchester, talks about his passion for trade shows – and his latest business project

What’s your background?

I’ve always been in retail. Previously I had a furniture store, and a gift shop in Cheltenham. I helped set up the London Aquarium gift store, and then, with the original owners, set up a chain of pop-up stores: Calendar Club. I left Calendar Club in 2017.

Why did you decide to open a gift shop?

I’m too young to retire and I’ve always loved retail. So, when the opportunity came along to take a site in Colchester town centre left vacant by boutique store Karen Millen, I thought, ‘with a shop of this size [just under 2,500sq ft] we could do something differently - and on a larger scale - than some gift shops’.

I opened Bill & Bert’s in August 2019 with my wife’s daughter Sarah Charlton. [Bill’s beloved schnauzer dog Bertie, who sadly isn’t with us any more, inspired the name of the store.] Fortunately, Bill & Bert’s became an instant hit, and this year the opportunity came along to extend into the old Trespass [outdoor specialist] unit next door by knocking a huge walkthrough. We almost doubled in size to approximately 4,500sq ft on April 8.

How would you describe your gift range?

Quality gifts at sensible prices for grandchildren through to grandparents.

What are your key categories?

We sell an enormous range that varies from ladies’ clothes and bags to soft toys, games, lighting, candles, hardware, pottery, glassware and socks. The range is endless and is one of the reasons we have been successful, because customers can buy something for themselves as well as everyone in the family.

Who are your key suppliers?

I deal with 100-plus suppliers, but we do have some stand-out large accounts such as Jellycat, Wrendale, DCUK, Swole Panda, Roka of London, The Bottled Baking Co., Cartwright & Butler, Spice Kitchen, Ashleigh & Burwood, Portmeirion, Kate of Kensington, Little Weaver Arts, Rosie Made A Thing, and Lucilla Lavender.

How do you find products?

We are enormous fans of trade shows and treat them very seriously. I firmly believe that suppliers need to exhibit, and retailers need to attend. If you want to find something interesting and new, you’ve got to walk the aisles. This year we’ve been to Spring Fair

Top 5 Best Sellers

1. Roka of London bags 2. Freckleface wax melts 3. Chilly’s water bottles 4. DCUK ducks 5. Swole Panda socks and belts

and Top Drawer, and we will be going to Home & Gift in July, and Autumn Fair and Top Drawer in September. Most reps/agent for our area are great and call to make an appointment. As I’m an old dinosaur, seeing them - and the shows - is so much better for me than ordering online.

What’s your selection criteria?

Quality, price, and does it fit in with the look of the shop? If products are made and packaged in an environmentally-friendly way, then even better.

What’s proving popular?

Jellycat is our number one (we have one of the largest displays of Jellycats in the country). But we have other stand-out ranges as well: Roka of London bags, Freckleface wax melts, Chilly’s water bottles, DCUK ducks, Swole Panda socks and belts, Wrendale, The Bottled Baking Co., and anything to do with food gifting.

What lines have you started stocking recently?

With the extra space we had to find a lot of new lines, as well as expand some of our best-selling ranges. New since April are Miffy soft toys and House of Marbles. We also have a range of lights from Denmark, and products from several smaller suppliers who we found at Top Drawer. Really, the list goes on and on!

How is trading for you?

Trade for me as an independent is exceeding all goals, and this has proved even more so since we came out of lockdown in April 2021. There has been a very noticeable shift in shopping patterns to ‘shop local’ - and at independent shops. You never hear people saying we went to the Bluewaters or Lakesides of this world anymore.

And since we expanded, business been bonkers! We’re so busy - it’s like trade in November. We’ve opened a monster of a shop!

What’s next for your business?

Having only just doubled the size of Bill & Bert’s, I think we will concentrate on what we have for now!

Top 5 Categories

1. Soft toys 2. Bags 3. Cards 4. Men’s gifts 5. Clocks and lights

What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job?

The feedback from customers, who come back over and over again, is the best bit.

And the most challenging?

Not a lot at the moment. It’s all been so much fun! We have a great team, a great looking shop, and most importantly, great customers.

SIMPLY GORGEOUS

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Celebrating 40 years in business 1982 -2022

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