Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis plans to open a branch of his boutique lingerie brand Boux Avenue in Bristol’s Cabot Circus shopping centre, he told Bristol Business News today.
The serial entrepreneur personally launched the chain’s 12th outlet this afternoon in Bath and said he was on target to at least double the size of the group over the next few years, with plans for a Bristol store in the advanced stages.
Boux Avenue is Mr Paphitis’ return to the lingerie market after he sold La Senza to private equity firm Lion Capital for £100m in 2006.
Ironically, the Bath store – which opened with giveaways, balloons and models clad in Boux products – is in the same unit as the city’s La Senza store, which closed earlier this year when the chain crashed into administration.
Mr Paphitis, who also owns stationers Rymans, said his latest underwear venture was successful because it combines the best of online and physical retail – a lesson for the high street in general. He plans to take the chain to 25 or 30 stores within a few years, employing around 1,000 staff.
“The world is changing,” he told Bristol Business News, as he sat surrounded by racks of brightly-coloured bras, knickers and swimwear.
“You can’t run a business anymore by looking in the rearview mirror. By that I mean experience counts for nothing unless you adapt and embrace new technologies.
“The pace of change of technology is frightening, particularly for retailers as they are slower to adapt to it than their customers most of the time.”
Around half of Boux Avenue’s sales are via its website – the business started as online store before moving into the high street.
“We’re doing it the other way round to most retailers,” said Mr Paphitis, whose previous directorships have included a successful spell as chairman of Millwall Football Club.
“But if you have the right stock at the right price presented in the right way people will buy it in the store. They like personal service as well as the convenience of online.”
Technology – from computerised stock control to the promotional films screened on the in-store TVs – plays a key role in Boux Avenue’s success, he said.
“On Monday morning I can look at what’s been selling or not selling over the weekend and change the stock in the stores by that afternoon – and that includes linking the products to the promotional videos on our screens,” he said.
Starting out as a teaboy in an insurance firm in the City, Mr Paphitis later built up a commercial property business before getting into retail via mobile phones in the 1980s.
The sector had changed beyond recognition since then, he said, and admitted that, had it not been for putting part of his own personal fortune into Boux Avenue, it would have struggled to get the funds to launch.
“Whatever we are told, the banks aren’t lending enough,” he said. “There’s billions of pounds locked up in businesses which aren’t confident enough to spend it. There’s no silver bullet to getting the economy going again but we do need to get funding into small businesses.”
So what advice would he give to someone starting out in business today?
Here’s Theo’s Top 3 Tips for business success:
- Make sure the business is for the long term. Don’t try to make a fast buck
- Make sure you have enough cash in the business.
- Most importantly, do your homework. Don’t just start up because you think it’s a good idea. You’ve got to know your market and your product inside out.
