Autumn 2021
Getting AHEAD in Retail
by Carole Denford
As you might know, I’ve been working with hats for years and years starting at the very bottom and acquiring knowledge and new experiences as I went along. My real forte is in retail, selling to the public, trying to bring in designers and manufacturers that would excite my customers and give them the confidence to wear a hat.
So how did it all begin? Many people have asked this question over the years. (And it’s not easy to make a start). There’s no beginning, as lives are layered with experience and opportunities that you either take up or pass by. It seems a long time ago, but strangely enough the situation when I began in 1980 was very similar to today’s pandemic and all that that has thrown at us.
London’s retail had been devastated firstly by strikes, a three day week and shortages, as Margaret Thatcher took on the unions. Then the bombings by the IRA that began in 1973 and which rocked the capital for many years.
When you are born in London and have studied for a fashion design qualification for three years in Oxford Street the sense of excitement in this city never leaves you. And so although I later lived in the country, a visit to London to walk the streets was incredible. The areas I loved were South Molton Street and Berwick Street with their tiny fabric shops and old fashioned wholesalers, or dropping in at Covent Garden Market on the way home late at night to eat bacon sandwiches with mugs of tea as the market began to open.
Back in the countryside the labour market was dire. I had a small company making toilet bags, mainly for Liberty in London, with over 10 outworkers. The fabrics were beautiful and I always had cloth over to make extra samples. These became a stock and so something had to be done to clear it.
Covent Garden Market was one of the oldest markets in central London. One that had been granted it’s first licence in 1670 and had traded in flowers and veg ever since. It was the mainstay of this area, between the Strand and Long Acre, with a world-renowned reputation. Therefore it was a sad day in 1974 when the market closed and moved to Nine Elms in Vauxhall. There suddenly appeared a great void in the whole area. Buildings that had once been storage and holding units had decayed and the market and surroundings street were left eerily quiet.
London designers, especially those starting out, were soon milling around. The Apple Market, one of the main buildings, had been turned into a ‘designers market’ of small stalls and looked so inviting. On one of my buying trips to London I wandered around Covent Garden and suddenly had a great desire to sell my ‘over production’ here. Enquiring at the office I was told ‘”We have a waiting list of a year, and toilet bags are hmmm…………………..not what we are looking for!”
That was a blow! But not to be discouraged I wandered into the Jubilee street market opposite, which had been there for years, and enquired about a stall. “Whatja sell?” The Manager asked. No one was selling my wares, so in two minutes I was offered a stall.
And so in October 1980 I drove the 64 miles to London, first once and then twice a week, leaving home at 5.30am to set up my stall. And it went pretty well, as visitors to the Apple Market wandered across to hunt for all sorts of bargains. I was one of only two females selling, Roz was on jewellery and was pretty tough with the men, and so I became friends with a totally new set of workers, and became pretty resilient to market trading.
By the spring of 1981 my stock had dwindled. Still loving the atmosphere, my customers and the whole Covent Garden experience I asked the manager if I could sell another product? “Whatja got?” Not expecting such a direct reply I thought about it and suddenly said “Hats, could I sell hats?” He walked away without a word. Later that day he returned and said: “I’ve asked everyone and no one wants to sell hats, so bring them next week!”
In a complete panic I called the Kangol office and spoke to Diana Young in the wholesale sales department, who invited me over to their showroom. I needed cheap seconds, or ends of lines urgently, and so she told me come back later that week and she would sort something out for me. She was an absolute star and so kind. So back again next week I collected a bag of Kangol hats, and then wandered down Poland Street where I discovered the last headwear wholesalers were located at that time.
You always need a ‘bit of luck’ to succeed, and mine came more than once. Princess Diana was married in July 1981, and Boy George released his first big hit in 1982, both were incredibly good hat wearers that took my business on at a pace. By the summer of 1982 I was doing three days on the market – buying from Luton and had an amazing customer base. But market life was hard and I was driving 128 miles each time to London and back.
Clive Shilton had made the shoes for Princess Dianna’s wedding, and became a star overnight. His shop at 58 Neal Street, Covent Garden was mobbed by women wanting to emulate Diana and, so I heard, became pretty demanding. Neal Street was also becoming an interesting street of specialist shops. Then in October 1982 I read in the papers that he had gone bankrupt, how sad after so much great publicity.
I’d never owned a shop, although I had family that had. So on the spur of the moment I wandered up to Neal Street to take a look. It was a small, narrow and slightly old-fashioned shop with a door to one side of a large window. On an impulse I decided to write a note and push it under his door. “Do you want to sell your shop?” it said.
To my surprise three days later Mr Shilton called me!
And on the following market day I met him there in the shop. He told me he wanted to leave, he hated the work and the new customers etc., he had lots of bills he wanted to settle and just wanted to go. I asked him the total of all the bills, and he said about £1,500 (approx. £5,500 today). I asked him the rent; he said £4,750 per year (approx. £17,000 today). The rates were very small also. Goodness me, there was a lot to think about!
But the prospect of owning a shop here was incredible, and even before I returned to the stall I knew that this was a way out, a new start and such an exciting prospect for us. And so I talked it over with Nigel whose business was faltering. Could we move our home and two small children out of a small village by the sea to London, to put our future into hats?
I called Clive Shilton two days later to say: “Yes we would take the shop” and so the plans and payments went ahead, and we jumped with both feet into our new career.
After redecorating and carpeting on a shoestring we opened “The Hat Shop Covent Garden” in February 1983, inviting all our customers from the stall, Diana Young from Kangol and suppliers from Luton to come and celebrate with us. Norman who worked near me on the market selling tools was most impressed. The following day he asked: ‘How much did you take yesterday?” £185 I said (£670 today).
“Good on you girl,” he said, “you’ll be fine!”
P.S The Hat Shop remained there for 17 years, only squeezed out with a rent demand of £70,000 (£116,700) in 1995. Throughout those years we became a ‘must visit’ London hotspot, selling hats to members of U2, Boy George himself, Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart, Kim Wilde, Jimmy Nail, Judy Dench, Maureen Lipman, Victoria Wood, Vic Reeves, Bros (I loved them), Ian Wright, Joss Ackland and many, many more. Because the shop was so small, 240sq ft of retail space, we had to limit the numbers allowed in and often had a queue down the street – something unheard of for a hat shop!