This week Underlines speaks to Caroline Randell of her eponymous store in Wimbledon Village, opened in 2009. Lingerie retailing was the life that you could say she was borne into but she achieved what most deemed impossible: an independent lingerie shop in one of the most expensive areas in London. Caroline has created a truly unique and special shopping experience both in bricks and mortar and online: her sound business strategy has stood up to the challenges of 2020.
Life before lingerie
“I started working with lingerie at the age of 16 as a Saturday girl in my mother’s very successful lingerie shop in Warwickshire. It’s where my passion began and she taught me so much. Owning businesses has been in my family as far back as we can trace, and I think it must be in my blood. My parents remind me of my entrepreneurship starting at 10 years old when I crushed rose petals to make perfume and then sold it on a stall outside my house for 20p a jar. The product feedback wasn’t great! A few years later, I progressed to selling at local markets with hand painted wellington boots and lacey French knickers (the combination!). When I moved away for university, I opened an eBay shop selling Scandinavian throws which helped to fund me through university. I would always return to lingerie in the holidays.
“After graduating in a recession, I applied to be a civil servant, and my-goodness am I glad I didn’t pursue that! I moved to London and landed a job at Rigby & Peller as a fitting consultant. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the industry at shop floor level and it was the stepping stone to opening my own shop. 
“I can’t imagine life without my business. I’ve been honing my skills since 16 to get where I am. The fitting service of offering women empowerment through confidence boosting, well-fitted lingerie has been my absolute passion. Along with a determination for business strategy.”
And how did you open the shop?
“Like many great ideas, it happened by coincidence. On a day trip to Wimbledon Village I realised there was no lingerie shop there – why on earth – surely this would be one of the best locations in the country? I found a vacant shop unit, quit my job, rushed together a business plan and somehow convinced the landlord to lease the building to me at the age of 23. It was a gutsy high-risk decision, especially considering the rents and rates where at sky-high London levels. I had a gut feeling that this location was worth it and could have such amazing potential. I took out the tiniest loan to kit-out the shop and opened the doors with 3 weeks to go before Christmas Day 2009.
“At the beginning due to my age, I found it particularly hard to prove to customers that I was a great lingerie fitter. Reps would tell me quite brutally that a lingerie shop wouldn’t survive in Wimbledon Village because so many shops had failed there before.
“I quickly realised I had a BIG point to prove and I needed to gain the trust of my customers and a respect within the industry. I work tirelessly with sleepless nights, missed family weekends and friends’ parties in order to make the business a success. 11 years on and I’m very proud to be succeeding.”
Along came COVID-19
“I had a little forewarning on Covid as my husband is a data scientist who back in early February talked about the likelihood of a huge economic impact and to possibly limit my cashflow risk. It seemed crazy, but I decided to take a few precautions just in case. I stopped top ups and delayed some SS20 orders. I had a meeting with my fabulous team (I was nearly laughed out of the meeting!) and we came up an amazing plan of action. Despite planning, the shock of having to close felt so painful. We closed a few days before the mandatory lockdown and started running the next day with our new service.
“From our customers’ point of view they had access to a one-to-one service throughout lockdown, 7 days a week via virtual appointments, WhatApp messages & personalised video messages. I took this opportunity to refurbish the shop, to elevate the business so we were at the top of our game for reopening. It was a big risk and I was operating on blind confidence here!
“The Wimbledon ladies are extremely discerning, after all London has the best retail stores in the world and my success is dependent on competing with this. I have made several investments on our store design, website, and of course training.”
How have you changed your business operations?
“Covid has put my business skills to the ultimate test in every respect. From managing the finest cashflow budgets, forecasting in the most unpredictable times, being inventive and forward thinking, and formulating new ways to reach out and stay in touch with our customers. All while juggling 2 littles ones and no childcare with nurseries closed! I’m so proud to have keep all of my team employed as they are incredibly passionate, hardworking a have shown great resilience through this. I now just need a good holiday… oh wait a minute, when are we allowed to do that?!”
How are you trying to future-proof your business?
“I see this time as a huge shift in the way retail communicates with its customers which is interesting. We’ve already seen the success of virtual fitting appointments, along with personalised direct messages. We plan to expand this, especially to our website customers who don’t have the opportunity to come into the shop. I’ve been attending many training programs on brand identity, social media, trends etc and I’ve got a lot of ideas, I just need some time to action them.
“My big drive is to show my girls how rewarding having your own business is, just like my mum did for me.”
“I wish all fellow lingerie shop owners the best of luck for the Winter season, and here’s to getting the hell out of 2020!”
