Coutts Entrepreneurs

Mike Southon: This is Mike Southon for Beermat Radio in association with Coutts and today I’m talking with Emma Willis. Hi Emma.

Emma Willis: Hi Mike

Mike Southon: Because we’re out and about today we’re not in our normal studio or office environment, we’re down exclusive Jermyn Street, and I’m speaking to Emma because you are – is it the only lady shirt maker in Jermyn street, is that right?

Emma Willis: Yes I think I am

Mike Southon: A woman in a man’s world you might say.

Emma Willis: That’s right, yes I am

Mike Southon: So let’s work out how you got to this elevated position: Let’s go back to when you decided to have a retail outlet for the first time was that a good time to open up a shop in terms of retail, or were the experts saying that’s a really bad time?

Emma Willis: People did think, it could have been an unwise thing to do when there were so many other shirt shops but I very much felt that Jermyn Street could have a shirt maker that was very passionate about it again, take it back to the owner being the designer and I felt my philosophy was quite strong, I wanted to have an English make and I always had, having been in the manufacturing business; I wanted to use really luxurious fabrics, which again I’ve always loved and I wanted to make a ready made shirt like a bespoke shirt, so with the French seams, the really tiny single needle stitching side seams, really small stitching, mother of pearl buttons, all the patterns matching on the yokes, and the shoulder seams, but I have tried to keep – I’ve got two ranges, I have a £95 shirt as well as the £120 - £160 luxury Swiss cotton shirts, just to keep it so I don’t want to be unaffordable, I want as many people as possible to be able to afford the shirts.

And I will encourage people to just perhaps buy one shirt, see and feel the difference and see how long it lasts, because you’ll be able to wear it for 4 or 5 years and it’ll feel much, much better, it’ll feel better when it ages and the other thing I’ll tell people to encourage them to buy really good quality products is that they’ll be able to wear it for work but they’ll also really enjoy wearing it for smart casual outside of work, you can wear it for parties and feel really elegant, and get masses of use out of it, so in a way it’s sort of an economy.

Mike Southon: Absolutely, it makes sense in that it’s good value for money, as they say rather than expensive, which is a better way of describing it.

So you’ve got the shop here in Jermyn street which is down at the Green Park end, if you’re walking down Jermyn Street, and are your shirts only sold here or are they sold elsewhere? Are there other outlets that take your shirts?

Emma Willis: I’ve been selling in a shop in Japan, a lovely luxury men’s label shop called Le Globe, which is in Tokyo, and I’ve been selling in Selfridges since the beginning of last year, on the Internet as well.

Mike Southon: Oh, right. So how much of an internet operation do you have is it mainly mail order or is it design on the web?

Emma Willis: It’s all website. We’re doing really good business on the website and I’m hoping to do more and more, and it’s used as a showroom and people discover you, also the press use it and it’s a good showroom across the world.

Mike Southon: So on the website you can select a fabric, is that how it works? You can stick your size obviously and then the fit you’re looking for and then you deliver it – how many have you sold on the internet roughly?

Emma Willis: We probably sell 20 shirts a week on the website.

Mike Southon: Oh right, but there’s not many people work here – you’re pretty much doing everything as far as I can tell, you’re buying the stuff, you’re designing the shirts you’re writing the cheques – you obviously have people working the shop when you’re not here but –

Emma Willis: I have a very strong right hand woman, Alex who runs the shop – she is running the shop with my and she’s here every day, and we do all the buying trips together, she’s been with me for 3 ½ years since she graduated from fashion college.

Mike Southon: And what are your ambitions for the business, do you plan to have more shops or stay as you are? Have you thought that through yet?

Emma Willis: I think – it does slightly change as I’m going along, but at the moment I feel that I want to keep one shop, just have one shop – a lot of my customers feel very strongly they don’t want me to have shops elsewhere. They love the fact that I am only here and most people travel so they can come to you, also on the internet. And then I’d like to expand with more wholesale. (inaudible)

And I’d like to go to New York and other places around the world.

Mike Southon: Well I heard about you from Coutts actually because they produce this report “Face Value” and it’s called “your reputation as a business asset” of course this much matter to you because your name is above the shop, apart from anything else, and if there’s a bad shirt then everyone knows whose fault it is. Does that prey on your mind; your reputation all the time?

Emma Willis: I think it’s a very good incentive to always keep your standards high, whether it’s what your buying, the quality of what you’re buying – I mean, you really, really want the business to work you really want people to say good things about it and you really stick to it. It gives you – I mean for me it gives me determination and pride in the product and the shop, and how happy the customers are.

Mike Southon: And you feature in the Face Value report commissioned by Coutts – you’ve been a Coutts customer for a long time?

Emma Willis: Yes, ever since I started this business..,

Mike Southon: Oh, really? From day one?

Emma Willis: I changed to Coutts and I have somebody on the other end of the telephone whenever I need it, and poor Coutts, I speak to them probably every day and I am completely in contact with them and they have been incredibly supportive of my business and they have taken a real personal interest; my bank manager comes to the shop, he looks at what I’m doing and he’s been very, very involved in my business and he’s been really helpful.

Mike Southon: And how long has he personally been working with you?

Emma Willis: He’s been with me now for seven years.

Mike Southon: Gosh, I assume he wears the shirts?

Emma Willis: He has got a couple of my shirts.

Mike Southon: Of course, I would think little else.

Emma Willis: I personally have as much support and service from Coutts as I need. I’m very happy.

Mike Southon: Absolutely. This has been Mike Southon for Beermat Radio in association with Coutts, and I’ve been chatting with Emma Willis. Thanks very much Emma

Emma Willis: Thanks very much Mike.