Award winning retail brand Oliver Bonas – which currently has 72 outlets – is celebrating its 25th milestone this month. As winner of the Best Specialist Multiple Retailer of Gifts trophy at The Greats Awards in May, GiftsandHome.net put founder and managing director Oliver Tress into the hot seat.
Congratulations on reaching your 25th milestone anniversary this month! What was Oliver Bonas’ original concept?
“Initially, I started out with a second hand till and a small fashion accessories shop in Fulham, South West London. We sold imported watches and fashion accessories which I brought back from my trips to Hong Kong.”
What were your best-selling products back in 1993?
“Handbags, wine glasses and ashtrays.”
How would you describe the business today?
“We’re a lifestyle store selling fashion, homewares, jewellery, scarves, small leather accessories, home fragrancing products, gift books, stationery, greeting cards and furniture.”
Do you have a company philosophy?
“There’s a quote by Hans Christian Andersen: ‘There is more to life than living. You need sunshine, freedom and a little flower’. Our job is to be the ’little flower’ in customers’ lives, which means doing our bit to make living a joyful experience and giving cause for optimism. What started out as a piece of original wall art in the store, ‘Work Hard, Play Hard, Be Kind’, has evolved into our company values. These two combine to form the lens through which we make decisions.”
What do you see as the new issues being confronted by retailers today and what new opportunities are opening up?
“For us, the main issue is how to understand the Oliver Bonas customer when they visit the stores and shop online. There are also many opportunities to sell products – concessions, wholesale, marketplaces, international, online and in store.”
What are your current bugbears?
“it’s other companies imitating our designs. It’s a compliment, but it means we constantly having to work to develop and design new products.”
Do you harbour ambitions to turn Oliver Bonas into an international brand?
“We now have shops across the UK, with stores in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, and yes, I would love to open an Oliver Bonas store outside of the UK. For now though, our focus is online, where we have recently launched localised websites in Ireland and the US.”
Are there more UK store openings in the pipeline?
“We continue to look at carefully selected new store opening opportunities, as well as pushing e-commerce and all the marketing around that.”
Any thoughts on diversifying or expanding existing product areas?
“Moving forward it will be more about continuing to develop each category across fashion and homeware, while bringing in newness every week.”
In a tough retail environment, what do you believe is the secret to the company’s success?
“If in doubt, keep it simple. And remember that your team are your single biggest asset. We therefore stick to our philosophy and our values and it has worked for us so far.”
Looking back over the past 25 years, what’s been your personal high point so far?
“It came right at the very beginning. I was driving home after my first Saturday in the store believing I could make a career out of this. I had taken £1,000 and was euphoric that my gamble into the complete unknown appeared to have paid off.”
Top: The Oliver Bonas store Leamington Spa is among the newest shops to open this year.
