With just £600 and the desire to send her children to a better school, Julie Deane was heading up the multi-million global hit brand The Cambridge Satchel Company in under five years.
With no previous experience in design and relying on the help of her mother, she came up with a traditional leather-style satchel originally meant for schoolchildren. Julie then spent three months being rejected by manufacturers until she turned at the doorstep of a Scottish factory, who, despite saying that no-one would want them, agreed to produce a batch for her.
After being featured in the 2009 Guardian Christmas Gift Guide (as a men’s accessory), coverage by international fashion magazines and a collaboration with the fashion brand Comme des Garçons, production of the satchels increased from three homemade items a week to 1,500 in 2011, and turnover increased from £15,000 to an estimated £8m in 2011.
Key achievements
- Taking her small business from making three satchels a week to 500 a day, and selling them in 86 countries, making £13m in sales in five years.
- During the past 12 months, Deane has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for the firm’s success in exporting.
- Named Entrepreneur of the Year at the European Business Awards in June.
Lessons for your store
- Start with good intentions – Julie began with the desire to take her daughter out of the school where she was being bullied.
- Don’t let lack of qualifications hold you back – Julie had no previous experience in design before creating her best-selling satchel.
- Be flexible – Julie’s initial designs were made for children, and are now highly valued by fashion lovers across the globe.
