The renaissance of independent retailers and brands has provided rich pickings for shops and producers that want to connect and do business with each other. Here are the stories of some that have teamed up via Ankorstore, an online platform designed as a B2B marketplace.
‘It opens up a whole new world’
Sophie McEwan started her retail business Quince & Cook online in 2014. But she and husband Neil kept the dream of turning it into a physical store alive. Finally, after years of saving and a six-month delay caused by Covid, they opened the doors to their first shop in October 2020 in Perth, Scotland. “We’ve been working our socks off ever since but it’s been going really well. Our local community has been incredibly supportive, coming in and keeping us going,” says Sophie.
Keeping an ever-changing selection of interesting products is something Sophie prides herself on, but the lack of in-person trade fairs during the Covid-19 pandemic made it much harder to discover new makers. That’s where Ankorstore came in. “It’s almost like an online trade show. There’s a huge selection and you can buy in small quantities too, which gives me the flexibility to keep trying different brands.” And if you’re not happy with anything, you just send it back, she adds. “You’re not left in the lurch or stuck with stock that isn’t living up to expectations.” She now orders about 50% of her shop’s stock from Ankorstore.
As with any new business, cashflow has been difficult to manage, particularly because many of the independent brands Quince & Cook stocks have to be paid in advance. Working with Ankorstore is different, as it offers 60-day payment terms. “There’s a brand called Miniml that we stock in the refill shop. We’ve bought from them for years but they don’t offer credit. Now they’ve signed up on Ankorstore, which is fantastic because it means we don’t have to pay for orders upfront.” The platform has also made it easier to discover smaller brands that wouldn’t have been able to afford to attend trade shows, and independent makers from Europe and North America. “It opens up a whole new world, so you can mix and match to create something truly unique and curated.”
‘I didn’t expect them to be so helpful’
After a long career as a special needs teacher, Caroline Bee was walking along a Cornish beach when she resolved to do something about the rubbish that was washing up on the shore. Coupled with some volunteering experience at a nearby bee centre and a previous art and design degree, she was inspired to create a range of reusable beeswax food wraps to sell at local markets. Bee Retro was born. “We officially launched in 2019 and that year was amazing. The wraps were really well received and we booked into as many festivals and fairs as we could,” says Bee. “Then Covid hit.”
She pivoted to making cotton face masks to see her through the pandemic, started to stock other people’s products on her stalls (such as bamboo straws and plastic-free lunchboxes), and looked at expanding the business’s trade channels so she wasn’t so reliant on selling direct to the customer. One of the brands she buys stock from recommended Ankorstore. “I’m not on the internet a lot so it’s proved to be a really good way of selling,” says Bee. “I didn’t expect them to be so helpful. I’ve got my own brand manager and we meet every two weeks to see how I can keep my sales up. She’s been amazing.”
She’s still doing the occasional trade show but will use Ankorstore to push orders through. One thing that’s surprised her most about becoming an entrepreneur is where the interest comes from. Bee Retro beeswax wraps are now stocked in locations as varied as a zoo and an airport. “You just have to find your fit,” she adds. “And it’s not always the fit you think it’s going to be when you start out.”
‘They align with my values’
Katy Davies had always wanted to start her own business. But it wasn’t until she was furloughed from her job in international development during the pandemic that she had the time or impetus to do something about it. “Sat in the garden during that glorious summer, I thought it’s now or never, really,” she says. “I treated it a bit like a sabbatical from work. I spent the whole summer researching and finding out what kind of brand it would be. I wanted it to be something meaningful.”
She founded Ecojiko in late 2020. The online, plastic-free shop sells products such as a zero-waste kitchen starter kit, and customisable pot scrubbers and dish brushes. “My partner is a bit of a tech whiz and built a laser engraver. That really got us noticed.” When Davies was diagnosed with breast cancer last October, she released a range of pot scrubbers called “boob scrubbers”, to provide a visual reminder for women to check themselves regularly and raise money for CancerCare. “I kept it hidden for a while,” she says of her diagnosis. “But the pot scrubbers have been really popular and it’s heartwarming to share stories with other brands and stockists.”
When making plans to grow the business, she considered linking up with an e-commerce giant, but chose not to because “it didn’t align with my values,” she says. She was then approached by Ankorstore and has been impressed with its support for small independent brands. “They’re really proactive and have given me lots of advice about how to build sales, how to display the brand, run promotions, create bundles, etc. The dashboard is really good too and makes it easy to control orders and arrange shipping.” Her account manager also provided assistance when navigating new export rules after Brexit, and Ecojiko now has stockists in France and Scandinavia. “We have about 180 stockists around the world. And it’s built our network with other brands too. It’s full-steam ahead.”
To find out more or register with Ankorstore, visit ankorstore.com
