When Jodie Tanner opened her own small business near her home in the Vale of Glamorgan she insisted it was just a hobby. The mother-of-two from Barry set up the Queen B Boutique in Penarth after her 25 years of banking had turned stale, and nothing could have prepared her for what was to come.
“I’ve lived my life for people and to please others, and my job turned into a box-ticking exercise,” she told WalesOnline from inside her first ever store in the town’s Stanwell Road, which is currently recovering from a large fire caused by alleged arson last month. She has no idea when it will be back to normal, but it’s telling of her character that even while recovering from a pandemic and a fire, she’s announced plans to open her biggest store yet at St David’s shopping centre in Cardiff in the next month.
In Jodie’s second Penarth store just next door, it is immediately apparent how many staff there are for such a small shop. “We’re overstaffed, yes,” she laughed. “That’s because of the fire. They’d be in both stores usually. I couldn’t tell them they weren’t getting their full hours and full pay though, I couldn’t do that to anyone. They’ve supported me in making this business what it is and have been amazingly loyal.”
As well as the stores in Penarth the business has also expanded into Barry town centre and now Cardiff. “I can’t say I’m not scared,” she said of her new venture in St David’s next door to Castle Fine Art and The White Company. “Everything in life is a risk isn’t it? We’ll do our best and hope we can make a real success of it. I’ve actually been blown away by St David’s willingness to have us.”
As well as her hardworking team, she puts the business’s brilliant success down to ability to change quickly, and a life-changing decision to offer top of the range occasion wear which people are prepared to travel hundreds of miles for. “I started the shop as a hobby because I loved shoes, but people were often coming in and asking me about the clothes I was wearing, so I went into casual fashion,” she recalled of her early years since starting the business in 2009.
“But once I realised the demand for full on occasion wear and started offering it, things just exploded. There is a clear demand for it. It’s huge, people travel from all over for it and pay a lot of money.”
Things haven’t always been this good for Jodie and husband and business partner Paul. After taking on a second store in Penarth in 2020 - which became their third store in total including their Barry High Street branch - they had to navigate the challenges of Covid with a new store and little stock.
“Events weren’t happening during the pandemic and so it all dried up - no-one had any need to buy things like occasion wear,” Jodie explained. “An across-the-spectrum boutique is the mainstay of our business but with two years of no weddings it became very difficult to survive.
“When the second Penarth branch became available and we moved in we didn’t have enough stock to fill the store, so we made it into a Christmas shop instead. We took the business home during lockdown and sold casual items and then spent the time building our e-commerce platform. It became very stressful from a financial point of view because I care so much about the staff and keeping them in full-time work, and the furlough scheme wasn’t enough.”
The business had been enjoying its best year to date with dresses flying off the shelves in recent months, until the fire - allegedly caused by arson - wrecked the front of the original store and left many items damaged. “It was heart-breaking, because the occasion wear had been doing phenomenally with so many events back on and weddings almost every weekend,” Jodie continued. “All those difficulties had almost been worthwhile with how we’d done this year, and then the fire hit us. Honestly, I thought to myself: ‘I just can’t do this anymore. I haven’t got the strength in me to do it and to go again and rebuild this business.’
“I spent two weeks crying with stress. But I had to pull myself out of it. We can’t let a stupid act ruin something that could be phenomenal.”
Despite the fire, demand continues to soar for the stunning dresses and more are travelling from as far as Scotland and the north of England for a fitting. So much so the business could no longer meet demand without further expansion.
“We couldn’t cope with the demand for appointments on a daily basis,” Jodie continued. “We’ve been getting calls from people saying they’ve been in St David’s but couldn’t find what they were looking for and were told about us.
“That got us thinking about whether it would be feasible for us to go for it and try and get into St David’s ourselves. We made some phone calls and asked what the process was, and they’ve been really keen ever since.
“I am as surprised as anyone that we’re doing it. I still feel like little independent Jodie Tanner, so for the management at St David’s to have given me this support is quite overwhelming.”
The financial burden of taking on a store in one of Wales’ busiest shopping districts is not lost on her. “I am nervous. It’s quite a financial risk, of course. But so is everything I’ve done. If you don’t have nerves taking a step like this then I think you’re a bit arrogant - and I’m not an arrogant person.
“I think the apprehension I’m feeling at the moment is healthy. Let’s see what happens. It’s a sizable financial commitment, isn’t it? I think in the world we are living, nothing is for sure and we’re taking a chance with every decision we make. So let’s go for it.
“My life has been a complete rollercoaster of events - both scary and exciting. Paul and I have been through many ups and downs in life and it’s given us a great foundation. I’d never take a risk like this without him and my team by my side.”
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