A student entrepreneur who works part time in Fenwick is now selling her own skiwear range on the department store's shelves.
Renee Fraser-Shepherd, a business studies student at Northumbria University, recently launched Sloobie Skiwear having spotted a gap in the market for refined base layers used by skiers. The 21 year-old, from Jesmond, had been inspired by the Young Enterprise programme and developed the idea for Sloobie two years ago.
It has since launched achieving sales in the US and Norway, and is now available closer to home in Fenwick's flagship Newcastle store. Renee, who is a regular skier, found the clothing market is split into technical skiing and lifestyle skiing with emphasis on the apres ski activities.
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She said: "Basically, the question was: why is that when we go on our summer holiday you pack an outfit for every single night and then when you go skiing its all about staying warm, but the demographic that attracts is the lucrative, high disposable income bracket that is really interested in fashion. It didn't make sense to me.
"On top of that base layers have always been super frumpy, and they've always made me feel uncomfortable. And they've always been black or really illuminous in tacky colours. I set about starting my own skiwear company that would create great shapewear in the products."
Getting the idea off the ground took Renee to various third parties before she settled on a China-based manufacturer, which helped her develop a unique material using specialist compression technology. The young entrepreneur hopes the innovation will give her shape-enhancing clothing an edge on established rivals such as Sweaty Betty.
She added: "I've worked in Fenwick for the past six years, but I work for Reiss. A lot of our customers were asking for skiwear and apart from Go Outdoors there's literally nowhere in Newcastle you can find fashionable skiwear. So, I pitched to the divisional sales manager to do a skiwear event where I could have a stand. When she heard about the gap in the market she asked if I'd like to be a concession in Fenwick.
"The fact that I've worked there throughout my whole degree and now I'm launching my own business in Fenwick is crazy."
Having started off with a limited collection and stock imported and stored in Renee's bedroom before it is shipped to customers, it is now hoped Sloobie will grow. Renee is using TikTok to market the products and in time hopes to expand into other retailers.
Lee Longstaff, Northumbria University’s enterprise adviser on the Graduate Futures Team, added: "We think Renee has a very bright future ahead of her. She is passionate about her business and keen to do everything she can to create awareness about the Sloobie brand. She should go far and we wish her all the very best for the future. We will continue to give her as much support as we can in the meantime."
Donna Bolton, divisional sales manager at Fenwick, said: "We are excited about stocking Sloobie in our flagship store, especially with the history of Renee working here. It feels like a proud moment for all of us, and we are happy to be here supporting."
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