Attire Accessories - May/Jun 2018 (Issue 70)

94 ATTIRE really easy to navigate and non-invasive. It’s important to us that people feel really comfortable and at ease in the space as well as online. How important was it that the store had a female angle? Super important. It is the crux of the whole business! As mentioned above, this was the first, women’s only sneaker store for the UK so it was a great opportunity to present this to women who had been looking for this kind of space and offering. Do you offer accessory lines and how do these support the rest of your product offering? We offer accessories as part of our lifestyle section. Accessories range from sunglasses and hats to gloves and socks. We also have a beautiful offering of jewellery from local and international artisans. We find offering accessories very important as we often have women coming in who need a full outfit for an event, or some that may have just had sneakers in mind, but end up with socks to match as well as a necklace as an extra treat! Accessories are always perfect gifts, too, and it’s always lovely having a horde of men stop by at Christmas to pick up little things. What is your customer base? The average Pam Pam age range is perhaps mid 30’s. Having said that, we do get a very broad range of ages and style types that shop with us, which is wonderful. Often when we have a feature in the Evening Standard, we get a few ladies that are over 60 searching for comfortable, everyday footwear. On the opposite end, we have a lot of younger women coming in looking for the latest sneakers. How do you go about sourcing new product? We go by a few different methods. Social media platforms have definitely been a big winner when it comes to discovering new product. Word of mouth is always quite lovely too, especially when it is about local labels. A number of brands tend to reach out to us via social media and email also, which is always nice! When was your website launched and how does this support your bricks and mortar store? Our website launched in June, 2015. Since that time, the online store has grown an exponential amount and we have gained a lot of international customers. We find the online store supports the shop beautifully by essentially just being an extension of the physical space.The online shop is clean and easy to navigate, just like the store, and we often have locals shopping online and collecting in store for ease. Having a physical space, however, is always beneficial and there will always be those that enjoy having an in-store experience – trying on the product, receiving advice etc. We often have international visitors that have seen us online and want to check out the space, which is always so nice! How important is the back story to the company? The back story is definitely important. Bethany and I don’t think ours is particularly exciting, per se, but it is always nice to hear about how a brand starts and where it comes from. We are both really easy going, creative people that just had this super cool idea and happened to make it work at exactly the right time. Back stories are definitely important, but what is even better are the stories and experiences that we have made and gained from creating the company. What has been your stand-out moment since opening the store, and why? I think the fact that we opened the store and it is still trading is pretty special! We have been lucky to have been so accepted since the get-go by wonderful women (and some men) the world over. Retail can be extremely hard, but we take each day at a time and love whatever experiences, friendships and stories we make. To have been welcomed by all the major brands was really cool. So many of them were on board with us from day one and offered us the best of the best because they believed in us and our vision. It’s a pretty cool thing to get so much support from such big players. It has also been wonderful to be able to make connections with and assist local labels and artisans too. How do you view the footwear and accessories retail market at present, and what advice would you give other retailers? For women, the market looks great! We think that if you own a business, the most important thing is to 100 per cent get behind the product you sell. It may seem like such an obvious thing to suggest, but it definitely makes a big difference and it is funny sometimes how we all sometimes bypass our natural instincts. Gut feelings are the best and should be listened to. What are your future plans for the business? We would love to continue to grow Pam Pam into an internationally recognised destination for women to shop the latest in the best sneakers, clothing and accessories. We have been very fortunate thus far and, from where we are currently standing and for what we have planned, the future is looking pretty cool. A A Contact Pam Pam London +44 (0)20 3601 7860 pampamlondon.com