Attire Accessories - Nov/Dec 2019 (Issue 79)

80 What is it that sets you apart from your competitors? What sets Soul Analyse apart is that the company started as a blog with the purpose of making a difference to people’s lives. It is important to us to continue making emotional connections with anyone that interacts with the brand. We’ve got to know our customers on a personal level. We’ve heard about their difficult times, their triumphs and we have been part of their journeys. As a result, we haven’t created customers or even fans, we’ve created friends. Soul Analyse is a lifestyle brand – how important is the history of the company to its success as a jewellery brand? Soul Analyse isn’t known as a jewellery brand, and that’s the key to our growth. We’ve looked after our audience and the sales have looked after themselves. The sheer amount of content that is shown online today makes it really difficult for any retailer to cut through the noise and get their product seen. Many people find us because they come to our website to read a piece of content that is free, genuinely useful and doesn’t have an ulterior motive. Has the product offering changed since you started and how would you describe your current collection? We are always innovating and looking at new ways of creating meaningful pieces that look beautiful too. This summer we added a collection of friendship tie bracelets to the range, which have been a big hit. It was the ideal time to launch as they have a summery feel about them. How often do you launch new lines? We launch new lines three to four times a year. What trade shows do you attend and why? This year we attended Pure London and Home & Gift. Soul Analyse is fairly new to trade shows so we wanted to dip our toes in the water and get a feel for which shows worked best for our brand. Home & Gift was our biggest success. Our jewellery works brilliantly as gifts and retailers seemed to love the concept behind it! What are your current best-selling designs? The ‘I am enough’ bracelet has been our best- seller pretty much since the start and continues to do well today. The rope tie bracelets we launched this summer have quickly become popular. We also recently launched a men’s collection, which is selling very well. Men’s mental health is a big topic right now, so it was important for us not to exclude men from The I AM Range. When was the website launched and how does it support the business? The website was launched in 2015, a year before The I AM Range began. The Soul Analyse site really is our home. We have created an online hub where our audience can come to read an uplifting blog post or purchase a piece of jewellery that gives them a boost. What have been the key milestones in the business? • Soul Analyse launched as a blog in 2015 • The I AM range was launched in November 2016 • Throughout 2017 we got seen by millions of social media users as a result of collaborations. • In 2018 we began a wholesale offering after being approached by several retailers wanting to stock the range. This was also an exciting year for press – we were approached by Forbes for an interview, along with mainstream media magazines and newspapers. • This year has been when we have focused on wholesale. We began exhibiting at trade shows, and are now stocked in over 100 retailers, including several department stores such as House of Fraser and Shaws in Ireland. How do you view the current market and what trends, both in business and product, do you see emerging over the coming months? The last couple of years have seen a huge change in the way audiences connect with brands. A product alone is not enough anymore. Consumers expect retailers to provide more than just a transaction, they want retailers to make them feel good about themselves. This is why the likes of ASOS and H&M have changed their messaging to celebrate body positivity. Products that are more than just aesthetically pleasing will be the ones to prosper. What are your future plans for the business? The aim for Soul Analyse is to carry on providing content and products that make a difference to people’s lives. The content side of what we do is an integral part of Soul Analyse and we have plans to venture down the publishing route in the near future. It’s also important to us to give back and we are planning to launch a charity line where all proceeds will go to a good cause. SOUL ANALYSE +44 (0)800 118 2613 soulanalyse.com @soulanalyse