Going by the sales of E L James’s Fifty Shades trilogy, Britain is no longer a nation of prudes when it comes to sex.
A new-found sense of adventure is sweeping the country, inspired by Christian Grey’s exploits with Anastasia Steele, and if you believe the hype, it’s no longer just our upper lips that are stiff.
One company hoping to benefit from this sexual revolution is Bluebella, the luxury brand that has a lucrative contract to produce lingerie and nightwear in the UK and Ireland ahead of the Fifty Shades of Grey film, which is due out next year.
Its founder, Emily Bendell, says that although fewer Brits splash out on fancy lingerie than our continental cousins, the opportunity is huge for her company over the next few years.
“If you grab most British women and ask them to name 10 handbag or shoe brands, they would reel them off but provocative lingerie is different,” she says. “Across the industry, we can see the effect the book is having though. It’s opening people’s minds and encouraging them to try new things and talk to their friends openly. It has been unbelievable.”
The Bluebella story began at Oxford University, where Bendell studied PPE. However, it was not the lessons learnt in the lecture halls that inspired the business but her love of luxury goods — and lack of money to spend.
“I adored all the beautiful brands that were out there but I couldn’t afford to buy any of them when I was a student,” she adds. “I thought it was very curious that there wasn’t anything in that space for the Sex and The City generation. Eventually, I convinced myself that there was a sufficient gap in the market and after a short stint as a journalist in London moved back to my dad’s in Nottingham to cut all my outgoings and started work on the business.”
Bendell originally tested the market by selling boutique lingerie brands to family and friends through home parties. After some initial success, she began creating her own designs, all at an affordable price, and eventually recruited a network of sales agents to expand across the country.
Once up and running, Bendell realised she needed to invest in technology and find a warehouse to store the company’s ever-expanding range of products. All of this required capital, which she realised was going to be a challenge to locate: “I needed to find investors who understand my brand, so I decided to hold an event in London in 2009. I invited a range of potential investors, many of whom I had cold-called, and presented the business to them.
“A lot of the people there were either high net worth women or experienced female business leaders, who I found were incredibly responsive to what I was doing. It was through the event that I met Addidi, a female angel network. We were their first investment.”
Almost a decade later, Bluebella is a company that is expected to post revenues of £5 million this year. The company was also named Small Business of the Year at the Women of Worth Awards in 2011, an event that put Bendell on a collision course with staunch Catholic Ann Widdecombe when she went up to collect her prize.
“As I walked down to the stage, she must have said she didn’t want to give me the award and I noticed a kerfuffle as she handed it over. It was quite awkward and she said that she hoped I understood.”
Bendell says that budding entrepreneurs must be ready to make “lots of mistakes” as they are starting out. She adds: “There’s a lot of help out there and if you’re under 30, Start Up Loans is a good place to begin. It’s a good scheme because you get capital and a mentor. The Government has put a lot more money into the scheme.”
Looking ahead, Bendell says the company plans to expand in markets including France, Australia, Germany and the United States. However, her mission statement remains the same: “I want Bluebella to be the first name on people’s lips when they think ‘I want to treat myself’.”
Bluebella
Founded: 2005
Staff: 11 full time, plus 1000 self-employed consultants
Turnover: £1.6 million (2013)
Business idol: Natalie Massenet — “For revolutionising the way we buy clothes and creating a brand breathtakingly gorgeous from every angle.”
