LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Atterley.com, a global retailing platform allowing fashion retailers to sell their handpicked inventory online to discerning consumers, is set to launch in July and will ship to 22 countries on day one in the first phase of its strategy to create an inclusive low cost international marketplace for boutiques which will be the largest network of its kind.
The team is rapidly assembling a group of ‘founding partners’ in the UK and internationally ahead of launch, including Edinburgh-based Jane Davidson, an award winning boutique owned and run by Sarah Murray. Sarah Murray is also joining the Atterley team as an adviser as Atterley.com focuses on delivering a world-class customer experience.
Mike Welch, CEO and founder of Blackcircles.com, bought the IP assets of the business in February and the executive team has repositioned Atterley.com as the go-to site for independent fashion boutiques who want to gain access to a much larger customer base in the UK and internationally. Atterley.com has a consumer database of approximately 250,000 registered users, Instagram followers of over 10,000 and Facebook followers in the region of 25,000.
Investor and non-executive chairman, Mike Welch, said: “By assembling a network under the Atterley brand, we can create economies of scale in product range, marketing and distribution costs that makes online very viable for our boutique partners, many of whom have previously found it challenging to operate online.”
“Sarah Murray brings what I’d describe as the ‘conscience of the boutique’ to Atterley.com thinking and decision-making, ensuring we always stay true to the founding vision of supporting the independents first and foremost. It is a very similar approach that allowed us to win market share for over 1,500 independent garages versus the high street and establish Blackcircles.com as the UK’s number one online tyre retailer.”
Sarah Murray said: “Boutiques like ours face increasing challenges from bigger players on the high street and online. We think Atterley.com can help to turn the tables. With refreshingly low commission rates, cutting edge technology and its clear mission to champion the independents and democratise the marketplace we're extremely pleased to have become a founding partner. On a personal level, I very much look forward to bringing my own experience to the Atterley.com team.”
Atterley.com CMO Nick Freer said: “The incredible reaction we’ve had from boutiques combined with the progress made on the site itself means we’re ahead of timetable and in position to start trading online by July. The boutiques we’ve been speaking to over the last few weeks are telling us they are excited to have a platform that will allow them to go after market share again - against both the high street and other online fashion brands - and with the tools to make this happen.”
Boutiques can sign up to join the Atterley network at www.atterley.com
Follow Atterley on Twitter at @weareatterley and on Facebook and Instagram
- Founded in 1969, Jane Davidson is one of the UK’s top women’s fashion boutiques and is based over 4 floors of a Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh’s New Town. The boutique stocks a range of national and international fashion brands, many on an exclusive basis in Scotland.
- Mike Welch is one of the UK’s leading online retail entrepreneurs - Blackcircles.com was sold to Michelin for £50 million in May 2015.
- Retail research agency Conlumino predicts value of online UK fashion sales to reach £7.5 billion by 2017.
