Azur is a shoe and accessories boutique with branches in the Hibernian Way, Dublin, and in Greystones, Co Wicklow. The business was established in 2012 by Brigid Whitehead and employs five people on a full and part-time basis.
What sets your business apart from the competition? What makes us different in terms of business ethic is that we offer a very personal service and that we really know our customer. I travel to Milan and London twice a year to buy for our customer who is a professional woman looking for something different. Our products retail between about €150 and €250, which is considered middle-market. I am very hands-on in the business and I'm buying specifically with our customers in mind from the best shows in Europe. With the new shop in Hibernian Way, I want to bring more people into the Azur fold.
What is the best piece of business advice you've ever received? To have a clear vision. To communicate with other business people and to do your research. I spent six months solid doing research before I opened the first shop. I think once you've been in one kind of business, businesses are not that different. It's plausible to switch from one business to another but it is vital to do your research, to have a vision and then, when you decide where you're going, not to dwell on the big picture but to take one step at a time. I started on the journey in 2011 and launched the business eight months later.
Whom do you most admire in business? My late mother Kathleen Whitehead, who passed away last December. She was involved in agribusiness and managed a successful property portfolio. She had six children and a passion for business. She encouraged me to take risks and believe in myself, to never look back, to move on and enjoy the challenge. They say you learn everything in school but your first teachers are your parents.
Her ability to multitask was incredible and she had incredible determination and work ethic. She was also very good with money and had a great sense of when to buy and when to sell. She had a great belief in herself. I see it in other business people, too. They have a confidence and are willing to take responsibility for their actions. They’re not afraid to fall or make a mistake. They take calculated risks, but they do take risks. We’re just passing through, so we should go for it and enjoy the challenge.
What is the biggest mistake you've made in business? Making incorrect purchases in relation to stock. They are costly mistakes. Purchasing too little where the demand is greater than anticipated or the reverse – purchasing too much – which is even worse. In the beginning, it was part of the process of getting to know the customer. It is not really a problem now because we now know our customer better. Buying too much is far more serious – you have to cut your losses and try to get rid of stock by reducing the price. It's bad practice to over-purchase.
Your biggest success to date? Achieving the goal of opening the shop in Greystones in 2012. Getting that up and running and making it a success. It was a difficult time economically, people were asking me if I was insane. At the time, there was no longer a market for what I had been doing with my other business in publishing interiors magazines and I think my greatest success has been overcoming the hurdle of walking away from one business to establish another one. Opening the shop in Hibernian Way was easier – it was building on the experience with the Greystones boutique.
In your opinion are the banks open to business to SMEs? Absolutely not. Luckily I have been able to finance my business on a personal level as the banks have had absolutely no interest in me. What piece of advice would you give the Government to stimulate the economy? Reduce the VAT rate from 23 per cent specific to retail. The rate is higher than anywhere else and it is crippling from the point of view of the retailer and consumer. Something like 17 per cent would be reasonable.
What has been your biggest challenge in business? Trying to market the business in a industry that is dominated by high-street retailers. These retailers have enormous spending power so it's incredibly difficult for independents to survive in the face of that. It's difficult as an independent to compete for location so every high street now looks the same.
What is the short-term future for your business? Building on the success of the first store and making a success of the second store. In the future, the plan might be to add a third shop but, for the foreseeable, it is to make a success of the Hibernian Way store.
What is your business worth and would you sell it? It means the world to me and I wouldn't sell it.
In conversation with Ruth O’Connor
