Just Sheepskin Starting up
Richard Wertheim founded “Just Sheepskin” (www.justsheepskin.com) from scratch in 2002. He built a successful premium brand of consumer goods that were sold via major retailers in the UK. After 10 years Richard sold the business to a large US Consumer Goods company for a seven figure sum.
Clearly, Richard had many experiences along the way of starting, building and selling a successful company and this sets him up to advise the next generation of ambitious business owners.
Creating a Premium Brand & Getting Started...
Richard founded “Just Sheepskin” with the mission to create awareness of the unique comfort that sheepskin offers. He was prepared to take a risk and he raised the initial seed funding from friends and family.
Richard then rented a retail unit in Whiteleys Shopping Centre in Bayswater, London and he imported a variety of sheepskin products from Australia and South Africa.
The purpose of renting this retail unit was to establish which sheepskin products appealed most to customers and at what price points. This initial range included sheepskin slippers, boots, hats and gloves.
While operating this retail unit, Richard gathered valuable customer feedback together with detailed sales data that proved pivotal in the future direction of the “Just Sheepskin” brand. He learnt which sheepskin products were most desired by customers, in which colours and also established acceptable retail selling prices.
Richard then opened an additional retail unit in Harlequin Shopping Centre (now called Atria) in Watford, Hertfordshire. This retail unit gave him additional consumer insights but from a different geographical area.
Big brave decision to change Business Models
Richard’s background in finance led him to always be looking at the numbers and thinking about the business model. Although he started out in “retail”, Richard realised there was a bigger, better business opportunity in creating a “premium consumer BRAND” with a good quality range of products. It was at this point that the “Just Sheepskin” consumer brand was born.
Importantly, Richard had developed a different and stronger business model by reducing the business risks associated with high fixed costs that come with a retail business model and instead moved to a much leaner cost base by creating a branded consumer goods company. By using his financial training and business acumen, he had found a less risky business model that actually had far bigger potential.
Richard decided that it was important to create a premium brand and in doing so, he ensured that all “Just Sheepskin” products consistently met the highest quality standards.
In this way, “Just Sheepskin” could build trust with its customers and develop a loyal customer base who would come back time and again to make repeat purchases due to their love and trust in the brand’s products and they would be prepared to pay premium prices.
By starting off in the retail environment, Richard had learnt a lot about what the consumer valued and how much they were prepared to pay.
Seeing the Big Picture can add lots of value
It is important that business owners are constantly looking at their business model and that they are prepared to take brave decisions when a lower risk/potentially higher return business model presents itself.
Importantly, Richard’s hands on business experience sets him up to support retail and premium consumer goods businesses. He has been a finance professional and business owner who has successfully founded, built and sold a premium consumer brand.