Spotlight on independent retailers: Bumble Bee

In the midst of the pandemic, the high street saw a subtle face lift that once again favoured independents, as consumers began looking towards what is right outside their front door instead of venturing into town.

Bumble Bee is part of this ongoing resurgence of local shops in city suburbs that have brought this spirit back to the high street. The concept, which was formed around owner Vanessa Stephenson’s personal taste and ability to translate customer desires, fits snuggly into the store’s location, where it sits alongside other like-minded small businesses in a cosy corner of Newcastle.

Much of Bumble Bee’s success comes down to Stephenson’s personal approach to business; not seeing customers as customers, but as people. Talking with FashionUnited, Stephenson spoke on her experience as a high street store owner over the past two years and what this dramatic shift in retail means for Bumble Bee.

Where did the Bumble Bee concept come from?

Since I was a child I always wanted a shop and through my teens my mum said I should open a clothing store, purely because I was so interested in clothing. This was always in the back of my mind and when this particular location became available I thought I should just go for it. The name came about because my grandmother, who I adored, had the maiden name Bee. I eventually settled on Bumble Bee, which worked out because bumble bees are something we can’t live without and you also can’t live without our store. What we have is what you need for life.

What made you settle on this location?

We wanted to be a part of the community and be a little different. I opened here because this space became available, and I thought Jesmond could do with a bridge between different price ranges. We sit nicely in the middle. We wanted to bring something to Jesmond that no one else was doing, that was the idea.

How do you select the products to feature?

When I started out, I didn’t have much experience in fashion so I just found brands that I liked, listened to other people and picked up ideas. We are constantly changing depending on the season and we drop and pick up brands as and when we feel it is appropriate. We evolve with our customers. Some seasons a brand will have an amazing collection so you can do quite a big order, and other seasons the collection will not be as strong so you might not order at all. It isn’t just about the label for me. It’s also about the quality, the price point and style. If they have got a really good sustainability message, that is even better.

Who would you say the typical Bumble Bee customer is?

We sometimes get students in, but not very often. Generally, it is working women or mums, 35 to 55 typically. Most of the customers that come into the shop we have a really good laugh with because they are our kind of women.

Has the pandemic affected the business?

We only had about one year under our belt and then the pandemic hit. Obviously, we would be doing much better without the current circumstances, that was always going to be the case. We were very lucky that we were already active online, so we just had to utilise that a lot more during the lockdown. We came up with ways to engage customers, like changing the windows regularly, which a lot of locals noticed, and doing local deliveries. We upped our social media and started doing a lot more on Instagram. We ploughed on and we were lucky that we had lots of support.

You do tend to think that if the pandemic wouldn’t have happened, we wouldn’t have done all of this. It did force me to think outside the box and a lot of boutiques had to become a lot more creative in some aspects. We had to look at the positives, which were that we increased our online sales, we increased our social media following and we are still here.

What's the market like in Newcastle for fashion businesses in general?

I’m very lucky with my location. I think it’s the best street in Newcastle, bar none. The town centre is just old chains, but when you look at the suburbs we are in a good location. People in the community and businesses on this road recommend our store. If someone goes for brunch at the café down the road, they will come here afterwards. I have definitely seen more people decide to shop local, there is definitely more appetite for it now. Even if they are shopping online, they’re looking for independents or platforms supporting independents.

What do you think it is about the suburbs that draws retailers and customers here instead of the city centre?

It’s a more pleasant experience. I find that town can often feel sterile and impersonal. It tends to be a place you go to when you really need something. Here, we fold everything in tissue and put a little sticker on it. Everything is thought out. On the high street there are loads of great indies, so there is less of a need to go into town.

Have you seen any significant changes in the high street over the past two years?

We are really lucky that we are all still here. I haven’t noticed that much, apart from a lot of the big guys have gone, which makes more room for the little guys. It could be related to fear - customers not wanting to go into the town centre because they don’t want to be surrounded by so many people. Whatever it is, there is definitely a shift.

Do you have any plans to continue expanding your store?

Not physically. It will stay here and the expansion will be online. We want to drive online sales so that the expansion is depth, not breadth. We aren’t looking to have the biggest store or the most brands. We just want to make the buying deeper. We will always be here, so we are only going to ever have the market that we have. It won’t increase massively. Any increase will be seen online from reaching different parts of the world.

Why is the online aspect so important for your business?

We have to compete and if there is a way that we can reach more people then we do it. Our website has grown, mostly thanks to Instagram and Facebook. Most recently, we started doing Reels which has helped our following increase, so we are seeing orders come through from people we haven't seen before who usually have found us on Instagram. Even our local customers order online and collect in the store. If we were going to grow bricks-and-mortar-wise, the overheads would just be too high.

Do you follow a specific social media strategy?

We split the tasks. I do stories, which are always very personal. I get a lot of customers that come in and say that they feel like they know me because of my Instagram. I talk a lot about my family and my nonsensical life and include some fashion next to it. Laura, who works for me, does reels, usually once a week. We possibly don’t post as much as we should. We just do things when we feel it’s appropriate.

What are the benefits of being an independent retailer today?

Since the pandemic, I think people have moved towards independents more. I think they have realised the value of their local high street and what is going on around them. We get to know visitors not just as customers or people passing through. We know them by name or face. We also offer a great loyalty scheme. I think people feel more inclined to go to smaller boutiques. We can bring in brands the bigger stores don’t, often because they don’t do the volumes, for example.

What has been the biggest learning curve since opening?

For me, it’s been 100 percent stock: how to get stock right, not over buying, predicting what we would need, and so on. You don’t want to overburden yourself. It’s a really fine line to walk.