Mint Velvet; one to watch for multichannel

Womenswear fashion retailer, Mint Velvet, has been listed in the Sunday Times PwC Profit Track 100 ‘Ones to Recognise’ supplement. And it is the retailer’s multichannel strategy, which has contributed to its success, with outsourced It Partner Retail Assist

responsible for the multichannel proceedings.

The company says it was selected to appear on the 2012 list due to the company’s impressive business model and growth over the past three years. Launched in October 2009, the Mint Velvet business grew rapidly, with sales of £12m for the 2010-11 financial year, quadrupling the trading figures achieved in the company’s first year. Furthermore, the business now employs a total of 350 people.

Growth has been rapid, since 2010, when Mint Velvet won the ‘Project Implementation of the Year Award’ at the Retail Week Technology Awards. Stuart Grant, Commercial Director at Mint Velvet comments: “Mint Velvet has continued to successfully expand over the past year and we’re delighted with the recent recognition by the Sunday Times PwC Profit Track 100. The IT solutions we put in place have allowed us to operate as a multichannel retailer from conception. Our outsourced IT partner Retail Assist has supported the entire journey, and are extending this support to work with us on new store rollouts and upgrading our network and hardware in order to meet the needs of the growing business.”

Mint Velvet trades from 91 locations including eight stand alone boutique stores, with an additional three openings planned for Spring 2012 in Harrogate, Guildford and Farnham. The company’s eventual aim is to have 20 to 30 stand-alone stores in affluent market town locations. In addition, Mint Velvet operates 83 concession stores in premium department stores. The brand can now be found in every John Lewis Fashion store.

The team putting together the Fast Track feature was impressed by the fact that Mint Velvet, with the help of Retail Assist, launched as a multichannel business from the outset. Moreover, Mint Velvet has continued to adapt to the ever-changing needs of consumers; the business was quick off the mark in launching a mobile optimised website last year. Retail Assist has also been deploying tablet devices to the Mint Velvet stand-alone boutiques, allowing shoppers in these stores to browse the full Mint Velvet range and pick up styling tips.