By Mark Williamson
A clothing retailer founded by a young entrepreneur in her bedroom has quadrupled employee numbers this year after enjoying a boom in online sales amid the coronavirus crisis.
Little Lies recruited nine additional workers to help meet demand for a range of goods which includes boho fashion products and homeware items such as skull-shaped storage jars.
Founder Jade Robertson said orders have come from across the UK and from overseas markets including Germany, Australia, the US and the middle east.
The company recently moved into a new base near Perth after running out of space in its former Dundee store.
Little Lies appears to have reaped rewards for investing in growing its online presence at a time when people around the world were using the internet to buy goods while physical stores were closed. The business has accumulated almost 125,000 social media followers.
“Like everyone in retail we were really worried when lockdown hit - there was a noticeable drop in sales for a week or two and our city centre store was obviously closed,” said Ms Robertson.
“We refocussed and redoubled our online efforts - which was how we started and where most of our customers are anyway - and saw a huge uptick in sales as we got into April and May and right through the summer.”
Ms Robertson said the growth allowed Little Lies to speed up its expansion plans. The company closed its Dundee store after the lease ended, to focus its efforts on its online boutique. The staff who worked in the store remain with the business. Ms Robertson started the firm in Kirkcaldy in 2015.
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