Fashion design company set to strut its stuff on international stage
A Lancaster-based fashion design company is building on its market presence in the UK, Europe and Japan after establishing links with companies in China, which now manufacture its product range.
LYPH (Live Young Play Hard) says its headcount is expected to rise from two to seven staff and turnover from zero to £500,000 in three years.
Established in May 2016 by fashion designer Frederick Edmondson and his wife Jemma, LYPH specialises in wholesale contemporary streetwear with interchangeable pockets.
Its designs have already generated coverage in the March 2017 edition of style magazine Vogue.
Frederick Edmondson, who has enjoyed a career with major fashion houses including Paul Smith and All Saints, wanted to start his own business after returning to the UK with Jemma from Amsterdam, where he worked for Tommy Hilfiger.
The company has been supported on its path to growth by Boost, Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub is led by the Lancashire LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership) and Lancashire County Council, and supported by funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Frederick said: “The support and information we received from Boost has been nothing short of magical. We have already gained a better understanding of business operations and this helped secure orders at autumn 2017 trade shows.
“The Boost growth mentoring programme has empowered us to adopt a ‘don’t panic – find a solution’ approach and this has been of great help when implementing our business development plan.”
Community and Business Partners matched Frederick and Jemma with business mentor and expansion expert Nigel Beevers.
Jaydee Davies, operations manager from Community and Business Partners, said: “Nigel delivered 12 hours of one-to-one mentoring around business growth, which included how to structure a business using the creative element of enterprise as well as buying, merchandising, importing, pricing analysis and financial projections.
“Nigel worked with Frederick and Jemma to produce three year sales forecasts, along with cash flow reviews to identify shortfalls and we converted forecasts to a value table with an effective cash flow prediction model.”
