Wedding firm out to forge a happy union overseas
A WEST Midlands designer of wedding shoes is hoping to expand her brand across North America and beyond when she attends a US bridal fair next month.
Rachel Simpson, of Rachel Simpson Ltd, is heading to the trade show in New York as part of International Bridal Week (October 8-10). She is being supported by advisors from the Department for International Trade in Birmingham.
The visit follows a successful trip to the Big Apple in March for the spring edition of the bridal show. During that visit she attracted interest from more than four independent bridal boutiques, including stores in New York, Chicago and Ohio.
From that one show alone, her company took significant revenue in orders, a substantial increase on its debut show the previous October.
Ms Simpson, whose firm is based at Kings Norton Business Centre where she employs 13 people, said: “We went to the bridal show in October last year for the first time, knowing that it would take at least three shows to really start to get decent interest. 
“The March show proved to be a great second show for us and thanks to assistance and support from the Department for International Trade, we are able to attend the show again this year.
“This is a key show, and a great international platform, and we’re hoping to get even more orders this time. We’re focusing our efforts on the North America market but there are also buyers from the Far East and Europe attending, so it could potentially introduce us to a number of new markets.”
Working with the former UKTI – which has now been superseded by the Department for International Trade, over the last six years she has steadily built up her international profile.
After taking advice on its eCommerce platforms, attending masterclasses and learning export basics, the company now exports about 30% of its wedding shoes and accessories, which is worth approximately £300,000 year.
“Exporting is becoming a very big part of our business and we are looking far more strategically so that we can attract bigger accounts that need higher volumes,” added Ms Simpson.
