Monday Interview: Stacey Dennis, founder of Love Layla
The founder of a cards and gifts business has attributed her firm’s fast growth to its ability to remain relatable and approachable while reacting rapidly to change.
Pontefract-based company Love Layla was set up almost five years ago by former freelance graphic designer Stacey Dennis, who now runs the firm with her husband Jason.
Dennis explained how she and her husband had been “rock bottom skint” after she was made redundant and he suffered an injury at work.
The humorous, highly distinctive brand they came up with was named after their daughter, Layla, who was nearly one-years-old when the enterprise began.
It has since expanded to become a multi-million-pound operation with a franchise arm in Australia.
Commenting on how the business was launched, Dennis explained: “We started with just 11 greeting card designs, but we soon went viral on social media. It was crazy.
“I did have a bit of a printing background but so much of what we’ve learned we actually taught ourselves.
“First we sold 4,000 Valentine’s Day cards, then 6,000 Mother’s Day cards, and then 45,000 Father’s Day cards. This was all within just a few months.
“We built things up between the two of us, with a lot of long working hours, sleepless nights and trying to work out what we needed to do next. We turned over one million in our first year.”
She said in terms of staff numbers the business remains a small operation, with its activities handled by a team of four based in Tavern Works, Pontefract.
But she said the family-style way in which the firm is run is an advantage, with all members of the team trusting each other and chipping in to make the business a success.
While she concentrates on the designs, another member of staff focuses on the social media, while two people focus on product orders.
After starting out with greeting cards the company now also sells a variety of branded gifts such as calendars, mugs, magnets, bags, key-rings, pens, notebooks and other items of stationery.
Dennis added: “We take great lengths to secure decent, trustworthy suppliers and we take quite a while to go from start to finish when developing our products.
“That’s because we want to get the best quality for the best price. We feel it’s a privilege to have people choosing to come and buy from us.”
She said the business has had to temporarily suspend most of its operations due to the COVID-19 lockdown, but it has devised a series of downloadable adult colouring sheets and has launched its first ever range of e-cards.
All these are accessible via Love Layla’s revamped website.
Dennis said: “We wanted to still be able to give something to our loyal customers, because while what we do isn’t essential it’s important to keep people laughing through this tough time.
“Of course we hope to get back to the office when we can, and as a business we are able to react quickly as soon as things change.”
