Handbags at dawn as Dragons’ Den business wins over brands
HANDBAG restoration specialists The Handbag Spa are going from strength to strength after their appearance on Dragons’ Den this year, signing up designer footwear retailer Daniel Footwear.
The Handbag Spa, which counts Coleen Rooney among its fans, will offer its full suite of services to label-loving customers of Daniel Footwear.
The company, founded in 2012 by mother and daughter entrepreneurs Judy and Freya Bass appeared on Dragons’ Den earlier this year, asking for £60,000 investment from the Dragons. Though the business piqued Deborah Meaden’s interest, but the pair left empty-handed.
Undaunted, they have gone from strength to strength, as the first service of its kind in the UK when it launched, The Handbag Spa remains the only global handbag cleaning and restoration service for luxury brands like Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Chanel.
They are set to grow even more in the new year as they are moving to Follifoot Business Park in January to cope with expansion and employ more staff.
Founder Judy, a world-renowned leather expert in her own ri
ght and with her other business, spoke to TheBusinessDesk.com. She said: “The best handbags are (unfortunately!) the most expensive ones. The quality of leather is high and that always makes it easier to fix.
“Cheap bags are the most difficult to clean and mend, you would not believe what people send through!
“But the most expensive had was worth £30,000 – so a lot of pressure. We do have a lot of high quality bags, a lot of Mulberrys and Michael Kors handbags, and approximately 300 bags at any one time.”
“All the staff have their favourites,” she said, “I think we all like the Chanels because of the quality, and personally I’d have a lime green Chanel briefcase, I’ve had my eye on it for a while!”
