A once-dead e-commerce company will return to the fray this summer.
Atterley, once tipped to be one of the most successful British retail brands before collapsing into administration earlier this year, is back on the scene with a fresh focus.
Following the sale of its IP assets by administrators KPMG to Blackcircles.com CEO Mike Welch in February, the new Atterley is repositioning itself as a global e-commerce company that puts independent boutiques in front of an international audience.
Set to launch in July, Atterley said it will ship an eclectic mix of styles and brands, curated by boutique buyers, to 22 countries from day one as part of the first phase of its strategy to create the largest, inclusive, low-cost marketplace of its kind.
“Boutiques like ours face increasing challenges from bigger players on the high street and online,” explained Sarah Murray, the owner of Edinburgh’s Jane Davidson, who has been named a “founding partner” of the company ahead of its launch. “We think Atterley.com can help to turn the tables. With refreshingly low commission rates, cutting edge technology and its clear mission to champion the independents and democratize the marketplace, we’re extremely pleased to have become a founding partner. On a personal level, I very much look forward to bringing my own experience to the Atterley.com team.”
According to a press release, the platform already has a consumer database of about 250,000 registered users, more than 10,000 Instagram followers and roughly 25,000 Facebook fans.
“By assembling a network under the Atterley brand, we can create economies of scale in product range, marketing and distribution costs that makes online very viable for our boutique partners, many of whom have previously found it challenging to operate online,” Welch said.
Nick Freer, chief marketing officer, added, “The incredible reaction we’ve had from boutiques combined with the progress made on the site itself means we’re ahead of timetable and in position to start trading online by July. The boutiques we’ve been speaking to over the last few weeks are telling us they are excited to have a platform that will allow them to go after market share again—against both the high street and other online fashion brands—and with the tools to make this happen.”