Flowing Ink News Room

If Inanna is the Goddess of Love, then there is no doubt that Mohammad Malkawi from Radlett is set on a labour of love. In less than a year since he first found beautiful Syrian soap in France, he has sourced it, imported it, retailed it – and is now through to the finals of a National retail competition: Make Your Mark in Retail 2010.

Over the next two weeks Mohammad, the owner of soap and jewellery business Inanna, will be competing for the retail opportunity of a lifetime. Over £15,000 worth of prizes is up for grabs, including six months’ free trading in a retail merchandising unit (RMU) in The Mall Luton, plus a place at the prestigious British Shops & Stores Association Summer School at Keble College Oxford. Inanna was one of four businesses selected from 15 entries received by The Mall Luton to go through to the regional finals. Over a two week trading period the performance of each of the four businesses will be evaluated by The Mall Luton for sales success, customer service and retailing skills

Mohammad was inspired to set-up the business, named after the Sumerian Goddess of Love, after literally falling in love with soap that he found while on holiday in France in August 2008. He was unable to find the soap for sale anywhere in the UK, so he travelled to Aleppo, Syria to see if he could import it directly.

His journey was a success, and he came back to England with the authentic olive and laurel soap, plus samples of beautiful jewellery that he had found locally. The feedback from friends and relative was very positive, so Mohammad started to design all of the branding and packaging – before he had even sold one piece.

This leap of faith paid off. Once the designs were completed, Mohammad had everything printed in Syria and then imported his first batch of products. He set up his first stall on St Albans market in November 2009. Four months on, he now also trades from Hitchin market and Liverpool Street in London.

Mohammed is certainly putting everything into the competition. “I am a very competitive man,” Mohammed admitted, “and when you get an opportunity like this, you just have to go for it! We have been preparing for these two weeks by bringing in new products and updating some of our branding and signage. We’re very excited – and can’t wait to see what Luton shoppers think about our products!”

“The jewellery designs are very distinctive and are recognisably different from much of the jewellery available in the UK. Aleppo soap is famous in France and the Middle East but little known in the UK. My product range will introduce customers to a range of gorgeous, natural body products at an affordable price.”

The range of Aleppo soaps sold by Inanna is made by traditional methods used for over 2000 years. Produced from local olive and laurel oil, Aleppo soap gently cleanses, nourishes and softens the skin. These products claim to be especially good for sensitive skin and can sooth mild skin complaints such as eczema. In addition, the villages around Aleppo producing the laurel oil are vulnerable communities, so opening a market to these products in the UK will also help support growth in these rural villages.

Although some of the jewellery is modern in style, many of the jewellery pieces sold by Inanna are based on traditional designs, some dating back to the Bronze Age and from the Ottoman period. Inanna offers a range of necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings in silver set with semi-precious stones, including coral, amethyst, onyx, lapis lazuli and pearls.

Some of the necklaces and earrings are made using a technique in which the semi precious stones are inlaid with mother of pearl. These designs are particularly beautiful and unusual.
The other three finalists from The Mall Luton are: Plumbun from Luton, Humbers Homemade from Flitwick, and Urban Jewellery from Luton. During the two week trading period contestants get the use of a retail merchandising unit free of charge. After these two the winning trader from The Mall Luton will go through to the national finals. The local winner will be announced on 13th April 2010. However, whether or not they win the competition, each finalist gets an invaluable opportunity to maximise exposure of their business and test local shoppers’ acceptance of their product.
Ends.

Notes to editors:

Images

For high resolution versions of the image above, contact Danielle at flowing Ink on 01582 487223 or email Danielle@flowingink.co.uk.

Make Your Mark in Retail 2010
The Make your Mark in Retail competition gives entrants the opportunity to test their business on a Retail Merchandising Unit (RMU) and the outstanding candidate is rewarded a ‘retail start up package’ that includes:
• Six months rent free trading on an RMU
• Hands on support from The Mall
• A business mentor from Natwest
• A place at the British Shops & Stores Association Summer School at Keble College Oxford
• A place at the National Skills Academy Retail Masterclass

The Mall

The Mall is the leading owner and operator of community shopping centres in the UK. The Mall currently owns 18 shopping malls throughout the UK and sees around 4 million shopping visits a week.

The Mall, Luton houses over 120 retailers and sits in the heart of the town centre in Luton. The £20m redevelopment of The Mall Luton, due to end autumn 2010, is currently taking place to remodel the St. George’s Square end of the centre. The redevelopment will provide over 75,000 sq ft of high-quality new shopping, with cafes and restaurants opening onto the recently redeveloped square.
The Mall is committed to Luton as a major destination and is confident this development will provide the best possible shopping experience and has already secured TK Maxx as an anchor tenant in this new development.

www.themall.co.uk – Shopping as it should be…

This press release has been written and distributed by Flowing Ink. For more information contact Danielle Tarren at Danielle@flowingink.co.uk.

www.flowingink.co.uk

Ref: TMLMR/015