Life was a bit of a pickle for Flitwick mum Vickie Humber in 2007. Suffering from a nervous breakdown, the mum of four was struggling to even leave the house. However, one day Vickie was inspired to make some jam using recipes that she had used as a little girl with her mum and grandmother. A few weeks later, when the hall cupboard was completely full of preserves, Vickie’s husband encouraged her take it to a local vintage tractor rally to see whether she could sell it. It was a great success, and this was the start of Vickie’s recovery and a new business: Humbers Homemade.
Two and a half years later, Humbers Homemade is a thriving local business, appearing at all of the farmers market in Bedfordshire, and some in Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire & Northamptonshire, and supplying local shops, restaurants and hotels such as Woburn Abbey and Flitwick Manor.
Humbers Homemade is also one of the four local finalists, supported by The Mall Luton, in the national Make Your Mark in Retail 2010 competition. With over £15,000 worth of prizes up for grabs, including six months’ free trading in The Mall and a place at an internationally recognised retail school, the competition could offer one business owner the opportunity of a lifetime.
All four of the local traders now have to trade for two weeks from a retail merchandising unit (RMU) in The Mall Luton, during which time they will be evaluated for their customer service, sales performance and retailing skills. The finalist from Luton will then go through to the national finals, and the overall winner will be announced on 10 May 2010.
“This competition is a wonderful opportunity for me,” explained Vickie. “Humbers Homemade is all about local produce, so I’m really excited to see what shoppers in Luton make of our products. We spent loads of time making sure that everything was ready for these two weeks as we’re absolutely determined to give it our best shot! I think that Bedfordshire has a lot to be proud of, and winning this competition would really help us to grow Humbers Homemade and, hopefully, get Bedfordshire jams and preserves in shops and delis across the country.”
The other three finalists from The Mall Luton are Urban Jewellery, Inanna from Radlett, and Plumbun from Luton. Regardless of whether one of our local traders wins the national competition, each finalist will have received a fabulous opportunity to maximise exposure of their business and test local shoppers’ acceptance of their product during the two week test-trading period.
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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.
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