Partnership Investment Finance

Alterego lingerie group gets support from PIF

THE COMPANY

 

Alterego, based in Hull , sells a range of beautiful lingerie for all occasions featuring luxurious brands from Europe and Canada , through a ‘state of the art’ e-commerce website.

Alterego supplies a number of independent, traditional and online British retailers with a range of exclusive products. Its la test product is the ‘Bra(g)’ a bag designed to protect moulded or padded bras when travelling and is the only product of its kind in the world. Ms Rothwell is currently investigating expanding the business so she can supply European as well as British retailers.

Diane Rothwell, owner of the business commented: “The website, www.alterego-lingerie.com, is in a user friendly format and allows retailers to purchase directly online. We offer short lead times and no minimum order quantities, breaking with traditions within the industry.”

THE CHALLENGE

 

Alterego began trading in Autumn 2007 and was the brainchild of business owner, Diane Rothwell. Diane, having previously worked for the NHS, decided she wanted a career change and upon seeing an opportunity in the marketplace, founded the company.

Ms Rothwell said: “I decided it was time for a change of career as the end of my contract approached, so I researched a number of different markets. I found that the lingerie sector was the market with the most potential in terms of market size, scalability and scope for potential improvement in the services offered by retailers.”

As a start up business, Alterego required investment to pay for new stock, marketing and infrastructure costs.

THE SOLUTION

 

After a detailed series of discussions with PIF Investment Manager Ian Atkinson, the fund decided to provide the business with a loan of £30k to help with pay for start up costs of the business.

PIF Investment Manager, Ian Atkinson, said: “We were impressed by the strength of Diane’s business plan and the high-quality market research which had gone into it. The model that she is using offers customers an excellent service as well as providing strong profit margins.

“We are pleased to hear that so far the business is going well, with an encouraging initial uptake. We are confident that Diane will go on to grow the business further.”

Alex McWhirter, Head of Enterprise at Yorkshire Forward, said: “E-commerce is becoming central to many businesses in the region and Alterego Lingerie is one of several online companies to benefit from PIF’s support.”