About this episode

Victoria Stapleton shares insights from her 30 years of building Brora, emphasizing organic growth and employee ownership.

Thirty years of building a business without a board, without investors, and without ever wanting to sell, and it just keeps growing, there’s something to learn from that. In this episode of All About Business, James speaks with Victoria Stapleton, founder of Brora, the British luxury cashmere and clothing brand. Victoria has built Brora over 30 years from a single supplier and a home phone number into a business with shops across the UK, a store on Madison Avenue, and a fiercely loyal customer base. Victoria shares what she learned from building slowly and deliberately, and why organic growth gave her control, quality, and a life outside work. She also gives insight about why every founder considering outside investment should think carefully about what they are actually giving if they take it. Together they explore what it really takes to run a product business built on craft and quality: how to manage suppliers, why the shop experience matters more than ever, and what you actually learn about your business by walking the warehouse floor every morning. Victoria's tells is about who she transitioned Brora into an Employee Ownership Trust, one of the most underused business…

People in this episode

Host: James Reed

Guest: Victoria Stapleton

Topics covered

• business succession
• organic growth
• employee ownership
• luxury retail
• entrepreneurship

Keywords

• business succession
• Victoria Stapleton
• Brora
• organic growth
• employee ownership trust
• luxury cashmere
• retail management

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Brora

Places: UK, Madison Avenue, Glasgow

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