Effortless style and affordable fashion: the Velvet way

Meet Emma Draper and Gemma Vaughan, the dynamic duo behind brilliant independent fashion and gift store Velvet, as they scale new heights in 2024 and beyond.

Velvet is a retail institution set in the heart of Hove and currently enjoying its 24th year of trading. A magnificent independent store, full of wonderful fashion, homeware and lifestyle products, it is situated on the busy main street of Hove, Church Road.

As with most success stories, there is a fundamental narrative involving difficult personal journeys, passionate and inspired ideas, followed by years of hard work and unswerving commitment to put them in to practice and make them stick.

CEO and Founder Emma and MD Gemma are here to provide the detail that goes into making retail gold from the very bare bones of a simple great idea.

Back in 2000, Emma Draper started the whole Velvet story when she opened her very first store in Brighton’s North Laine in partnership with her wonderful mum, Iris. The Velvet name moved around the city a few times until landing at the current Hove location is 2009.

They have more than 2,500 square feet of retail space over two floors and the essence of the brand is finding that perfect blend of affordability and style. They have achieved this rare gift of retail alchemy by keeping things fresh, always on the hunt for new ideas and never afraid of trying something, whilst always keeping to the Velvet ethos.

In Gemma’s words: “It is the constant ability to adapt and change to follow market trends, delivered with excellent customer service and a personal touch. We have a wonderful vibe throughout the team and we do our best to communicate this through to our customers. It’s never less than hard work but we really do have fun here, and the whole team gets involved in making it happen, each and every day.”

Joining the business in 2009 as a sales assistant, Gemma has grown with the business and last year was promoted to become Velvet’s first ever Managing Director, an appointment that put the stamp of authority on her impressive rise through the ranks. Gemma’s’ role is pivotal in making Velvet stay ahead of the pack when it comes to retail excellence. She has a firm hand in all the key decision making, works alongside Emma in sourcing all the new lines and creating the seasonal edits, manages the 18 strong team of great women that you will see across the store each day. She helps to design and create the breath-taking window displays and instore experience, and is primarily responsible for the entertaining and ever gowing Velvet Instagram page.

For Emma, her partner in crime is essential to making Velvet what it is today and she doubles down on the essentials of the business, as well as the customer focussed ethos that she has instilled in every single one of the Velvet team.

“You have to always put the customer first in all your deliberations and by adhering to this first principal, it makes the rest of the decision-making process so much easier,” she says. “You could easily get carried away with ideas on how to make the store the ideal retail experience but if you depart from that simple principle, you can easily get lost and end up with a confusing offer.

“We always seek to change things when it’s right to do so, but this must never be at the cost of the overall brand message. Allied to that principle is affordability, and in the current uncertain economic climate, it is even more important to find the right balance between style and cost. We would never compromise on quality and always seek to sell a range of products that we are proud to wear ourselves and have the confidence in our suppliers that we can consistently deliver on this, week in, week out.

“But still the most rewarding aspect of working at Velvet is witnessing the delight that our customers experience from our store environment and our selection of wonderful products. It’s always a joy and a pleasure to meet them and get to know them better and understand what they are looking for from our store”.

For Emma, there are other exciting plans on the horizon as she continues to develop the Velvet brand and grow her secondary business Velvet Property Ltd. She explains: “Though Velvet the store will always be my first love and main priority, I have also been carefully building a property portfolio of local, high-spec apartments and will continue to dedicate time and energy to growing that business at the same time. It’s a really enjoyable project to have alongside the retail business and also one that has great potential for the future.”

Over the past year, Emma has also somehow found time out of her busy schedule to deliver some wise words at various public events, and after winning the prestigious Dynamic Awards, Sussex & Surrey Business Woman of the Year in 2023, she is enjoying finding her voice, in particular to highlight the role of women in her own business life and the potential for young women to achieve great things in their own careers.

To find out more about Velvet and the magnificent team of great women, visit www.velvetstore.co.uk or check out the Instagram feed @velvethove