A reminder for you: 51% of the UK population is female, only 20% of SMEs are women-owned businesses and in 2016 those contributed £115bn to UK economy.
Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the third conference of The Female Quotient International Forum FQ3 at The Shard in London, hosted by Helene Martin Gee and Jill Pay of Pink Shoe. Some of you will know Pink Shoe as it is the place where the many elements of being a successful woman are celebrated. Where it’s fine to be feminine as well as focussed, passionate and prosperous.
The focus of the forum was on the growth of UK women-owned businesses, the positive impact on the economy and opportunities for global collaboration. We heard about the development of the UK Economic Blueprint for Women, the global picture for female enterprise, with international case studies, exporting by UK women-owned businesses, the impact of gender parity on economic growth, and the Brexit effect for women-owned businesses.
I chaired a session A World of Opportunity where I met the wonderful Jennifer Bisceglie, President of WIPP International, CEO of Vigillence a supply chain intelligence and risk management business based in Washington DC, US. Jennifer gave a global update on the Economic Blueprint for Women and she was inspiring, informative and encouraging. Jennifer supports women owned businesses and therefore I should not have been surprised when she ordered a Semple dress!
We created a pop-up shop on Floor 17 at The Shard and it was a successful venture for conference attendees and the Semple team who ran it. Women looked at our styles, touched fabric swatches, asked questions about our Made in Britain ethos, signed up for a consultation and took photographs to use on social media.
Our next pop-up shop for late night Christmas shopping is at our atelier on 28 November 17.00-20.00. We will be joined by Victoria from Faber Novella with her handcrafted bespoke shoes and they are beautiful. Do pop in and browse. Our other pop-up shop will be in Canary Wharf on 30 November. It would be lovely to welcome you to Semple on the move.