Fuller Fillies gallops into America
Fuller Fillies, an equestrian clothing company that specialises in plus sizes, is expanding into America after securing funding from a high street bank.
The UK’s only equestrian clothing company specialising in plus sizes is expanding into America after securing a factoring facility from a high street bank.
Fitzwilliam-based Fuller Fillies has been selling larger sized riding clothes since it was established in 2006 and, by tapping into a growing market, the company has enjoyed considerable growth since its inception.
The family-run firm was recently approached by Smartpak, one of the largest mail order retail companies in the USA, which was hoping to strike an exclusive supply agreement.
To fund Fuller Fillies’ expansion, the bank provided a £100,000 factoring facility.
By releasing the value of a company’s ledger, factoring enables a business to grow in line with sales as well as bridging the gap between the time taken between the goods being sold, shipped to the USA and payment being received.
The territory now accounts for 60 per cent of the company’s sales and sees the firm export over 33,000 garments a year.
Co-founder Suzanne Wild said: “We were approached by Smartpak after the firm had seen women raving about our clothes on internet forums and wanted to be the sole wholesale supplier for Fuller Fillies in the USA.
“America has over 20 million female riders who wear size 16 plus clothes and my husband, Chris, and I were amazed that no business was serving such a sizable untapped market.
“Our bank at the time was unwilling to fund the Smartpak agreement, so we spoke to our high street bank, which provided us with a factoring facility that closely matched our needs. This has strengthened our cash flow, which has allowed us to capitalise on the contract and maintain sufficient stock in our Fitzwilliam offices and Heathrow bonded warehouse.”
Originally founded in the couple’s bedroom, the demand for Fuller Fillies’ products is growing month on month and the business is now looking to employ two more people to manage the expansion alongside the firm’s five existing staff.
In Suzanne’s words: “It’s amazing it took a fat woman in her forties with a design degree to think of it!”
The bank’s Regional Manager said: “Suzanne and Chris have just got back from the official launch of Fuller Fillies in America and there is a lot of excitement surrounding this unique brand. It’s great to see a business with an ambitious expansion strategy making the most of opportunities overseas to develop its supplier and customer base.
“Targeting overseas markets can be difficult, but our funding ensures that the company always has access to the working capital it needs to fully capitalise on the latent demand for its products.”
