March relaunch: Womenswear boutique in Richmond
We helped Liza relaunch her fashion brand in October 2023 by securing their store on Sheen Road in Richmond.
Background
March is a high end womenswear boutique that started on Fulham Road in 2013. After several successful years, Liza sold the business and pursued ambitions elsewhere. At the end of 2022, she set out to bring March back to West London and came to Hatch to make it happen.
What we did
Hatch sent through properties in the target locations of Chiswick, Barnes, Teddington, Putney and Richmond that matched March’s property requirements in terms of size and budget. March organised viewings and narrowed the target locations to Richmond or Barnes.
Being a startup, with no company accounts or track record, March struggled with getting agents to respond to queries and arrange viewings. Using the Hatch Template, March produced a landlord pack summarising the brand, concept and team which instantly improved engagement and traction.
We were informed the tenant of 13 Sheen Road (Bean Bar) was struggling and had not paid rent in several months.
The agent had just been instructed to find a new tenant and shared the property details with Hatch before going to market. March viewed the premises and made an off-market offer. With guidance from Hatch, March managed to negotiate £10,000 pa off the quoting rent, 3 months rent free and for the previous tenant’s equipment, fixtures and fittings to be removed prior to occupation.
Outcome
March opened its doors to the public in October 2023 and has gone from strength to strength ever since.
The store has enabled March to build a strong brand through face to face engagement resulting in a high percentage of repeat customers. Sales continue to primarily come via in-store transactions where customers can see the quality of clothes and try them on. This also means March has very little reliance, or money spent, on Google or Meta ads. Since opening, the Instagram followers have gone from 0 to over 7,000.
March is now looking to open a second store.
