Indie of the Month: Luna Boutique, Parkway Shopping in Newbury

Next up in our series highlighting the fantastic independents creating unique retail and leisure experiences, we speak to? Caroline Dallas , founder of Luna Boutique, which operates stores at Parkway Shopping in Newbury and Marlborough town centre. She outlines what inspired her to launch the business, what it’s like trading as an independent in the current climate, and her ambitions to grow the concept.

What inspired you to launch Luna Boutique?

I was searching for an outlet that would enable me to combine my creativity and my dual love for people and fashion. Then Luna Boutique was born!

I opened my first store in Marlborough in November 2011 and then quickly opened another in Hungerford the following spring. I had four stores at the peak. My Parkway Shopping store was opened eight years ago, and then I upsized to my current unit on the scheme in June 2021. It’s been a whirlwind period, as I didn’t have much experience at the start – I just had to figure it out as I went and learn on the job!

As a result of not having a fashion or business background, I can admit I’ve made mistakes along the way, but I’ve learnt from them all. A key one was to work out exactly who my customer is and not to try to please everyone.

My focus for the stores has been on making people feel comfortable – there’s no judgement – we have the music on and great clothes to browse and buy. I love being able to help people find clothes they love, it gives me such a buzz. People come into the stores for the experience as we aim to offer a home-from-home feel – people need 17 minutes of human interaction to feel okay, and we provide that, with no distractions. We’re part of the local community and that’s a key role for indies.

What made you bring Luna Boutique to the Parkway Shopping scheme?

I had a pop-up store at the Kennet Shopping Centre, also in Newbury, to help clear stock, and whilst there the team at Parkway Shopping approached me about their scheme.

The advantage of joining a larger scheme like Parkway Shopping is that they have the capacity to help you grow. Once on the scheme, the team at Parkway Shopping recognised the potential for Luna Boutique and so offered me a larger store which has enabled me to grow the business. I wouldn’t have had the confidence at that stage on my own to make the decision to try to upsize.

How do you plan to continue growing Luna Boutique?

I’m not currently planning to take on any new stores, but I am looking to increase my selling space at Parkway Shopping in Newbury. I want to open up the second floor of my current unit so I can make it a real destination and take on new brands. My aim is to become more brand-focused, almost like an independent department store. I’m also keen to take on some warehouse space so I can expand the online side of the business, opening digital stores on platforms like Etsy and Amazon.

I also want to focus on the in-store experience to elevate my stores. I’m a colour consultant – advising customers on the best colours for them to be wearing – so I’d like to start offering more of a service around this, providing colour consultations for customers to help them identify what suits them and then find the right items in store to match this.

What’s it like trading as an indie in the current environment?

My biggest threats as an indie retailer are the cost-of-living crisis, prices going up because of Brexit, and then trying to compete with online retailing.

The cost-of-living crisis thankfully isn’t impacting us too much as we are now established, and our customers can largely still afford to come in and shop. But it is quite quiet out there – it’s fair to say we are feeling it, but we’re not going to go under because of it.

Thankfully as an indie business I can be nimble and buy in season to react quickly to trends and the market, and I can offer a really personal service which is something you can’t get online or in larger retailers, so this helps me to compete.

Everything is always changing, so I just need to remain focused and keep up the energy and passion for what I do and what Luna Boutique offers. As indie retailers we just have to be brave all the time!

Find out more about Luna Boutique and keep up to date with the retailer’s latest news here: https://www.lunaboutiques.co.uk/