A Danish retail brand is opening its first store in Wales creating 15 jobs, with two Welsh female entrepreneurs heading up the exclusive joint venture partnership.
Tiger, a variety store selling own-brand Scandinavian design homeware goods from stationary to cosmetics, will open in units 32/34 in St David’s shopping centre this month, making it the 29th Tiger store in the UK.
Kate Methuen, 37, and Helen Corsi, 32, are bringing the Danish brand to Cardiff and plan to open a further five stores in Wales over the next five years. Headquartered in Copenhagen, Tiger has been working with the duo for the past seven months to agree and launch the partnership.
Miss Methuen says: “I walked into a Tiger store for the first time earlier this year when I was on holiday in Barcelona. The quirky products instantly caught my attention – I wanted to buy everything in the shop and, I thought to myself, we need to have a store like this in Wales.”
With 15 years’ experience in retail marketing working for a number of corporate organisations, Kate Methuen joined up with close friend Helen Corsi, who has worked managing residential lettings for eight years, to make initial contact with Tiger, draft a business plan and secure finance.
Representatives from Copenhagen visited Wales to open discussions about the retail venture, while Miss Methuen and Miss Corsi also visited Denmark’s capital to finalise the partnership and for further training from the parent group.
Tiger Wales has secured funding from Cardiff Council’s Economic Development Fund and a business loan from HSBC Bank to back the retail outlet. The deal has been overseen by Graham Paul accountants and Greenaway Scott solicitors.
The store is scheduled to open by the end of November ready for the Christmas shopping season in Cardiff.
Miss Methuen adds: “I really do feel like we’re bringing something new to Wales. This has been reinforced by the positive feedback and investment we’ve received from our finance partners. It just goes to show that, even in these challenging times for the retail industry, you can get backing for a good idea.”
The 50-50 joint venture partnership with the parent company of the Tiger brand, Zebra A/S, is a model framework which includes support from its Copenhagen base, but allows the partners to provide local expertise and drive the development of the store.
Helen Corsi said: “Stepping away from my day-job and into a project like Tiger has been like a whirl-wind. The partnership appealed because I will be able to channel my entrepreneurial skills into a project which I have control of.
“Both Kate and myself are passionate about creating a store which will attract customers because of the quality and quirkiness of our products. And, with such a fantastic location in the centre of Cardiff, we’re sure Tiger Wales will be a roaring success.”
There are 260 Tiger stores worldwide selling own-brand products, and its Welsh store marks the 20th country it will span into, including stores in the European and Asian market, and England and Scotland in the UK.
Christian Mariager, CEO of Tiger, said: “Following the success of the Tiger brand in England and Scotland, it is a very exciting time as we establish Tiger Wales.
“We think Wales is a really good fit for the Tiger brand and we have shown our commitment to the dynamic retail sector in Wales by developing an ambitious growth plan with our in-market partners to open five Tiger stores over the next five years. With Kate and Helen’s experience, we are confident we can create a foothold in Wales to build a successful chain of Tiger stores.”
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