Spotlight on independent retailers: The Hambledon

Located in a historic house in Winchester, department store The Hambledon is home to a selection of contemporary curiosities and sought-after clothing brands. Owner Victoria Suffield has brought the store through a range of fresh phases since its opening in 1999, adapting the concept while always sticking to its initial entertaining presentation and friendly atmosphere.

The shop, which Suffield describes as more of a “department store” than a concept store, stocks everything from premium attire and quality beauty products to distinct gifts and homeware of all kinds. Its unique building is a further embodiment of its personality, defining its structure and welcoming characteristics.

In a conversation with FashionUnited, Suffield talks us through the store’s journey since its inception and the ever-changing state of the high street.

How did the idea for The Hambledon come about?

It’s a bit hackneyed but I was born into retail. My mum had a shop. I always played shops as a child, tipping a table on its side and making a counter. I used to work for my mum in the school holidays. I was probably always going to be a shopkeeper. More specifically, I used to have a mail order homeware business and I think I really missed real people and a physical space.

How would you describe the store’s concept?

It’s quite hard to describe without recourse to those horrible descriptions like ‘concept store’ and ‘lifestyle retail’. We’re something of a department store but we are responsible for absolutely every single buying and visual merchandising decision. In the beginning, I think I set out to please myself. I have become marginally more commercially driven over the years, as the rent has increased and the wage bill has grown, but we do still buy what we love and we try to tell a different story each season. Almost like retail storytellers.

In what ways does the store stand out from other retailers?

I think the scale of the building helps. We’re in a four storey, double-fronted Georgian, so we can really spread out. We are absolutely fanatical about visual merchandising. We’re enthusiastic buyers. If we love something, we really back it. But I think it’s probably really about our curation. We are extremely opinionated, have short attention spans and we love ‘stuff’ so that gives the shop a very clear, constantly changing identity. Plus, we’re all shopkeepers. The digital team work in the office but the rest of us are very much present on the shopfloor.

Do you have a specific customer base?

I’m not sure there’s a typical customer as we’re working across so many different categories. We’ve done a bit more analysis with the growth of our online business and she/he seems to be between 25 and 35, digitally. In store, I would say the core is probably a little older but the age range is most definitely from pocket money upwards, five-years-olds to fashion-forward grannies.

How do you select the items and brands that you feature in the store?

Principally, our selections are based on things we love. Lucy [my colleague] and I have been working together as the buyers for 20 years and Annie recently joined us as a womenswear buyer. I think we’ve developed a pretty good sense of the happy intersection of what we love, what’s interesting, what’s commercial and what fits The Hambledon.

Have you noticed any changes in the ‘high street’ and physical shopping since you opened the store?

The seismic change brought about by covid is probably the single biggest shift in 22 years. Online growth, which we expected to achieve incrementally over five years of diligent work, happened in 12 months. It was crazy, but one of the upsides of the pandemic. Rents getting out of step with retailer’s ability to pay, particularly in affluent areas, coupled with inequitable business rates, has had a pretty devastating effect on the mix of retailers on most high streets. Experiential retailing is a current theme. For the enormous brands, these stores work as loss leaders. For the rest of us, we have to make sure we can couple the experience with the ability to generate some profit.

Have you had to adapt your business model in any way?

All the above have meant we are constantly adjusting. At the moment, we’re really looking at product mix and the balance of turnover across each department.

What has your experience been like through the e-commerce side of the business?

Both bad and good. I’m pretty instinctive and I like to work with real things. The digital world is, by nature, a little more intangible. It requires more math, more data and more analysis and we’ve had to look at who on the team is best suited to these new roles. Spreadsheets are not really my thing. On the upside, our online business is growing; we’re figuring out how to present the essence of the shop digitally, we’re finding new customers all the time and it’s a really solid source of revenue now.

Do you think there are any advantages to being an independent retailer today?

I would say not working for someone else is always an advantage. Yes, no economies of scale. Yes, disproportionate number of staff. Yes, little negotiating power with landlords or suppliers. But we are very, very lithe. We can change what we do very quickly. We really know our customers. We are a very tight knit team and we all like coming to work.

What have been your biggest learning curves and challenges since opening?

Emotionally and financially, the first couple of years were the hardest. I wasn’t really equipped to weather the peaks and troughs with the bank. I was largely on my own in terms of buying and managing and I had very young children and an hour’s commute. After we moved to Winchester, changed accountants and banks and once Lucy came to work, things became much easier. A take away: work where you live and surround yourself with good people.

Do you have any future plans for the store?

We always have plans. They’re sometimes small. They’re sometimes bigger. But we’re always scheming.

Has the pandemic had any positive/negative effects on the business?

Absolutely, yes. Obviously, having the physical store closed for all those months in 2020 and 2021 was horrible. The growth of online has been great, but I think, most importantly, it has made us all appreciate working together. It sounds cheesy but The Hambledon team is an extraordinary group of people.

The historic building the store is in plays quite a big part in the brand’s identity. How has it inspired you and the store’s concept?

I absolutely love this building. It has enabled us to operate with a scale and seriousness of purpose, which a smaller space couldn’t allow. We are able to have distinct departments with properly defined offers. And historic details - Roman and Norman walls, Tudor elevations, Georgian height and grandeur - always create a helpful ambiance. When we first renovated the site, our whole approach was about giving the building itself a key role.