Success story: Pretty Pregnant

Husband and wife team Jan Van den Berghe and Evelyne Callens worked in finance and marketing for years before deciding that their hearts lay elsewhere. Choosing to set up on their own, they decided to duck out of the larger corporate and work for themselves. Six years later and with financial support from London Business Loans, their maternity and nursing-wear business, Pretty Pregnant, now operates from five shops and employs 25 people.

Managing one of the UK’s franchises for a well known French children’s clothing retailer since 2003, Evelyne noticed increasing requests for maternity wear and realised that, “clearly something was missing in the area”. Having recognised this gap in the market and ensured the financial viability of opening a new store they decided that, “if no one’s doing it, we’ll do it!”

Between 2003 and 2007, Pretty Pregnant opened four maternity and nursing stores across London, employing 15 people and successfully providing new and expecting mothers with high-quality clothing at an affordable cost.

With a female-friendly work environment, Evelyne naturally employs women who are returning to work following maternity leave, sometimes part-time, and is inclined to be sympathetic to women who are looking to start a family. “We’ve all been there” she says, “and our experiences can only benefit the mothers who visit our stores.”

By 2009 the business was healthy, going from strength to strength, and the couple were looking to expand the Pretty Pregnant brand. Having approached their bank manager to access funding, they, like so many other small businesses, were affected by the credit crunch and found that, “the banks would just not come over the bridge with the money”.

They were referred to GLE oneLondon, a London Business Loans backed Community Development Finance Institution. Following encouragement and support from their business loans manager, and a subsequent panel interview, they were able to access a £50,000 loan to invest into one of their London branches.

Evelyne knows that this finance signified more than the ability to expand the business, it also directly affected her employees and their families. By ensuring a sustainable business model, Pretty Pregnant, she says “is able to give back and provide people with employment, who in turn will pay taxes, and thereby there are more people spending money on the high street. All of this contributes to maintaining a thriving economy. It’s a cycle that is so important not only in London but across the whole of the UK”.

Now employing 25 members of staff across four stores in London and one in Edinburgh, the business is focusing on consolidating the group and developing their online presence to provide their products across the UK. Forever forward planning, Pretty Pregnant is well positioned to become one of the UK’s leading independent maternity-wear retailers.

Jan and Evelyne are only too aware, however, that for many entrepreneurs it would be easy to give up. But they add “it’s fantastic to have your own business. You just need to make sure your figures are right and that you’re prepared for the ultimate disaster. Surround yourself by brilliant people and listen to those who have been there and done that and you’ll never give up.”

www.prettypregnant.co.uk