Small Business Saturday Blog

A passion for retro events plus frustration at not being able to find the right clothes and shoes to compliment this look led to Rowena Howie opening Revival Retro boutique in 2011. 

Since its opening as both a gorgeous store in the heart of London and an online boutique, Revival Retro has gone from strength to strength, thanks to its beautiful design, bespoke variety of clothing and shoes, impeccable customer service, and offering a definite point of difference in the market place. Rowena has found her business has also received a great boost from being an ambassador for the Small Business Saturday campaign and being included in the Amex Shop Small offer for a number of years now.

“One of my qualms was how to find a stunning retro outfit that looks great, has a definite 30s/40s style, but won’t fall apart when you wear it or try to clean it?” explains Rowena Howie. “Why was all gorgeous vintage clothing too small for me? How do I avoid yet another unsuccessful foray into moth-balled cupboards, sifting through endless eighties sequined jumpsuits labelled as ‘vintage’? This is why I decided to take matters into my own hands.”

And what hands! Not only has Revival Retro stacked up awards since its incarnation seven years ago, but it has built a huge digital presence and following all around the world, and currently has nearly 33k followers on Instagram.

Rowena herself is prolific in banging the drum for small business owners and is a huge part of the Soho community, supporting fellow business owners and being at the forefront of issues impacting small business owners in the area and nationwide. Before opening her boutique, she did a lot of research about the viability of opening a brick and mortar store in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

“From the very beginning I used workshops at the British Library to further my knowledge about running my own business. Long before I ever opened the bricks and mortar store, I was examining the viability, profitability and likelihood of scale for the venture. I started the business because I was thirty-something and couldn’t envisage ever owning my own home on the salary I was earning. The drive for me to learn and grow was fundamental to commercial success of the business, helping me achieve my personal goals.”

The award-winning team at Revival Retro’s success lies in not only offering a beautiful range of clothing, footwear and accessories but being passionate about helping women feel good, and they do this by offering second-to-none customer service and really listening to and understanding their customers' needs.

“There is nothing worse and soul destroying that being shoehorned into an outfit that you feel hideous in – we’ve all been there! We want our customers to love our clothes as I believe there is the perfect outfit here for every woman, and we pride ourselves on our knowledge and expertise to find it and leave our customers feeling wonderful. Clothes are such a powerful thing used well.”

Rowena continues to be an ambassador for this year’s Small Business Saturday UK campaign, and an AMEX Shop Small Merchant, and will be sharing her success story, insight and experience with fellow business owners in the lead up and inspiring like-minded business owners all over the UK. Watch this space!