WEAR WORDS
We asked eight Wear business leaders : Where will your growth come from in 2023 ?
Claire Goodliff , co-founder , Amazing Jane Last year was an amazing year for us , with our innovative TrackHer leggings causing a stir regionally and nationally and this has really propelled us into 2023 .
Collaboration is at the heart of what we do , and we have some great projects in the pipeline with Smart Works Newcastle , the Alzheimer ’ s Society and key influencers alongside our ‘ Real Women ’ of Amazing Jane campaign .
Global expansion is also on our radar , and we have been selected as one of only 20 UK businesses to hit a UK Retail Summit Trade Mission to Dubai in March .
Holly McBride Donaldson , co-owner , Club Zest We are really stepping things up a gear in 2023 and have some great expansion plans on the horizon . We have supported thousands of women on their fitness journey and 2022 saw us take fitness into the community with some great projects with Sunderland BID .
We are seeing a change in attitudes to fitness with it hitting the agenda for not just individuals but for companies , too , as part of their staff wellbeing agenda . This year will see us work with more employers to enhance our corporate offers and benefits for employees .
Scott Wilson-Laing , founder , WL Distillery 2023 is all about enhanced expansion . We recently unveiled plans to ramp up the distillery with further investment and site acquisition at our County Durham site . The new site will see us expand our operations to enable us to continue to make our award-winning gins , assisting in expanding our product portfolio and developing our export growth strategy to support further accelerated growth .
The introduction of a larger still and an enhanced storage area will enable us to launch a variety of new and exciting spirits making us one of only a handful of distilleries within England doing so .
Nicola Halse , Riverside Marketing Solutions Looking at the next 12 months for both myself and my clients , I see lots of opportunities .
I know I ’ m biased but I see marketing as a huge factor in business growth , with current challenges and the cost of living really hitting people hard , now is definitely the time to maintain your presence and continue to build brand exposure .
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It ’ s important for businesses to get their message across and show how they can benefit clients and solve their problems .
Christine Wood , Aon head of office , Newcastle and Stockton Aon provides its clients with advice and solutions to give them the clarity and confidence to make better decisions that protect and grow their business .
The global and geopolitical turmoil means that there is greater uncertainty and risk facing businesses in all sectors , which we are helping our clients to navigate through innovation , service excellence and by drawing on resources and expertise available in our global network .
These are areas which we expect to see growth in 2023 .
Martin Johnson , partner , Torgersens Chartered Accountants We see this year ’ s growth coming from businesses that are starting to see light after a pretty gloomy few years of uncertainty and hardship .
It must be stressed , though , that for the most part , this growth will be slow and hard won .
We all need to work together to create a supportive environment for business owners who are having difficulty , be it through providing advice , networking opportunities or a good old-fashioned coffee and chat !
David Dunn , CEO , Sunderland Software City I see growth in 2023 coming from more people getting into the technology sector – through starting a tech business or getting a job in tech .
It might seem ambitious to suggest Sunderland could be a hotbed of new tech start-ups , but within the last few months we ’ ve just finished a programme which will see eight new tech businesses register in the city .
Nationally , we ’ ve seen many tech businesses started by people who ’ ve never had anything to do with tech previously .
Equally , we ’ ve run programmes in the city and region that have helped people from a broad range of backgrounds get jobs in the sector .
Susan Hall , owner , Reds Hair and Beauty Salon This year will be an exciting one for Reds , with the bounce back from the pandemic continuing and strengthening .
So , I think growth for us will come through our traditional , award-winning salon services , but in particular , through our investment in new and exciting beauty treatments .
Last year , we introduced the revolutionary new Morpheus8 skin treatment , which is proving more and more popular with existing and new clients who want to try out this treatment .