Julie Deane, founder of the Cambridge Satchel Company, began with an idea to bring back traditional leather satchels from her childhood. She has since turned £600 from her kitchen table (in 2008) into a £12 million company that ships satchels to 100 countries worldwide.
Bloggers were instrumental in the advertisement of the satchels. Julie sent bloggers and fashion editors information, photos, and samples of the satchels, asking them for feedback. As a result, the millions of people who followed those bloggers and their opinions helped to spread the word. This certainly seems like a good (free!) way to advertise.
Julie’s satchels are now quite popular around the world, having been carried by famous celebrities like Zooey Deschanel and Daniel Radcliffe. Google has recently chosen Julie to star in its new Google chrome ad for her “amazing entrepreneurial spirit, the success of her brand and the role that the internet played in the success of her business.”
The company is self-sustaining, never having borrowed a single pound from anyone. Moreover, Julie is adamant that all of her products are handmade in the UK.
However, former manufacturers have recently started a rival company, Zatchels. Are more emulators on the way?
References:
http://www.thenextwomen.com/sites/default/files/cambridge-satchel-company-logo.jpg