South West business proves it’s a real family affair - Yell announces winner of its first ever ‘Best Family Business Awards’ - 19 April 2006
Ethical Cornish fashion retailer, Wildlife Clothing, run by a dynamic trio of brothers, has been named the ‘UK’s Best Family Business’ after winning the national final of the Yell Best Family Business Awards, run by the publisher of Yellow Pages directories.The awards were established to celebrate the valuable contribution family businesses make to the UK’s local communities. Entries were judged on the five criteria of; community involvement; innovation of business idea; success; number of family generations and the number of family members currently working in the business.
Set up by Don Chadwick 25 years ago and now run by his three sons, Leigh, David and Neil, Wildlife Clothing is at the forefront of the new wave of ethical fashion, which aims to minimise environmental damage and the exploitation of workers in the clothing production process. In addition to its six fashion outlets in Penzance, Falmouth, St Ives, Truro, Padstow and Fowey, Wildlife has just launched an organic clothing brand called ‘Seasalt’. The Seasalt range is made of organic cotton currently grown by farmers in Turkey. By 2008, the cotton will also be sourced from African farmers.
Wildlife Clothing beat off stiff competition from nine regional finalists to claim the national title and a prize package worth more than £13,000 - including £3,000 cash, free Yell advertising up to £3,000 and an outdoor poster advert created by a top London agency.
Wildlife’s innovative and environmentally-aware approach to retail particularly impressed the national judges, who were:
- Sally Low, director of policy & external affairs, British Chambers of Commerce
- Stephen Alambritis, head of parliamentary affairs, Federation of Small Businesses
- Grant Gordon, director general, Institute for Family Business
- Ann Francke, chief marketing officer, Yell
The Heart of the High Street
The announcement of the winners of the Yell Best Family Business Awards follows recent research by Yell into trends in family businesses. The research showed that small family-run firms continue to thrive, despite increased competition from larger, multi-national companies on the UK High Street.
Traditional merchants such as Butchers and Bakers were highlighted as particularly strong family business industries, as were skilled trades such as Plumbers, Painters & Decorators and Carpenters & Joiners. These sectors were well represented in the Yell Best Family Business Awards shortlist, which included bakers Nice Croissant, from London and butchers M & M Rutland from Melton Constable, East Anglia.
Leigh Chadwick, director, Wildlife Clothing, said: "We are thrilled to have won the prestigious Yell Family Business Award, particularly as 2006 marks our 25th year in business. The award recognises our business achievements as a family and the fact that we have ensured the continuing success of our father’s business legacy, which is something we’re very proud of and essentially what family businesses are all about.
He added: “The awards also recognise our business philosophy, which is about building a business which will last; taking great pride in everything we do; being innovative and entrepreneurial; and importantly taking our environmental and social responsibilities seriously. The award is incredibly motivational for everyone involved in our family business and we would like to thank all our employees for helping to make our family business so successful.”
Ann Francke, chief marketing officer, Yell said: “The high standard and variety of the nine regional finalists was extremely impressive – from innovative language learning techniques to ice cream manufacturers. Choosing an overall Best Family Business was a hard decision, but after much debate we felt that Wildlife Clothing really demonstrated how the unique character of a family business can contribute to a successful business model. The brothers’ success in growing their business at a staggering rate and their continuous innovation, which has enabled the business to branch out into new areas, made them the clear winner.”
The awards were open to family businesses which are currently run by at least one family member (as CEO, managing director, owner or similar) with at least one other immediate family member working for the business.
For further information on the Yell Best Family Business Awards visit www.familybusinessawards.co.uk/winners.
