MY LIGHT BULB MOMENT
Retailer Sharon Wolter-Ferguson
In 2012 Sharon Wolter-Ferguson, 54, a single mum, set up HEWI London, a website selling barely worn designer clothing. Today the company has an annual turnover of £4.5 million. Sharon lives in London and has two daughters, natalya, 27, and Tatiana, 25.
I MARRIED young. When my husband, a Dutch businessman, and I split, I moved to Monaco with my girls. I was lucky enough to be invited to glittering parties and, obviously you can’t keep wearing the same outfits! Luckily I found a gem of a boutique that sold discounted designer labels.
Once I bought a nude chiffon Alberta Ferretti dress for less than a tenth of its price. I’d sell pieces back to the shop and buy something else with the credit.
It was when I moved back to London in 2008, that I began to think I should set up a business. Back then no one was selling pre-worn pieces. My light bulb moment was realising that women want to buy something fabulous that feels new, not second-hand.
I spent two years developing the website, and called the company Hardly Ever Worn It (HEWI). I wanted a site for women like me, searching for something easy to use, authentic and safe. I was clear about what to feature, too. It was not vintage or what you might find on eBay, but upmarket.
The business started with a few friends donating items, but soon black bin bags full of clothes were appearing outside our house! Today we vet all the items we sell.
But I knew the breakthrough would be getting customers to upload photos of their own pieces to sell through the site, peer-topeer ( and we’d handle the payments). Our first upload was a Gucci python gold bag from Bahrain. I thought, this is it! It’s working! We take 35 per cent on pieces that we sell and 15 per cent if you sell it on the site yourself.
There’s also an anonymous VIP section which is used by famous vendors — including fashion editors, celebrities, even royalty.
Forty per cent of the items on HEWI are new. People buy clothes that don’t fit, then miss the time slot to return them. I tell everyone: hang on to the bag and receipt and you can resell.
Today we have a staff of 15 including my daughters, but I still work 24/7. It’s funny that I’ve become a successful business woman. For 20 years I was a housewife and mother. But now I look at my children and it’s so rewarding because they’re so proud of me.