Simeone Salik from Blindsinabox talks to Blinds & Shutters about the company’s offering and the benefits of the product.
“Having decided to build a retirement home, the last things on the agenda for the interiors were the curtains. As I was unsure about what type of curtains, I tried to find a temporary interim solution whilst I made up my mind. Despite a thorough search, none were available in the UK, and I realised I had found a potential gap in the market.
I asked my interior designer, Janice Dalton, to join me in the business as she was so enthusiastic about them. She also has a fantastic understanding of design and can see how the blinds can be of use to other members of her profession.
We were introduced to Dominic Lawrence, who has an import business, to help find a suitable manufacturer and in 2007 Blindsinabox started selling temporary instant blinds on our website.
“I had worked in PR many years ago and with those skills, managed to obtain some fantastic press for the product. The blinds seemed to ‘hit the spot’ and online sales were increasing on a daily basis.
We recognized that to grow the business we needed to increase our profile and made the decision to appear on Dragon’s Den. We knew that if we secured investment, we could benefit from the expertise and contacts of whichever Dragon took an interest in our product.
We were nervous, but well rehearsed, and had such belief in our product that we hope this came over in our pitch. The Dragons can be hard and unkind, but certainly recognise a good business opportunity and we were so pleased to gain investment from James Caan and Duncan Bannatyne.
We thoroughly enjoy working with our new investors and their teams and the business has already started to benefit from their input. The blinds are a really good solution for retailers when customers’ blinds have not arrived in time or if they cannot decide what they want immediately.
They will tie the customer in to the retailer. Also they can make a profit from the sale (10 boxes for £20 a box plus VAT and p&p instead of £39.95 per box). Can also be used as a temporary measure if customers feel they need to ‘save up’ for expensive fittings. They can be taken on holiday or used in a nursery in blackout version.”
