WORDS: AMY SESSIONS
Masters of Time
Private Label London-Dubai specialise in three areas of luxury: Create, Source & Invest. We spoke to Founder Daniel Henderson and Commercial Director Alys McMahon to find out what it takes to drive uniqueness in the industry What do your first 30 mins of the day look like, your morning routine? DH: I get up at 4am and respond to all messages I have received through the night as our network is live 24/7 then I work out for 30 minutes on the Peloton. This time is important for me to set myself up for the day ahead. AM: I usually get up at 7am and walk the dog with a coffee. I enjoy my time first thing to be quiet. What are the pillars of the brand and how did you define why these were important? AM: Creating and sourcing are our two main pillars of the brand and everything we do falls in to either the create or source element of the business. Whether it is research and development, design or procurement, the pillars are essential for us to focus on as we evolve our brand and services. How did you know it was the right time to make the leap in doing something yourself and how did it come about? DH: Having spent 15 years in corporate arenas, I always wanted to have my own business and do something I enjoyed. So, combining a hobby and a business was key. Today it is more of a
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member at Threads Styling (a shopping service accessed through personal chat) taught me so much about outside the box thinking. You need to be aware of what motivates you and simultaneously be able to recognise key success indicators within the business as well as understand clearly what your clients’ needs are. If you have these, this is ultimately what drives the decisions when developing a strategy that supports scaling. How challenging was it to secure the sourcing side and why did you decide to focus on this first? DH: When driving a business that supplies high value items, there is of course an inherent risk in dealing with these and to start, this was a challenge especially whilst I built the supply network. I decided to focus on this as a priority. You may have the largest client base but without good product and delivery there isn’t really a sustainable business. I knew that if I could secure a solid supply chain then clients would soon build trust with us. What’s the most interesting custom piece lifestyle choice and has allowed me to meet you’ve made, and which region was it shipped many like-minded individuals. to? AM: Developing our first custom collecHow did your previous roles prepare you for tion of Spekt Sorbet watches (a set of 7 coloured ceramic watches that are a global exthis leap and is there ever a right time? DH: Spending 10 years in the financial market, clusive) was something that we spent a long the stakes were high and there is no room time developing. The orders we fulfilled for for error. Mistakes cannot be made. We now this collection were delivered to essentially work in an industry trading with high value every corner of the world and this was a really items and you have to be aware of the risks positive affirmation of clients believing in the associated with this. I quickly learnt that uniqueness of our designs. We also continue attention to detail and delivering the best to create several entirely bespoke options for product possible is what will set you apart. clients, and this includes jewellery too. But if you wait for the right time to set up on What has been the biggest challenge since your own, it may never come. launching and how did you navigate this? How does being able to think outside the AM: The biggest challenge is scaling. We have to ensure that with everything we do, box equip you to build a strategy that scales we challenge the full idea to understand how the business? AM: Being a founding team
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