Focus: Female leisure and sportswear
Tamara Hill-Norton
Age: 34
Company: sweatyBetty
A year of frenzied growth for Hill-Norton’s sweatyBetty has seen it expand from five to 17 stores and double turnover to £9m. Started in 1998 after Hill-Norton, a former buyer for Knickerbox, recognised the lack of specialist sports and leisurewear shops for women, the company grew organically before refinancing early in 2004. The funding included a deal with retail group Whittington but Hill-Norton has retained more than 51% equity and says the company can now launch new stores from cashflow. Three more will open before Christmas and a further six in 2006.
2017 update:
Sweaty Betty now operates 50 stores across London and the rest of the UK, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Conneticut and New York, with Hill-Norton now acting as creative director of the brand and designing every collection. In 2015, the company collaborated with Richard Nicoll for a collection featured at London Fashion Week.
