Husband and wife duo forecast £500k turnover with Lancaster fashion design startup

A fashion design company based in Lancaster is on track to create jobs and turn over half a million in the next few years.

LYPH, which stands for Live Young Play Hard, is expecting its team to grow from two to seven and its turnover from zero to £500k over the next three years after receiving mentoring from Boost, Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub.

Founded in May 2016 by fashion designer Frederick Edmondson and his wife Jemma, LYPH focuses on wholesale contemporary streetwear with interchangeable pockets.

Its collection is currently sold worldwide at retail outlets such as Supermarche in the UK; Quint, Your Premium Store and Baskets in Europe; and From Where I Stand, Mortar, W-NYC, Master Piece, DD4D, and Dude and Romer in Japan.

LYPH also has established links with businesses in China, which now manufacture its products.

The company was supported through Boost by Community and Business Partners, a Blackburn-based non-profit.

Frederick, whose background in fashion includes roles with brands such as Paul Smith, All Saints and Tommy Hilfiger, was keen to start his own business when he returned to the UK from Amsterdam with Jemma.

Frederick, LYPH’s creative director, said: “The support and information we received from Boost has been nothing short of magical.

“We have already gained a better understanding of business operations and this helped secure orders at autumn 2017 trade shows.”

Community and Business Partners matched LYPH with business mentor Nigel Beevers, who provided one-to-one mentoring around business growth.

Jaydee Davies, operations manager at Community and Business Partners, commented: “Nigel worked with Frederick and Jemma to produce three year sales forecasts, along with cash flow reviews to identify shortfalls and we converted forecasts to a value table with an effective cash flow prediction model.”

Boost is led by the Lancashire LEP and Lancashire County Council, with funding support from the European Regional Development Fund.