The second-hand clothing store opened earlier this year in Swansea’s town centre.
Two Swansea University School of Management students have capitalised on the growing demand for vintage by opening up their own successful second-hand clothing store, the Retro and Vintage Store (RAVS).
Sion Williams (BSc Business Management (Entrepreneurship) student), and Caitlin Leatham (BSc Business Management) developed the business as part of their Applied Entrepreneurship module in the 2nd year of their degree and turned the idea into reality, launching RAVS earlier this year in Swansea.
On why they both chose to undertake the enterprise module, Caitlin stated that “it was an opportunity to apply theory to practice and set up my own business.”
Sion added, “I’ve always wanted to work for myself, to be as successful as possible while really making a difference to society; that’s why I decided to study a BSc in Business Management (Entrepreneurship) at university.”
On the development of the business Sion stated:
“The idea came from the fact that I’m passionate about retro and vintage clothing and believe it’s important to encourage as many people as possible to wear pre-loved clothing. Fast fashion produces waste in excess of 1.1million tons a year in the UK alone, a worrying, growing statistic. I’m a strong believer that more should be done to lower this number and believe that the introduction of more vintage shops will play its part.”
Caitlin added:
“Vintage fashion is continuing to increase in popularity, especially among fashion and environmentally conscious students. The store will have a strong customer base upon launch and I can’t wait to watch the brand grow.”