From selling vintage clothing to multi-million pound turnover business for Derbyshire sisters

Roxie, 31, and Issy Webster, 28, from Belper, first set up their wholesale vintage clothing business, Fox Vintage Clothing, in 2017 with just £2,000 in the bank.

The sisters started the company from a small office in Derby and, as they prepare to move into a new warehouse, are celebrating turning over their first few million.

Roxie said: “We’d started out as retailers, selling items we had found in charity shops on sites such as ASOS Marketplace and Depop before we decided to push our boundaries and become a wholesaler, supplying retailers worldwide.

“We saw a gap in the market, as we could never find the stock we wanted as retailers. It seemed a good idea to become a wholesaler.

“We really had little knowledge of the wholesale business at the time, but we learned as we went along. We started by supplying bigger companies than ourselves and we made out that we were bigger than we actually were; all we really had was one box of vintage clothing in this tiny room on the edge of Derby.”

Roxie and Issy mostly import their stock from America by the tonne, shipping up to 10 tonnes every week.

The pair believe one contributing factor to the popularity of their business is an increased awareness around the environmental impact of ‘fast fashion’ – the term used within the industry to describe the mass production of inexpensive clothing in response to latest trends which are often discarded once another trend rolls around.

“By importing 10 tonnes of clothing every week, we’re effectively saving 10 tonnes of clothing from going to landfill,” Roxie said.

“Gen Z shoppers are fed up of fast fashion and vintage clothing is the more sustainable choice.

"Each item has its own story and I love to romanticise about who wore each item before it arrived with us; we quite often find American dollars in pockets, and we once found an unopened packets of chewing gum from the 1980s in the pocket of a hoody.”

Roxie, who has always been interested in business, recalls a conversation at age 15 with her mum Annie where she told her that, one day, she would have her own business.

Annie now works within the new warehouse, and younger brother Ki is equal partner in Fox Vintage Wholesale after joining his sisters last year.

The new unit, situated on Royal Scot Road in Derby, promises ‘experience for the reseller’ with bold, vibrant branding, a chill-out area and games room complete with pool table and a vintage arcade unit.

There is office space too where the team will keep tabs on their 25,000 Instagram followers and growing TikTok audience, while those behind the scenes can ensure that the business is running smoothly.

“Vintage clothing is big business – but you do need to know your stuff,” added Issy. “We have had retailers visit our warehouse for a handpick session and it can take hours. It can be quite exhausting.

“Our new warehouse, though, will have more space and the breakout areas will enhance the whole experience.”

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