A mother-of-two who started an online children’s clothing store from her home has had to move into a warehouse because of a huge hike in sales during the coronavirus pandemic.

Little C’s Boutique was set up five years ago by Ellis Hales from her home in Iwade, near Sittingbourne, as a part-time experiment selling a range of luxury brands.

But she is now designing her own lines, which are selling all over the world, and has seen a 50% increase in sales during the Covid-19 crisis.

Because her home was too small to cope with the expansion, she moved the business into a warehouse in Medway in October and now has two full-time staff. The boutique also has more than 100,000 Instagram followers.

Ellis, 29, said she was “ecstatic” about her success, having faced a number of hurdles throughout the pandemic.

“I am over the moon to have achieved all these successes, particularly the incredible following on Instagram,” she said. “I had no expectation of hitting the milestone until a customer and influencer in Egypt posted a review of her order. Her positive comments sent my following through the roof.”

The boutique also featured on Mrs Hinch’s Instagram following an order from the celebrity cleaner and, again, in Vogue magazine as one of the top three brands for children’s clothing, both in 2019.

Ellis said: “It has certainly not been smooth for us and other small businesses, especially with Brexit on top of the pandemic. We also experienced severe production delays, which had a knock-on effect with the seasonal lines coming through, and then further postal delays getting orders out to customers.

“I feel blessed to have been able to weather the storm and accelerate the growth of the business along with my small team. It has been more challenging than I could have imagined, but I have loved every minute.”

For more, visit www.littlecsboutique.com

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