4 days Ago
Two women who opened their own clothing business during lockdown have shed light on their journey to success as they celebrate the opening of their new shop. Hayley Lynch, 40 and Sarah Lichter, 32, are co-owners of their own fashion brand, Rebellious Rose, which they started in 2018, operating from Westhoughton Market. The fashion business, which takes its name from Sarah’s eldest daughter, caters to women of all sizes and body shapes, stocking a variety of clothing from size 8 to a size 26.
Hayley Lynch (left), Olivia Marriott, owner of Tan Bank (centre) and Sarah Lichter (right). (Image: Leah Collins) Hayley and Sarah, who are both from Westhoughton, are set to unveil their new Rebellious Rose clothing store, which will be inside The Tan Bank on Market Street, at a special event on Saturday, March 29. The event will also include free drinks, vouchers and pop-up shops from local independent businesses.
Despite the success of the business, the future of the brand certainly has not always been roses. Hayley said: “We both met in 2018, Sarah had been on Westhoughton Market for a couple of years before that with Rebellious Rose. “I’ve always been outspoken and confident, I went up to her and just asked where all the clothes for bigger girls were! “Sarah has worked in retail all her life since she was 16, so has always wanted to own her own business from a young age.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rebellious Rose (@rebellious_rosehq) “I come from a background in sales before moving to beauty. "The blend worked really well for us. I started offering the beauty services at Rebellious Rose on the market.
Just doing bits here and there. “It was going well until the pandemic hit. I was obviously working up-close and personal with people, so I couldn’t work .
"Sarah was able to carry on the stall. “My mum had a shoe stall on the market and unfortunately, I lost both of my grandparents during Covid , so I inherited the shop. “We wanted to team up and that’s really when we became a due.
We started offering shoes. "We stayed on the market for 12 months and built up a big customer base from that.” READ MORE: First Look inside Bolton's Phat Ladz store which has opened Armstrong Bakery shortlisted for an award for its sandwiches Bolton's new Primark in Market Place opening on Wednesday Wanting to broaden their horizons and move away from the market, the two women decided to look at opening up their own shop.
Hayley said: “We were looking for a fresh start away from Westhoughton.” “We wanted a new change, so we eventually settled on a place in Hindley.” Sarah added: “We did everything, as well as clothes we did accessories and concessions in the shop as well as offering beauty treatments in the back.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rebellious Rose (@rebellious_rosehq) “Things were going well for us until tragedy struck and the store became completely flooded in the cellar, which was due to maintenance works on the street. “We lost everything, all our hard work and that’s when for both of us, our mental health became really low.” Determined to make their dreams a reality, both Hayley and Sarah tried to push on to get Rebellious Rose back on track.
Hayley added: “Just weeks after, Ladies Lane (the store in Hindley) was closed and wasn’t due to open for many months. This was detrimental to us. “We went from taking around £3,000 on a Saturday to £100 and our footfall really struggled.
"We struggled to keep the place, and we wondered if we had a future with the business at all.” After another flooding issue, once again caused by ongoing maintenance works. The two women began to try a different approach.
Sarah said: “We didn’t have the shop anymore due to the damage caused by the flooding, so we started looking at a digital approach. “We focused on building our social media, doing live streams to showcase stock and adapt to a new way of selling. Hayley Lynch (left) and Sarah Lichter's (right) friendship has blossomed alongside their business.
(Image: Rebellious Rose) “Other local businesses were so helpful Rishi’s in Westhoughton and Floral Fusion even organised click and collect points for us. "We teamed up with Thrive, a mental health-based charity and began to organise local events to integrate with the community.” While building up their client base, Hayley and Sarah began to search for Rebellious Roses’ forever home.
It was around this time that they stumbled upon Westhoughton’s Market Street – the last place they’d imagined returning to. Hayley said: “I was having a bad mental health day and I just wanted a stranger to talk to. "I came in to The Tan Bank and the girls were immediately so lovely.
“They’re the perfect example of to never judge a book by its cover. Because they all looked so glamorous I was intimidated at first, but they’re the most beautiful set of women with the kindest hearts. “Olivia, who owns The Tan Bank was all for the idea of us opening a store there.
It just felt so right, and it suited, they have the space, and we don’t want to have the full responsibility of the shop. “We gelled really well, I saw her amazing work ethic – she understood our vision completely.” Both businesses will continue to operate at the Westhoughton address.
Since announcing their come back to Westhoughton, the two women have received amazing feedback on social media. They even produced a hilarious video teasing their return. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rebellious Rose (@rebellious_rosehq) Sarah said: “We can’t wait to be back home where it all started, its been a fantastic journey and the community has been so supportive.
“We’re looking forward to this fresh start and showing what we can do.” Hayley added: “We’re back and stronger than ever. It’s extremely emotional but we’re so proud of how far we’ve come.
“The day we move into The Tan Bank will mark our five-year anniversary doing this. "We’ve got so many exciting bits, like pop-up shops, planned for this year, we can’t wait to give it our all. “It hasn’t always been easy, but the decisions we’ve made along the way have led us to where we are.
We couldn’t be prouder.”.
