HEIDI GOSMAN AND PENNY KLEIN ARE THE DYNAMIC DUO BEHIND THE FIRST DEDICATED HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE, HEIDI KLEIN. WHATEVER THE SEASON, YOU’LL GET THE PRE-HOLIDAY WORKS – THE TAN, THE WAX, THE OUTFIT – FOR PERFECT BEACH APPEAL

interview: bethan ryder portrait tony french

PENNY KLEIN, 36 “My husband introduced me to Heidi about six years ago; they were friends at work. Coincidentally, she and I then began working together at a new media agency and it was there that we got talking about starting our own business. We were analysing consumer spending trends on holidays, and Heidi was about to jet off to the Maldives. But it was February and she couldn’tfind a bikini orfit a waxing treatment into her schedule. We thought about how fantastic it would be to have a one-stop holiday shop where you could get everything you needed. We were serious about the project. We devoted Saturdays and Tuesday evenings to the business. Our boss caught me one day printing out the 60-page business plan, which was a slightly hairy situation but it turned out to be to our advantage as our former employer is a key investor. “After six months of planning, we resigned from our jobs to commit to the business. Developing the project took over a year. We opened the Notting Hill boutique in April 2002 and, in 2003, launched our Chelsea store and our own Heidi Klein label of swimwear, beach hats and clothing. “Our 15 investors are an incentive to constantly develop the business. Heidi oversees human resources and is developing our New York store. I look after the beauty department but our roles blur. Now that we have staff to manage the dayto-day affairs, it’s very different from the early days when we worked seven days a week doing everything. Disagreements are rare, but if we do differ in opinion we always talk it through – it’s a healthy process. We spend an extraordinary amount of time together, but 90% of that is talking about the business; it’s our passion.” HEIDI GOSMAN, 35 “I knew Penny’s husband and his best friend is now my husband. When we got married last September, Penny was bridesmaid and her husband was best man. Penny and I have a healthy relationship because we have differing tastes when it comes to buying, but we’ll reach a conclusion together. I’d always been interested in retail, but being unable tofind swimwear in winter made me realise how huge the gap in the market was. We could have launched with a bank loan in a south London back street, but we thought the concept was so great that we’d rather approach investors for a big injection of cash. That ensured prime sites and great PR right from the outset. “I’d been an account director for eight years and was in a secure position but this venture seemed so exciting. Finally Kleiny and I said to ourselves: ‘If we don’t do it now, we never will!’ It was tough, though. My parents said: ‘What are you thinking?’, but it was the right decision, both in terms of the business and my business partner. “Heidi Klein was a working title but when we approached the branding agency, Hosker Moore Kent Media, to create our stores, they said: ‘It’s fantastic. Why look for a new name?’ People like it, and there are good connotations with Calvin Klein and Heidi Klum. We have an in-house designer for our own label and are now looking to wholesale. It isn’t just about looking sweet, it’s also about practicality. For example, our plastic bikini bags allow you to pack a wet bikini; Elle Macpherson regularly requests those. This summer we’re expanding to New York: in a lovely old bookstore on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, on Lexington and 72nd. It’s a neighbourhood with a Notting Hill vibe – lovely delis, antique shops – so it’s perfect”. www.heidiklein.com