A handful of retailers have been nominated for Ernst & Young’s 10th annual Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards, which recognise excellence in entrepreneurism in the Australian business precinct.
Held at the end of this year on November 24, gift and homewares retailers will feature heavily in the ceremony, with two notable founders and owners of Australian stores nominated for their innovative contributions.
Kristina Karlsson from the increasingly popular kikki.K stationery brand is among those nominated for the awards.
In less than a decade, Karlsson succeeded in opening 50 boutique stores and increasing her turnover of $34,000 in 2000 to tens of millions this last financial year.
kikki.K is recognised for being a pioneer in concept retailing, combining the stationery and fashion accessory markets to produce a sought-after brand with seasonal collections, 500 new products released every year and cutting edge store design.
Donna Guest of the Blue Illusion retail chain has also been nominated for the awards.
Guest opened her first Blue Illusion store in 2002 following a trip to Paris, London and the US, where she encountered the concept of lifestyle retailing, which caters to varied facets of customers’ lives from fashion garments and personal accessories to homewares and everyday objects.
Blue Illusion has since grown into a chain of boutique stores in suburban shopping strips, small towns and larger business districts.
Guest offers her clientele a customised styling service that covers both personal attire as well as dressing interiors and homes.