Family sees the bigger picture

Oct 20 2008 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

A BUSINESS which started off on a barrow stall in the MetroCentre is now set to expand across the UK and may soon branch out to Spain and California.

Mother and daughter team Jan Massey and Melanie Crow are in the process of achieving their long-standing goal of turning Photography For Little People into a national franchise.

After launching the brand at the British Franchise Association (BFA) earlier this month Little People is in talks with a number of franchisees with a view to opening 30 UK outlets in the next year.

Their goal is to rapidly increase this to 100 UK outlets in the coming years.

An international dimension is also emerging with interest from a possible franchisee in California and “strong” interest from an ex-pat family wishing to open an outlet in Spain.

Ms Massey said: “When we started the business in February 2005 our goal was to open a shop and then launch the franchise.

“We achieved the first goal in March 2006 and are now well on the way to achieving the second goal.”

The franchise was launched at the BFA exhibition at the Birmingham NECC on October 2.

Ms Massey continued: “We were overwhelmed by the response. It was a very emotional experience for us and we were blown away by the level of interest. It is a very visual product and it created a very striking impression at the exhibition.

“We are currently in the process of following up the enquiries. There are several people interested going forward. We anticipate opening 30 franchises in the first year and will be attending further exhibitions in Dublin, Manchester and London in the coming months.

“We are also excited by the interest from overseas and are in serious talks about opening a franchise in Spain and we are in talks with a possible franchisee who wants to take the concept to California.”

The business specialises in capturing happy family moments centred around the milestones in the lives of youngsters. It also sells a wide selection of baby and christening gifts.

The duo recently won the Retail Category in the Women Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for the North East and attribute their success to the dedication of their nine-strong team and the bond of loyalty they strike with their customers.

The two directors recently made loyal employee Rachel Stephenson a fellow director.

Mum-of-six Rachel’s new son Isaac has become the new face of the business, featuring in the company’s updated logo.

The couple have been heavily involved in charity work backing the appeal to raise cash for County Durham meningitis victim Tilly Lockey and in doing so have enlisted the support of celebrities such as Alan Shearer.

While undertaking the charity work Melanie and Jan have encountered high profile entrepreneurs Alan Sugar and Duncan Bannatyne.

“Both have encouraged us to go for it,” added Ms Massey.