A Derbyshire businesswoman who has built a multi-million pound baby products business from scratch is set open her latest store in Nottingham.
Mum-of-two Kelly Carter, founder of Little Angels, opened her first store in Bath Street, Ilkeston, five years ago, selling pushchairs, car seats and nursery furniture. Last year, the company had an turnover of more than £2 million.
Now she is set to open a store in Prospect Street, off Radford Boulevard, in central Nottingham.
The new store, which has 5,000 sq ft of floor space, will open for business this Friday - which is Black Friday.
Kelly decided to start Little Angels when she was pregnant with her youngest son, Owen (now five). At the time, she struggled to find a pushchair or the advice she needed from the big stores she visited so decided to start her own.
She has run a successful business despite having dyslexia. She struggled with reading and writing throughout her school years before being diagnosed with the learning difficulty at the age of 16.
The former pupil of Kirk Hallam Technology and Sports College in Ilkeston said: “On my first day at the Ilkeston store, I’d managed to set everything up, but I didn’t even know how to use a till.
“I had to run over the road to the flower shop for help. Even now, when I look at the till, it’s very difficult for me to grasp where things are. My mind goes into panic when I see a lot of writing.
“I do tell customers I’m dyslexic, we laugh and nobody cares. With dyslexia, you can either be ashamed of it or embrace it.
“I joke about it. If you take the awkwardness out of the situation, you have already got past the first hurdle. I just take a little longer to work things out.”
Kelly has a supportive team behind her, including Kimberley Kirk and Rebecca Marshall, who will be managing the new Nottingham shop, which will stock brands such as iCandy and Silver Cross.
It will stock one of the biggest range of pushchairs in the UK, with more than 80 on display at any one time alongside nursery furniture and car seats.
As well as the two shops, Little Angels also has a warehouse in Kirkby-in-Ashfield and a website littleangelsprams.co.uk.
The opening of the new Nottingham store comes after national retailer Mothercare went into administration.
Kelly said: “It’s so sad to see such a household name disappearing and devastating for all the staff.
“As an independent business, we aim to provide a professional and personal service for Nottinghamshire’s parents and parents-to-be.”
