Anyone that knows me will agree that I’m a frustrated entrepreneur, given too many good opportunities to give up the day job and take the full time plunge just yet. Thats probably why I’m interested in the process of creating a brand or setting up a store and tend to ask those sorts of business type questions in my interviews. I’d seen my next interviewee UrbanRetro mentioned on a few blogs and interviewed them briefly about their progress in establishing themselves in a crowded marketplace.

Tell me about the history of the site?

UrbanRetro started life as a little project for fun. For the last 3 years I have been using the internet quite a lot and I always wanted to start my own website. I started to design a few websites and at the same time I though of an idea that was different. It all started when I thought it would be very different and unique to compare Hip Hop clothing to smart clothing. My family thought I was crazy when I told them my idea, but I stuck with it. The Hip Hop clothing turned into Urban Clothing and the smart clothing turned into Retro clothing. Then came the matter of choosing a name. Urban Retro just popped in my head and it was perfect for what I wanted to do. I then got back into art and a big way and came across vinyl toys. They just seemed to go together perfectly and I wanted to start my own business, so I thought ‘why not’. Since last year UrbanRetro has evolved into what you see today.

Why did you decide the world needed Urban Retro?

Every plant needs something cool and fresh. That is my aim with UrbanRetro. UrbanRetro will always try out new things and so that is where the fresh comes in but at the same time if it aint cool its not on UrbanRetro.

Were you inspired by any other online stores?

This is a difficult question. There are so many great websites out there and it is hard not be influenced. There are tons of small websites which are great but on a business level I would have to say Karmaloop.com and Kidrobot.com are what I inspire to.They are both from USA but I think their business models are just perfect. However I have tried to be a little bit different to all the other websites I see.

How has the reaction been since your launch?

The reaction has been great so far. People love the idea, we have had nothing but compliments and if there has been any faults people have helped us out. Customers have been happy so far and the number of visitors to the site is growing every month. We have also been very lucky in that some very popular blogs have linked to us such as JoshSpear.com (http://www.joshspear.com/item/urbanretro-sale/) which really helped out. We will be starting some PR with newspapers and magazines soon so we are hoping that will help.

How have you gone about getting traffic on the site? Has anything proved particularly successful?

As I mentioned before links from other blogs has really helped. There is the obvious marketing methods of adwords and SEO. We have also just started an affiliate marketing program in September which has been great so far. We have also been featured in a few magazines which are coming out soon. One of which is a really popular magazine in the UK.

Who do you see as your main competition?

I try not to worry about the competition because that will just make me change the way I run the website. But there are a few websites that we have to keep a eye on. The biggest competition is from sites such as Yukka and Octane3 but we are different enough that it does not worry me.

Tell us about your plans for the future?

I have tons of plans of the future, many of which will probably not surface. The beauty of having your own business is that you can try out new things. We will be doing limited edition art prints soon and we will be bringing out some more art related products. The designer toys section will continue to grow and we are hoping to hold custom vinyl toy show in the new year. We may also bring out a small line of t-shirts in summer 2007. However this will only happen if I am happy with it and I will not do it just because everyone is doing their own clothing line these days.
The sky is the limit and so I will not stop there. You never know you may see some retro toys soon…

I see you blog regularly, do you think this has helped in generating sales/love for UR?

Blogging has helped me so much. If I did not blog I don’t think I would be in love with whole UrbanRetro lifestyle and culture as much as I am. The blog has definitely helped the actual store but it is early days and so it is hard to work out actual figures. The blog will be a major part of UrbanRetro and it will continue to grow along side the store.

Tell us about some of your favourite products available at UR?

I love everything at UrbanRetro but my biggest temptations are the toys. They are all so cool and I feel like buying every toy I sell. My favourite toys at the moment are Cardboy sneakers

and the 15″ Circus punks, they are really unique and the designs are amazing.

Do you plan on opening an offline store at any point in the future?

I don think I will ever open a offline store. The problem with the UK is that the good locations are either taken or they are to expensive. However my dream is to have an UrbanReto art gallery. This will a cross between a mini store and a place for art exhibitions. I would love to exhibit some of the best artists and also give a chance to up and coming artists. It would also be a place for custom toy shows. However this is something that will happen once the site is successful.

How much of your sales are in the UK? How big a problem is the strength of the pound in limiting international sales?

At the moment 90% of sales are from the UK. The rest of the 10% is mostly sales from Europe. However I do not advertise outside of the UK so any international sales is a bonus. The strength of the pound is a factor but it think that if someone really wants the product and it is not available in their country they be willing to pay that little bit extra. Some of the Urban Clothing has been popular with international sales.