Where are you based?
Nottingham City Centre, Southwell and Moscow.
Who owns the business?
Myself and my wife.
How long have you been going
14 years.
What does your business do?
We are primarily a creative brand consultancy. We make organisations' brands, packaging, websites and marketing communications look, sound, read and work harder for them.
How many do you employ?
Eight in the UK and three in Russia.
Who are your customers?
Big brands like Unilever, Wilkos, Pets at Home, and Covent Garden Soups, but we're also passionate about small niche brands, even sometimes working for one-man bands which just want to compete on a level with the larger companies.
How have you been doing over the last year?
This year has been our biggest ever. Turnover and profit are up and we've purchased and renovated a six-storey office on Nottingham's Friar Lane. We've also launched the Moscow arm of our business, and are in the process of renovating another office in Southwell. We're in the process of launching a health and beauty brand in Russia and are winning new clients for Pure on a monthly basis.
What sort of recession did you have?
If I'm honest, we haven't suffered at all during the recession. We are a cost-focused, streamlined company, with 42 clients globally. We have always been generous with clients' budgets to make them go further, and this has helped us to avoid losing clients. Russia has also helped to make us recession-proof. We've won five major clients there and completed huge projects in the past year. Additionally, we've launched a UK illustration company www.booandbelle.co.uk
How has your business changed since it began?
I started Pure with one simple ethic – my clients are my everything. I ensure they get the best creative, the best service at the best price and with the biggest smile. All of my team buy into this ethos. Testament to this is the fact that I've lost just two clients in 14 years.
What are your plans for the future?
I want to expand my operations in Russia and take a few more brands to market, as this will bring in more revenue steams. I also want to develop Boo and Belle. My next venture will be to open an affordable art gallery. I always have to have something new to concentrate on, keeps my mind creative.
What's the best thing about your business?
It's achieving exactly what I intended it to do, making clients happy. We reinvent ourselves constantly, so we can offer clients that have been with us for ten years a fresh and exciting service. All my co-workers feel part of this company; we have no hierarchy and each and every person, right down the cleaning lady, matters to Pure.
What's your biggest threat?
I won't go as far as to say that we're untouchable, as I've learnt along the way that there are many things around the corner. However, we compete on price with the smaller agencies, we stand our ground with the larger agencies on creativity and I have a client list that is as broad as it can be, making us "effectively" bullet-proof.
And your biggest opportunity?
Creative is ever changing – it's almost throw-away, so each project formula that we work on needs to be reviewed frequently. If we keep our clients happy, we get a constant circle of work. Russia is also a major opportunity. The country is booming with an emerging mid market and burgeoning demand for consumer products.