Karen Radley sat down with Sandra, Natalie & Polly, the senior team behind London based showroom Self Service to find out more about them, their brands and why they have chosen to launch their new brands, Billion Avenue, Casbah Love, Flotte, Les Tricots de Lea and Mos the label at this season’s Feb show.
- Tell us a little bit about Self Service
Honestly, we can’t believe that we’re saying this, but we have been introducing global brands to local consumers for 23 years now! Founded back in 2002 by our much-missed founder, Obi Ejiofor, who sadly passed away in 2023, and his wife Sandra – Self Service is a value driven sales and distribution agency focused on working collaboratively with our partners, both brands and stores and delivering an engaging 360 service. Our remit has always been to offer a bespoke approach to brands and a one stop shop for retailers – when you visit our showroom you can pretty much find everything you might need from graphic tees and sweats to technical outerwear, and occasion wear – all characterised by a sense of playfulness that speaks to our company DNA.
- How are feeling about business in 2026
Pretty positive to be honest, despite the craziness of the current geopolitical situation. Losing Obi 2 years ago was tough on every level, but we have been working hard to move forward whilst still holding his memory dear, and somehow 2026 is looking hopeful. The brands we have onboarded reflect that revived joy seeking energy, and a recent trip to LA confirmed that customers are looking to experience the “hang out” we all used to love about retail before the pandemic banished us to the online world. We are excited to meet new customers and reconnect with old ones – it’s a good feeling.
- Has the above led to a change in acquiring new brands.
Yes and no! We have always been clear on the values we hold dear when looking at new brands – core values of sustainability, working with good people, collaboration – however this shift in focus has really allowed us to lean into the Self Service DNA and explore brands that feel both familiar and new at the same time. Many UK buyers will remember that we launched Wildfox with great success back in the day – and our showroom was synonymous with the playfully creative premium casual aesthetic that it epitomised. That’s a vibe we have been actively looking for, joyful, fun and optimistic collections that won’t break the bank, are made with intention and make you smile.
We want to focus on the good this year!
- Tell me about the new brands you have onboarded and why you chose them
We are very excited this season, whilst we savour our relationships with all our brands, the new ones we have in our portfolio are fun and fresh, commercially priced, unique in style and have a USP that we believe means they should be everyone’s acquisition lists. Each new brand represents an essential wardrobe element – from cashmere knits and cotton tees to raincoats and earrings – but each brand manages to deliver those wardrobe essentials in an engaging, playful way –guaranteed to make you smile. Come and see for yourself as we can guarantee that you’ll love them as much as we do.
- Why does showing at Scoop matter for you & your brands old or new
As a buyer it is tricky finding new brands now; social media algorithms, once so brilliant at “discovery” are much harder to navigate and time and financial constraints are definitely a limiting factor – consequently being able to bring new collections to a beautifully curated show is key. 3 days of being able to showcase a collection to hundreds of potential clients – that’s why it matters.
- What do you hope / expect to achieve by showing at Scoop
We hope that we will be able to excite buyers with something fresh; to engage in meaningful conversations; catch up with old friends & make new connections. We expect to be exhausted after it (!) thank goodness we have a brilliant young team who we pretty much rely on to keep us all going!