Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2015 | Page 44

INTERVIEW

time it was a very different proposition to
the 3,000 sq. ft. premises that exist today.
“We saw this piece of land on a brown
field site and thought it would be ideal
for a polycarbonate greenhouse for our
plant business,” says Alan.
When it came to financing the project,
however, the banks did not want to
know. Undaunted, the couple sold one
of their cars and other property to raise
as much cash as possible to fund the
scheme themselves. With some support
from a Dutch company on the supply
side of things, they managed to get
their new premises up and running and
fully stocked without the pressure of
borrowing.
“I must admit, it was very satisfying to
do it under our own steam, and to this
day we don’t owe a penny to the bank”.
As the business continued to grow,
the Southwells got planning permission
to extend the original greenhouse to
the front, which gave them the space
to display huge 3-4 metre high plants
suitable for atriums.

Recession bites
However, by the second half of the
1990s it was becoming clear that the
economy was shifting, and spending on
plants became less of a priority for cashstrapped businesses.
“Anything seen as decorative or non44

www.goilife.co.uk

essential was the first thing
that accountants put a line
through, so we really had to
think on our feet and change
our business” said Alan.
In addition, EU rules
on plant imports were
becoming more prohibitive.
“We’d been in business
long enough to know you
don’t flog a dead horse,
and knew it was time for a
change of direction.”
This was when Oasis
began branching out
– sourcing gift and
homeware products
sourced via UK trade
shows and later, from
around the world.
Bridget also had the idea
of bringing in a florist
workshop area, full of
sundries and accessories
that made it appealing to walk
around, and increased the all-important
customer footfall. A coffee shop was
added to increase its appeal as a place
for people to browse and relax.
What Alan and Bridget had created
was a kind of tropical plant house
environment that visitors found relaxing
to wander around, and buy gifts and
things for the home.

Bali beckons
Their next step was to change
the way they sourced products –
and they were becoming more
interested in importing goods
direct, rather than buying through
wholesalers or other third parties.
They looked at importing from
Kenya, Thailand and Mexico – but
ultimately it was the island of Bali
that drew them.
“We visited the island for our
25th wedding anniversary in
1999 and loved it” says Alan.
Isle of Wight born and bred
Alan, and Bridget who’s lived on
the Island since she was nine,
found that they liked and could
identify with the ‘island mindset’
of the Balinese people, most
of who work in small family
cottage industries rather than
big businesses.
This gave the Southwells the

opportunity to design their own furniture
ranges and other products and have
them custom-made by crafts people on
Bali. They deal direct with their makers
and know them personally, and because
there are no middle-men, they can buy
competitively, pack their containers
without an inch of wasted space, and
offer keen prices in their Isle of Wight
showroom.
“Bali was a place that we felt confident
we could trade with and still have a very
strong commitment to fair trade and
green issues,” says Alan.
He and Bridget now visit Bali several
times a year, and are well recognised
on the island. They buy from scores of
different families there, and know most
of them personally.
“We did make some mistakes at first”
he admits, “because it takes time to
understand a different culture. But you
can’t be scared of making a mistake, or
you’d never do anything”.
“We did things like buying the wrong
products or in the wrong season, and
used to get lots of breakages in shipping,
which all costs money.
“But gradually we have found shortcuts
to buying, we worked out payment
systems with our makers and we pay a
premium to our packer who carefully
packs things inside other things. This
not only increases the capacity of each
container, and means we aren’t paying to
transport fresh air - but it has also brought
breakages down to about 1 per cent”.