The agency, which currently operates out of a garden office at the home of founder and managing director Clare Dudley in Over, Cambridgeshire, is set to begin trading at its first high street branch in the village on January 7.
The move follows the success of a pop-up Ponders outlet in nearby St Ives which began in May and opens twice a week.
Speaking to TTG, Dudley said having a retail presence “wasn’t something I’d ever thought I’d do”, having started at her kitchen table eight years ago.
“We’ve had such a positive and successful time with the pop-up that it’s given us the confidence to move fully on to the high street,” Dudley said. “For people worried about taking that step, a pop-up is a great starting point.”
Ponders has nine staff, currently spread across Dudley’s home office as well as homeworkers in Kent, Norfolk, Hungary and Newark in the US. Those based at Dudley’s home will staff the new store.
Another factor in her decision to open the store, Dudley said, was the creation of Northstowe, a new town development close to Over that will eventually have up to 10,000 homes.
“They say it is going to be one of the biggest new towns in Europe and gives us such a strong customerbase,” she said.
Dudley heard about the available unit in Over at the start of October and “just a couple of weeks” later had secured the location.
She is due to pick up the keys on December 11 and is currently sourcing furnishings for the shop that will have an “antique feel” with reclaimed wooden desks, suitcase drawers, world globes and old maps.
“Although a lot of our business is national, we want to raise our profile locally, and a high street presence is a nice space for clients to speak to us in, and also shows suppliers our commitment to what we’re doing.”
Dudley added she was open to adding more shops in the future.
She said she was aiming to grow the business overall by up to 20% with the shop, adding she was “very confident” the decision would pay off.
