Published on 25 January 2022
Alice Rowen Hall is no stranger to building and scaling successful businesses.
Within 10 years of graduating from the University Sunderland she has gone from selling clothes out of her living room to generating sales in excess of £25 million with former business Pink Boutique and named a Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur.
Alice is now witnessing similar success with her latest venture Rowen Homes which in its first 18 months, has achieved top line sales of approximately £6.5 million.
A luxury online home store, the business curates and sells next level, glam interiors. Part of the Rowen Group, the business was founded during the pandemic in August 2020, alongside husband Andrew and is a real labour of love, driven by the duo’s creative side and passion for all things interiors.
Starting the company with just seven staff, the team has now grown to 28. And in the next year they are looking to deliver gross sales of £14,000,000 and recruit another 10 members of staff in the North East.
Such rapid growth also supported a move from their 3,000 sqft premises in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne to a 30,000 sqft warehouse and office space in Blaydon, Tyne & Wear back in May 2021.
Alice, Founder and Creative Director of Rowen Homes, said: “It really has been an incredible 18 months for the Rowen Homes’ team. We’ve always had a love for interiors and with our background in ecommerce, we thought why not combine the two?
“We pride ourselves on not just offering stunning luxury homeware, but also being a great place to work too. In fact, so much of our success to date really is down to the incredible team we have around us and the shared commitment they have to being brilliant in all that they are and do. Whether that is through the curation of our amazing collections, creating out of this world, viral content or providing exceptional customer service and delivery times – that’s what really sets us apart.
“With the demand for the luxury glam aesthetic continuing to grow across the globe, we look forward to diversifying and expanding our offering further over the coming years, creating more jobs in the North East.”
Alice graduated from Sunderland with a journalism degree in 2009, having specialised in beauty and fashion magazine journalism.
Her meteoric rise as a successful entrepreneur led to being named the University of Sunderland Alumni Achiever of the Year in 2018.
This prestigious competition runs annually with alumni and staff members nominating a graduate who has excelled in their field of expertise.
At the time Alice said: “I’m absolutely delighted to receive the Alumni of the Year award.
"I think my degree gave me such a solid grounding to set up my own business, I have noticed all of those skills I learned when I was at Sunderland emerge.
"It's such an honour and such a privilege. I could never imagined in my wildest dreams that I'd be back here collecting this award.”
Part of Rowen Homes’ business growth can be credited to creating highly engaging viral social content, that has seen them achieve 60 million views on TikTok!
Even Alice has become a bit of a TikTok star when a voice clip of hers for a Rowen room reveal went viral and was reused by big name brands including Fenty Beauty, Benefit, Sephora, Look Fantastic and Anastasia Beauty!
“It was a completely surreal experience, but one that made us smile and hopefully means we are doing something right!” she comments.
Andrew Hall, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Rowen Homes added: “It’s been a fantastic 18 months, but our ambitions don’t stop there.
“In the next three years we are keen to achieve £30 million in sales and to be operating from multiple sites as well as launching our very own delivery service. We know to achieve that it’s about continuing to invest in our brand and attract the right talent, which is why we are proud to have just launched our EMI employee share scheme. We believe everyone that works for Rowen Homes deserves to have a part in the businesses success and growth and we are very proud to be able to offer this.”