Stourbridge boutique is best in the biz (From Halesowen News)

Stourbridge boutique is best in the biz

10:54am Thursday 9th July 2009

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THE owner of a Stourbridge fashion boutique taking on the high street clothes chains at their own game has been voted Business Idol.

Laura Davies, aged 30, who runs Polka Dot Paradise, scooped the £1,000 prize at a gala ceremony at Kidderminster’s La Brasserie last night.

Her three-floor store on the town’s High Street, which opened in February, features a clothes exchange, where customers can take along old items and gain a profit from their re-sale.

Laura said: “I’m shocked and stunned that I’ve won, I only found out about the competition two days before the deadline and I didn’t think I stood a chance.”

Her ambition is to open another shop in Kidderminster, she explained, as “it’s a really interesting area and seriously lacking some good clothes shops”.

She was up against three other finalists in the contest, run by the Kidderminster Big Breakfast Club in association with The Kidderminster Shuttle and Stourbridge News.

David Siddell came second with his Hartlebury-based Choc ‘n’ Hog catering business, which offers a range of food from chocolate fountains to pig roasts and barbecues.

Third was Physio First, a physiotherapy and rehabilitation clinic in Stourbridge run by Daniel Taylor and Peter Grinbergs.

Terrie Beardsmore finished fourth with the historic Dunsley Hall in Kinver, which she restored into a hotel and restaurant.

The winner was voted for in a format inspired by the Eurovision Song Contest, where each table was identified by the flag of European nation and announced the total votes for their “country”.

In the final result, Polka Dot Paradise got 194 votes, Choc ‘n’ Hog 152, Physio First 124 and Dunsley Hall 90.

Contestants each gave a 10-minute presentation on their business in front of three judges, who then asked them questions before casting their votes at the end.

The three judges were Karen Tomalin, who owns Bromsgrove-based 2nd Skin Lingerie, Ken Wigfield, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, and David Chill, who devised the Business Idol contest.

Mr Wigfield said: “Laura is a very worthy winner. She’s very energetic and enthusiastic and extremely brave to take on a High Street shop in the current economic climate.”

A total of 27 businesses entered the contest, which was widened to include the Stourbridge area after being limited to Wyre Forest last year.

The Big Breakfast Club is a business networking group that meets every Tuesday at 7am at La Brasserie. For information, call David Chill on 01905 776730.

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