The story of The Italian Shirt Shop.

How did you get into retail?

I was introduced to retail by a close friend who happened to own a chain of shops all over London, watching him go from one small shop to being probably one of the largest independent chains in London made me want some of his quite considerable luxury lifestyle. So I opened a small menswear shop in Bishop Stortford during what turned out to be yet another terrible reception, four years later the shop closed with some considerable financial loses, not a good start to my retail experience.

After spending two months in southern Italy I started importing direct from Naples Italy under my own design and label of Antonio Bellini, then travelling the country selling at commercial shows, Catwalk shows and also to Private shops, this also turned out to be non-profitable. I was then asked by a friend to run one of his new shops for him for perhaps just one month, this turned out to be four years. During this time I increased my trading with Italy buying direct from factory's is in North of Italy, sadly for economic reasons not under my own label. My shirt sales increased considerably with a large percentage of the shops turnover was my independently sourced Italian shirts.

How did The Italian Shirt Shop come about?

I moved to Ipswich in 2012 and for the first two years commuted back and forward to the shop in Bishop Stortford. Whilst shopping at House in Town on St Peter's Street, a road which I enormously enjoyed walking along I asked John the owner what was happening to the empty building just along the road from him, He informed me that this shop will soon become available and if you were interested I can phone the owner to set up a meeting. This was arranged almost immediately and the owner told me that as there were so many people wanting this shop a decision would be needed by the end of the day. I gripped my teeth and said that I would definitely like to have this shop although I still had the shop in Bishop Stortford to manage which was rather worrying. I plucked up courage to tell the owner of this chain of shops that I hoped to open my own shop in Ipswich. He did his absolute best to persuade me not to open a shop in Ipswich as the risk was just too high. Despite his considerable efforts to persuade me not to open, the shop was opened within the month. I travelled to Italy where I maxed out all available credit card, debit card and any other access to money available at the time to fill the shop with shirts.

What is your connection with Italy?

I was introduced to Italy by my grandfather who imported marble from Carrara in northern Italy with my Uncle Edmund Lombardi who later went on to start the Appletiser company. My wife is Italian so it was necessary to learn Italian as travelling to Italy without an understanding of the language would have been difficult. It is fair to say that I have an absolute love and passion of all things Italian so travelling to Italy to deal with Italian factories is more of a pleasure than a chore.

How often to do go back to Italy and where in the country do you source your clothes from?

I travel to Italy at least once every month for the purpose of purchasing shirts and also to travel to my wife's parents house in the south of Italy. I hope to start manufacturing under my own label again in Naples which happens to be only 80 km from the house.

What is your connection with Ipswich and what makes Ipswich a great place to live/work

I have in fact only been in Ipswich for just over two years, but I have become a great fan of Ipswich. We live on the waterfront where the views are magnificent, there are so many bars and restaurants nearby we are never short of places to go. There also seems to be so many events during the year from The Maritime Festival, cycle ride through the town, food festivals, beer festivals, outdoor concerts and many other wonderful events. Ipswich seems to be on the brink of an economic explosion as there are so many development sites soon to be completed and house prices in this area seem to be so low compared to areas closer to London even though you can travel to Ipswich in just over one hour.



Your favourite places to eat out
I consider the best cafe in Ipswich to be my neighbours at Bar and Barrister and our favourite restaurant to be @ Twenty 5 only a few minutes' walk from the shop. As we live and work in the town I normally insist on only eating at local restaurants although very occasionally we do like to go out to the Galley at Woodbridge run by the wonderful Uğur Vata. The quality of his food and service are second to none.

What sort of customer buys your clothes?

I have two admit beautiful Italian shirts and jackets are not for everyone so I do seem to have a very exclusive group of customers who continually return for their Italian shirts and jackets. People are constantly surprised at how amazing they look in my shirts and jackets as so many people seem to wear shirts and jackets that are the wrong size or simply not the right design for their particular physique. Nobody ever leaves this shop with a shirt that is not the perfect fit. Wearing these Italian shirts can be fatal as they fit and wear so well that most people return again and again. My catch phrase is ( Let's bring to Ipswich some Italian Style)

I was introduced to Ipswich some 15 years ago

I was introduced to Ipswich some 15 years ago by at that time my new girlfriend who happen to live just outside Ipswich. We walked along the waterfront which of course was not as well-developed as it is now but still had some considerable charm. We then walked along Saint Peters Street and I remember saying what a lovely road this is, it reminds me of Covent Garden.

Spin forward 13 years, now married and living just outside Ipswich but still having a shop in Bishop Stortford. I dreamt of having a shop somewhere in Ipswich and having looked at the town centre I happened to walk along Saint Peters Street and seeing a shop premises empty although looking as if it had just been renovated I asked John at The House in Town if this shop was likely to be available. He arranged a meeting with the landlady who told me that so many people were interested in the shop it would be necessary to make a decision by the end of the day. The decision was made and the shop was open within a month.

So now married and living on the Ipswich waterfront with the commute to work being a five minute walk to the shop, marvellous. The shop is now approaching its second successful year. I opened with extreme trepidation in November 2013 but thankfully the shop has been a success. Perhaps it is unlikely I will be buying a luxury cabin cruiser to more outside our apartment but the shop is covering its costs with a reasonable profit which enables me to continue travelling to Italy to buy stock and generally enjoy living on the Ipswich waterfront.

I look forward to trading on this road for many years to come.