Clare Hornby is not a household name but many people bandy about her personal pronoun. She’s the “me” in Me+Em, the highly successful British womenswear brand that has grown into a £150mn business since its founding in 2009.
Sold via its website, nine UK stores and three department-store concessions, its clothes have been worn by the Princess of Wales and Victoria Starmer, in C-suites and to weddings, across Europe and Australia. Increasingly, it’s being worn in New York, Dallas and Silicon Valley as the brand rolls out an ambitious retail programme in America. “I think whatever country our customers are in, what unites them is that they are busy women and they are looking for solutions,” says Hornby, 56. “And I’m passionate about finding them.”
Me+Em wool-blend Relaxed Shoulder trench coat, £595, hanging in Hornby’s home © Philip White
The founder and CEO is driving serious business underpinned by a price strategy that delivers quality with value. You can buy a white pinstriped three-piece trouser suit from Me+Em for less than £800, or a ruffled lily-of-the-valley-printed, 100 per cent silk dress for £550. “We’re direct-to-consumer luxury because we strive to hit this gap between the lack of quality at the lower end of fashion retail and the sheer expensive quality at the top. That’s our model,” says Hornby, a Manchester-born former advertising executive and retail marketing graduate. “You’re paying a fair price for what you’re getting.”
