Driving brand growth through partnerships

Very was a newly launched fashion and homeware brand facing a big ask: deliver ambitious growth targets while offsetting the decline of the group's more traditional brand, Littlewoods.

The challenge was perception. Although Very was fully online, it was still weighed down by old-school catalogue associations and a finance-first image. If the brand remained seen as a last-resort credit option, it risked capping its audience and damaging long-term brand equity. The approach focused on redefining Very's voice and appeal, elevating it into a brand people genuinely wanted to shop with, not just one they could.

First, we honed the tone across all channels so every touchpoint built cumulative desirability. We deepened our understanding of the core audience, keeping it broad enough for growth but focused enough to hit the sweet spot between aspiration and accessibility.

We then built a strategy of high-impact partnerships, bringing on the right names to transfer credibility and style to the brand: celebrities including Fearne Cotton, Holly Willoughby, Kimberley Walsh and Coleen Rooney, brand tie-ins with GHD, media partners like Cosmopolitan, and a V Festival partnership that placed Very right in the middle of mainstream style culture.

The impact was rapid. Within a year, Very achieved 20% year-on-year growth, hitting ambitious stretch targets, and quickly became the top sales contributor within the group. Most importantly, brand perception shifted: appeal among the target audience rose by more than 10 percentage points, proving the strategy had landed exactly where it needed to.