Cover Story _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Trendy, stylish and affordable, Oh Polly is the UK fashion brand that’ s turning heads with every outfit. The business was founded by Claire Henderson and Michael Branney just ten years ago and has since blossomed into one of the UK’ s fastest growing fashion brands. From stunning occasionwear to delicate summer dresses, athleisure and swimwear that’ s sure to catch a stare, Oh Polly is not just a brand: it’ s a personality – one that empowers its customers to feel fashionable, confident and sexy.
With 2025 marking Oh Polly’ s ten-year anniversary, the company is now bigger than it’ s ever been. Following strategic international expansion with its first ever brick-and-mortar store, the brand is under the spotlight as it continues to grow into a global household name. Retail Merchandiser sits down with Founder and Managing Director, Michael Branney, to learn more about the business and its operations.“ Claire, my business
partner, and I founded Oh Polly in 2015, but we’ d actually been in e-commerce for a little bit longer than that,” Michael begins.“ We’ d been operating on eBay back in 2012, initially just selling clothing that Claire had worn. She would buy products from various different stores, put together an outfit and sell for a profit; it was just a way to generate some extra money. In 2013, we went travelling to Southeast Asia and did some charity volunteering work, and when we came back, we decided that we wanted to start fundraising and raise money through sales on eBay. We sold various different things, such as wedding favors, hair extensions and shampoo, and the profits would go towards our own registered charity( the Brannerson Foundation) to fund a school for children in Cambodia.
“ We were soon making enough money to turn it into a for-profit business, and we launched Oh Polly in 2015. We named the company after Polly, a girl we were sponsoring
32