Victoria Beckham Named UK Entrepreneur Of The Year
Victoria Beckham (aka Posh Spice) may have received a snide comment or two when she launched her own clothing line in 2008, but now she’s singing to the tune of the United Kingdom’s top entrepreneur of the year and a net worth of £210 million. How did a fashion designer top a list of businesspersons from industries that range from online gaming to construction to genetics research?
The British business magazine Management Today compiles the annual list of the top 100 entrepreneurs in the UK. They announced on Sunday that Victoria heads the 2014 group, which is assessed based upon stock market values, assets, and record of success. The group cites the Victoria Beckham clothing line’s rapid growth during the past five years. She has opened a new store in London and has increased staff numbers, even during the recession recovery.
The steady growth also includes her product line Victoria, a series of ready-to-wear clothing, and exclusives for her new Dover Street location.
New ready-to-wear signature dresses available at @VBDoverSt x vb http://t.co/EdM2zd7f6F pic.twitter.com/K4sfusrWbe
— Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) October 8, 2014
My first collection of small leather goods – exclusive to #VBDoverSt and my website x vb http://t.co/2pYKooYAPu pic.twitter.com/GF9qkiGTCn
— Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) September 27, 2014
What really makes Victoria special are not the business statistics, but that the former pop star has succeeded despite her past or social notoriety as simply David Beckham’s wife, according to Management Today Editor Matthew Gwyther in his letter describing the decision.
“Some will say she’s never been taught how to cut a pattern, or iron a pleat on a fashion course. Others will say she’s merely the Eliza Doolittle of that mysterious 21st-century Professor Higgins, Simon Fuller. Doubters will claim she’s just the wife of the world’s most famously over-tattooed ex-footballer.”
Gwyther also calls Victoria a star in the old sense that she closely guards her reputation, carefully choosing how she goes public and when.
The Guardian reports that Beckham’s success is also due to her insightful use of her celebrity status. Victoria is a fashion icon both in the UK and in the U.S. They also say that she is the driving force behind the joint Beckham brand she and her husband share. The newspaper cited a recent interview, in which Victoria opened up about what the clothing line has meant to changing both how the public perceives her as well as her opinions of herself.
“First time around I felt famous, but now I feel successful. I used to wear clothes which would make me stand out and now I don’t so much because I don’t feel I have anything to prove.”
Victoria was recently named one of the top five most powerful women in London, as reported by the Inquisitr. Beckham is certainly proving her worth as an entrepreneur, one accolade at a time.
[Photo Source: ABC News]
