Young entrepreneur Felix Parker is hoping to make inroads with a Spanish twist into the traditional English leather goods market with the launch of an online business.
The 21-year-old from Soulden, near Swaffham, has joined forces with his Spanish godfather Javier Abarca, who overseas the manufacturing side, for the venture, which sees leather products ranging from bags to shoes made at factories around Toledo before being sent to the UK and distributed from a base at Kettering.
The pair hope the website, which follows the creation of the business last year, will help cement the Abarca brand and help it challenge long-established names such as Crockett & Jones and Holland & Holland.
The business saw sales of �80,000 last year after targeting the country sports community, and Mr Parker who started to develop it as an 18-year-old, before quitting college studies to work full-time, said the aim was to branch out.
'We started with the shooting community and then branched out into bags and shoes,' he said. 'This year we have changed our focus entirely with the website and we are seeing sales starting to pick up.'
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here