Brastop.com

The company was started in the summer of 1992 by Steve Hudson and his stepsister, trading as Small Talk Lingerie.

The initial business was effectively a mobile market stall, selling clearance stock from lingerie brands at one day sales in hospitals and offices. The company was based in the family home.

When Steve's stepsister left the business in 1997, he decided to take on the first retail outlet inside Baker St Station, whilst continuing the hospital sales to support the start up costs. After a few sleepless nights and a slow start, the shop (originally trading as Essensuals) proved very successful.

The next plan was to set up a website and in 2000 this was launched using the domain names essensuals.uk.com, bargainbras.com and brasplus.co.uk. The initial slow trickle of orders soon gathered momentum and within 6 months the business had to be re-located from the family garage to a small warehouse in central Harrow. Internet sales doubled each year and the operation moved to bigger premises every 12 months to cope with the increase in business.
In 2002, the Harrow warehouse combined as a retail outlet to sell to the public.

Also in 2002 the business was re-branded as brastop.com. The retail outlets were re-fitted and a new website was launched. Creating the brastop brand was a real turning point for the business and gave the company a strong identity.

A further retail outlet was opened in November 2003 at the Victoria Place Shopping Centre in Victoria Station. The shop was an immediate success.

In August 2004 the Harrow head office was re-located to Station Road, opposite Debenhams.
This three storey building gave the shop a more prominent high street location and more space for the expanding website business.

The company now employs 16 staff and has annual sales of over £1m. Internet sales have grown so dramatically over the last 12 months, there are plans for another move to a 3000 sq ft warehouse to better manage the operation.