There’s Still Time To Enter The Brown Thomas Arnotts Pitch’23 Start-Up Competition - The Gloss Magazine
Pitch'23 Brown Thomas Arnotts

There’s Still Time To Enter The Brown Thomas Arnotts Pitch’23 Start-Up Competition

Calling all small businesses and entrepreneurs! This competition is not to be missed. Five deserving finalists will receive expert mentoring and the opportunity to retail in Arnotts (in-store and online) while the overall winner of Pitch’23 will win a €10,000 business development fund. Here’s everything you need to know …

Starting a business is no easy feat, it takes years of planning, development, growth and nurturing. Add to that an ever-changing retail landscape and all the challenges it has seen, we know that every bit of expert support, advice and guidance is invaluable. So if you are waiting for your next big break, the opportunity to bring your business to the next level and to gain exposure, awareness and a prestigious platform to showcase your product or range, this competition could be for you …

Brown Thomas Arnotts has announced the launch of Pitch’23, an exciting initiative that calls on new and promising local Irish businesses to pitch for an opportunity to retail in Arnotts, Ireland’s iconic department store, and online. The winning business will also receive a €10,000 business development fund. The competition welcomes entries from Irish start-ups, small businesses, designers, makers and entrepreneurs based anywhere in Ireland who operate within the areas of fashion, beauty, jewellery, lifestyle, circular or technology. All entries must already have a product or range developed, or have an identified service proposition.

Supporting community and championing local talent is of great importance to Brown Thomas Arnotts. And this platform offers small businesses the opportunity to grow their business with the invaluable knowledge, help and guidance of a team of experts. Vena Doyle, Head of Enterprise at Brown Thomas Arnotts says: “We’re tremendously excited about the return of this competition for a third year. There were hundreds of entries featuring some very exciting businesses in 2022, and we have no doubt that this year’s competition will attract a similarly large batch of incredibly talented entrepreneurs, creators and designers. It’s a wonderful opportunity for all budding businesses across the country hoping to catapult their brands to new heights.”

This year, the judging and mentoring panel from Brown Thomas Arnotts includes Head of Enterprise Vena Doyle, Head of Digital Pippa Casey, Head of Sustainability Diana Geraghty and Head of Home & Lifestyle Buying Edel Woods. Businesswoman Hannah Saunders, founder of Hannah Saunders PR, will also join the judging panel.

Applications will be reviewed and shortlisted to five finalists by the expert judging panel. The five finalists will then be taken through a series of mentoring and development workshops by the judging panel and will have a unique opportunity to retail both in store and online during the Arnotts Christmas Market, one the busiest trading periods of the year in retail. The ultimate winner of the overall competition will then be revealed in January 2024.

Last year’s winners of the competition, Gary and Ciara Malone, co-founders of Brushdoc, said: “Our business has been catapulted since we first applied for Pitch. The mentors assigned to us went above and beyond to help us with our areas of weakness. It was incredibly helpful.”

Entries must be submitted by Friday, 28th April and businesses must be based in Ireland. Applications will be reviewed and shortlisted to five finalists by the expert judging panel.

For further information on how to apply for Pitch’23 and eligibility criteria, please visit: pitch.arnotts.ie

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