Cheshire business entrepreneur Alison Hitchen is celebrating after receiving a Small Business Sunday Award from former Dragons’ Den investor Theo Paphitis at the #SBS Annual Awards ceremony. Held on the 12th February at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre, the event is held to recognise exceptional businesses across the UK that have stood out to Theo during his weekly #SBS campaign on Twitter.
The win for her business Fab Accessories is especially poignant for retail marketing expert and fashion lover Alison as it was founded with her late boyfriend and business partner John Wilkins. At the age of 24 John was diagnosed with a serious heart condition that forced him to apply for ill health retirement. He underwent open heart surgery at Blackpool Hospital and subsequently had a pacemaker and defibrillator fitted at Manchester’s Wythenshawe Hospital. Alison and John set up the business in August 2015 but sadly in October of that year, aged just 30, he suffered a cardiac arrest and never regained consciousness. Despite having to deal with her own personal loss, Alison has since used her designer accessories business as a means to help others affected by cardiac conditions by donating 10% of all sales to Wythenshawe Hospital’s cardiology department.
Alison says, ‘I’m so proud to have won this award. It’s a great achievement for the business, especially when you consider the fact that only 1 per cent of #SBS participants get selected. Having Theo’s endorsement of Fab Accessories means so much, especially given what I’m trying to achieve with the business. I want Fab Accessories to give back to Wythenshawe Hospital for everything they did to help John. He would be so proud to see what we’ve achieved and would have been thrilled with winning the Small Business Sunday award.’
Alison’s commitment to helping people with cardiac conditions has led to her recently taking on the role of official fundraiser for the British Heart Foundation. She now plans to expand FAB Accessories both on and offline across the UK to build on the success of the award and to continue to raise much needed funds for cardiac care.
