Shopping channel tycoon

by Melissa Hancock - Thursday, 10th April 2008 -

Meet Asian entrepreneur Hasfa Abubacker, the first – and youngest – woman to own a shopping channel in the UK.

After working in home shopping for ten years, Abubacker decided there was scope to offer the UK consumer a more sophisticated approach to the traditional US style informercials.

Having the courage of her convictions, she left her job in March 2004 and started Pitchwell from her two-bedroom flat in North London the following day.

By the year’s end, she’d generated £160,000 of profit on £1.6m sales, providing shopping channels with products and shows.

But Abubacker soon realised that the only way to continue this phenomenal growth was for Pitchwell to purchase its own TV channel.

In a Dragon’s Den style series of interviews, Abubacker had to present the case for “Pitch TV” to several investors.

Pitchwell has since gone on to enter the high street retail environment – its products are now sold across 300 stores in the UK and Ireland and turnover is just shy of £9m.

Hasfa Abubacker is shortlisted for the Entrepreneur of the Year gong in this year's Asian Women of Achievement awards. For more details, click here.

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