Our Place founder warns supermarket dupes will 'cause businesses to fail'
Our Place co-founder and co-chief executive Shiza Shahid said the brand was growing rapidly in the UK despite dupes appearing on the market.
Ms Shahid launched the Los Angeles-based business with her husband in 2019, with Will Smith's Dreamers VC, Jay-Z's Marcy Venture Partners, and Gwyneth Paltrow among its early investors.
It specialises in kitchenware including pans designed to be non-toxic and non-stick, and collections created in complementary colours and aesthetics.
Widely-shared posts on social media, especially Instagram, have helped drive popularity of the brand in recent years – including a collaboration with actress and singer Selena Gomez.
Similar versions of bestselling products – namely the 'Always Pan' which currently sells for £125 – have recently launched in supermarkets including Aldi and Marks & Spencer with a lower price tag.
Ms Shahid told the PA news agency: 'Unfortunately I think it is incredibly harmful.
'When we started Our Place, my partner and I bootstrapped our savings and worked on the design for two years before we ever sold a single unit.
'And when multi-million dollar corporations come and they knock it off, with no regard for innovation, IP, small business, they are causing tremendous harm and it will cause a lot of businesses to fail, and it will destroy innovation.'
She said such companies are 'very skilled in the art of duplicity' which makes it difficult and costly for smaller brands to legally challenge.
But the businesswoman told PA that they were 'not able to guarantee that same level of detail and quality' with replica products.
'So we trust that, while not every consumer will see the difference, many will and many do,' she said, adding that shoppers often want to 'support brands that they believe in'.
A spokesman for Aldi said: 'For over 35 years we have championed customers by offering high quality exclusive products at the lowest possible prices.
'We go to great lengths to ensure that all our exclusive brand products are compliant with strict copyright laws and regulations.'
M&S has been contacted for comment.
Ms Shahid, who also co-founded the Malala Fund with Nobel Prize winner and campaigner Malala Yousafzai, said Our Place products are typically viewed as an 'accessible luxury'.
'Despite some of the cost-of-living challenges, people are investing in the home and kitchen,' she told PA.
'The first thing you do is maybe you go out a little bit less, but then you still want the joy and the nourishment and the connection, and home cooking is a really great way to do that.
'It feels like an everyday luxury… people are choosing products that will last, that will bring joy, and that will actually help them save money over time.'
Sales across the brand spiked by 92% over the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same period last year, and it has built more than a million active customers.
It is also set to launch a shop-in-shop space within London department store Selfridges amid efforts to expand into retailers and take on established competitors such as Le Creuset.
Ms Shahid said Our Place has 'a lot of younger consumers but we also have a lot of men and women in their 60s', while many of its products – including the countertop 'wonder oven' – appeal to single-person households and small families.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Celebrus Technologies plc's (LON:CLBS) Stock Is Going Strong: Is the Market Following Fundamentals?
Celebrus Technologies' (LON:CLBS) stock is up by a considerable 22% over the past month. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. In this article, we decided to focus on Celebrus Technologies' ROE. Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors' money. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity. This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality. How To Calculate Return On Equity? The formula for return on equity is: Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Celebrus Technologies is: 15% = UK£6.4m ÷ UK£43m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2025). The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every £1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn £0.15 in profit. Check out our latest analysis for Celebrus Technologies Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth? We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don't share these attributes. Celebrus Technologies' Earnings Growth And 15% ROE To begin with, Celebrus Technologies seems to have a respectable ROE. Yet, the fact that the company's ROE is lower than the industry average of 20% does temper our expectations. Celebrus Technologies was still able to see a decent net income growth of 13% over the past five years. We reckon that there could be other factors at play here. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place. However, not to forget, the company does have a decent ROE to begin with, just that it is lower than the industry average. So this also does lend some color to the fairly high earnings growth seen by the company. As a next step, we compared Celebrus Technologies' net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 10.0%. Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It's important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Has the market priced in the future outlook for CLBS? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report. Is Celebrus Technologies Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits? Celebrus Technologies has a three-year median payout ratio of 33%, which implies that it retains the remaining 67% of its profits. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the decent growth seen by the company, it looks like management is reinvesting its earnings efficiently. Moreover, Celebrus Technologies is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 35%. However, Celebrus Technologies' future ROE is expected to decline to 10% despite there being not much change anticipated in the company's payout ratio. Summary On the whole, we feel that Celebrus Technologies' performance has been quite good. Specifically, we like that it has been reinvesting a high portion of its profits at a moderate rate of return, resulting in earnings expansion. With that said, on studying the latest analyst forecasts, we found that while the company has seen growth in its past earnings, analysts expect its future earnings to shrink. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Liverpool reach agreement in principle to sign Hugo Ekitike
Liverpool have reached an agreement in principle with Eintracht Frankfurt to sign Hugo Ekitike (23) for a reported €95m including add-ons, according to Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg. Ekitike will sign a six-year contract at Liverpool until 2031 upon completion of his medical, which is expected to take place soon. The Frenchman is the next big sale at Eintracht Frankfurt following the departures of Randal Kolo Muani (€95m) to Paris Saint-Germain and Omar Marmoush (€75m) to Manchester City. Eintracht Frankfurt had no desire to sell Ekitike – who scored 22 goals and provided 12 assists in 48 appearances last season – but valued at €100m by the Hessen club, it's a difficult figure to turn down. It's also a significant return on the €16.5m they paid PSG to sign the French attacker last summer. And with the signing of Jonathan Burkardt and Franjo Ivanovic eyed up as a replacement, SGE are well equipped to cope with the departure of Ekitike, who will become the latest player to swap the Bundesliga for the Premier League champions after Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz. GGFN | Daniel Pinder
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Water bills to see ‘small, steady' rise despite reform plans, says Reed
Households will continue to face rising water bills despite an overhaul of how the sector is regulated, the Environment Secretary has said, but increases will be 'small' and 'steady'. Steve Reed is expected to set out plans for 'root and branch reform' of the water sector on Monday, following the publication of a landmark review of the industry. Those plans are thought to include action to tackle sewage spills, invest in water infrastructure and the abolition of the industry's beleaguered regulator Ofwat as ministers seek to avoid a repeat of this year's 26% increase in bills. But while Mr Reed has promised that families will never again see 'huge shock hikes' to their bills, he was unable on Sunday to rule out further above-inflation increases. Although he told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that bills should be 'as low as possible', he added that there needed to be 'appropriate bill rises' to secure 'appropriate levels of investment'. He said: 'A small, steady increase in bills is what people expect.' Government sources have argued that the recent large rise in bills was necessary to pay for investment in long-neglected infrastructure, but expect Mr Reed's promised reforms to make further rises unnecessary. Asked about the possibility of expanding social tariffs to help households struggling with bills – a move that could see wealthier families pay more – Mr Reed said he had 'not been convinced yet' that this was necessary. Earlier on Sunday, Mr Reed had pledged to halve sewage pollution in England by 2030, after the Environment Agency said serious pollution incidents had risen by 60% in 2024. Mr Reed said the measures the Government was taking would enable it to significantly reduce pollution, with the aim of completely eliminating it by 2035 should it be re-elected. He also suggested to the BBC that he would resign if the 2030 target was not achieved, provided he was still in the same job by then. His comments come before a major report by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, which is expected to recommend sweeping reform to water regulation on Monday. Sir Jon has been widely reported to be preparing to recommend the abolition of Ofwat, which has faced criticism over its handling of sewage spills and allowing water companies to pay large dividends while taking on significant debt and missing targets for investing in infrastructure. On Sunday, Mr Reed would not say whether he would scrap Ofwat, but also declined to say he had confidence in the regulator. He told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: 'The regulator is clearly failing.' Sir Jon's interim report criticised regulation of the water sector, which is split between economic regulator Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate. But on Sunday, Conservative shadow communities secretary Kevin Hollinrake said he would be concerned any changes 'might just be shuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic'. He told the BBC: 'It's really important the regulator's effective, and we put in a lot of measures to give Ofwat more powers to regulate the water industry and a lot of those things were very effective.' Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said he backed scrapping Ofwat, calling for a new Clean Water Authority to 'hold these water companies to account'. Sir Ed has also called for the Government to go further and aim to eliminate sewage pollution entirely by 2030, saying voters were 'fed up with empty promises from ministers while Britain's waterways continue to be ruined by sewage'. He added: 'For years water companies have paid out millions in dividends and bonuses. It would be deeply unfair if customers are now made to pick up the tab for this scandal through higher bills.' Although sweeping regulatory reform is likely to be on the table, full nationalisation of the industry will not be after the Government excluded it from Sir Jon's terms of reference. Smaller parties such as the Greens have called for nationalisation, while on Sunday Reform UK's Nigel Farage said he would look to strike a deal with the private sector to bring 50% of the water industry under public ownership. Mr Reed argued that nationalisation would cost 'upwards of £100 billion', diverting resources from the NHS and taking years during which pollution would get worse.
