Where many doubted her ethnic hosiery business, would ever take off. Last year's apprentice finalist Bianca Miller has successfully launched her hosiery line for black women.

It was a niche market that black women were crying out for a long time www.biancamillerlondon.com

I wish her continued success!

Good luck, Bianca.

It is encouraging to see people launching their businesses anyway, rather than taking the micro-celebrity route.

Ella Jade launched back in the summer
http://www.ellajadeinteriors.com/

and I gather Roisin now sells her noodles in Ireland.

Bianca is doing well, she got interviewed by several national newspapers.

She was absolutely slaughtered by many on this forum, but now she is laughing all the way to the bank

I seem to remember that she was slaughtered for wanting to launch a massive range which would of absolutely cost LS more than 250k just to order, she wanted loads of shades in loads of sizes and wanting to flog them for 20 quid odd a pop which was just silly

Her hosiery line is not for black women its for everyone.

I don't want to sound like a downer but just because this has launched does not make it a success, most businesses fail in the first year. But I wish her every success.

As I recall, that was because she was considered the overwhelming favourite going into the finale, but blew it with her "Sod everyone else, my opinion's the only one that matters" approach to team management and market research. It was a reaction born out of disappointment rather than dislike.

She couldn't blow it. Sugar didn't want risk, effort, or to invest more than a trivial amount - he had a safe, cheap, offer from Mark doing what he did now.. The name of the game is basically maximum bucks for minimal effort - regardless of the social value of the proposal or the merits of whats more risky, offers lower profit margins, or takes place outside London.

How is it already a success if it has just launched?

Or was it the launch itself that was a success?

She obviously listened and learn't from the people in the know and reasonably priced the tights, as well as varied the tights colours to a snaller range. shows that she isn't arrogant, but listened

Sounds like your post was a backhanded compliment, an oxymoron

Good for her, I thought her idea was good and was rooting for her for the win last year.

I still think her tights are too expensive though, but I buy all my tights for a couple of quid from Primark so maybe i'm just not the target market.

I wouldn't consider my post a compliment at all. All I was saying is that it will take time to know whether her venture has been a success.

Your probably not her target market, she always said she was targetting the luxury market, like the woolfords

Yay! Go Bianca. Scraping together a launch in a couple of days didn't do her business plan justice, because it was a great idea that needed more time to plan. Good luck to her, she is one of the genuinely nice and competent people who have appeared on the show.

Good, I liked her.

Did I read she allegedly stole the idea from a friend?

Emphasis on Alledged

I've just started a new business....it's called farting in my living room. I hope it's a success.

i hope you realise that a business like that shed be in the hole by a LOT. shed need to buy these by the pallets to make it worthwhile and spend money on marketing and building her brand.

she will not be laughing all the way to the bank. she'll be in the hole and need to spend the first few years repaying all her creditors. if she;s lucky and sells enough she may then call it a success.

it's a bit of a limited market. I'm a bloke so i could be off base here but i think stockings are worn by women when they are worried about uneven tone on their legs, or if their legs aren't immaculately shaven and want to hide appearance of hair growing out.

well women of colour dont have to worry about uneven tone as much and nor about the appearance of hair growth because dark skin hides this quite well

What are your margins like? My OH runs a similar outfit

When you say she was the overwhelming favourite last year do you mean by the bookies odds or do you mean that she was many people's personal favourite out of the two finalists?

Good luck to her, I thought she should have won, its a really good idea and plenty of non-standard skin tone women out there. I'd pay a tenner for good tights for a do or a big meeting, I paid a lot more for wedding stockings

she really should have won last year but her downfall was that she would not budge on the prices. i'm glad she's had success now.

Oh yes they do! Non-white skin of all shades from very light to very dark/black can be prone to uneven skin tones, hyperpigmentation and discolouration. Appearance of hair growth will of course show up on people with fairer skins as the hair is more often dark.