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Spotlight: Cheryl Duffy Acorns of Lancashire

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Cheryl outside her business, Acorns of Lancashire.

Cheryl wanted to be able to tell her grandchildren what she did to celebrate the millennium, so she went to base camp one of Mount Everest.

From the summit of the business world to base camp one of Mount Everest, Cheryl Duffy’s career path has been long and scenic. Now she’s come home to Accrington.

“We chose dry cleaning because we both had many years’ experience working in the White Goods industry.” The pair did their homework, and it paid off. They spent six months researching the market. They analysed different catchment areas in Hyndburn considering things like footfall, competitors in the area, and demographics. The entrepreneurial couple then settled on Accrington and with an initial investment of £250,000 they set up Acorns of Lancashire. Cheryl explains about the business: “Traditional dry cleaners in the UK often use harsh solvents which can be carcinogenic if they aren’t handled properly. We found out about an eco-friendly system that already existed around the world, but astonishingly no one was using it in the UK.” It turned out to be a very smart move indeed. Acorns of Lancashire were early adopters of a technology that is now growing fast. What they’ve created is something very special indeed. They’ve brought positive innovation to a marketplace that’s hardly changed in years. The result has been a successful and growing business with a host of industry awards under their belt. You’re only as good as the network around you Not content with taking her own business to new heights, Cheryl has turned her attention to raising the bar for the entire town. Hyndburn Independents was formed in 2019, the focus being to encourage out of town shoppers back to the high street. They’ve got a social media page with thousands of followers and the general interest and uptake has been fantastic. “Local businesses just don’t have marketing and advertising budgets. Their day to day activities and marketing opportunities are not catered for” she explains. “We all needed to highlight our wonderful goods and services, and how many ‘hidden gems’ can be found in our townships and that’s what we’re trying to do.” Acorns of Lancashire is at 17 Whalley Road, Accrington. For more information visit the website at www.acornsoflancashire.com

Cheryl Duffy is the founder and Managing Director of Acorns of Lancashire, the region’s premier environmentally friendly dry cleaner. Her career started out on a much more humble footing, serving Ovaltine and hot Bovril from a stall in Accrington Market Hall: Trickett Ices which is still in business today. From a skill sharing centre in Warner Street, a young Cheryl Duffy realised what opportunities were available. She enrolled in Preston Polytechnic, later to become University of Central Lancashire, and she’s not had a second to look back – until now. Cheryl is a master organiser. She’s held senior positions in purchasing, logistics and project management for some of the UK’s biggest manufacturers. No small achievement, even in Lancashire, the heartland of British manufacturing. Our production lines stopped for no one In one company she was “responsible for the whole supply chain, into and out of the factory. This included expediting teams, master production planning and the material flow and a finished goods warehouse with just 45 minutes worth of storage space.” She explains “it was a logistical challenge to say the least.” “We had sprinter vans parked up outside the factory gates as our production lines stopped for no one!” It’s not all been plain sailing though. After taking four months off travelling, she took a position in a printing company which had seen seven managing directors in 12 months. “We used to talk about the MD’s office as the Departure Lounge” she jokes. Cheryl put it down to experience and moved onwards, and upwards, literally. She climbed to base camp one of Mount Everest proving that Lancashire folks are as hard as the Nori under their feet. Looking back over the first half of her career, Cheryl is justifiably proud of her achievements. In some cases, she managed to reduce costs for her employers by around 70%. That’s quite an achievement by any standards, but Cheryl was far from finished. Next, she turned her sights back home, to Amazing Accrington. But what to do? “After years of working in senior positions in multinational companies, my husband and I decided to set up our own business instead of working for others.”

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