THE PAST year has been very difficult for independent retailers and Noverre is no exception.

But coming through the other side and looking towards growth, owner Lewis Hull is optimistic about the future.

Lewis founded distribution and retail business Noverre in 2007, having founded hotel and bistro Four High Petergate.

Lewis started the business by becoming the European distributor for importing Japanese denim brand Studio D’Artisan. He then developed online store Superdenim.co.uk, from which sales have grown more than 150 per cent a year for the past three years.

Most recently, Lewis opened a shop The Rugged Standard, on High Petergate.

Lewis said that because his parents lent him the money to set up Four High Petergate when he left university, he felt that it was too easy.

“I wanted to prove to myself that I could create something that I could say ‘that was me’,” he said.

And in the big bad world of business, he has had to face the familiar challenge of having his overdraft pulled out from underneath him, coupled with the weakness of the pound against the Japanese yen threatening to put a stop to the business.

“I was advised just to close the door by my business manager. This was hugely disappointing as the business was showing consistent growth,” he said.

But he didn’t, the doors remain open and business continues to grow and Lewis has entered The Press Business Awards hoping to win Young Entrepreneur Of The Year.