Gabbie’s father was an entrepreneur and retailer himself, owning a pharmacy chain in the 1980s, followed by a group of stationery stores in the 1990s. 

“I was going to stores every week with my dad, looking around at the fixtures and fittings and stock levels, so retail is in the blood,” he explains.

Yet, for all his grounding in bricks and mortar, Gabbie saw greater opportunity in the then-booming dot-com revolution. He recalls that starting an ecommerce business in the late 1990s was difficult.

There was only one relevant university course on offer – which he passed on. “I looked at it and thought I can just start something myself and see what happens,” he says.