Oh Polly grew on Instagram, then priced returns.
A Glasgow dress brand that started on eBay sold through Instagram to the US. When sales slipped, it charged for returns and pre-tax profit nearly doubled.
BLOOM10X did not work with Oh Polly. This breakdown uses public sources only, linked below.
- 2015Founded in Glasgow, first sales on eBay
- Year 1£2.1M in sales
- 2018–19£15.6M in 2018; by 2019 nearly 2M Instagram followers and 20% of sales from the US
- FY 2023Group sales of £113M, up 45%
- May 2024UK return fees set by each shopper’s return rate
- FY 2025£68.1M sales, £10.55M pre-tax profit
Smaller sales, bigger profit.
Five plays behind the growth.
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Sell on social before you build a site
Founders Claire Henderson and Mike Branney started on eBay, then set up a social account, then a website (Oh Polly). By 2019 it had almost 2M Instagram followers, adding about 80,000 a month, and “an Instagram-focused sales strategy” (FashionNetwork, Apr 2019).
Copy this: post the product every day where your buyer already scrolls, and link each post to one product page.
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Design and make your own stock
Oh Polly designs in-house, buys nothing wholesale and set up its two main factories itself (Oh Polly). That feeds a steady drop of new styles: 32 of its 50 newest Meta ads point to “Shop New In.”
Copy this: set a drop calendar you can keep, and give every drop its own “new in” ad and email.
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Treat the US as a home market
About 20% of revenue came from the US in 2019, which the CEO called “a huge opportunity” (FashionNetwork). Group sales grew 45% to £113M in FY 2023 on the US and Australia (Retail Bulletin). The US site covers duties and offers Afterpay and Klarna.
Copy this: before you spend abroad, show local prices, pay the duties and offer the local pay-later option.
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Charge for returns, by behaviour
From May 2024, UK shoppers pay by how much they send back: £2.99 for up to half an order, rising to about £9 for the heaviest returners (FashionUnited, May 2024). In FY 2025 turnover fell 6.7% and pre-tax profit nearly doubled.
Copy this: make store credit the cheapest way to return. It keeps the cash and brings the buyer back.
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Put the creator’s name in the ad
Seven of the 50 newest Meta ads carry a creator’s handle, like “As seen on @lenamng” under a fall edit. A rewards program pays 5 points per $1 with tiers up to $2,000 of spend (Oh Polly rewards).
Copy this: credit the creator in the headline. “As seen on” reads as proof, not as an ad.
A peak, then a profit year.
Turnover, £M
What a US return costs
“The key is not to quit, every successful person hasn’t quit.”
Fit help sits between the buttons.
The Zalia dress on a phone, Nov 10, 2026. Tap a number.
- 1Reviews by the name5.0 stars from 66 reviews.
- 2One price$130. Klarna splits it into 3 payments of $43.33.
- 3Two Add to Bag buttonsOne above the sizes, one below.
- 4“What’s my size?”A fit tool right by the size picker, aimed at the main reason dresses come back.
- 5Fit proofUS sizes 0 to 14, size 0 sold out, and “Leorita is 5’9” and wears a US size 0.”
- 6Pay later“Buy now, pay later. See options.” Free US shipping starts at $160.
- 7The add-on“Style It With” offers a $24 accessory with a one-tap Add.
New in, and as seen on.
About 96 active US ads on Nov 10, 2026. Of the 50 newest, 32 send people to “New In” and 7 name a creator.
“As seen on @lenamng”
The headline names the creator, the copy says “Get their look now,” and the link goes to the Fall Rotation collection. The Ad Library API listed @kiarakacvinsky for the same ad ID, so its versions rotate creators.
“The dress that speaks for itself.”
A short video with one line of copy and “Shop New In” as the headline. Six “New In” ads went live on Nov 10.
- 32 of 50 use “Shop New In” or “New In” as the headline.
- 7 of 50 carry a creator’s handle in the headline.
- 3 of 50 sell one named dress or occasion: the Aura dress, Birthday, a collection.
- The rest run with no headline at all.
Counts from the Meta Ad Library API, active US ads for the Oh Polly page, Nov 10, 2026. Screenshots of the public Ad Library. Click an image to enlarge.
The founders on camera.
Read it with three caveats.
- Own factories take years. Oh Polly employs about 1,500 people worldwide. A small brand gets the same speed from one reliable maker and short runs.
- 2015 Instagram isn’t 2026 Instagram. Organic reach built its first million followers. Today the same posts need paid support from day one.
- Return fees can cost sales. Turnover fell 6.7% the year profit doubled; the accounts don’t split out the returns effect. Test a fee on one segment first.
- Mixed reporting: the £113M FY 2023 figure is the group; other years are Oh Polly Ltd, which shows lower sales. They aren’t like for like.
Six moves for a $1M–$10M brand.
- Put a fit tool and model sizes next to the size picker. Conversion
- Make store credit the cheapest return option. Margin calculator
- Ship a new drop on a fixed calendar and give it its own ads. Creative volume calculator
- Run creator videos as partnership ads with “as seen on” headlines. Partnership ads guide
- Add a one-tap add-on under the buy button. Raise order value
- Reward the second and third order, not the first. Retention
Where every number comes from.
- “Oh Polly revenues hit record, UK and US expansion planned,” FashionNetwork, Apr 8, 2019. fashionnetwork.com
- Greig Cameron, “Oh Polly doubles profit after sales soar,” The Times, Feb 7, 2023 (FY 2021 and FY 2022 accounts). thetimes.com
- Angela Beevers, “Oh Polly hails ‘outstanding’ financial performance,” Retail Bulletin, Sep 4, 2023. theretailbulletin.com
- “Oh Polly to begin charging ‘serial refunders’ nine pounds for returns,” FashionUnited, May 21, 2024. fashionunited.uk
- Prachi Singh, “Oh Polly reports increased profitability despite turnover dip,” FashionUnited, Feb 9, 2026. fashionunited.uk
- Chloe Burney, “Oh Polly’s profits nearly double despite turnover dip,” TheIndustry.fashion, Feb 9, 2026. theindustry.fashion
- Oh Polly US about page, product page, return policy and rewards page, viewed Nov 10, 2026. us.ohpolly.com
- Oh Polly official YouTube channel (@ohpolly_), videos dated Oct 31, 2019 and Nov 18, 2020. youtube.com/@ohpolly_
- Meta Ad Library, active US ads for the Oh Polly page, viewed Nov 10, 2026. facebook.com/ads/library
