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Established on 20th January 2001, Twenty 01 01 specialises in up-market fashion and interior accessories and giftware from around the world. Although a small business with only two staff, many of the products adorning its shelves come from France, Morocco, India and Mexico, countries visited regularly by its two owner-partners. Jenny Towell, one of the business partners, started a French beginner course to help her with communicating with contacts ranging from Moroccan souk sellers to Parisian wholesalers.

Her knowledge of the French language enables the business to continually source new products. “When I first went to Morocco,” says Jenny, “I had no French at all and had to constantly rely on my business partner. Now, however, they talk to me directly. We often have to haggle, and I need the French to cope with this, as they try to sell you items other than those you want. It’s getting them to understand exactly what you want and being able to refer to colour, size, price, quantity, material and delivery times.”

Twenty 01 01 has just started to source products from Mexico, although neither of the partners possess Spanish language skills. Here the sellers, based at Oaxaca, a region well-known for its craft industry, frequently speak no English. “It halved communications, because we couldn’t express ourselves as we could in French, we couldn’t ask all those questions we could ask in Paris or Morocco. You end up reverting to miming or gestures, but it’s with the abstract that you become unstuck!”

Jenny also recently attended a half-day Arabic workshop, and was able to share her experience with other companies as well as learn of the tools they were using to both communicate and trade more effectively. “We try to learn a couple of words every time we go, and that makes such a difference, and the Arabic has endeared us to them more than the French. We have very good prices as a result – lower than when we started. They’re also not so quick to try to pull the wool over our eyes.”