March is Women’s History Month, and Entrepreneur Weekly continues to spotlight women-owned businesses that are being transformed by the Digital Jamaica Training. One such business is Valentine’s Intimates & More, a lingerie and intimate apparel company founded by mother-daughter duo Pauline Valentine and Andrea Jackson Robinson. What began as a humble sidewalk venture in downtown Kingston has blossomed into a thriving enterprise with two branches and ambitious plans for expansion.
Pauline Valentine, the matriarch of the business, started her entrepreneurial journey selling pig tails and other goods on the corner of Luke Lane in downtown Kingston. With no formal business training or significant capital, Pauline relied on her faith, grit, and wholesalers who trusted her with goods on credit. Over time, she transitioned to selling women’s underwear, recognising a gap in the market for women, especially those with larger bust sizes, who struggled to find well-fitting bras.
Pauline recalls her early days: “I used to sell pig tails, and this young man just come up and said to me, ‘If you start sell panty and bra, you can make it.’ So, when he told me that, I never asked him no question. I went to a wholesaler, and they trusted me $400,000 worth of goods. I started selling, and when I sold, I paid them back and got more goods.”
Pauline’s daughter, Andrea Jackson Robinson, grew up watching her mother hustle on the streets. Andrea recalls helping her mother sell bras during her high school years, even calling out to passersby, “Panty, Brasier, $100!” Despite the challenges, Pauline’s determination to provide for her family and her commitment to her customers laid the foundation for what would become Valentine’s Intimate & More.
Pauline has always put her customers first, even offering credit to those who couldn’t afford to pay upfront. Andrea shares a touching story: “One of our customers told me that my mom once said to her, ‘Get the bra and go home. When you have the money, come pay me.’ That’s the kind of person my mom is – raw, real, and full of faith.”
Andrea’s corporate career provided her with the financial stability and business acumen to help her mother transition from the sidewalk to a physical store. In 2019, Andrea rented a small 300-square-foot store on Harbour Street in Kingston. This marked the official beginning of Valentine’s Intimates & More.
However, the transition wasn’t immediate. Pauline, accustomed to the hustle of street vending, was hesitant to move into a store. Andrea shares, “My mom wasn’t keen on coming off the sidewalk. She always felt that people wouldn’t find her in a store, and the overhead costs would be too high.” It wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic forced her off the sidewalk that Pauline fully embraced the new business model.
During the pandemic, the business leveraged social media to grow its brand, increasing its followers from 77 to over 5,000. This digital presence helped Valentine’s Intimates & More reach a wider audience and establish itself as a trusted name in lingerie and personalised bra fittings.
With the success of the Kingston branch, Andrea set her sights on expansion. In 2023, Valentine’s Intimates opened its second location in Montego Bay, following overwhelming demand from customers in the western part of the island.
STREAMLINING OPERATIONS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Andrea’s participation in the Digital Jamaica Training in 2024 was a game-changer for the business. Before the training, Valentine’s Intimates struggled to manage customer flow during peak hours, leading to lost sales and frustrated customers. Andrea recalls, “I had a situation where customers would come at a particular time of the day, and I would not have been able to service all of them because they were just a kind of rush, say, for example, during the lunch hour time.”
The training introduced Andrea to simple yet powerful digital tools like Google Forms, which she used to implement an appointment booking system. This process eliminated long wait times, improved customer satisfaction, and allowed the business to collect valuable data for better planning and personalised service. Andrea reflects, “The biggest take-away for me was learning how digital tools can simplify operations. I implemented appointment booking using Google Forms, a simple tool that didn’t cost me anything, and it eliminated the challenge I had.”
Andrea shares her vision: “I’d like to have at least five physical stores here in Jamaica. We currently have two. I want to build an inventory system that makes it easy for us to see stock across branches without relying on manual books.”
Through the Digital Jamaica Training, Andrea has gained the tools and knowledge to streamline operations, improve customer service, and plan for future growth. Her vision for the business is clear: to create a seamless, technology-driven experience that allows her team to focus on what they do best: empowering women through personalised solutions.
As Andrea puts it, “The training has given me a different perspective. You want to put technology in place so you don’t spend a lot of man-hours or your time on tasks. You want to spend more time servicing your customer.”
With two thriving locations, an online store and a growing online presence, Valentine’s Intimates & More is poised to become a leader in Jamaica’s lingerie industry.
DIGITAL JAMAICA PROJECT REACHING WOMEN
The Digital Jamaica Project is targeting 1080 women-owned Micro, Small & Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) out of 2700 entrepreneurs to be trained in digital technology. Funded by the European Union (EU), managed by the Ministry of Industry, Investment & Commerce, and implemented by the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), the Digital Jamaica Project is equipping MSMEs with the skills necessary to thrive in the digital economy.
Training is free. Register now at www.jbdc.net/digitaljamaica.
