All Simon Brown set out to do when he set up his mail-order business for men in 1998 was to: “Make a few quid and have some fun.”
20 years on, Brown, Founder and Managing Director of the multi-million pound lifestyle brand Joe Browns, reflects on the journey of his global company so far, which opened its first flagship store in November last year and its plans for the future.
Joe Browns started as a mail-order lifestyle brand for men, with a small team of three in West Yorkshire, after Brown was inspired in a beachside pub in Wales.
“I saw this group of twentysomethings in the corner with salty hair, bangles and cut-off shorts, just having a whale of a time,” Brown recalled. “They were all so happy and carefree. I looked at them and thought, if I could bottle up what they were exuding and create a brand out of that, then that’s what I was going to do
In 2002 Brown introduced womenswear into his offering which proved a lucrative decision with sales of womenswear soon overtaking the menswear range, now accounting for around 75 per cent of sales.
Joe Browns is still proudly a mail-order business, sending out over 48 million catalogues a year, but has since established itself as a hugely successful multichannel retailer, having now recruited over 1.25 million customers who place an estimated average of 2,000 orders per day.
Joe Browns now has over 145 full-time members of staff and is currently among the top performing brands for its wholesale partners including the N Brown Group, Freemans Grattan Holdings, Debenhams, QVC and Lipsy.
Its first 4,000 sq ft flagship store, which opened in Meadowhall Shopping Centre in Sheffield as part of the centre’s£60 million rejuvenation project last year, has since exceeded expectations taking over £2million in gross sales and over 42,000 orders to date.
Combined with a 40 per cent growth in sales from its wholesalers in the last financial year, Joe Browns has recorded a staggering 30 per cent growth in gross profit in the last two years with record breaking sales years for the past 3 years.
To mark the milestone of its 20th anniversary Joe Browns has launched a special heritage 20-piece capsule collection, choosing to model the styles on its own staff.
The limited edition pieces, made up of 12 women’s styles and eight men’s styles, reflect some of its most popular designs launched between the company’s formation in 1998 and the present.
Brown said: “To celebrate our 20th anniversary we have reworked our best-selling styles from the past 20 years. Our designers trawled the archives to uncover favourite pieces from the last two decades, some of which we have brought back in their entirety and others we have drawn inspiration from for new pieces in the collection.
“Joe Browns is an inclusive brand, celebrating individuals from all walks of life who want distinctive styles that express their individuality; so what better way to showcase our 20th anniversary limited edition collection, than by modelling it on our own remarkable staff.”
The special heritage collection has been designed to enable customers to re-live the history of Joe Browns and has been launched alongside the new season winter and Christmas collection both online and in store.
Joe Browns also hosted a party for its customers in store to mark its anniversary, with a live band, champagne and a heap of other activities, resulting in a record sales day.
In a speech to customers in store, Brown said: “It has been 20 years of ups and downs, with far more ups thandowns, but I’ve met some amazing people along the way and I feel like I’ve been blessed. None of this would be possible without our customers and it has been the most fantastic journey which is what life’s about.”
The company is currently looking at locations for further stores and will continue to invest in recruitment, range extensions, new product categories and its wholesale partners.
Brown added: “It honestly feels like the journey has only just begun and the excitement I feel is as strong today as it was 20 years ago. Our vision is to be the destination for remarkable things in order to keep intriguing, interesting and inspiring people.”
Book your place at the DCA Autumn Conference, where Simon Brown will be sharing the secrets behind Joe Browns success as part of a panel session ‘Maintaining business growth and focus; view from the top’, he will be joined by Nick Wheeler, Charles Tyrwhitt & Nick Whitworth, Celtic & CO.
Call 01271 866112 for more information or to book.
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