Streetwear brand aiming for 100% sales growth

Streetwear brand Jameson Carter is targeting  more than100% growth this year thanks, in part, to its link with Bury-based sports fashion and retail chain JD Sports.

Manchester-based Jameson Carter plans to boost annual sales from 400,000 items to one million.

The fashion firm has put much of its 2019 success down to collaborating with Premier-League Crystal Palace footballer Wilfried Zaha.

The ‘Jameson Carter x Wilfried Zaha’ collection saw sales grow by 50% compared with previous months.

And now founders Jonny Dawson, 28, Craig Tideswell, 27 and Mike Jukes, 27, say they anticipate the sale of one million items in 2020 as they expand their ongoing partnership with retail giant JD.

Their items are currently sold in 144 UK JD stores, but as of later this year will also be sold in JD stores in 30 American states.

Mr Jukes said: “We sold more than 400,000 items in 2019 and as we continue to expand rapidly, a target of one million items this year is wholly realistic.

“We had a prosperous year working with the retailers which stock our products, such as JD Sports.

Wilfried Zaha

“Our collection with Wilfried Zaha – which went live in October and is sold exclusively in JD stores and on our website – has led to a significant spike in sales.

“The collaboration saw Zaha featured in the ‘JD Comes Alive’ Christmas TV advert wearing our products, which contributed to further growth.”

The TV advert coincided with the company’s national billboard campaign for ‘Jameson Carter x Wilfried Zaha’, which included advertising on 200 billboards across 11 UK cities.

Jameson Carter’s partnership with JD began in 2017, one year after the firm was founded, in 2016.

This year the company, based in Shudehill in Manchester City Centre, plans to expand its womenswear range – a move expected to contribute to the forecasted growth.

The womenswear items will be sold in 25 JD stores in the UK.

Mr Tideswell said: “This year we will be expanding our design and production team so we can focus more on womenswear.

“We want to grow our existing womenswear range to be on a par with our menswear offering, and we will be hiring designers specifically for this reason.”

The ambitious co-founders cite Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein as touchstones and also plan to open a flagship store in London.

And the trio say they’ve come a long way from their humble beginnings, working out of a bedroom and using their homes as a ‘warehouse’.

Mr Dawson is the original founder and started out designing shirts before bringing his long-time friends on board.

The three are all from Warrington, Cheshire, and continued with their full-time jobs for nine months before the brand kicked into gear.

The partners used their £3,000 cash float – £1,000 from each – to trademark their business name, set up their website and purchase stock.

Mr Dawson said: “The brand name is personal to me. Jameson was my brother-in-law’s surname and he passed away – so it’s in memory of him.

“Myself, Craig and Mike all went to school in the same area, lived a mile from each other, and used to play football together as kids.

“We were searching for ages for the right caps and then when we found them we took them to en embroidery house in Warrington to get ‘JC’ embroidered on them. And that’s how we started off – with a couple of hundred caps.

“Our brand took off when Mike’s brother Adam went on the reality TV show Love Island in 2016 and took our caps in with him – we had the whole cast wearing them.”

Mr Dawson worked in fashion chain Reiss as a sales assistant, while Mr Jukes worked as a model and Mr Tideswell owned a construction company with his father.

Eventually they were able to leave full-time work to focus on their brand.

Mr Dawson added: “We’re all about longevity – we want to be here in 15 years.

“In the last three years, we’ve achieved incredible growth as a brand and we’re focused on continued expansion.”

Jameson Carter’s products are also sold through retailers FootAsylum, Very and ShopDirect, based in South Liverpool.