APRIL 2002 - THE BEGINNING - AFFLECKS PALACE
Absolutely no planning at all, a £2000 loan from Baz and a corridor between two other shops in Manchester’s Afflecks Palace... White Label Clothing had arrived.
Aged 21, owner Tim Shaw had no experience in the industry, having spent the previous five years DJing (hence the name of the company - a white label was a limited edition record, produced unofficially, often hard to find and always highly sought after) but armed with a handful of labels from his hometown of Birmingham (including the legendary Acid Test) and with Spunky from Brixton also onboard, he set about building the empire.
By January 2003 the shop had received its first press article in City Life’s Shopping Guide and in November of the same year the BBC interviewed Tim for an article they were writing about the shop. The article was for the BBC Blast website and it remained online for over four years (both pieces can be seen in the press section).
Having already taken over a neighbouring unit in Afflecks and with no more space available, a chance trip to Leeds was to provide the answer. Now all that was needed was a manager...
FEBRUARY 2004 - NEVER WORK WITH MATES - RASTAMAN’S ARRIVAL
Ian Johnson-Cole was an old school friend of Tim’s from their days in Birmingham. They both came to Manchester in 1998 to attend university and have been best mates ever since.
Initially Ian had found himself working for an insurance company and this was followed by a stint in recruitment but whilst both of these are undoubtedly exciting fields to be in, he found himself unfulfilled.
When his flatmate returned one day (he and Tim shared a flat for six years) and announced that he was going to expand the business and needed a manager, to both their surprise Ian volunteered for the job. After a whole two seconds of thought he was welcomed into the company.
It was obvious from day one that Ian would be far more than just the manager of the Manchester store, he immediately became an integral part of the White Label machine and none of what followed would have been possible without him...
APRIL 2004 - TWO STORES ARE BETTER THAN ONE - THE CORN EXCHANGE
Having stumbled across The Corn Exchange on a day out in Leeds, Tim was immediately struck by the potential of the location for a second White Label Clothing store.
It was similar to Afflecks in that it was home to small, independent shops but the building had a much more upmarket feel to it. Add to that the fact that each unit had its own shop front with lockable doors and that Leeds was only an hour away from Manchester and it was a done deal.
Fortunately, the manager of The Corn Exchange was already a fan of the company (her boyfriend shopped in the Manchester store) and even though there was a waiting list twenty shops long, within days the only available unit in the whole building had been secured.
Although it was one of the smallest shops in there, it had a great location, being positioned in the centre of the main floor. From the first day of trading it was a huge success, and not just financially...
NOVEMBER 2004 - THE LEEDS GUIDE SHOPPING AWARDS 2004
With the new Leeds store being in such a prominent location the press articles started to roll in even quicker than they had for the Manchester store. In November 2004, with the shop having only been open for seven months, it was nominated for Best New Shop at The Leeds Guide Shopping Awards 2004.
The nomination gained the shop valuable exposure both in and beyond the city. The constant support from The Leeds Guide magazine and a public voting system that lasted for a month all really helped to establish the company in Leeds.
Naturally, White Label Clothing went on to win the award, receiving nearly twice as many votes as the second place shop. This brought yet more press (all the related articles can be seen in the press section), an awards ceremony with free booze and the first award for the trophy cabinet.
This success was not just down to the boys however as Tim’s younger sister Nell had joined the company shortly after the opening of the Leeds store. Nell could be found working her magic there every weekend and although now vastly overqualified (she is a lawyer), White Label Clothing still retain her services...
DECEMBER 2004 - THE ARENA/O2 ENTREPRENEUR AWARDS
Christmas certainly came early for the company in 2004, with December turning out to be an even better month than November had been.
The exposure from winning The Leeds Guide award, along with the other good press that both shops had received, brought the company to the attention of Arena magazine and O2.
That month it was announced that Tim had been nominated in The Arena/O2 Entrepreneur Awards. These were annual awards that celebrated British men whose work had projected them above all others in their field. Previous winners included chef Tom Aikens, writer and actor Rob Brydon and comedians Matt Lucas and David Walliams.
The nomination brought with it another awards ceremony, this time with free food as well as booze and a fancy new mobile phone with free calls for a year. This was followed by an article in the February 2005 issue of Arena magazine (full article and nomination letter can be seen in the press section) and the promise of yet more spoils for the winner. To this day Tim is still convinced they lost his number...
MARCH 2005 - WLC GETS IT'S OWN TV SHOW - CHANNEL 4'S THE HUSTLERS
The fact that Tim already had a well received performance as a young boy on Blue Peter under his belt and that Ian had appearances on a variety of dating shows to his name, meant that the wonderful world of television was certainly not alien to the White Label boys.
However, when Tim returned from the Leeds store one day to find the producer of Ali G and The Apprentice in his Manchester store running through ideas for a series with Ian, he was more than a little surprised. A quick screen test later and the deal was sealed (the amateurs agreed to appear for free), and so began 14 weeks of filming for Channel 4's The Hustlers.
The show, which featured narration by Sara Cox, has to date been aired at least eight times on Channel 4 (even the boys stopped watching it eventually) and has also been sold to numerous networks around the world, being seen as far a field as Serbia and Thailand (the programme can be viewed in its entirety by using the facebook link). The company was even asked to sign consent forms for a second series which was to be filmed the following year, but a new head of programming at Channel 4 put paid to that idea.
As if that wasn't enough the show was also an underground hit in Manchester's notorious Strangeways prison, with many a former inmate popping into the store to share their views and have a catch up with the boys. It seems that The Hustlers was a show that truly crossed boundaries, providing pure viewing pleasure even for those on the inside...
APRIL 2005 - A DREAM REALISED - NEW FLAGSHIP STORE OPENS
As the third year of trading drew to a close the company found itself in good shape. Awards and TV appearances aside, the Manchester store had built up a loyal following that stretched far beyond Afflecks Palace and the gamble of opening a second store in Leeds' Corn Exchange had really paid off.
Tim seized the chance to further expand the company and decided it was time to leave Afflecks Palace behind. Having spent many an afternoon gazing longingly across the road at the Factory Records store, he could hardly believe his luck when a random phone call to an agent enlightened him to the possibility of the unit coming on to the market. Once again Del Boy sprang into action and with the customary White Label luck in place and some heavy negotiating to boot, the shop was duly signed.
Less than a month after the initial conversation they had the keys and four more weeks spent with a sledgehammer in one hand and a roller brush in the other produced the flagship store that Tim had always dreamt of (pictures of the finished product can be seen in the contact section). With the TV cameras still rolling and the added excitement of Tim and Ian working together for the first time (at least for a month anyway) they opened for business.
It was a seamless transition, with the Afflecks store staying open right up until the day before the grand opening and with the more visible presence afforded by the new location and all the extra space, it proved to be exactly the right move. The company was now able to showcase many more labels and designers all at the same time whilst sticking to the ethos of everything being limited edition or one-off. This, coupled with the fact that many of the original labels were now producing entire ranges to be sold exclusively through the White Label Clothing stores meant that takings soared...
JUNE 2005 - THE LEEDS GUIDE SHOPPING AWARDS 2005
So much excitement over in Manchester had caused everyone to forget that across the Pennines, The Leeds Guide Shopping Awards 2005 were fast approaching. Memories were jogged however, when the issue containing the nominations was released and revealed that White Label Clothing had been nominated for not one, but two awards this time round.
Top Mens Fashion Collection and Best Independent were the two on offer and with the public voting system again being used, and some cash on its way to the usual players, the company liked its chances. The awards had stepped it up a gear for 2005 and taken over an entire floor of a city centre hotel, so out came the suits once again on the promise of more booze, more food and more accolades.
The first award of the night was Top Mens Fashion Collection and White Label Clothing won it. The presentation (this time of a lovely glass trophy) and the obligatory photo session were dispatched and the celebrations began. Later that evening the company narrowly missed out on Best Independent but by then no one really noticed or cared (although Tim was heard repeatedly stating something about a robbery the following day). All in all, a good nights work.
The awards were well publicized both before and after the event in all the local press (including radio), but it was The Leeds Guide magazine once again that really helped to keep the company in the public eye (all associated pieces can be seen in the press section). However, with the news that changes were afoot for the 2006 awards, it was unclear whether small, independent companies such as White Label Clothing would feature so heavily in the future...
JUNE 2006 - THE LEEDS RETAIL AWARDS 2006
One year on and luckily business was still booming. The company had just finished taking part in the Strut Fashion Show for the third year running and on the strength of previous years had this time been asked to close the show. With a vintage soundtrack from the King of Pop himself, they finished off in style.
Both the Manchester and Leeds stores continued to develop and they now had more labels and designers onboard than they new what to do with (always a nice problem to have). Soon enough it was that time of year again and with Manchester yet to establish retail awards of any sort, it fell to The Leeds Retail Awards 2006 to provide the yearly staff party.
As the name change suggests there were a few significant alterations to this years awards, most notably that all nominees were going to be asked to purchase 'sponsorship' packages ranging from £600 to £2000. The voting system would also be different with a newly selected 'panel of experts' in place to decide the winners. The awards, which had been set up to celebrate the success of independent retailers in the city, had it seemed sold out.
None of these changes went down well with Tim, which is why the company were completely gobsmacked when it was revealed that they had been nominated for not one, not two, but three awards at this years event (the record number of nominations at a single awards). They were nominated for Best Menswear, Buyer of the Year (Tim) and Independent of the Year. It was nearly enough to convince Tim to take a sponsorship package but instead it was decided that White Label Clothing would boycott the event in favor of going down the pub. This may have had something to do with the fact that the company didn't pick up any of the three awards that year...
OCTOBER 2006 - RECRUITING PRIVATE DUFFIELD - JOE JOINS
Joe Duffield (or The Saviour of White Label as he likes to be known) had been associated with the company since the opening of their Leeds store back in 2004. Hailing from nearby Halifax (although originally a London boy), his first meeting with Tim was on a trip to Leeds whilst looking for a stockist for his new clothing label Supersaveloy.
Armed with only a handful of designs at that point but sharing the company’s passion for everything limited edition the meeting inevitably went well. Tim immediately saw the potential of the label and decided to take it on for both the White Label Clothing stores. It was an instant success with Supersaveloy tees selling out in both cities far quicker than Joe could get them manufactured and over the next couple of years the label grew steadily.
Tim had always worked closely with Joe on new designs and colourways for the stores and this constant collaboration had got Tim to thinking about bringing him into the company on a permanent basis. During a regular meeting in the summer of 2006 the idea was raised and with Joe’s response positive a plan was hatched. By October that year Joe had taken up his new position as manager of the Leeds store and the rest as they say is history.
Having served nearly nine years as a trained killer (marine engineer) in the Army before joining the company, Joe brought newfound levels of discipline and punctuality to White Label (along with greatly exaggerated stories of his exploits in far off lands). As with Ian years before he quickly established himself as more than just a manager and has recently awarded himself the title of Creative Director...
JANUARY 2008 - THE GALAXY NIGHTLIFE AWARDS 2008
Another hectic Christmas out the way and the new year brought with it some unexpected news. At the very beginning of 2008 it was announced that Manchester would at last have an awards ceremony all of its own. The Galaxy Nightlife Awards 2008 were coming to town and after nearly six years of serving the city, White Label Clothing were quietly confident of a nomination.
It seemed their confidence was well placed as not long after the announcement a letter arrived from Galaxy stating that the shop had indeed been nominated, in the Best Male Clothes Shop category. The awards had been set up to recognize achievement in a whole host of different fields including Shops, Bars, Restaurants and Clubs with a huge public vote taking place where the Galaxy listeners would decide the winners.
The event received massive amounts of press nationwide, mostly on Galaxy’s various radio stations and websites and this in turn brought many new faces into the stores. Together with the fact that the White Label PR machine (getting all their mates to vote) had been in full swing since the nomination, this really helped to boost the campany's chances.
A couple of weeks passed before Ian got the phone call they had all been waiting for. White Label Clothing had won the award. With the confirmation letter received, tickets in hand and everyone in work the following morning apart from Tim, it was off to the awards party. Ridiculous amounts of free booze and a couple of blurred photos later (all pictures and the award itself can be viewed by using the facebook link) and it was time for bed. Needless to say, not one member of the group felt the earthquake that struck the city early that morning, as they casually strolled home...
about us
White label Clothing was created in April 2002... We only stock small, underground labels that produce limited edition or one-off designs... We only have two stores, one in Manchester, one in Leeds... There are three lifers, The Boss (aka Tim), Rastaman (aka Ian) and Private Duffield (aka Joe)... There are also two short-termers, Sunday Special (aka Nell) and Newboy (aka Teddy)... Not forgetting original band member Dominique who now works in a bank...
We only sell clothes for men...
Above is a timeline containing our ‘top ten’ greatest hits (actually it’s eleven), just click on the images for more information...