A family affair

When employees are seen as part of the family, this can do wonders for business. P&P editor Melanie Attlesey speaks with Tom Mason, sales director at GoCustom Clothing, to find out more about this family-run enterprise.

Way back in 1994 Peter and Sally Mason saw something special in a small garment decoration business called Kingfisher Leisurewear.

Despite knowing very little about the garment decoration industry, the husband-and-wife duo purchased the fully-formed business with big plans in mind. They suddenly found themselves with a four-head carousel and a thirst for success. With Peter being such a driven entrepreneur, the pair set about putting into motion the beginnings of a very successful family run operation.

During the following years various members of the family have come to work within the business taking on various roles. Just two years after the purchase, Sally’s brother Angus joined and has become an integral cog in the wheel. Now the company’s managing director, Angus is due to mark 30 years with the business next year.

Peter and Sally’s son Tom joined the family business 15 years ago, and his brother Sam, now the company’s operations director, joined a decade ago.

“Working with family is a real privilege,” says Tom. “I really enjoy it.”

Growing up in the business

Tom and Sam grew up with the business, and as teenagers could often be found during the summer holidays standing at the end of a dryer eagerly waiting to collect the printed garments. “A lot of people working within the business have seen me grow up,” laughs Tom.

And the reason why so many employees have seen Tom and Sam grow up is because a number of staff have worked at the company for decades. In fact, the longest serving employee has been with company for 31 years. Now the head of design, Tom says Nick Earl is the company’s go-to guy for any print-related queries. “His knowledge is phenomenal,” says Tom.
Although Peter has loosely retired from the business, he still likes to keep his eye on what is going on, as Tom explains: “The sales figures are emailed out each evening at 6pm and if they are late, dad is emailing at 6.01pm to find out where they are!”

This demonstrates the level of love, dedication and investment in a business, that only family members seem to have – like the love a parent has for a child.

A formative year for Kingfisher Leisurewear came in 2019, when the decision was made to rebrand to GoCustom Clothing. This is when business really ramped up.

A marketing director was brought onboard to further the business’ reach. Hamish Eccles was recruited in 2020 and in the last five years has since helped transform GoCustom Clothing and elevated the business to new levels.

Pushing business forward

Not a business content with standing on its laurels, the family decided once again to push GoCustom Clothing forward and open a new facility in Covent Garden, London at the tail end of last year.

As lovely as it is operating out of a factory in Ludlow, Shropshire it does make working with customers further afield a little bit tricky. The aim of the new facility is to bring GoCustom Clothing closer to clients in London and the South East of England.

The team of three business development managers based out of the Covent Garden office includes yet another family member in the form of Mateo Mitchell, who just so happens to be Angus’ son.

Hamish explains: “The BDM team provides us with a direct sales approach meaning we can support those brands operating in London. While the BDM team is more focused on account management, outstanding customer service is expertly handled by a dedicated team in Ludlow.”
As part of the onboarding process, the BDM team spent three days at the Ludlow factory trying their hand at every aspect of garment decoration, and learning every little detail about the processes involved. Plus, they got to meet the wider GoCustom Clothing team and begin their journey to feeling like part of the family.

“We felt this was important for the team so they could answer any question thrown at them, and advise our customers about the best process required for their desired outcome,” explains Tom.

Further investment

In addition to the opening of the Covent Garden satellite office, GoCustom Clothing also recently invested in a further Kornit Atlas Max. This investment was made to meet the growing needs of clients, significantly increasing the business’ production capacity.

The Kornit Atlas Max joins GoCustom Clothing’s current myriad of print and embroidery equipment. Screen printing is utilised for larger orders, while for smaller orders the business has added direct to film printing as an option for customers.

“DTF has made life a hell of a lot easier for certain orders and products,” says Tom. “It’s been a game-changer for jackets. It’s certainly a nice add-on to have for the business.”

In terms of embroidery, GoCustom Clothing operates a fleet of Happy and Melco machines and Tom says they are currently expanding their 3D embroidery offering for customers.

A sustainable future

Wanting to ensure the best for customers, clients and the environment, GoCustom Clothing has worked hard over the years to become as sustainable as possible.

It’s quite rare for a garment decorator to become accredited by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) as the numerous hoops to jump through can be quite off putting, but GoCustom Clothing is proud to have achieved this accreditation. This means customers can be assured that GoCustom Clothing can trace the origin of the organic garments it supplies and the decoration processes used are kind to the environment.
GoCustom Clothing is also an official dealer for Stanley/Stella. As this sustainable brand only works with decorators that align with its ethos, this is testament to the hard work that the GoCustom Clothing team has done in becoming sustainable.

“We take sustainability seriously,” says Tom. “Three years ago, having eco credentials and being a sustainable business was a nice to have, but now it’s becoming a standard requirement for working with certain big-name brands and clients. We would certainly have lost some business over the years if we weren’t accredited.”

After three decades of steady growth, family run GoCustom Clothing shows no signs in slowing down anytime soon. The aim for the next few years is to continue expanding in the UK, hoping to capitalise on the surge in the print on-demand trend seen in recent years. And there’s no doubting that this family affair will succeed in anything they put their mind to, especially if the last 30 years is anything to go by.