Goodhood Launches New Apparel Line, Eyes Global Expansion
LONDON — Goodhood, the multibrand fashion retailer on East London’s Curtain Road, next week will launch Goodhood Worldwide, a new in-house label.
Priced between 15 and 130 pounds, the range of slogan T-shirts, sweaters, outerwear, and accessories was inspired by the retailer’s global community. Goodhood Worldwide is targeting the retailer’s “quintessential customers, who are local to the area” and “like-minded people that are around who share the same kind of sensibility and would be into what we’re doing,” said Jo Swindle, cofounder of Goodhood.
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“We wanted it to be as accessible as possible. When we started the store we were very conscious that although we sell some really high-end things. We wanted it to be a democratic store so that we were offering things that someone on a low budget could buy as well as on a bigger budget,” she said.
Swindle added that Goodhood is launching an in-house line now because she and Kyle Stewart, the other cofounder, finally have time for it. Goodhood introduced its first in-house brand called Goods in 2013, but the scope of that same offer was much smaller.
“To be honest, we wanted to do our own line right from the start but we got sidetracked by running a retail store. But now we finally have the infrastructure that can give Kyle and me the time to be able to work on it. We were both designers before we opened Goodhood so it’s a natural thing for us to do,” she explained.
The first batch of the in-house line will be sold in-store and online, which now generates over 65 percent of the retailer’s total revenue. The plan ahead is to wholesale the collection to more retailers worldwide, and use the line as a vehicle to collaborate with artists and designers.
Beyond that, Swindle revealed that there is a plan taking shape to take Goodhood to the next level.
“With online, we are going to expand into new territories, including the U.S. and a couple of key European territories. We will also start with one store overseas and then we’ll add a few stores around the world. At the moment we don’t see that we will open more in the U.K.,” she said.
Fashion retailers with a scalable online business have been gaining lots of interest from investors. End Clothing, for example, was valued at $1 billion after selling a majority stake to The Carlyle Group, while Ssense has received investment from Sequoia Capital to further its growth in China.
Asked whether Goodhood has opened its arms to investments, Swindle said she believes that there is “a market for us to have a wider global reach and we would like to see that happen.”
“It resonates as a brand so well with customers that we often get feedback or emails from customers suggesting we open one in their local cities. This year actually we’ve started talks with different people to partner with to facilitate the growth of the business. I’m quite excited about the next steps,” she added.
Founded in 2007 by Sindle and Stewart, who met when they were both working at Levi’s, Goodhood is stocked with brands like Aries, Beams Plus, Junya Watanabe Man, Nicholas Daley, Soulland, and Toga. Considered by some as a hidden gem in London’s fashion retail landscape, the store has quietly built a sizable quarter-million following on Instagram.
Related:
Goodhood Eyes Expansion as It Marks 10 Years
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