One of the most successful men in British retail, George Davies, is sitting in the stadium of one of the world’s most successful British football teams. However, unlike what those in the know might expect, it is not the ground of his much-loved Liverpool team, but, instead, rival squad Arsenal’s Emirates stadium.
Having put his personal allegiance to one side, Davies has partnered with both Premiership teams to marry his love of fashion and football for the S’porter business that he set up in 1995.
So great is his love of the beautiful game that the serial entrepreneur almost followed a very different career path, when he tried out for Liverpool Football Club as a teenager. When he did not make the team, he entered retail instead and went on to set up Next, George at Asda and Per Una. And he still found time to spot yet another under-exploited retail opportunity – football – and has used his flair and experience to turn soccer clothing into a potentially multimillion-pound enterprise.
S’porter runs three stores in Liverpool and two at Arsenal, where the 15,000 sq ft (1,395 sq m) stadium shop can easily turn over£150,000 every match day. “When a team plays at home, these shops are unbelievable,” Davies says. “I have never seen anything like it. They’re busier than Oxford Street.”
In Liverpool FC’s stadium store, which is half the size of its Arsenal counterpart, 200 to 300 people at a time will queue to get inside before and after a match. “You think that the opening of Primark was impressive? Well we get that reaction every week,” he exclaims.
The stores not only sell the team kit, but fashion items for men and women that are designed by Davies, who also creates the stores’ fixtures and fittings. He plans to open more shops in Liverpool, as well as in Dublin and Belfast – cities with a firm support base for his home team, Liverpool FC.
Next year, he plans to launch the business to an international platform. “In China, they’re absolutely mad about British teams; it’s the same in many areas of Asia, where they now get English football on television,” he says. “British clubs are realising the potential of their brands – it’s not just football any more, but big business.”
While sports brands, such as Nike and Reebok, have courted the international market with huge success, football clubs, says Davies, have the same global potential. However, they have not yet taken full advantage of the power of their brands. “When we have European games here, sales shoot up from the visitors who come to the shop,” he says. “Also, whereas in the UK the shops that S’porter opens are very city-specific, in, say, China, you’ll find that fans of the major clubs are spread across the country, so there are less limitations.”
When asked what the potential of S’porter could be, Davies mulls it over. “Well if the turnover of Per Una is now£600 million, I think we could grow S’porter to£100 million or more, if it’s done correctly.”
And if there is one man that is able to do it, it is Davies. There are not many others who could match his knowledge, experience and passion. The fast turnaround essential to fashion retail has also proved key to his sports business. “If a club wins a big match, we can do 30,000 t-shirts with the results on them within three days,” he says.
Timing is everything
Davies explains that the main difference between the S’porter operation and his high street businesses is rhythm. “In Per Una, I put over 400 new styles in the stores every month. I don’t design for seasons, as many retailers do, but by month and, as we have seen this summer, we are often caught out by the weather. Although seasonality also affects football to an extent, it is very much event-driven, with the peaks being July and August when pre-orders, as well as internet sales, are huge,” he says. “In between seasons and around the mid-season point in January we are quieter, but then every other year a new strip is launched and the response is massive and drives footfall to the rest of the store.”
Another aspect that Davies has recognised as key to this business is the idolisation of players. “Gerrard used to be the name used [on merchandise] 40 per cent of the time at Liverpool. That was until they signed Torres this year – as a retailer you have to think how to capitalise on that.”
Understanding the customer is something Davies excels and that he maintains is the linchpin for any successful retail business. “Retailing is all about psychology. Looking at consumers and understanding their behaviour is the most satisfying part of what I do. The customers at Arsenal and Liverpool are very different. You can’t just replicate what you do for one club at the other,” he explains.
In the same way, understanding the changes in the market has helped Davies capitalise on the growing number of women in football. “I read that 23 per cent of fans at matches are now women and we have a lot of women come into the shops with their kids. That’s why I developed the women’s fashion range in the stores, which has done exceptionally well, particularly in Liverpool,” says Davies.
His grasp of the consumer and what they want is one reason why Davies prefers to keep control of his brands and always takes the front seat in any business he is involved in. “I find it difficult to let other people touch my brand, because it is like giving your child away. It’s your baby,” he says.
S’porter operates with the football clubs in a similar way to how Davies runs Per Una within M&S. “We cover everything regarding people and operations, but the retail money is made by the club and design and manufacturing is done by S’porter. It is very much a partnership.” This way of working has always suited Davies. “It’s all about trust and it’s a very open relationship, as it is with M&S. If they want to know how much I make on a particular shirt, I will show them, as long as the consumer gets good value at the end of the day, I’m happy,” he says.
This approach also means he can maintain good contact with his customers. “Dealing directly with the customer is what this business is all about and I couldn’t do it any other way really, because that customer keeps teaching me,” he says.
No plans to quit
As he celebrates his 25th year in fashion, Davies had an ideal opportunity to make contact with his customers. Launching his GD25 range at Per Una to mark this anniversary, 25 catwalks were set up in the 25 towns where he launched Next 25 years ago. “The thing I love about retail is theatre and this was an opportunity for real theatre,” he enthuses. “We had girls from across the staff at M&S modelling the ranges and thousands of customers turned up to see it. It was really fantastic.”
The buzz he gets from each new area of retail that he explores keeps him going. Moreover, it means that, at 65, he still cannot see a point where he will slow down. “I love it. I don’t see it as a job really and if I took on less of a role, I would be bored stiff,” he says. “I’m always thinking of new ideas, because the consumer keeps moving.” And just as the consumers never stop, neither does Davies. The fast-growing world of e-tail is where he plans his next attack.
In the same way that he changed the landscape of catalogue shopping with the Next Directory, he hopes a new online venture will shake up the world of fashion e-tail. Recalling what made Next Directory different, he says: “We tried to break out of the mould of conventional home shopping, which, at that time, was selling on weekly payments and cheap prices. I put swatches in the catalogue, so customers could actually feel what they were buying.”
Although fashion e-tailing has exploded in recent years, Davies believes a Directory-style revolution can be delivered. “With the internet, you can’t feel a piece of cloth on the screen, so there needs to be a different way to encourage people to shop online,” he says. “What I believe will make the internet work better with fashion is giving it real personality. I have a plan worked out and I’m ready to put it into action. This is something that I hope to unveil next year.” He adds: “With the Next Directory, I never felt like I was competing with the mail order market but with the stores, and that market is massive today.”
In fact, he is so proud of the Next Directory that he still has the first book that was produced at home. How he positions his e-tail venture is sure to be watched by the industry with baited breath.
Yet, he insists that S’porter will remain firmly with Liverpool and Arsenal. “I am working with two of the best clubs in the world and in football you just can’t be all things to all men,” he says. Davies is confident that one of them will win the Premiership this year and, although you get the feeling that Liverpool may be his preferred choice, there is no doubt he will be happy either way.
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