How Alan Boswell Group supports Blakely’s growth from Norfolk to a global lifestyle brand

While the clothing brand Blakely is now a global name with many famous faces adorning their oversized hoodies and muscle-fitting shirts, their roots remain firmly in Norfolk, where the fashion company was first launched over 12 years ago. Deriving their name from the popular town of Blakeney on the North Norfolk coast, they have become a disrupter in the lifestyle apparel markets with their timeless, super-soft, and long-lasting sports and leisurewear. 

Established in 2012 by Gareth Newman while studying pharmaceuticals at the University of East Anglia (interestingly, Gareth is still listed as a pharmacist on the Companies House register), Blakely originally emphasised a nautical theme in its designs to reflect their locality. As with many start-ups, Gareth was a jack of all trades: design, branding, logistics, e-commerce, and marketing; he even did all the photography. 

We spoke with Andy Gale, Chief Operating Officer (and life-long friend of Gareth), to understand what’s driven the brand’s rapid rise, their association with Norwich City Football Club, and why they chose Alan Boswell Group for their insurance programme.  

“Start-up was slow, but each delivery started to sell out and, over time, improved significantly,” notes Andy. “I joined in 2020 when the business was becoming well established, but Gareth was still doing everything in the business. We established teams and structure so we could really push it on. It's been a roller coaster since then, to be honest, with a fantastic growth trajectory. £5 million back in 2019 and we hope to do £50 million this year. So, in five years, we’ve seen astronomical growth.” 

So, what has driven this growth? According to Andy it’s all about content and how Gareth targeted their ideal demographic. 

“Gareth's got a keen eye for photography. At that time, e-commerce was very much ‘We'll take a picture of somebody in front of a white background and stick it on the website.’ But e-commerce and Instagram sort of merged as a recognised traffic platform around 2017-18, and that’s where our demographic was. Imagery became more prevalent, drawing people's time and energy. So, as opposed to a studio shoot, Gareth used to shoot on location, taking models to Ibiza, Mykonos, and different places where people aspired to be. You had the people, you had the clothing, and you had the aspirational locations. That's something that we've carried on as a strategy throughout.” 

While the e-commerce side of the business continued to grow, the brand was eager to create more of a tangible link with its audience. This led to trialling bricks and mortar, with pop-up shops in Norwich city centre and Westfield Stratford City shopping centre. 

“We found that we had a great connection with the customer. They wanted to see the people behind the brand and have the experience of being part of Blakely. It's all about that involvement, the content that we could create from that, and the experiences. Off the back of the Westfield and Norwich success, we launched an events team. The idea is to create experiences in the places where our customers are. This is what led us to our first Apex event.”  

“We have committed to doing more, with the next one scheduled for February ’25. We're also going to open the event up to more people, expanding the reach beyond just local gyms. And then the plan is to take it further afield, to London and the North of England, where we're doing really well in terms of sales. It’s about doing something different. It's not just about plugging clothes. It’s quite a congested market. We want to give people a Blakely experience.” 

It is indeed a congested market. Fortune Business Insights values the sports apparel market at well over £200 billion. So, how does a brand from North Norfolk take a slice from the behemoths of Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour? 

“Everything we need for the business is done in-house, so we can be agile and react to market trends and customer demands very quickly. From a commercial perspective, that does set us apart. It allows us to hit the right places at the right time. 

“Everything is, fundamentally, from the team in Norwich, which is quite exciting. We outsource barely anything. For example, if we're selling some coats well in a certain colour, the product team can start designing a new one for next year or order more if we need them. But also, we’ll use our content strategy on that coat because we know we can push that, and everything can be done within the week.” 

While they push the boundaries on the global market, they are still acutely aware of their Norfolk roots, which led to the business signing a three-year deal to become the Primary Sponsor of Norwich City Football Club at the start of the 2024-25 season.  

“It's more than just signing a cheque and having your brand on the shirt; it's a partnership that we want to last, and we want to leave a lasting impact on the community we share. 

“We also think it's one of the first fashion brands to go on the front [of shirts] of a sports team, especially a professional sports team. In terms of straight-out leisure wear, there aren't many. We really want to set a precedent for that, which again is something different. So far, the feedback has been really positive; I think the fans were happy that the shirts look good. So, it's been encouraging. 

“And, obviously, being a retail business, a lot of our money is tied up in stock. Our main insurance risk is around our stock.  

“Cyber is obviously very critical to us as well. We're wholly online; pretty much entirely for advertising and marketing. Our website is where our income comes through. So, cyber is also very critical component for us. 

“In the past 12 months, we've also started having problems with trademarks; people are imitating our products, which is a risk. You have to think on your feet and be relatively combative. We've now got our products trademarked in several countries. We must be doing something right, you know? It must be a good product if they're imitating it.”

With these increasing risks, the business was keen to find an insurance partner who could work with them as they grew. Andy introduced Gareth and the rest of the Blakely team to Alan Boswell Group in 2020. But what convinced them to select the Group over a multi-national broker?  

“I think that goes back to the point about being agile; we're a fast-growing business. I've been a client of Alan Boswell’s for over 10 years, and your ability to react to change and demand is second to none. So, that's why I was keen to integrate Blakely and Alan Boswell when I joined Blakely. Working with local suppliers is important to us. We use local printers, local couriers, and local embroiders; we use as much as we can locally. Obviously, they have to be good, though! 

“I knew about you as I have life insurance and a pension through Alan Boswell’s, and we also brought Jon [Preston – Account Executive] in to help with the insurance for my family business, which was really successful. It is a far more robust service than we've ever had before. 

“It was a good education, for me, in terms of insurance and how we should do it properly instead of just trying to find the cheapest policy out there.”

Blakely’s journey from a Norfolk start up to a global fashion brand is a testament to innovation and maintaining connection with its roots. With a commitment to quality, experiential customer engagement, and strategic partnerships, the lifestyle brand continues to go from strength to strength. Their partnership with Alan Boswell Group provides the protection and confidence needed to overcome the challenges of rapid growth. With comprehensive insurance and risk management sorted, Blakely can focus on what they do best—creating exceptional apparel dedicated to making their customers feel and look good.