Mark Maidment, CEO of Ben Sherman
You've been with Ben Sherman for a long time. What drew you to the brand and what made you stay?
Ben Sherman was the first branded shirt I ever bought, I was 13 years old and had just discovered the band 'Madness'. I remember being as excited about the way they looked as I was about the music. Ben Sherman shirts were key part of the Ska / 2 Tone look. To be involved with a brand with that kind of heritage and history was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I grabbed it with both hands.
Over the last 10 years the Ben Sherman has been evolving to secure its identity and future for the next 50 years, that process is incredibly stimulating and exciting but also challenging. Many people who have worked at Ben Sherman will tell you that it creates huge emotional attachment; to be a part of a brand like Ben Sherman and help create its future is an honour and a privilege.
Describe the development Ben Sherman has undergone in terms of brand identity, target group and design since you joined, please.
The changes over the last 13 years at Ben Sherman have been immense. 13 years ago the brand was just a Great British shirt brand sold mainly in the UK and purely wholesale. It has now become a complete lifestyle brand, sold globally in 24 countries. We now have award-winning stores all over the world with flagships in London and New York. Over the last decade we have found the right mix of using heritage and combining that with innovation and modernity to move the brand forward and remain relevant for a new consumer.
Which changes did you install first after you were made CEO and what were your priorities?
Before I became CEO, Ben Sherman as a brand had become over-complicated.
There were too many sub-brands under the Ben Sherman label and we had lost sight of who our customer was by trying to overstretch the brand in terms of elevation. Ben Sherman was always a brand for the people that was accessible by the people. An iconic British brand with a foundation in shirtmaking with a sharp London style, we were for the Everyman and he wore Ben Sherman when he wanted to look his best and sharpest.
So we went back to our core consumer and made sure that the brand was everything they wanted it to be. We simplified the brand offer and removed all the sub-brands. This made it easy for our customers, retailers and partners to work with us and maximise the Ben Sherman brand.
I also knew that we needed to have the strongest brand message and marketing campaign for a decade, so we launched 'The original button up since 1963' campaign. Buttoning up, looking sharp and being the master of your own fate is something Ben Sherman has done for over 50 years; therefore celebrating this through the power of our latest campaign has been a very proud moment.
What intrigued you about the collaboration with Alpha Industries?
Two great iconic brands, both intrinsically linked to British style culture, coming together for the first time - It was a match made in heaven. We are very proud to have worked with Alpha Industries and to have made this collaboration happen. The iconic MA-1 bomber has been infused with Ben Sherman DNA to create a truly wonderful garment. We can't wait to launch this to our fan base in August 2015.
Are there any other collaborations in the making?
We also collaborated with Pendleton Woollen Mills in the USA. Pendleton shirts are the most famous heritage shirts in the US, where the fabric is still made in the Mills in Nebraska and Oregon. We took the American-made fabric and put it into our classic Ben Sherman button down with all the original features to create this one-of-a-kind shirt with Pendleton
Ben Sherman has flourished in and with youth cultures. What's your take on the current youth cultures? Has 'Mass Indie' killed Counterculture?
Sadly, style and music sub-cultures will never be as strong and prolific as they were for the 60s, 70s, and 80s. This of course is due to communication and social media, nothing stays underground for very long.
However, this ease of communication and mass visualisation has inspired creativity as people strive to be new, different and innovative. This pace of change is not going to go away, embracing it means that we create new style cultures that may develop quicker and don't last as long but in many ways are equally exciting. It also means that to be linked to those original British style subcultures that will never happen again, makes us even prouder of our heritage.
What are your plans for Ben Sherman in the future?
We plan to roll out our award-winning store concept to a wider audience globally. We will continue to create innovative and modern collections inspired by our rich heritage. And we are excited to expand on our brand message that celebrates a culture of buttoning up and the lifestyle choice that represents. We look forward to making this message global and to continuing to build our Ben Sherman community and the button up culture.
Thank you for your time!
