THE BIG INTERVIEW
It’s just over a year since the textile brand, Stanley & Stella was launched. DEBBIE EALES went to the company’s Brussels HQ to meet managing director, JEAN CHABERT (right), the entrepreneur behind this exciting new label which offers fashion-forward, premium quality, printwear with a coordinated look for men, women, teenagers and children, in a sustainable way.
Meet Stanley & Stella J
ean Chabert has "entrepreneur" running through him like a stick of Brighton rock. He comes from a family
of entrepreneurs and says that his business acumen is hard-wired into his DNA. In terms of business, he started young.
Having spotted a gap in the market for printed T shirts when he was at university, he went on to supply universities and schools through his own company, which he later sold. Next, he launched successful European
imprint brand, B&C, and in 10 years, handled 350 million garments, before selling the company on in 2007. In 2012, having spent the intervening few
years running a chain of prestige car dealerships (which he still owns), Jean launched Stanley & Stella, with its cool name, sustainable credentials and cool philosophy. Certainly, visitors to this years Printwear
& Promotion LIVE warmed to the brand, appreciating the garments for their quality feel and fabric, fashionable colour palette, cutting edge design and sustainability. In fact, some visitors to the show were so taken with the new brand that they placed orders on the spot. Stanley & Stella is now in the process of
carefully selecting resellers, whose ethos, ambitions and image, are a good fit with the brands. Intrigued by the new company and its name, I travelled to Brussels to ask founder, Jean Chabert to explain all about Stanley & Stella for Printwear & Promotions readers.
Q. Where does the name come from? A. The name was chosen because Stanley & Stella are the two main characters in the cult movie, A Street Car Named Desire. Marlon Brando, who played the role of Stanley, was the first to wear a T shirt as a fashion item, and not as underwear. Thanks to that film, the T shirt became a fashion icon. Its a good name. We decided to take this name because it sounds much closer to retail. We know its a good fit for our product and it has a heritage feel about it.
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Q. Why did you decide to sell B&C and start again? A. The main reason was because I was not ready to grow so fast with the company and I had a lack of experience in terms of delegation. In our first year, we achieved 15 million Euros, in the second year we did 30 million and in the third year 45 million. It was mainly selling to the French market, Belgium, Germany and Spain. I also sold my first company, a wholesalers, which was called Action T.
Q. What was the business plan when you launched Stanley & Stella? A. We believed that if we had to come back, it was to do something different, and something better. We are ambitious and we believe that we can do both. In the imprint business, we know that roughly 70% of those who receive a free T shirt dont wear it, for many reasons – sizing, shape, etc, and the only time they wear it is to cut the grass, to wash the car or to sleep in. So in terms of being a promotional garment, they are not even being seen. Its a shame, because companies are spending a lot of money to promote their brand. When customers are buying a promotional garment, they should want it to be worn by people who will be proud to wear it. With B&C, in less than 10 years, starting from scratch, we sold more than 350 million pieces, but we never paid any attention to where those garments went or what they were being used for.
Q. Does that matter? A. Yes, it does. So with Stanley & Stella we are taking into account that the product will be liked and it will be worn. Its easy to understand. We are taking the good spirit, the good product, the good colours from retail and putting that in the imprint market. Secondly, the sales channels have improved. We know that there are more than 100,000 resellers in European countries. If Im a buyer, if Im a club, who wants to buy something, its not easy to understand where to find the good quality. So we understand that a brand has to
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