Joules is a British clothing company which sells clothing and homeware products inspired by British country lifestyles. Its founder Tom Joule described its business model in 2011 as creating clothing with "colour and fun and entertainment". Established by selling clothing at country shows, the company established its own clothing line in 1999 and began to open shops in the 2000s. , the company had 123 stores and a turnover of £185.9m.

History

Originally established as Joule & Sons in 1977 by Ian Joule, his son Tom took over the business in 1989. Joule & Son originally sold branded clothing and accessories at equestrian and country shows. Seeing a gap in the market for colourful country clothing as an alternative to traditional styles, Tom ordered 100 pairs of pink

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s to be manufactured, which sold out almost immediately. In 1994, Joule & Son rebranded as Joules. The company's strategy changed to sell branded goods at minor fairs, and by 1997 had experienced success in selling branded outdoor clothing at bigger shows. In March 1999, Joules premiered its first clothing collection under its own name. In September 2000, Joules opened their first store next door to the café owned by his father in

Market Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Northamptonshire. The population was 24,779 at the United Kingdom census, 2021, 2021 census. It is the ad ...

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. The company remains based in Market Harborough and its products are manufactured in China and Bangladesh. With the

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, almost all the shows that Joules intended to sell at were cancelled. In response, the company pivoted to selling clothing directly to retailers. The company's

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catalogue business was launched in 2002, with its website following in 2003. Joules launched Little Joule in 2008, designed for 2–12 year olds. Following the popularity of Little Joule, Baby Joule was established in 2009. Between 2003 and 2010, the company saw turnover increase from £3m to £50m, with mail order and

internet sales E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile comm ...

accounting for a fifth of turnover by 2010. By early 2011, Joules saw its

high street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

network rise to a total of 52 stores. During May 2016, Joules completed a successful stock exchange listing on the Alternative Investment Market. On 1 December 2022, 19 branches nationwide closed for the final time.

Products

The Joules collection includes contemporary men's, women's and children's clothing, footwear and accessories. It began with wellies, country-inspired clothing and polo shirts and although these products still form a key part of the range, much of the collection is now fashion-focused. The Little Joule brand is aimed at the children's clothing market and was launched in 2008, followed by Baby Joule in 2009. In 2019, Joules announced a partnership with Peter Rabbit for its kids range. Joules started selling home and garden products in 2013 and in 2014 launched an optical line in partnership with

Vision Express Vision Express is a British eyewear company established in 1988, now owned by EssilorLuxottica. It sells spectacles, sunglasses and contact lenses. History The company opened its first practice in 1988, at the MetroCentre, Gateshead, quick ...

. In 2015 Joules launched a range of home fragrances and toiletries.

Stores

In 2015, Joules opened travel stores in

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, and at the Waterloo and St. Pancras railway stations in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. , there were over 123 Joules stores in the UK, with flagship stores in

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

and

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Recession

In March 2020, Joules asked the government to do more to support UK retail staff during the

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. The company saw a decline in revenue at its 124 UK and Ireland outlets following the outbreak of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

in the UK. In 2022, the economic situation worsened even more, with many consumers cutting their costs in the face of soaring costs of living. This caused significantly less sales for Joules, which prompted the company to start talks with potential investors to secure extra funds. However, the talks failed, and the company went into formal

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

on 16 November 2022, putting 1,600 jobs at risk. On 1 December 2022, a last minute bid by NEXT PLC secured the company with only 19 stores closing. Since then a number of other stores have been closed, leaving very few High Street stores left and some outlet stores.

Stockists

Joules clothing and products can also be found in various stockists in the UK and internationally. This includes: * UK:

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Topshop TOPSHOP (originally Top Shop) is a British online fast-fashion retailer, which specialises in women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It is majority owned by Danish company, Bestseller. In 2024, ASOS sold 75% of Topshop and Topman to Bests ...

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* USA:

Von Maur Von Maur, Inc. ( ) is an American department store chain based in Davenport, Iowa. Founded in 1872, the chain operates over 36 locations across the United States, primarily in the Midwestern United States, Midwest. History Beginnings In 1872 ...

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Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and a seco ...

Dillard's Dillard's, Inc. is an American department store chain with approximately 267 stores in 29 states and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Currently, the largest number of stores are located in Texas with 57 and Florida with 42. The company a ...

* Germany: Peek & Cloppenburg

References

{{Reflist

External links

Joules UK Website

Joules US Website

Joules DE Website
British clothing 2010s fashion British companies established in 1989 Clothing brands of the United Kingdom Clothing retailers of the United Kingdom Clothing companies established in 1989 Companies based in Leicestershire Mail-order retailers Market Harborough Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom