Lifestyle brand Gandys uses fashion as a force for good

If ever proof was needed that there is no hard and fast rule to business success, then Gandys is arguably a case in point. The company was founded in 2012 by brothers Rob and Paul Forkan who have thrown the rule books of how to set up and run a fashion business out of the window and are demonstrating that sometimes a unique and unconventional approach can also prove a winning formula.

The siblings set up Gandys as a social enterprise that would support children’s homes for orphans and pay tribute to their parents, whom they tragically lost in the 2004 Tsunami while the family was travelling and volunteering around the world. Gandys is a homage to Rob and Paul’s parents whose mantra was to do more in life than just exist - a philosophy which has now translated into a lead slogan for the Gandys brand. The brothers set up the Gandys Foundation which runs the Orphans for Orphans initiative, donating 10 percent of profits towards the creation of children’s homes and charitable projects around the world. And what started as a small enterprise selling flip flops from the proverbial kitchen-table is now a fully-fledged travel inspired fashion and lifestyle business, with a thriving and growing retail operation and two successful children’s homes in Sri Lanka and Malawi to date, and more to come.

Unconventional entrepreneurs

When Fashion United catches up with Rob Forkan over the phone, he credits his and his brother’s unique upbringing and everything they have experienced – their parents took Paul and Rob and their two other siblings out of the structured school system to travel around the world before disaster struck in the form of the Tsunami – to the tenacity and passion with which they conduct their business, and which no doubt plays a huge part in the success and growth of their company. “I think one of the key lessons in life that we have learned is not to give up at the first hurdle; we carry on. When you’ve experienced what we have, it gives you a good sense of perspective, and I believe this plays a big part in why Gandys is where it is,” he says. “We are not from a fashion background, and when we first decided to quit our jobs and launch Gandys, we had very little experience. Admittedly, we were not the slickest operation to start with. But we took everything in our stride and things developed organically. Sometimes going into something naïvely and a little blind can actually pay off, because you just do things. We have a few people in our team from a fashion background, but mostly we are all just bringing different qualities and experiences to the table and developing as we go along. It works for us – if you don’t know what the parameters are supposed to be, you don’t create roadblocks, and I think a lot of our success is down to that,” he adds.

The Forkan brothers may have raised eyebrows when they first decided to launch a flip flop brand in rainy Britain, but success came quickly, and soon Gandys attracted prestigious accounts such as Selfridges and collaborations with high profile partners such as The Rolling Stones, MacLaren and the V&A Museum, which have helped spread the word and create priceless exposure for the brand.

From flip flops to fashion

While wholesale was initially the main route to market, Gandys has pulled back from this recently and instead focused on the roll-out of their own stores. Currently, the company has four own London shops, including the Covent Garden flagship, all created to tell the Gandys story and convey the Gandys lifestyle. Each store is kitted out with travel references, images and memorabilia from around the world, as well as the signature map print prominently displayed. It’s an immersive experience of the Gandys brand, which has positioned itself as a travel inspired lifestyle label. “We decided to focus on our own retail operation as this gives us the opportunity to develop and experiment with the brand and tell our whole story and philosophy. When you wholesale you have a distributor in the middle and retailer at the end, and it’s not easy to the develop your brand in the same way, when you expand your products from flip flops to, say, jumpers, because they might say ‘thanks, but we already have a brand that sells us jumpers’. But with retail we are in control,” says Forkan.

Evidently, things are going well. Forkan says Gandys has had the best summer trading this year, thanks to the early and pro-longed heatwave. One more permanent store is set to be opened this year, in addition to another pop-up presence, while another opening is scheduled for next year, taking the retail operation to six stores within three years. Not bad for a relatively small, independent brand. E-commerce is also thriving and is becoming an ever more important aspect of the business. “Online is going really well for us, it’s a natural extension of our stores and branding, and we’re pushing that more and more. We’ve just had a record month online,” reveals Forkan.

The full Gandys range now encompasses its signature flip flops, but also backpacks (which have become the brand’s other best selling product strand) as well as a clothing line for men and women and popular selection of unisex items. The Gandys signature is clean, unfussy and always with a practical focus that reflects the travel roots of the brand but centres on vibrant colours and high-quality materials. Key pieces include cable knit jumpers handmade in the Himalayas, lightweight waxed-cotton jackets and windbreakers and crisp tees and sweaters. “There are about 200 pieces in each collection. We’re keeping the edit quite tight and are building it up slowly. We’re focusing on products that you can’t find in H&M or Zara,” he says.

A brand with broad appeal

Gandys growing fanbase is extremely diverse. “I think because we have that travel aspect to our range, we attract a very wide customer-base. Everybody likes to travel. We get the girl going abroad on her gap year to backpackers to the guy in the suit who’s giving up his job in banking to go travelling on a sabbatical, to the 65-year-old retiree. You can’t pinpoint a single customer profile and we love that,” says Forkan.

Asked where he sees Gandys in the market, he hesitates: “One of our customers said to us recently that he thought we were great because we were somewhere between Barbour and Superdry, and I guess that’s kind of accurate. I would say that Barbour is for the slightly older crowd, and Superdry for the younger guys, but there are definitely certain similarities between us.” And as iconic British brands go, Barbour and Superdry are not the worst adjacencies to be sitting alongside.

The Forkan brothers may be doing things their own way, but their success is undeniable. In six years the company has grown from a two-man start-up to now employing around 50 staff and counting, with turnover projected for this year to be hitting the £3m mark and £5m next year.

Currently, Gandys is mostly operating in the UK, but international expansion is also on the cards – though, according to Forkan, there is no fixed plan and, like everything else, they will take the expansion step by step. “We will definitely move into other territories, but on what scale this will be, I don’t know just yet. We like to build things organically,” he says.

Business with a conscience

Gandys is first and foremost a social enterprise, and in addition to operating ethically across all aspects of the business, at the heart of it is the “Gandys Foundation” and the brothers’ “Orphans for Orphans” initiative. Since 2012 Paul and Rob Forkan have established two kids’ campuses and homes in Sri Lanka and Malawi, which provide education, medication and nutrition to underprivileged children. The brothers want to open as many kids’ campuses around the world as they can, though Rob is hesitant to put a number on it. “Each campus is a big commitment, and we need to make sure that we work with the right people in each location and that each one has longevity as whole communities and lives depend on them. Whatever we do has to be sustainable,” he explains.

Gandys is on a journey to becoming not only a powerful platform to improve the lives of children and communities, but also an equally as impressive fashion and lifestyle destination. For s/s 19 the brand has been picked up by Harrods – personally brought in by the store’s CEO Michael Ward, who is said to have been extremely impressed with the service and the brand proposition when he visited one of the Gandys stores.

The future is certainly looking bright as the brand’s reach, customer engagement and reputation continue to grow. “Our main challenge is getting the product right, at the right price and at the right time, but we are working hard on this. We are still small and agile enough to react to market conditions and to keep evolving as a brand. I think that’s most important,” says Forkan.

Photos courtesy of the brand

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