A vintage clothing brand which was launched in Hull 15 years ago is going global after sealing a partnership with a major retail group.
The Vintage Wholesale Company, which operates Poorboy Boutique in Humber Street, Hull, has now unveiled the WornWell brand with Primark. The retail giant launched it in Birmingham in September, with Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester, added this week and Oxford Street, London to follow.
Riccardo Seaton, who owns the business with his wife Angela, said: “It’s the biggest deal we have ever done. It’s absolutely unbelievable. It still doesn’t feel real, but that’s a mindset I have tried to keep to make sure I’m grounded and focused. I am trying not to get over-excited about it!
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“After Birmingham opened they said they had never seen a better curated vintage concession. Comments like that make it all worth it but I just want to focus on delivering the brand that they expect and then see how they react.”
Riccardo took his first steps in vintage clothing retail as a hobby while working as a mental health professional. He then expanded into wholesale and built networks of suppliers in Europe and the United States.
He opened Poorboy Boutique in Princes Quay Shopping Centre nine years ago, relocating to Humber Street in 2016, as the first retail outlet. Bag It Vintage opened in Princes Quay earlier this year with customers invited to buy a bag and fill it with vintage clothing. The business also launched Worth the Weight at its warehouse in Bontoft Avenue, Hull, organising events where customers would buy clothes by the kilo.
All aspects of the business came under the microscope when a top team from Primark visited Hull earlier this year to seal the deal. Riccardo said: “Primark first approached us about three and a half years ago. They found us online and their lead for new business innovation sent me an email. They wanted to talk about working together on vintage clothing.”
Riccardo went to meet Primark in London and although the pandemic slowed things down the discussions continued in the background.“They were able to take their time, and when we came out of Covid they were ready to meet face-to-face and see the products.”
Riccardo presented to a Primark delegation including chief executive Paul Marchant earlier this year at The Vintage Wholesale Company warehouse. Their tour took in Poorboy Boutique, Bag It Vintage and the Worth the Weight, which has since moved to a new site in Sheffield, now organising vintage fairs nationwide.
Riccardo said: “The CEO told me we should be proud of what we have done. He didn’t say anything else but I got a call that night to say they were very impressed with how it went. They loved the look of Poorboy Boutique and wanted to replicate that reclaimed, pre-loved look in their stores.
“I developed a few potential brands and we decided to go with WornWell. I own the brand and Primark gives us space within its footprint to trade on its premises.
“Primark has a hand in how things are presented because there are certain regulations and requirements for big stores that don’t normally apply within our stores.”
Each store opening creates between five and eight jobs on site plus one at the warehouse in Hull. Riccardo is maintaining his focus on Manchester, which opens on Friday, and Oxford Street the week after, but he admits to being excited about future possibilities.
He said: “We’ve added 24 staff in the last two months. Primark has over 400 stores in Europe and the United States and the next thing they want to talk about is scalability.”
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