May 29 2010
Just Who Is Johnnie Boden?
JF Uncut
George (WMD) Bush; Brad (Horse’s Ass) Blakeman; Tony (The Poodle) Blair; Gordon (Iron Chancellor? – My Arse) Brown; The George (By George, What A Rip-Off) Hotel Edinburgh – what do these people and places have in common? They are a very small selection of the topics that I have felt compelled to write about here in my Saturday column – on my day off.
Writing (rambling on) about issues and people that really p*** us off is relatively easy, because the emotion takes over, and the vitriol just flows. What requires a little more thought, is when something or someone makes us very happy, because inevitably, there is so much to say.
It is suggested that when we encounter poor customer service, we (the British) rarely complain, we vote with our feet and never return. Today, I have an opportunity to tell thousands of you about a company who offer outstanding – really outstanding – customer service. Oh, and the products are pretty outstanding too!
So, just who is Johnnie Boden?
In his own words, nineteen years ago, a failed stockbroker began selling clothes from his West London flat – today, arguably, he heads up one of the most successful mail-order (and online) clothes businesses in the world – but that doesn’t begin to describe the man, let’s take a glimpse behind the scene, to discover why the personality has created the success …
The story so far:
“After five burglaries, one office dog, nine Christmas quizzes, twelve nights spent in the warehouse, one consignment of refugees arriving with a clothes delivery, four office moves, quite a few sense of humour failures, a few sackings (but thankfully not many), 2 venture capitalists, 6 awards, about twenty fantastically annoying customers (mostly related to me), a couple of crooks, 520 King Pizzas (“Continental” medium thin crust with extra anchovies for me), a great team spirit, one incredibly tolerant wife, bucket loads of sweat and even more laughs, we’re still here! “
The history:
•Boden was founded in 1991
•We initially launched with just 8 menswear products
•In 1994 we launched womenswear
•Childrenswear (Mini Boden) followed in 1996
•Our UK website launched in April 1999
•In 2002 we launched in America
•2003 saw the opening of our new, larger warehouse in Leicester
•We opened our first shop in Hanger Lane, London in 2004
•Baby Boden launched in 2007
•2007 also saw the opening of our Walton-on-Thames store
•And our launch in Germany
•Today we employ over 600 hard working staff
•We ship over 3,000 orders every day from our warehouse
Question you never knew you wanted answering:
“Why are important meetings at Boden known as Shags?
In the early days when we were just getting things going, we couldn’t afford the luxury of enough space to devote to meeting rooms. Instead, if we had something that needed discussing in private, we’d wander off to the nearby Holiday Inn. If anyone asked, we’d simply say that we were nipping off for a quick shag. It stuck.”
Johnnie’s ideal dinner party guests:
Boudicca
Jonathan Ross
Marilyn Monroe
John Peel
Napoleon
Oscar Wilde
Mona Lisa
Henry VIII
Jesus
Winston Churchill
Nancy Mitford
Nelson
Things that make Johnnie smile:
A friendly face
Good manners
Riding very fast on a horse
The sound of my children’s laughter
Seeing happy customers in Boden clothes
Rare filet steak, mash (with lots of cream) and gravy
Sunset over the smoking shed
Our employees (almost always)
People trying really hard
Many episodes of Blackadder, Little Britain etc etc.
Sound like someone you’d really enjoy having a few beers with? Yep, me too, which is why I wanted to write about him today – but not just about him – as much about his 600 strong team too, who make dealing with Boden such a pleasure.
Boden have genuinely raised the bar when it comes to customer service; they don’t just go the extra yard, they go an extra mile – and they deserve every plaudit that comes their way.
Don’t just take my word for it – go discover for yourself -
UK: www.boden.co.uk
US: www.bodenusa.com
DE: www.bodendirect.de
AT: www.bodendirect.au
And finally, a very special thanks to Vanessa Dubuisson, who so charmingly and efficiently dealt with my last query!
FULL DISCLOSURE: I never accept reward, or entertain offers for paid endorsements. My pleasure is to share my experiences – both good and bad!
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What a wonderful blessing indeed. I love good news like this.
[...] And if you want to learn more about my thoughts on the man that is behind Johnnie Boden, you can catch up HERE [...]
[...] And if you want to learn more about my thoughts on the man that is behind Johnnie Boden, you can catch up HERE [...]
What a sad old – nearly fifty – year old woman I have turned into. Even though I say it myself I absolutely do not look it.
I was trying to get onto the Boden blog to give em what for, and happened upon yours, and absolutely agree 100% with all of your comments.
What prompted me to write this, when I should actually be working in my shed, is that in my post box this morning was the new style Boden marketing tool ‘The Boden Print’. Lovely to look at. Very well produced, complete with lovely pictures of Yum Mums, perfect terrier type dogs, etc. etc.
Also, the front and back page, plus lots in the middle dedicated its theme to the Union Jack……
Q: How much of Boden is manufactured in the UK?
A: Probably not much at all.
This unfortunately also typical of 99% of the great British Clothing Designers.
I have worked as a freelance clothing designer, lecturer and pattern cutter since I graduated in 1983. And what gets my goat is ‘The Great British’ clothing brand, and where is it manufactured. I dont have a problem with the fact that it is manufactured off shore. But why dont they shout about that?
Is so frustrating. Is a sham. And the British consumer just gets sucked into it.
I could carry on but have run out of steam.
Dear Lisa, I’m really sorry to have taken so long to reply to your comment on Jonathan Farrington’s blog. I must be brief but would say that in the early years I had lots of things made in the UK. With a few honourable exceptions, I found the quality to be poor and (above all) the service terrible. It would take a minimum of 6 weeks to get samples made whereas you can get (better) samples from China in two! In addition the factories had a habit of going bust , causing untold problems. Lastly, research proved that customers were unwilling to pay extra for the ‘made in Britain’ label. All rather depressing, I agree. However there was (and is) one ray of light: cloth. We do buy a lot of woolen cloth from the UK, which is great. Ultimately I fear we must do what is right for the customer. I wish there was a more benign tax regime in this country (favouring manufacturing/employing people generally) which might make it profitable for people to make things. And also a culture of encouraging children to take pride in making things. The last thing I would say, however, is that I have created 700 jobs in the UK. So it’s not all bad. With thanks. Yours Johnnie B.
[...] service – service like it used to be, and still should be – go buy something from Johnnie Boden. Don’t take my word for it, try them for yourselves, you will be truly stunned that any [...]
[...] That has now extended to sharing the experiences of friends, colleagues and acquaintances, so you will understand my pride when I received this note earlier in the week from a good chum, who read my post last year – “Just Who Is Johnnie Boden” [...]
Thank you for this articel. i was searching for infomation about Boden Germany and found this.
Glad to be of assistance!
Best
Jonathan