Brand Profile : Mcarta

05 Mar 2008

Product Name: Mcarta
Company Name: Cobbler Creations Limited
Owner Name: Cobbler Creations Limited
Int’l HQ Address: 8 Park Way
Edgware
Middlesex
HA8 5EZ
Web:
www.mcarta.co.uk
E-mail:
mcarta@gmail.com
Employees: 8

Give us the low-down on your company?
We are a new brand that started back in 2006. A few friends with various backgrounds be it skating, graphic design, retail or just the experience that is life lead us to decide we could fulfil our dream of owning and running our own brand. The range has been created with passion and a dream of having one’s own streetwear/skatewear brand that was a long time coming.

Who is on the management team and what are their backgrounds?
The delectable Bob Rasool - 15 years of retail / branding experience of many types and forms. The awesome Justin Alison - nine years of branding, through which many lessons of the trade were learnt and broken before realising that a quality, individual and independent brand was the way to go. We have almost 27 years experience in clothing retail (urban, street, skate) and another clothing brand, Dope clothing. Much of our experience and many of the lessons learned came from here.

What was the company philosophy when you started? How has it changed from then till now?
Mcarta has taken inspiration from the Magna Carta. In the year 1215 the independent, free-minded people of Britain forced King John to sign the Magna Carta. The document was signed in a small English village called Runemede certifying equal rights for all, that nobody was above the law including the king. The Magna Carta is regarded as the first bill of human rights and is still binding in today’s law. Its concepts of freedom and liberty are themes expressed throughout the collection. Conflicts seem to surface everywhere in the 21st century be [they] in religion, politics, corporations, the environment or divisions of class. Our design concept embraces the very idea of conflict so associated with modern urban life. The seemingly opposing factions meet in harmony.

What are some of the most important lessons that you’ve learned about running a company that you didn't know when you started?
Get the colours and materials right, quality is key. There are so many brands out there outside the clothing or extreme sports industries that let themselves down with the quality of their products. Also style is crucial – if it’s the wrong colour it won’t sell and chances are if you don’t like it your customers won’t either. But this doesn’t mean don’t take risks, just trust your own judgment (and that of your friends at times!). Every town has different taste, each local scene is individual so this must be taken into account too, even more so on the international scene. This is obvious, though.

What’s different about your company, both in product and the way the company works?
To the common eye the shoes, jeans, jackets and hoods look much like any expensive skate brand but Mcarta’s attention to detail, high quality manufacture and uncomplicated style look beyond today’s narrow-minded corporate culture. All packaging is made from Recycled and Recyclable materials. This is not a fashion thing, it is passion. We have managed to create a truly individual vibe in our organic yet urban range. We have made sure that while only the finest materials and production processes are used throughout the range that the prices are competitive, very competitive.

Why should retailers sell your brand?
Passion first and foremost, we’ve got it in spades. Our organic thought, quality and price help us stand out too, there is no other brand quite like us. Indie to the core, Mcarta has soul and a conscience.

What is the sales spiel retailers should use when telling customers about your products?
Growing up steeped in the clothes and attitude of city culture (as in most thriving city scenes), intelligent and artistic individuals find ways to express ideas at odds with mainstream culture. Street artist NYLON has become a component in the company’s designs, providing exciting, authentic, eye-catching graphics. Mcarta’s designs from logos to brochure photography, gives the label a style ethos far removed from bland global capitalism.

How does your company support riders and boardsports?
We sponsor two riders however the main thrust is to sponsor local riders to the stockist retailer. The riders we sponsor are: Will Ainley from Bristol, a local champ who rides with top UK skaters; James Kilpatrick from Brighton who entered and won different comps at the Brighton bash, and one more; Stevie Do, he eats, breathes and lives skateboarding.

Also one percent of Mcarta’s gross turnover goes to the charity Amnesty
International and their work to help protect human rights all over the globe
as this goes hand in hand with our own ethos.

What other marketing are you running?
Ads in skate mags/streetwear mags like Huck , Sidewalk, Trisickle

What are the biggest hurdles for the industry today? How do you think they should be overcome?
Facilities and cost are the greatest barriers to entry. You need a solid backer and someone who understands you and the brand and what you’re trying to do.

What do you foresee for the future of the industry?
Growth and expansion into the mainstream.

What advice do you have for someone wanting to start a boardsports company?
Be passionate, pay huge attention to perfection and have deep pockets!

What does the future hold for your company?
The creative forces behind Mcarta have turned passion and artistic flair into a highly desirable, practical collection. With independent stores already selling in the UK, Germany and Netherlands we aim to grow slowly from strength to strength using our enthusiasm, dedication and experience. With ninety-seven (yes that’s 97!) new shoes ready for the next collection, divided into; skateboarding, urban/street fashion, smart street, BMX (this is the new surprise with a patented sole system designed specifically for BMXers), and vegan smart street. Throughout the range high-quality suede / nubuck / full grain leather / action leather in different treatments and textures. The colour palette will stun the consumer. Our high-quality clothing is already in stores. The brand is picking [up] momentum and looking to expand further into continental Europe.