Joe Browns was founded by Simon Brown in 1998, inspired by a group of friends enjoying a beer in a beach bar called The Ty Coch Inn in Morfa Nefyn, North Wales, at the end of a great day surfing some waves. Fresh out of the sea, salt in their hair, laughing, joking and totally carefree, they were having an absolute blast. That was the essence, right there, of Joe Browns: FUN, SPONTANEOUS and FREE.
Joe Browns started as a lifestyle brand for men, taking influences from all over the world to create unique clothing for those looking for something different and packed with personality. We even sold motorbikes and parachuting days! This was when we created our first ever catalogue. (Simon still keeps this in his top drawer)
With the rising popularity of Joe Browns, we introduced our first-ever women’s range to bring the joy of Joe Browns clothing to everyone. This opened up huge avenues for us, and we joined forces with J.D Williams, Very, Grattan, Littlewoods, Simply Be, Jacamo and Debenhams as wholesale partners to reach more of our wonderful customers. We also scooped the Best Royal Mail Catalogue award!
Our new womenswear range was packed with bold colours, distinctive patterns and striking detailing that soon overtook menswear sales. This was where Joe Browns really took off and we soon found ourselves bursting at the seams in our little cottage office, so we moved to something bigger near Leeds City Centre.
2004 was the year we introduced our feel-good footwear and accessories collection – because our customers were looking for accessories that are just as remarkable as their Joe Browns clothing. After a couple of years getting tech-savvy with the website, we also launched our first ever email campaign and won the Best Royal Mail Catalogue award for the second time!