Leeds fancy dress manufacturer turns to Chamber International for export growth

A Leeds-based fancy dress costume manufacturer, which has generated a £4m annual turnover, has appointed Chamber International to help drive its global growth.

Fun Shack (UK) Ltd, which is already selling costumes in the EU, Australia and New Zealand, believes its Leeds design team can create costumes suitable for any culture and occasion around the world.

The company is based in a red brick factory in Shafton Lane, Holbeck - the former base of the world’s biggest cloth cap manufacturer, JW Myers, which closed in 2000 after 111 years, and relocated to Panyu, China.

Fun Shack (UK) Ltd is among businesses wanting to increase export sales as part of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership’s We are International initiative, which aims to bring an additional £1.6bn into the economy of the ten local authority areas and create thousands of new jobs.

Founded in 2008, the company’s directors Jeffrey Fearnley, Geoff Key and Harvey Felstone are aiming to turn Fun Shack (UK) Ltd into an international business by understanding what makes people from different nationalities, faiths, cultures and ages dress up to have fun.

The company, which supplies joke, toy and fancy dress shops and online retailers, has built up its business in the UK with scores of different costume designs, from Cute Cowgirls, Clowns and Cabin Crew to Tudor Boys, fighter pilots and Victorian Factory Owners and started exporting in 2012.

Jeffrey Fearnley said: “We launched Fun Shack after spotting a gap in the market. Fancy dress costumes are either good quality and expensive or cheap and poor value. Ours are high quality, yet our customers can retail them at very competitive prices.

“So far overseas sales represent eight per cent of turnover but we want to do more. Our research and design centre allows us to understand local markets and create outfits specifically for local cultures which, although they may differ, have a common factor of appreciating quality and value.

“We face similar challenges to the fashion industry. We need to anticipate what is going to be popular a year or so ahead and avoid sensitivities in different cultures. Chamber International is hugely experienced and we have initially sought help in locating potential trading partners, compliance issues and for market reports for various countries including the USA and Germany.”

Fun Shack (UK) Ltd claims all outfits comply with European Directives and it works closely with West Yorkshire Trading Standards for product safety, including flammability testing.

Chamber International senior export adviser, David Attia, a former international sales director with Jacuzzi, Bradford, added: “Fun Shack (UK) Ltd makes fantastic costumes and they certainly have significant potential. It is still early days but we’re looking forward to helping the company take its brand of fun overseas.”

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