With more than 80 years and three generations of experience in the manufacture of high quality waterproofs, the Black family established the Regatta brand in 1981 and remain owners to this day, with father Lionel (chairman), son Keith (managing director) and daughter Joanne (group buying director).

Now, with a Group turnover of over £150m and more than 800 staff, Regatta is the UK’s largest supplier of outdoor clothing for leisure and work and a leading player in Europe. Exporting to over 40 countries, the company has dedicated sales offices in France, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Spain, Poland, Italy, Finland, Czech Republic and Israel. 

In the beginning 

The roots of the company go back to the 1950s when Lionel Black sold washable raincoats under the name of Dhobi rainwear. Says Anthony Haber, Regatta Professional’s director: “Lionel Black employed 1,000 machinists in Manchester. In making quality waterproof garments, Lionel was building his knowledge, which would prove invaluable later down the line.”

In 1977, the Black family bought Risol, a Chadderton-based husband and wife company, owned by Solly and Rita Kraus (Risol was taken from the first letters of their names) who imported a diverse range of products, but mainly workwear and footwear. When Mr Black bought Risol, the turnover was a £1 million.

The Blacks were one of the first to source waterproof fabrics in China, says Anthony. “In those days, it involved quite a hazardous journey by train, taking them over 48 hours,” he adds, but it paid dividends.

Through their dealings with China, Lionel and Keith discovered that they kept costs down by buying fabrics in China, bringing them to the UK to be waterproofed and then shipping them back to China for construction. Key to the company’s success is its “value for money” ethos. Lionel Black’s founding principal has always been: “We don’t make rubbish! Our garments must stand up to wear!” 

The Outdoors Way 

At this point, the business began moving into the Outdoors market, with fleece being the next major introduction to the range. Fleece had been in the market for a while, but mainly being used in higher priced technical niche product, which was not easily available.

“We made fleece more accessible,” recalls Anthony. “The price was right and we offered a variety of styles and colours through all our retail channels.”

Regatta’s innovation in waterproofs and fleece, propelled the brand to become the biggest in the outdoors.

In 1981, Regatta was established as the brand name. The name, however, came about by sheer chance. Customers were asking for “those Regatta jackets” which turned out to be a consignment of waterproof jackets bearing a picture of a boat and a Regatta logo. After a short time, the name stuck and from then on, the company started labelling the coats with Regatta, hence the Regatta brand was born. To avoid the links with sailing, the brand was renamed Regatta Great Outdoors.

Another pivotal moment came in 1987 when Regatta’s Stormbreak waterproof jacket achieved the company’s first “Best Buy” commendation in Which? magazine.

When Regatta went into softshell, it was widely regarded as a high priced niche technical garment but again, Regatta made it affordable and accessible.

A secret to maintaining affordability is in using Regatta’s own exclusive fabrics. “We source our own fabrics at no detriment to quality,” says Anthony.

In the Regatta Group history, other key developments included the acquisition of active travel brand Craghoppers in 1995 and the creation of Dare 2b in 1999 which at the time was developed as a skiwear brand but which later developed into an adventure/mountain sports brand. 

Regatta moves into the Industry 

In 1999, Regatta entered the printwear market, having already been supplying distributor, BTC activewear since the mid-’90s. “Risol had originally been an industrial workwear company,” says Anthony. “So we were going back to our roots.”

Regatta Corporate and Dare 2b were developed from looking at other openings outside of the company’s core competency of outdoor, but while concentrating on Regatta’s strengths – waterproofs and fleece.

For Regatta Corporate, some of the garments were already in the Regatta retail portfolio – the Stormbreak and Weatherking jackets, Action trousers, bodywarmers and accessories – originally under the Union Hardwear label. It was only in 2002 that it was known as Regatta Corporate.

The company began to investigate the industry and look at how if could add value to the marketplace.

Says Anthony: “We worked closely with BTC activewear. They knew what their customers wanted and they were happy to tell us. We listened and we changed pretty much everything about the business in order to make us an acceptable supplier to the industry,” said Anthony.

“We started exhibiting at trade shows, like Printwear & Promotion, to get the brand out in the industry. We wanted to learn not just what the industry wanted, but ultimately, what the end user wanted.”

From 2004 – 2008, Regatta saw a huge growth in demand. “Our product range doubled in two to three years; we were offering a wide variety of products at different price points, offering value at all levels. Our marketing effort had been ramped up to another level. We just saw a surge – a massive growth in business,” recalls Anthony.

Demand was such that by the end of 2008, all major distributors in UK had taken on the brand and Regatta was making big strides in Europe too.

Last year was another turning point when Regatta Corporate was renamed Regatta Professional. “Corporate was a name we used internally to distinguish the product range between that and retail. But in the industry, the term “corporate” was misleading for customers and consumers, hence Regatta Professional was created,” says Anthony.

Decoration potential is an important consideration for the Professional range. The company focus on the fabrics that print the best and had been tried and tested. “We encourage people to print their waterproof jackets rather than embroider them. For softshell and fleece, embroidery is best,” says Anthony.

All Regatta Professional garments carry tonal Regatta branding on the outside back collar (as well as on the back neck label). This increases the perceived value of the garment by showing the Regatta branding whilst leaving main areas free for decoration.

Undoubtedly, sales of Regatta Professional have been boosted by the massive appeal of the Regatta retail offering. With a UK brand recognition of over 65% and marketing activities such as the huge ITV 1 sponsorship campaign this year where Regatta has sponsored The Lakes, The Dales and Countrywise, this can only have a positive knock-on effect on the Professional brand.

Fortunately, the impact of the recession on Regatta Professional was short lived. “At the back end of 2008 and in the first half of 2009, we felt the effects of the recession. But by the middle of 2009, we saw a resurgence in the business and we picked up very strongly,” says Anthony. “Throughout 2010, we were on a huge growth curve and it was our best year ever. Our large stock holding assisted in this major growth. It is our policy to hold large stocks which is a great selling point for our distributors.”

Continued Anthony: “So far in 2011 we are having a record year and we have some fantastic new products coming through as well.” 

Staying ahead of the game 

Never resting on its laurels, Regatta Professional continues to innovate. They believe that their flagship X-Pro range of technically advanced innovative waterproof breathable garments launched in 2010 is probably unparalleled in the industry.

Last year, drawing upon the expertise gained from the Regatta retail range of rucksacks, Regatta Professional launched a new range of rucksacks, school bags and holdalls suitable for decoration, which has been well received. “We wanted to expand the range and work outside of our core clothing range. Bags were a logical step for us, considering the knowledge we already had in the company,” says Anthony.

“We are also becoming a lot stronger in workwear – work specific trousers, kneepads, high vis softshell; we have managed to get our high vis softshell approved to GO/RT 3279 standard. It’s quite a rare thing in the marketplace,” comments Anthony.

For 2012, as well as some additional innovations within X-Pro range, Regatta Professional is planning a completely new range – which will be “a departure from anything we have done before”.

There will always be something new from Regatta, says Anthony. For 2011/12 stock will become increasingly important, he says. “We’re not afraid to invest in that. We hold substantial stocks at our dedicated warehouse in Liverpool. With over 106,000 sq ft of warehouse, between 25-60 employees and a turnover of over £25 million, Liverpool is highly capable of the job!”

At the heart of the business

Family values are intrinsic to the business. “Honesty and integrity are essential elements of the business. It’s a family business; it has family values and being open and honest with people is important,” continues Anthony.

“These are not just arbitrary words. It’s at the very heart of what we do.”

For more information visit www.regattaprofessional.com