Hundreds queue for Scouse brand 'you can't find anywhere else'

A man created a much-loved Scouse fashion brand after he couldn’t find what he wanted from other shops. Adam Cummings runs Tribal Society which has shops in the Metquarter and the Grosvenor shopping centre in Chester as well as its own website.

Established in 2018, it aims to produce clothes classed as "affordable luxury", namely jeans but also a range of hoodies, t-shirts and accessories too. As various shops and outlets in the Metquarter have come and gone, Tribal Society has been thriving since it opened its doors there in 2021.

Speaking to the ECHO, the 32-year-old from Old Swan said looking good has always been a priority for him. He said: “I feel like I've always been into new fashion. Even from my school days, I was always wanting to be in the best clothes. And not always the highest priced clothes, I always wanted to be the best dressed.

READ MORE: Brother and sister had 'special' idea after chat with nan in the kitchen

READ MORE: 'I was really sad after what I was told but it's not going to stop me'

“As I've gotten older, I've found the industry I wanted to be in. I see a lot of younger people, including my cousins and younger family - you don't know what you want to do with your life.”

As an adult, Adam grew increasingly frustrated and felt the type of clothes he wanted at the right price simply wasn’t an option. He said: “I was looking at it as a consumer myself of buying clothes and as someone who was really into the industry.

"I wanted that affordable garment, whether it be jeans, t-shirts, whatever, and I felt like I couldn't find anywhere to offer the value that I needed. It just made sense to find a middle ground and offer more value than any competitor out there.”

With Tribal Society, Adam thought he could do something that could stand out from the crowd. He said: “Even though we knew denim had a massive industry, there’s two sides to it. There’s luxury ones or you can get them via fast fashion.

“They’ll be cheaper jeans and you change them every few months. We wanted to try and find that middle market. When you buy jeans online, if you're a certain type of waist, the differentiation sometimes in certain brands with jeans - it was affecting us massively and there was no middle market. So we wanted to bring out an affordable luxury jean at an affordable price.”

Over time, Adam felt like the business met this aim. He said: “We just offer a lot more value. We do our free alterations as well for all our customers and a 12 month warranty as well. So any nicks, rips, tears, just bring it back in and we'll get it sorted for you. We feel like we've really nailed that down.”

However, Adam felt there was another way he could promote his brand outside of the shop. He said: “When we started, Instagram was the major platform for social media. I think a lot of people get lost when they're either trying to promote the brand or trying to promote themselves.

"We found there were a lot of static images on Instagram business pages and it was boring. The product was getting run down your throat. People don't want to see that, they want to see the social side of it. It’s about interacting, it's not your website. It's not where you buy the product.”

Adam adopted this strategy on the business’ Instagram and later Tiktok, focussing on creating eye-catching videos first and foremost. Many involve Adam walking around Liverpool city centre with a microphone, asking shoppers questions such as how much a good winter coat should cost.

The business also gives a lot of its stock away for free in viral giveaways. One of these was hosted in Williamson Square last November for Black Friday and saw hundreds of customers queuing to get their hands on free items of clothing.

A similar event took place outside Lime Street station in April, where many picked up one of its branded sunglasses for free. Adam said the cost of selling items for free is off-set by how much attention the brand gets, with many first-time customers returning to buy more from its physical locations.

He said: “Over a 10 day period before and after one of the giveaways, our mailing list doubled because you had to sign up to find out more about us. When there’s a big event, people take notice. The same thing happened when Montirex and Rough Trade opened.

“We’re hosting another one for Black Friday this year. There'll be 200 to 300 people there queuing around the block. Everything is completely free. It’s in a secret location in Liverpool which you can find out 24 hours before if you sign up to the mailing list.”

Many retailers have found it tough to keep going in recent years due to covid and higher costs, but Tribal Society have managed to buck the trend. Despite the closure of the large food hall GPO earlier this month in the Metquarter, Adam feels Tribal Society is in a good place.

He said: “With GPO, we didn’t get anyone coming in who’d been there. Things like the Blackstock Market and the Chester Market have shown things like that can work though.

“With retail, you’ve got to move with the times. It is hard keeping up with different trends and the algorithm but you can do it. We sell clothes in one size that fits all.

“We started selling sunglasses chains for £2 each or three for £5. We’ve sold over 50,000 now. We had a guy in here the other day who started with these and now wanted to buy one of our coats that’s over £100.

“The Metquarter has always helped us. If it was a mess I could understand complaining, but it’s spotless and there’s always security on the door. When we moved here we had about 4,500 followers on our social platforms - now we have over 100,000.”

Adam feels proud of what he has achieved with Tribal Society. He said: “When we first started, because we were doing so well so early on, I thought it was my mates and family who were just helping me out, but it was more than that.

"You were getting people who you've never met before coming into the store, loving the brand, loving the idea, loving the fabrics and they keep coming back as well. It's a major thing whatever business you're in, if you've got a café, if you've got a restaurant, whatever, if people keep coming back, it's a great time. I appreciate it so much.”

Tribal Society is hosting another giveaway on Black Friday next week (November 29). You can find out more on its social media channels.