the menswear retailing business back when they started. Many were the renegotiated deals with wholesalers, and ferocious were the price wars. ‘It was’, he says, ‘different then’. It wasn’t long before Jonathan Trumbull had moved into larger premises just a few doors away. His brother Roger was, he admits, very much the front man of Trumbull’s. With his trademark long hair and stylish clothes he looked exactly like the sort of man you would trust to guide you on style. Not that David is in any way short of style. This is a man who wears his clothes with ease. He ooz-es style. He’s dressed today in a way that only a truly elegant man can. It’s a look that’s on the in-formal side of tailoring, but totally on the side of not having to try too hard. It’s just - right. By 1976 they’d opened Hatters, and then, in 1978, came Ginger. The strategy behind its launch is interesting. ‘We began to wonder if there was
To advertise call 01953 456789
room in Norwich for another menswear shop. We also realised that Van Gils for instance, a label we’d long been associated with, had a women’s collection. It was time to enter that market’. And when they did they brought the same magic they had to menswear.
director of the Trumbull’s store. ‘He had glandular fever and missed his first few days at work’, says David, before adding, that was over 40 years ago and to my knowledge he’s not had a day off sick since!’
Quality fabrics, high end labels, good designs, all in stylish premises and sold by people, just like Trumbull’s and Hatters always had, who kew about and cared about clothes.
I point out that Rod has sold me a string of suits, from the days of 3 piece single breasted and flared trousers, through the double breasted and, shall we say ‘generous in the shoulder’ styles, and on to current times. And every time I’ve walked in he’s greeted me like a friend. It’s - he’s - one of the things that makes the place special. Somewhere where the clothes and the customers transcend the fact that it’s a business.
If the number of shops now began to look like an empire, the business also has the mark of a dyn-asty. Founder of it all, John Kingsley (‘Don’t you dare mention his age!’) had started with Chadds. He’s still regularly on duty at the Bedford Street shop. It was Roger, who is now retired, who was the inspiration for Jonathan Trumbull and David for Hatters and Gingers. David’s daughter Rebecca runs Ginger and his wife Vivienne is actively involved in the business. And this is a business that values its staff, who they see as having a place in its future. A key play-er has to be Rod Canham, now a
When it comes to business we talk of the current climate. David admits, like so many retailers, that internet shopping has had some impact, and all of their shops now have a strong online presence. Also, there are of course more ‘high street’ competitors than there once were. ‘Honestly though, perhaps the biggest challenge we face is the way in which government drags its
www.DispatchMagazine.co.uk 35