The two brands JAMES & NICHOLSON and myrtle beach by Gustav Daiber GmbH stand for high-quality corporate, functional and workwear as well as modern headwear and accessories. With around 900 styles available in up to 40 different colors, they offer the widest range of fashionable corporate fashion in Europe. Thanks to high volumes and an inventory of more than 20 million items, a particularly constant stock availability is guaranteed. Retailers, corporate customers and other professional business partners benefit from this.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Gustav Daiber: The two brands belong to Gustav Daiber GmbH. The company was founded by Gustav Daiber in 1912 as a commercial distributor of textile components. In the following years, Daiber further expanded and became a specialist in the finishing of textiles. A very important chapter began at the turn of the millennium: the two new brands JAMES & NICHOLSON and myrtle beach introduced their first own collections. Since then, Daiber has been a manufacturer and finisher of promotional textiles. JAMES & NICHOLSON produces clothing, whereas myrtle beach focuses on accessories and headwear. Both brands produce leisurewear and workwear. Most of the products, such as t-shirts, jackets and sportswear as well as caps can be customized with transfer printing and embroidery.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
Gustav Daiber: JAMES & NICHOLSON and myrtle beach launch a new collection of clothing and accessories each year. With 37 styles, the new 2022 collection is characterized by product diversity and the latest trends for leisure, sport, business and work. All pieces are combinable in many ways and thus true crossover styles that connect work and leisure in a fashionable way.
Among the highlights of the workwear collection workwear is the new unisex rain set including the Worker Rain-Pants (JN1845) and the matching Worker Rain-Jacket (JN1846). The set is wind- and waterproof (10,000 mm water column) as well as elastic and width-adjustable and therefore a functional companion on rainy workdays or for leisure activities in wet weather. Another highlight is the Workwear Stretch-Bermuda-Jeans (JN871), the short version of the first Workwear Jeans by JAMES & NICHOLSON (JN875) of last year’s collection. They impress with a sturdy denim fabric made of organic cotton and recycled polyester, several tool and side pockets and a comfortable fit thanks to elastane.
An absolute highlight in the product line of leisure wear is the new Business Parka (JN1175/JN1176) made of recycled polyester. Thanks to a warm DuPont™ Sorona® padding and a wind- and waterproof as well as breathable outer fabric (5,000 mm water column), the parka is a true all-rounder with high wearing comfort. The new loungewear is cozy yet chic at the same time. The novelties in this category include the 8033/8034 Ladies’/Men’s Lounge Hoody and the matching 8035/8036 Ladies’/Men’s Lounge Pants. The 8038 Men’s Lounge Shorts are especially pleasant to wear in summer. The high-quality French Terry fabric and the soft colors make our lounge wear a real eye-catcher. Whether on the way to a cozy campfire evening with friends or at home with a book on the couch – the soft clothes made of organic cotton are the perfect companion.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
Gustav Daiber: The annual collections of both brands JAMES & NICHOLSON und myrtle beach follow current and international industry trends for a wide range of occasions. For leisure wear, JAMES & NICHOLSON offers casual, lounge and sports wear. The sports collection was a milestone in terms of sustainability. For workwear, the two brands offer different products: Essential, solid, color and strong, but also accessoires. Furthermore, the product lines different areas of work, such as the medical sector or business clothing in general like shirts and vests. myrtle beach, on the other hand, is an accessories and headwear brand. The product range includes caps and scarves, amongst other. Caps, by the way, were a breakthrough for Daiber: the brand myrtle beach was created in 1998 and has fast become one of the most successful cap brands in Europe.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
Gustav Daiber: JAMES & NICHSOLSON and myrtle beach are well established in the market for many years. As Gustav Daiber GmbH established strong and stable relationships with suppliers and clients and both brands can offer excellent products despite the sometimes difficult market situation, product quality and fair production standards constantly being a top priority. Unfortunately, the market situation is still tense: material costs have increased, as well as transport costs. In order to continue providing a wide range of products with previous high standards in terms of both product quality and working and production conditions, product prices had to be increased. Luckily, the brands were able to partially compensate for the decline in sales with their focus on workwear. Furthermore, a slow comeback of live events in summer is currently re-increasing the demand in this market.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
Gustav Daiber: One of the biggest market trends that we observe and focus on are so-called crossover styles. It means workwear that can also be worn in leisure time in a fashionable and trend-conscious way, as well as the other way around with leisurewear that provides a certain functionality. Our clothing, especially latest product collections, can therefore be worn in any situation and be well combined with a variety of different styles because of the wide range of colors and sizes. Our products offer our customers the greatest possible flexibility.
JAMES & NICHOLSON and myrtle beach are constantly developing new products, focusing on crossover styles and innovative and sustainable materials. These include, for example, recycled polyester and organic cotton. For some of our colder season jackets, we use a warming DuPont™Sorona® padding. Sorona® fibers, made from renewable resources, provide exceptional performance benefits over today’s fashions. Fabrics that contain Sorona® are extremely soft, durable and dry fast. By using the fiber, fabrics stretch comfortably while retaining their shape. It contains plant-based components and enables high performance.
As a socially and ecologically responsible company, we increasingly uses sustainable materials such as organic cotton and recycled polyester for new product designs. The increasing focus on sustainability is also a major market trend that we gladly put their efforts into.
E.E: What estimations do you have for 2022?
Gustav Daiber: As a major textile producer, we are aware of our responsibility towards people and the environment and are therefore constantly developing new sustainability concepts. In doing so, we are using more and more sustainable materials, continuously monitor the working and production conditions in our supplier factories worldwide and offer our employees an attractive workplace in our region.
Most recently, we have realigned our visual appearance and are now happy to present ourselves in a modern and even more colorful way: we created a new colorful visual world from which our photo shoots, our new ads and an inspiring look book were made.
Finally, the market for crossover styles continues to grow, so we will continuously put our efforts in those kinds of designs.