68 FORWARD What makes GWCC so resilient in the market? According to Founder Ali Shaikh, “When a fan designs for a fan you get fan-worthy products…” Looking When did you start up and why? In 1995, GWCC was established as a distributor of unbranded apparel. However, in 2002, our business underwent a transformation and we ventured into the realm of souvenirs and gifts. This marked the beginning of what our company has become today. We take immense pride in being a family business spanning two generations, with all four family members actively participating in every facet of our operations. Our obsession with quality and innovation led us down the licensing route. What prompted you to launch the business? GWCC started via essentially a need to feed a family, then fed into an obsession to do better than what was on offer. What challenges have you overcome since the company’s launch? We have overcome many challenges however the standout one being when COVID hit the UK. With a majority of our business in supply to the gift & tourist trade, this hit around 95 percent of turnover so was a huge hurdle for us and almost defeated us. However, we stayed resilient and have bounced back better Tell us about your product offering. Our product offer is around 70 percent apparel and 30 percent gifts; we have our own family-owned manufacturing unit in Karachi Pakistan in which our ethos of quality and innovation is centred. We also have our own office in China for our gift production. The reason to have all these in-house processes is to keep the control on quality and develop a small number of suppliers with our way of working. What are your most popular products? Our most popular product is our hoodies, which are crafted from ultrasoft materials and embellished with innovative techniques. These are essential in any gift shops, we have versions for Transport for London™, Warner Brothers™, Harry Potter™ and London England™. Have any styles taken you by surprise with their popularity? Yes, our gift range for Harry Potter™ has been a real point of difference in bricks and mortar stores as the fans really appreciate the detail and quality, we are very happy with them and look forward to expanding the range.
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