An Interview With...Ideology's Max Wadsworth

I've been looking to bring in some new features on the blog for a while now, and a couple of weeks ago I got to test drive one of those ideas when I interviewed Max Wadsworth, owner of Sheffield based store Ideology Boutique. The South Yorkshire based retailer have been on my radar for the past few months, I caught up with their owner a couple of weeks ago for a chat...

Inside Ideology Boutique

B&S: Where did the idea of Ideology come from? Have you always had the vision of setting up your very own shop?

I worked for my brother who had a store for a short while in West Lancashire. I helped with the buying and it all started from there really. They were stocking YMC, Umbro Kim Jones and a few other labels. From then on I realized it was what I wanted to do.

I had an idea of the labels I wanted to stock and introduce to the Sheffield retail market. No one was stocking good quality, clean, understated clothing at the time; good gear that I wanted to wear myself really. It comes down to that to be honest. I had a list of brands that I basically wore and would wear. It evolved from there. It was a slow process to get around to stocking all the labels we wanted, but from the off we had some strong labels such as Common Projects and Nom De Guerre.

B&S:Being based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, you must come up against difficulties from not being based in one of the more traditionally bustling cities like Manchester, Leeds or London. What are your advantages from being located somewhere a bit different?

I think Sheffield is a city with so much untapped potential but is clearly a few years- if not a decade- behind major cities like Manchester and London especially. I don’t mean that in a bad way .I believe Sheffield has the creative vibe to establish a niche market alongside these cities .The challenge is exciting, but it does make it tough at times as there is a lot less footfall and activity in general in the city centre, compared to those cities. Sheffield should be able to hold its place - with a solid background in creativity, design and manufacturing. Something that works alongside what we are doing…



B&S:With being a relatively young independent retailer, It must have been tricky to make your ideas become a reality. What difficulties did you come up against when setting up? Did you have an idea of which key brands you wanted to stock?

The whole thing has had to be a slow burner really. Opening literally as the recession hit in late 2008, it was an uphill battle from the off and we have always had to be very selective and work on tight budgets; we still do. A big challenge has been rent and rates. They are way too high in Sheffield for the footfall. But I think that’s true in a lot of towns and cities at the moment.  We started out in a small unit in an indoor arcade; not perfect, but it was the most cost efficient. We only moved onto the main street front in January into a bigger unit, which has been amazing .It has opened us up to a lot more people who didn’t know we existed before.

From the start I had a list of key brands that I wanted to stock and have never really veered too far from that list except for the odd new label that I have introduced in the last 4 years. A.P.C. Common Projects and YMC were on that initial list and we still stock them today. I have made mistakes and taken brands we probably shouldn’t have done and also I have had brands that I really liked and they just didn’t work for one reason or another. It is all part of the learning curve I suppose - and retail in general.

I have a brand mix at the moment I am really proud of. I would like to be able to make a few more risks and try out more new labels from the likes of Japan for example, but for a store of our size it is a huge risk and outlay. I realize that will come with time but I am confident we will get there.

The YMC collection takes pride of place

B&S:Social media seems to be the quickest way of connecting with new people from across the world, have you embraced the digital world? How are you building relationships with your new and existing customers?

Max Wadsworth: You have to don’t you. We have had a website from the early days. Again it has been a slow development and we have had 3 incarnations of the site ideologyboutique.co.uk now, each one an improvement on the last. We have not got tons of dough to throw at the website and internet marketing etc, but what we have got is a great core customer base that returns again and again. The trick for us is to grab more of the market and expand. Our success to date is down to our focus on giving great customer service and the personal touch. I genuinely feel these big online stores don’t offer that and can’t replicate that. We have to use that to our advantage.

I do have to admit 2 years ago there were no where near as many online retailers stocking the likes of APC, Common Projects and Our Legacy for example, so I do think the online market is a lot more saturated and competitive now. Again we just need to stay on the ball and stay one step ahead and do things the others don’t.

Our Legacy AW12 collection

B&S:Stocking both men’s and womenswear must attract a few cool couples in. Who are you typical customers? Are you seeing all ages come through your doors? Do you take the time out to chat properly to your customers?

Max Wadsworth: We have kids from 16 up to folk in their 60s, so there is no specific age group really and that is one thing I am really proud of. I would say though that we have a lot of customers who work in creative fields, graphic designers, artists, musicians, architects etc. That’s the beauty of Sheffield; there are lots of discerning people and I think it goes hand in hand with our labels. Design conscience people understand and appreciate the finer details, like fit, cuts and fabrics that I don’t think the wider public always. Not to say our customers exclusively work in these industries.

I think I have a good relationship with our customers and always try to chat and keep it on a personal level where I can. I really think it is important to have that relationship. It isn’t always easy walking into a boutique like ours, a lot of people can feel intimidated I think. We try to eradicate that from the off and be honest, friendly and helpful. There are too many pretentious stores out there. I have been in some and you can literally walk around for twenty minutes and be totally ignored. I hate that exclusivity and judgmental attitude you can get in some fashion stores. It’s not what it should be about.

B&S:The shop boasts brands from across the globe, including MHL Margaret Howell, Our Legacy, Oak Street Bootmakers and YMC. Are there any brands out there that you admire and would love to stock in the future?

Max Wadsworth: There are tons of brands out there I would love to stock, but it isn’t always that simple. As mentioned before I have to be very selective and work within our means for now. Some of my favourites at present are Engineered Garments, Beams Plus, Yuketen and Albam. I could go on; there are lots of great labels I admire, plus great new ones popping up all the time.

We have just taken stock of a Sheffield based brand called Mamnick, set up by a mate of mine Thom.  We stock money clips and tie slides at the moment, but there is a clothing collection on its way and it is something I am pretty excited about. It is looking great.

B&S:Have you got any favourite items from your current A/W range?

Max Wadsworth: Most of the Our legacy Shirting as usual. But in particular the button down placket pink and grey stripe shirt is just quality. I never have mine off and love it.  Also this season we have taken a bit of their tailoring. The Grey Flock Wool suit has been a big hit and is probably one of the strongest items in the store. I would advise customers to go for the A.P.C. Scottish Herringbone Mac. Just timeless!

On the women’s front I would say my favourite pieces are the YMC's Navajo cardigan, Pea Green Coat and the embroided mini skirt.

B&S:And finally, the store is looking great; It's all very well considered but definitely does have a homely and natural feel to it. This sort of stuff leaves a lasting impression on the customer and for me this is a deciding factor whether to return. What is your favourite aspect of your store design and is there anything you're looking to expand on in the future?

Max Wadsworth: Just the homely feel really, like you say. It’s all pretty natural .We knew what we wanted and used what we had at our disposal. The store developed as we were setting up our larger store in January. It is set out in a way that it is easy to move things and freshen it all up. It’s an evolving process in my eyes still. There is nothing worse than a space getting stagnant in my eyes, especially a retail space. We will never become tired or complacent. We owe it to the brands and the customers.

The look of the store is always evolving, there's always something new to catch your eye

Hopefully you enjoyed my first full interview, I thought it would make a nice feature along with my recent store visits. If you didn't have time to read the whole interview at least you have some nice photos to look at, which were all provided by the store. Have you ever visited this part of the country, does Ideology sound like your kind of store?

For more information on the store click here Ideology Boutique, Unit 2, The Forum, 127/129 Devonshire Street, Sheffield, S3 7SB