Renowned for supplying quality branded uniforms to schools across Cumbria and beyond, Identity is marking a significant milestone as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. With a longstanding reputation for service, growth and community engagement, the company continues to serve generations of customers who rely on it for their schoolwear needs.

 

Identity, a family-owned business supplying branded uniforms to over 200 schools across Cumbria and further afield, is marking its 50th year in business. Located at Furness Business Park in Barrow, Identity also provides embroidered and printed garments for companies, sports and clubs, as well as selling a wide range of workwear and PPE. As the business continues to expand, it is now serving customers from the third and fourth generations of local families, as director Kay Groundwater explains.

“We regularly have people who say they got their first school uniform from us, and now they are buying schoolwear for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” she says. “We are incredibly proud to have been part of the local community for half a century.”

The company was founded in 1976 by Groundwater’s parents, Harry and Dorothy, who live in Barrow and are still directors today.

It was originally called Young Ones and sold babywear from a shop in Rawlinson Street, Barrow. “I remember as a child that after four weeks the shop made £100 on a single Saturday, so the family had steak that evening,” recalls Groundwater, who started working for the firm full-time in 1992 at the age of 23.

After four years, the company moved to The Arcade in Barrow, shifting from selling babywear to children’s and teen clothing, as well as some schoolwear. There was another move to Cavendish Street in the town, where the company sold fashion clothing and jeans and changed its name to Trends. “At this stage, schools started wanting prints on school jumpers, so we decided to buy an embroidery machine,” adds Groundwater.

The business, which changed its name to Identity in the late 90s, continued to expand and in 2018 moved to a 12,000 sq. ft head office at Furness Business Park, which houses the firm’s buying, operations, accounts, web sales and warehousing departments, as well as a retail counter.

“We now have nine full-time staff, and in the summer we employ about 15 part-time 14 to 16-year-olds to help us out with the Back to School rush and to give them invaluable work experience,” says Groundwater. “They learn lots of skills, which is great for their CVs and to help them get full-time jobs in the future.”

 

 

Identity has sophisticated embroidery and printing machines to brand garments with school and company names, logos and website addresses.

It also supplies branded garments for a variety of sports and other clubs. More unusual jobs over the years include embroidering crests on the chair headrests for officers on a nuclear submarine and branding yoga mats for a club in South Cumbria. Supplying workwear and PPE, including ear defenders, dust masks, safety glasses, hard hats and fire-retardant coveralls, is an area of the business that has grown from 5% in 2018 to 40% today. “We supply garments for the hospitality and trades sectors, and firms ranging from a one-man band to large companies,” adds fellow director Paul Graves, who joined Identity in 1997.

Both Groundwater and Graves are members of the networking group BNI Cumbria and have adopted the organisation’s core values for Identity, including Givers Gain, Building Relationships, and Positive Attitude. The duo also places great importance on service, attention to detail, providing a fast turnaround, and caring for customers. “We monitor our suppliers for factory accreditations and look for stringent ethical trading policies in the manufacture of the schoolwear we provide, giving parents and schools peace of mind,” confirms Groundwater.

Identity is also keen to give back, both locally and further afield.

It sponsors several local groups, as well as donating redundant stock and collecting items to send to help residents in a village in Ghana. To mark its 50th anniversary, the business is hosting an open day for the schools and companies it supplies, which will include guided tours of the head office together with drinks and canapes.

“We are proud to have grown the company over the years and can see further massive growth ahead with new technology, products and printing processes on the horizon,” concludes Graves. “We are very excited about pushing the business forward for the next 50 years. The bigger we grow, the more people we can employ, and the more families we can support.”

For further information on Identity, please click here.