"I'm focused on how to make it easier for everyone to do deals," says Jeremy Saul, director of London-based Brand 360, the
business he got off the ground last autumn.
And with his background in retail at Marks & Spencer, with TLC and at Global Brands Group in the U.K., not to mention a stint
based in Hong Kong at a soft goods trading company, he certainly has the background to know all the routes to market.
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"There are opportunities out there and it's my philosophy to find, create and deliver opportunities that add value for retailers
and brands. I'm positioning myself in the middle so that I can work with manufacturers and brands and retailers."
Saul maintains that despite the credit crunch, it is a very good time to start a new business. "Retailers still have to sell
product. I am asking them, what is the property that you can make our own? And what is the property that you can benefit from
as it grows by taking it into new categories, or even to other retailers." Backed by three private investors, Saul is concentrating on properties that emanate from the U.K. with international potential,
or are established brands worldwide but without a U.K. profile.
Saul's first deal was with the University of Manchester's 3-D print technology Tri-D. Saul is a graduate of the university
and retains links with it through a branding unit on a Marketing of Textiles degree, which he helped to create.
The technology, which was recently featured on the BBC's "Newsround" program, enables quality printing of 3-D images on textiles
and papergoods. The prints are also clear without the use of 3-D spectacles.
Deals for Tri-D include UK Greetings for cards to launch in April 2009 and Character World bedding, already on sale through
U.K. catalog retailer Argos. Saul expects other U.K. product launches in spring and autumn this year.
He is also talking to retailers and licensees in the U.S. for autumn product launches on bedding, apparel, nightwear and stationery.
Another client, Toby Mott, who creates handwritten slogans that have been used across categories from apparel and childrenswear
to home and stationery, had been inactive for several years. But with Saul now on the case, deals are being finalized with
a number of high street retailers.
Saul has also signed a clutch of art properties from Hip Designs and from Jo Butterworth, each of which he believes can be
developed in different core categories with different retail partners. And the most left field of his representations is for
London nightclub Mahiki, with its potential across categories including food, drink and barware.
Saul says: "Retailers can have the opportunity to back something from early development—that's one of the most exciting parts
of the business for me, together with the opportunity to develop brands on a global scale."
"I'm trying make a difference by concentrating on up and coming brands, adding value when I can and working dynamically and
quickly to get product to market."
