Matthew gets his business started

Matthew Hall and Joffa Clothing started trading this week in the town’s busy Darwin Shopping Centre, selling his range of locally-inspired T-shirts, hats and other clothing.

Earlier this year the 18-year-old reached the final three in a Dragons Den-style competition to win a shop for six months at the Darwin Centre.

Matthew didn’t win but he so impressed the judges that the Shrewsbury Shopping Centres have offered the go-ahead young businessman the chance to trade from a stall in the centre.

Kevin Lockwood, Manager of the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside Shopping Centres, who chaired the competition’s panel of Dragons, said: “We were hugely impressed by Matthew’s idea for a retail business and wanted to try and help him, especially as it promotes the town.

“We felt that although he wasn’t quite ready to take on a unit with all the issues of supplies of stock that would mean we did think his idea had enough merit to warrant a place in the centre.

“So we’ve let him trade here at the Darwin Centre from a stall to give him a taste of the retail world and we’re confident he has the drive, the passion and the business to make it work.

“We like to be proactive in offering start-up opportunities to local businesses and hopefully Matthew will go on to build a successful business from this beginning.”

A delighted Matthew said: “I’m here for a month to begin with and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to dip my toe in the world of retail.

“The stall is here seven days a week from nine to five-thirty so my mum pops in to help me get something for lunch but I’m really enjoying it.

“It’s brilliant and without the Dragons Den competition this wouldn’t have been possible. It’s helped me massively.”

Matthew, who is fresh from completing his A-Levels in ITC and Product Design at Shrewsbury Sixth Form, was inspired to start his clothing company, Joffa Clothing, by his home town.

The designs feature well-known Shrewsbury landmarks which he wants to bring to a wider market with a presence in the shopping centre.

He added: “Whenever I go away I always meet someone who has visited Shrewsbury and they can’t speak highly enough of the town so if I can offer these specially designed T-shirts they could take a piece of Shrewsbury home with them and in doing so would promote our town.”

Later this month the Dragons Den winner Royal Marine Commando Sergeant Matthew Bispham, from Shrewsbury, will launch his Kitmuster business, www.kitmuster.co.uk, at a Darwin Centre unit, selling high-end military clothing, kit and equipment for Armed Forces personnel, cadets and outdoor enthusiasts.

The 32-year-old serving soldier believes the shopping centre is ideally-placed to support his business thanks to its large military population from the nearby Copthorne Barracks and cadet facilities.

Caption: Young entrepreneur Matthew Hall has launched his Joffa Clothing stall at the Darwin Centre, Shrewsbury, after impressing judges in the Dragons Den comp. Matthew is pictured with centre manager Kevin Lockwood.