New Cheltenham fashion brand boss targets £100M turnover for Hera

Fast-growing Cheltenham-born streetwear brand, HERA, has appointed London-based digital marketing agency, Climb Online, to help accelerate growth of this upcoming brand to £100 million turnover following its sale last year to Paul Richardson, Executive Director, and former Chairman of the Solihull-based athleisure giant, Gymshark.

Hera was launched in 2015 by entrepreneur Ash White, who attended Winchcombe School. Since then, his super skinny jeans for men and oversized sweatshirts and loungewear have established a loyal customer-base, including celebrities Hailey Bieber, Brooklyn Beckham, Sofia Richie, and the cast of Geordie Shore.

According to reports, Ash White turned down multi-million-pound offer from Superdry for shares early in the business's existence years back.

In 2019 it had a £5 million turnover, but the brand had apparently struggled over the last two years thanks possibly to the pandemic and payments for stock due.

Paul has said his objective is to accelerate the fashion label to a £100 million turnover within the next three to five years.

Headquartered in Cheltenham, HERA London boasts an in-house team of experienced designers and product developers, with all apparel sold directly via its eCommerce store.

Climb Online has been appointed to lead the label’s digital strategy during 2022 and beyond - where it plans to develop and execute an omnichannel approach that will effectively integrate with its aggressive growth strategy.

Michael Bush (left in photograph), Managing Director of Climb Online, explained: “HERA is at an incredibly exciting stage in its growth journey, having brought together a team of extremely talented individuals who are united in its new vision to accelerate to £100 million within the coming years."

Georgia Richardson, Chief Brand Officer of HERA, added: “We are thrilled to partner with Climb Online, who will be leading our digital marketing strategy through an incredibly exciting time for HERA. From the beginning it was clear they shared our vision and have the skills to meet our ambitious objectives. Not only will Climb Online be developing our paid social, but they will also be developing and experimenting in new areas of digital marketing for HERA, allowing us to build the solid foundations that HERA requires for our goals. We look forward to this journey with the Climb Online team.”

HERA joins a leading client portfolio at Climb Online, with key brands including MADE, TikTok, TM Lewin and Gym King demonstrating the agency’s established position with the sector.