Tom Joule began by selling clothing at a country show in Leicestershire in 1989. He knew his customers well and had observed that their practical attire lacked an edge.

He and his team set about reinventing traditional British clothing by adding twists to classic pieces. Many of Joules’s garments have an element of surprise — a purposefully mismatched button, a contrast colour hiding underneath a collar or a printed lining.

The group is now a multichannel business. It designs and sells clothing, footwear, accessories, homeware, and gifts and has built a reputation for creating products that use bold colours and unique prints. This reputation has been built through Joules’s continued connection and focus on the environment, which inspires many of its designs, and its highly skilled in-house design team.

Joules is committed to ensuring its staff remain engaged and inspired by their work. The company opened a new, multimillion-pound head office in Market Harborough in 2021. The new space, called The Barn, brings together colleagues for the first time in more than a decade. It is purpose-built for collaboration, to inspire creativity, and to harness the next generation of talent.

The company has also invested in new ways of working. Staff have total flexibility over when they want to come into the office and for how long. This shift, as well investments to support hybrid working, has helped Joules to further engage its workforce and retain staff.