The CEO Series: Chris Gove, Percival
We spoke to the affable Chris Gove – CEO and founder of Percival – on what it takes to be successful in menswear. From going too far into the ‘funny side’ of marketing to creating clothes that men actually wear, and questioning whether he has the right traits to be a global CEO, his is a refreshing perspective…
All products on this page have been selected by our editorial team, however we may make commission on some products.
I was in the ad world. I had worked at big marketing agencies like Mother and TBWA, and I was freelancing a lot, but I got bored with shipping products for Colgate and Boots. So, on the side, I started doing illustration again for a couple of years. I did some album artwork, set up a screen printing studio, got into editorial design, and ended up working for Mario Testino at his agency at Higher & Higher, while he was doing art direction and photography for Burberry. That gave me a taste for fashion.
I set up Percival on the side, wanting to make one yellow wax jacket. I had a picture of myself on Brighton beach when I was four, wearing a yellow wax jacket. So, I got this special yellow Pantone wax done from British Millerain, and enjoyed the process so much. I had to make 50 jackets, which I got done in London out of pure convenience – I could cycle down to the factory in Leyton and quality check them. I sold them to mates, and then it started to snowball. I was just trying to do a Barbour in a colour that people hadn't expected at the time.
At the beginning, you do everything. It was me and my product director Paul, and we would do shoots ourselves, edit, run socials, e-commerce, and even fulfil orders at the Post Office in the first six to 12 months. The lady there got so annoyed with us, because we created such a queue, that she made us come at specific times, and would close the desk so she could do our post. When we got returns and exchanges, that's when we were like, ‘Oh, we have to get a studio.’
Direct-to-consumer was the way to go. We tried wholesale, but lead times were too long for the cash flow. We couldn't pay ourselves. This was in the advent of direct-to-consumer tech, and Shopify Beta had just come out. Sometimes, we'd get back from the factory, snap it on an iPhone, drag it onto Shopify, put it on Instagram, then sell out the next day. It was like a streetwear business for contemporary menswear. That's how we grew.
Then I met an investor. He mentored me for 12 months and then invested £150k. At that point, we started doing collections; we got a fulfilment centre started, got a freelance photographer, and grew it very gradually. But I was still doing everything. Then in 2023, we got a big round of investment, and the business went from six people to 25. The last two years have been a lesson in running a business, managing people, and giving them a value system and a vision.
You can't be a perfectionist. It's more about imparting what you want your team to achieve. In a way, everyone's now much better than me, because they're experts in a specific role. As long as you understand the basis of what they're doing, you don't have to understand the nuance. Learning that was hard. Learn what you're good at, what other people are good at, and then let them go.
I'm the CEO of Percival because I'm the founder, but there's a better CEO than me out there. I can't take this business global. Being a creative director is what I'm used to. So I can step into that role fully, I need a CEO who's more of a ball-buster and can make harder decisions. There are certain success traits for CEOs, and I'm just not that type of person. I'm very process-driven and pragmatic. I've raised investment and I do a lot of financial things within the business. But I am a creative person. I love to sit and craft and draw, feel the fabrics, discuss what we like, and come up with themes that make no sense.
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We're a community-driven brand. Our top customers, investors and I are all in a WhatsApp group, so there’s constant dialogue. I think that's the brand DNA. If a new CEO came in, we’d still need to be community driven. We’d still need to act locally. Even if you want to take us global, we still have to act in a local mindset, because otherwise, what's the point?
I do want to make money. I do want to retire one day and think that we did a good job, so we have to have a commercial sensibility. I talk about a linen suit in the same breath as the football on the weekend, but the everyman isn’t that into clothing. And so, how do you make it not off-putting?
The first thing is to take the clothes seriously, but not the messaging. I think this is born out of the serious #menswear era; no one could have a crack at themselves. So, how do you have a sense of humour without being wacky? That's always the tension point. The validation is always: is it relevant? Is it genuinely funny? And does it look good? Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we get it wrong.
I got too into the funny side of it a couple of years ago. I ended up spending all our marketing budget remaking three episodes of 999 with Michael Buerk. It was called ‘Watch Out’ and we got Phil Wang and loads of different comedians in it. It was so funny, but it bombed. What I'd done there is completely forget what I'm trying to do, which is to make it commercially funny and look good. Now, I just have a nod to that funniness. ‘Also available in navy’ is our new campaign and that just does enough.
Two years ago, AI was very ‘It's going to destroy the world and take our jobs.’ I think the learning from any technology is: can it catalyse the work you do, make it better and empower what you're doing? My investor made me read Good to Great by Jim Collins. This book looks at the most successful businesses over the past 100 years, then suggests technology's never been the reason they've done well. It's just catalysed the work that they've done. Now, we use AI for things like correcting copy, jazzing up scripts, and making songs out of negative customer comments. We do the creative direction for Brighton & Hove Albion FC, and shot their kit launch using AI backdrops because the players can't go into Brighton without being mobbed. Backend, we use it for predictive trends on SEO to make sure we're not going down the wrong road with a certain style. We also use Triple Whale, a data analytics tool that pulls in your CRM data. Now, we get a way clearer view of the touchpoints that a customer gets to come to the site. We never use AI for design purposes.
Have a clear vision of what you want to achieve. Don't rush into anything. Do your research. Have someone to help you with your finances. With AI you can do everything very easily, but if you don't know the ‘why’ of your business or product, it will show up.
Go for the green linen suit – I think it's our best product. We developed it for Gareth Southgate for the Euros in 2021 because he needed a suit that was airy, breathable and not too heavy. It's the bestseller because it has a real ‘why’ – it's fucking hot but you still need to look good.
Follow @ChristopherGove and visit Percivalclo.com
All products on this page have been selected by our editorial team, however we may make commission on some products.
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