Working hand in glove
Peter Cooney owner of Jayco, an importer of leather industrial gloves established in 1971, was very dismayed by the quality of cheap industrial leather gloves that were being sold as ‘luxury’ gardening gloves. These gloves were never designed with the gardener’s needs considered and Peter felt that promoters of these gloves were merely exploiting an opportunity.
Peter researched gardeners’ hand protection needs and then began from scratch to design unique, high quality, comfortable gardening gloves to meet the varying needs of gardeners. He developed four distinctive glove styles based on what is needed to protect the hand while accomplishing various tasks: Soft Touch, Dry Touch, Tough Touch and Winter Touch.
The gloves were quickly taken up by RHS gardeners. The gardeners found that these gloves offered comfortable protection while maintaining essential dexterity. With this recommendation from RHS gardeners, the licensing department was pleased to consider the gloves’ endorsement.
Gold Leaf had already developed a distinctive black and gold branding strategy. Licensing worked with Gold Leaf to represent both brands effectively. The RHS etch logo in gold was used in this case on the packaging and also used to brand physically each Gold Leaf glove.
The RHS endorsement and branding has greatly helped the distribution of the gloves. Retailers were more willing to stock a new product directly supported by the UK’s leading gardening authority.
Peter says: “Working with RHSE Licensing could not be more straightforward or enjoyable, and our endorsement from the RHS has certainly proved instrumental in the rapid establishment of the Gold Leaf brand as the finest available. It has clearly accelerated our growth by giving both retailers and consumers the extra confidence to invest in our products.”