As a macho tag JCB, is hard to beat, but as a fashion label it's hard to believe. However, the brand that is universally known for heavy-duty lifting equipment is capitalising on its high recognition factor and has launched a range of clothes for men and women.
Given what people are wearing this year, launching a mainstream clothing range appears to make some sense. High street fashion is dominated by what could traditionally be described as workwear - cargo pants, padded jackets, waistcoats, and heavy boots are the look this winter for both women and men. In keeping with this trend JCB signature pieces include carpenter trousers, padded jackets and funnel-neck Sherpa fleeces. The colours are similarly rugged with camel, graphite and stone predominating.
JCB is an entirely family-owned British business and when it comes to yellow diggers or construction equipment the press office at its Staffordshire headquarters handles all queries. But for its first foray into fashion it hired Prince Edward's wife, Sophie Rhys Jones' PR company R-JH which organised a glamorous party in London which should make it into the pages of Hello! magazine. Tim Parker Bowles, Jodie Kidd and Bruce Oldfield all turned up to watch circus performers and trapeze artists modelling the new range of clothes.
Wrangler, Levi Strauss and Lee were the first workwear items to become daywear and JCB is not the first machinery company to move onto the catwalk. Caterpillar, which makes heavy machinery, also makes a range of workwear that includes work boots and earlier this decade these on-site boots started to replace Doc Martens as the footwear of choice for the late teens and twenty-somethings. The brand has since expanded into a sophisticated range of accessories and casual clothing and it maintains a strong advertising presence in style magazines.
Several other non-fashion companies have seen the potential of extending their brand values into clothing. Guinness produces a range of clothing aimed primarily at the tourist market and has a retail outlet on Grafton Street. Next year there will be a PlayStation range of clothes and Elle magazine will have its own branded sportswear.
JCB has signalled that this move into fashion is only the first step into brand diversification. It says next year it will move further into the consumer marketplace with a range of toys, industrial and fashion footwear, sports equipment and giftwear. It also hopes to capitalise on the burgeoning DIY market by producing power tools, lawn mowers and hand tools.
However, despite the hype surrounding the launch, the company could discover that the vagaries of the fashion world are more heavy duty than the excavation business. The day after the glitzy launch of the clothing range, British fashion pundits were already suggesting that JCB might be entering the market too late, and now that workwear has hit the chain stores fashion people will be moving onto an entirely different look.
