Circa88
While football fanatic Tom Rainsford is at ease sharing his extensive collection of iconic and eye-catching team jerseys with other fans of the beautiful game, he was not willing to surrender the shirt off his back when it came to securing a new premises for his flourishing business.
Forced into finding an alternative home ground for Circa88 by its dramatic upturn in form and number of fans, the entrepreneur completed the transfer of his company’s operations from his “man-cave” to a unit at Big Yellow Self Storage last year.
The switch has afforded the football fashionista with an arena better-suited to running his busy online store, which sells a mix of new, retro and hard-to-come-by shirts worn by domestic and international teams from around the globe.
Circa88
With dedicated space for the storage and packing of stock, a staff ever-ready to accept incoming parcels on behalf of Circa88’s part-time gaffer and the ‘turnstiles’ remaining open during evenings and weekends, Big Yellow has proved an ideal fit and – importantly for Tom – not been the type of big-money move more commonly associated with the sport that inspired his company’s creation.
Of the match made in heaven, the 34-year-old said: “It really has been superb. I was attracted by, and made the most of, the 50% off offered to new customers but it is the support of the people working at the store that has really made the move worthwhile.
“The manager and her team can’t do enough for me and knowing that they are willing to do things like sort shipping labels for me at short notice is incredibly reassuring for the owner of an independent business.”
Circa88
With PIN access, CCTV and a well-lit site among the other Big Yellow highlights cited by Tom, the “Sunday League dreamer” is happy for Circa88 to remain a fixture of the store for the foreseeable future.
I currently run the business alongside a full-time job with a software company and not having to worry about deliveries and pick-ups mean the two do not conflict. Being able to pop in to process orders a couple of nights a week and at weekends is convenient and helps me to keep my home life separate from my work life.
“The time I commit to the business is also better spent as there are no distractions at Big Yellow, I can focus on my work and then go home to be with my partner and baby daughter.”
With its sales growing exponentially month-on-month, Circa88’s promotion from back-room enterprise to a Big Yellow business is a footballing fairytale.
The company was only formed four years ago and has seen its owner turning his passion into serious profit.
“I have loved football shirts and football from an early age and particularly loved the look of kits during the 90s,” Tom said, describing how a personal collection of 30 or so tops metamorphosed into a business boasting distribution deals with sought-after South American brands. “Each decade brings a new design and there’s some really vibrant ones out there.
“I started flipping items on eBay and Depop but when selling five of my pre-owned shirts quickly became 500 sales a week and I began striking trade agreements with overseas suppliers, I knew I was on to something and needed to vacate my man-cave at home.
Circa88
“I still get excited when certain shirts come into my possession, but I am running a company now and there is no place for sentiment. The only items I won’t sell are those that have been given to me as gifts by my family.”
The blurring of business and the beautiful game, however, has done nothing to diminish Tom’s adoration for Association Football.
“I’m not tribal in my support of the sport and appreciate football as a spectacle,” he concluded. “It’s hard not to be enchanted by Champions League nights beneath the lights or to visit the San Siro and not be impressed.”
For more information, visit www.circa88football.com