Graduates aim for material world

Clifton Clothing started in a moment of frustration. In his first year at the University of Exeter, Simon Elliott (Accounting & Finance, 2010) realised he could outperform the competition when it came to producing quality team clothing for the Officer Training Corps platoon that he was a part of, as well as Exeter University’s ski, netball and squash clubs. Simon and his brother Bruce found they quickly made quite a name for their garments and became the go-to for more and more societies, and they started to take their spare-time job a little more seriously.

Despite the company’s start-up success, post-graduation Simon and Bruce kept their sights on other ventures with Simon working in London and Bruce in Cardiff. It was only a year later when they made a deal to provide all the promotional clothing for British Airways at the London 2012 Olympics they realised that Clifton Clothing was something they were ready to take on full time.

A huge part of their business is still from university halls, sports clubs and societies such as the Exeter Lacrosse Club, yet they now have their sights on international expansion too, currently launching into the EU market and aiming for a consequent launch in the USA.

Simon, who is still in touch with many Exeter friends and will marry fellow graduate Alice Lara Waterman (Economics & Politics 2010) later this year, had this advice for current students:

“I learnt a huge amount about the importance of connecting with as many people as possible, at university you are in a melting pot of individuals from different backgrounds, experiences and interests, “ he said. . “This will put you in good stead for the future… Some of those connections you’ve made along with way will certainly come in handy!”