Douglas & Grahame, a family-owned men’s fashion house based in Carrickfergus is marking 100 years in business.
Chaired by Donald Finlay and now led by sons Adam and Michael Finlay, the company which employs 124, is aiming to achieve its target of £50m turnover in the next five years.
Douglas & Grahame designs all its garments in its modern Carrickfergus plant and is aiming to further develop its portfolio of brands. These include Remus Uomo, Daniel Grahame, DG's Drifter, 1880 CLUB and others.
Managing director Adam Finlay says the centenary is an opportunity to re-establish the firm’s position at the heart of the fashion sector.
Chaired by Donald Finlay and now led by sons Adam and Michael Finlay, the company which employs 124, is aiming to achieve its target of £50m turnover in the next five years.
Douglas & Grahame designs all its garments in its modern Carrickfergus plant and is aiming to further develop its portfolio of brands. These include Remus Uomo, Daniel Grahame, DG's Drifter, 1880 CLUB and others.
Managing director Adam Finlay says the centenary is an opportunity to re-establish the firm’s position at the heart of the fashion sector.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 I started Douglas & Graham on my 16th birthday, that's the 5th of August 1974.
00:08 I started in 1979.
00:10 '65.
00:11 '89.
00:12 '77.
00:13 '97.
00:14 1975.
00:15 48 and a half years.
00:17 '36.
00:18 '37.
00:19 45 years this year, yeah.
00:26 Starting wage was £16 per week.
00:30 Gross.
00:31 But I used to get out Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday night on that, so it was alright.
00:36 Friday, first task was...
00:38 Hand in a brush.
00:40 Floor sweeper.
00:41 As every new junior had to do.
00:45 You just were happy to get a job.
00:47 Somebody nipped out to the shop and brought back the cream buns, the nice custard cream, pint of milk and a newspaper.
00:56 It took an hour to come back, cos he sat down and had a fry when he was out picking arse up.
01:01 No ballpoint pens, no pencils, a fighting pen.
01:05 Your stock sheets had to be done on a weekly basis, all by hand.
01:09 Couldn't put your hands in your pockets.
01:11 Always have a page in your hand, makes you look busy, you know.
01:14 I could tell the truth, I could tell some of the stories we used to tell the young guys.
01:18 He told everybody in the surrounding stands and also the menswear press what was going to happen.
01:24 And I remember people shouting abuse from the back, saying he knew about this, he's got clean underwear on.
01:30 And I was like, well, why would you not have clean underwear on, you know.
01:34 And I just turned round to the three of them and said, don't worry, he's from Barcelona.
01:38 I'd say most people have maybe moved on from that, but I haven't.
01:42 We had a fantastic football team.
01:44 We were playing a match in Iskallan and at four o'clock that night a truck arrived with 6,000 pair of trousers on it.
01:52 And it's 14,000 trousers on it, on load of that truck, was it, a nine and a half.
01:56 So by the time I think we got down there, we were absolutely shattered.
02:00 Played a match and got stuffed.
02:02 I think the year later I went down and we hammered him.
02:04 It's very strange working for Douglas & Graham. Strange is in a nice way because it's a business, but it's almost like a bit of an extended family.
02:14 Well, I suppose the biggest memory I met my husband in Douglas & Graham, Raymond.
02:19 We've been married now 44 years coming.
02:22 There's also a lot of friendships built through over the years that will probably take forever to be replaced.
02:27 I met my own wife in Douglas & Graham.
02:31 It's been a second family.
02:34 Things have just moved from strength to strength through the generations.
02:38 A lot of rich memories can be created in 100 years.
02:44 This year, Douglas & Graham celebrates 100 years in business.
02:50 100 years in the menswear trade in the UK and Ireland.
02:53 100 years of fabric, of needle and thread.
02:57 100 years of service.
02:59 100 years enjoying the community, the togetherness and the resilience of this great industry.
03:04 Over the course of time, we have endured the Great Depression, a world war, the Troubles,
03:11 with bombings on company premises on three separate occasions.
03:16 We joined the EU. We left the EU. Sort of.
03:21 The boom. The crash. The pandemic.
03:26 From humble beginnings selling fabrics to the tailors of Belfast,
03:30 to the development of ready-made garments, to the building of brands, and we certainly aren't finished yet.
03:37 Today, we are a team who believe equally in the strength of old-fashioned values,
03:41 as we are committed to embracing the new, tackling every challenge and grasping every new opportunity the future presents.
03:47 And we have as much motivation and energy to tackle the next 100 years as we have to celebrate and honour the past.
03:54 So here's to you, our amazing customers, our extraordinary team, our forever supportive friends and family.
04:04 We wouldn't have done it without every one of you.
04:07 Here's to 100 years. And to 100 more.
04:11 [Music plays]
04:17 [MUSIC]