Hartlepool man's new Footballshirtsjack business attracts worldwide orders

Jack Adams, from Wynyard, has seen his business grow steadily, despite starting it during the Covid pandemic, and has now moved Footballshirtsjack into a workshop and office unit in UKSE’s Innovation Centre at Hartlepool.

The huge range of shirts he sells covers hundreds of different teams world-wide and the 30-year-old has customers in Malaysia, South Korea, Germany, France, South American and Chile as well as the United Kingdom.

Prices range from £30 for new strips to hundreds of pounds for rare and vintage shirts and cover home and international teams and premier league clubs.

Jack specialises in sourcing obscure shirts that have included a rare Brazil 1986-1988 home strip and a South African Premier League shirt.

He said: “A rare Juventus shirt at £200 just flew off the shelf recently. Collectors can simply be fans of a particular team but others collect by popular culture or artists that they follow. Obviously the World Cup has given us a big boost.

“Demand grows every month and being at the Innovation Centre with the workshop and office space we now need is a big help. The facilities are great and the UKSE team is so supportive.”

Jack sells online with his website www.footballshirtsjack.com which also featuring football news and quizzes.

Jack’s degree in accounting and finance, in addition to his experience working in that sector is standing him in good stead but it was Covid that finally propelled him into becoming a business owner.

He said: “I was between jobs and staying with family in Dubai when Covid struck. As I was stuck there for a while I decided to start developing a website to turn my hobby into a business and am very pleased with the way it is going.”

Joan Cook, workspace manager for UKSE, the Tata Steel business-support subsidiary, said: “We are pleased we could help Jack settle into the office and workshop space he now needs.

"UKSE Innovation Centres are designed to support new and growing businesses and Jack has got off to a great start with his.”