Cricket fashion guru reveals trade secrets

Justine Mills, Liverpool fashonista and owner of famous boutique Cricket, talks to JMU Journalism about setting up her business, her achievements and how we are a city of fashion.

Now the owner of a fashion boutique that is renowned up and down the country, it is hard to believe that nearly 20 years ago, Justine Mills was working as a Saturday girl in a menswear shop, whilst studying for her A levels. Ironically, the fashion guru is still on the same site where she started her retail career.

“I think it’s quite funny, because the shop I was working in, Déjà Vu, is part of the shop that we are in now, so I haven’t really moved very far,” she said.

After finishing her exams, Justine made the decision to defer from university for a year as she was given the opportunity to manage the Southport branch of the store: “I thought it would look good on my CV to manage a store at a young age so I took it up. After only less than a year of working there I decided retail was for me and together with my partner, Gerry, we decided to open our own store, Cricket, which originally started off as a men’s shop."

Eleven years on, she has seen her business boom and the store, which began to sell womenswear in 1999, expand. But despite the growth of Cricket, Justine declined the opportunity to relocate to the prestigious Liverpool One when she was approached by the landlords, Grosvenor: “After much deliberating we felt we could retain our identity better if we remained on Mathew Street. I also like being situated here as the street has a rich history and is known internationally,” she said.

The extended opening hours of Liverpool One was another reason for
Justine to stay on Mathew Street: “It felt like I would be giving up some
control and I didn’t like the idea of being dictated when we open. We’ve
created a strong brand and identity for Cricket and being part of a
scheme such as Liverpool One, where all the buildings are similar, you
can’t really establish your own personality.”

As for the infamous juicy couture tracksuits and rollers attire that is seen
up and down the streets of Liverpool, Justine said that she thinks, when
asked about it, that she is expected to apologise for the trend.

She believes style icons such as celebrity shoppers Coleen Rooney and Steven Gerrard’s wife Alex Curran are important for one aspect of Liverpool’s style: “They do define Cricket but there are lots of different representatives of Liverpool’s fashion scene. Today, even the students are more glamorous and aren’t as grungy. We are a glamorous weekend city that loves to dress up.”

When it comes to opening braches in different cities, Justine has considered the idea but believes there is a lot she can still do in her existing store. She said: “I feel that Liverpool is a unique city and the people here are very fashion conscious and fashion aware. They have been instrumental in the Liverpool store’s success and this would be hard to replicate elsewhere.”

The businesswoman said that if she had to pick one item that stands out to customers it would be Christian Louboutin shoes: “Girls absolutely love shoes, bags and accessories. They have a wider demographic and they aren’t size-ist or ageist and there is a feel good factor with them because you don’t have to be a size zero when you try it on.”

Fashion in Liverpool is constantly changing and Justine believes that this is good for the city: “I think the change and choice is great. Liverpool needs diversity to attract shoppers from outside the city and also to stop people from Liverpool having to travel to shop, which was the case in the past with many people travelling to Manchester to satisfy their shopping needs. “

"Today, even the students are more glamorous and aren’t as grungy. We are a glamorous weekend city that loves to dress up.”