Red Run was born when Megan Kimmance identified a gap in the activewear market for premium-quality, well-fitting clothing at an affordable price point.
Her vision was to create unique and bold products with “high-quality, bright, standout colours” in styles designed in-house that can be worn interchangeably with other pieces from her collections.
The brand name she chose, Red Run, doesn’t just reflect her use of colours, but also comes from the association of red with power, emotion and women’s empowerment.
Most activewear brands were based in London, so during lockdown, Megan moved back to her native Liverpool and set to work with her two business partners and co-founders, one of whom is her older sister Abby who took on the structuring and accounting for the business.
The founders’ unique mix of skills complement each other and they see this as one of the reasons the business has been such a success.
And it has been a success – from its origins as a direct-to-consumer website, via a small shop in Liverpool’s Albert Docks, to a 2021 partnership with large sports retailer. The launch of their Christmas 2022 collection together saw queues of people waiting outside stores.
Just four years after it started trading, Red Run now has its own shop, in the Liverpool One shopping centre. Megan and Abi are looking to launch more flagship stores around the UK to help boost the brand, and are considering overseas markets too.
As the business grew, they decided to switch banks to Barclays, mentioning that this switch was “eye-opening” after discovering the additional benefits available as a Barclays customer.
According to Megan, discovering what we can offer businesses beyond financial support felt like an “industry secret” they’d been missing out on. A large part of this has been offering them opportunities such as grants and the access to mentoring programmes, apprenticeship support and facilities through our Eagle Labs.
The personal level of service we provide also played a large part in their decision to switch to us. Megan points to how “friendly, supportive and enthusiastic” she found us, from very the first meeting.
Going forward, Megan says that they will be getting more involved in our mentor programme, to help other founders like themselves.
We’re also helping them with cashflow and transaction technology, and expanding their business. The access they’ve got to potential funding partners through our Eagle Labs networks “just wouldn’t have been possible without Barclays,” says Megan.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Discovering what we can offer businesses felt like an “industry secret” they’d been missing out on
-Barclays Business Manager, 2024