Our co-founder Dale Allman was invited by The Fashion Network to speak at the Ecommerce Leadership Summit North 2026 in Manchester. The panel, “Founders' Journeys: Building Brands Against the Odds”, was hosted with Global Payments and chaired by Mike McHugh of Global Payments.
Dale joined James Gullick, founder of Maejer Golf and previously part of Represent, and Matt Hackett, director and co-founder of ChildrensFootball.com. The discussion looked at what happens when building a business doesn’t go to plan, and how to adapt when the original plan stops working.
Getting through setbacks
Union 22 opened in 2016, but construction work delayed the opening. Not long after, the shop was broken into and robbed, and we lost £30,000 worth of stock.
Dale spoke about how those experiences shaped the way we run the business. When a problem feels overwhelming, his advice is to break it into smaller wins and focus on what can be fixed next. It’s a practical way to keep moving forward when the whole situation feels difficult to solve at once.
The panel shared that same thread: adapting when the original plan stops working. Each business has its own challenges, but being able to respond to them is part of building something that lasts.
Choosing the right brands
Dale also challenged the idea that the biggest brands always deliver the best returns. At Union 22, carefully chosen labels such as Herno and Wahts have proved more profitable. That comes from knowing the numbers behind every brand we stock, and making decisions based on what works for the business as well as what we believe in.
Customer service and word of mouth remain central to building loyalty. They’re not separate from the business side of things; they’re part of how we build lasting relationships with customers and keep people coming back.
Other sessions on the day covered retail profitability in 2027, trusted product data in AI-driven shopping, and the margin cost of discounting. The discussions reflected the pressures businesses face and the importance of making considered decisions.
The same approach at Union 22
The approach Dale spoke about is how we run Union 22 day to day: choosing brands we believe in, offering full-price service and building loyalty through word of mouth. We’re an independent luxury menswear boutique in Union House, 23 Victoria Street, Liverpool, and the decisions we make in the shop come back to those same principles.
You can visit us at Union House or browse Our Brands to see the labels we stock. The Fashion Network’s full write-up of the event is on LinkedIn.