Ben Fogle says Buffalo clothing brand can 'shine a light' on Yorkshire's craftmanship
Though most people have never heard of Yorkshire-based outdoor clothing brand Buffalo, the company has developed a cult following amongst outdoor enthusiasts.
Buffalo’s jackets have been worn in some of the world’s most inhospitable climates. First hand accounts sent to the company from fans describe trips around glaciers in Kyrgyzstan, cycle tours in Mongolia, and expeditions to the South Pole. Its jackets have also been provided to the police and armed forces.
Founded in 1979 by outdoorsman Hamish Hamilton, Buffalo prides itself on quality. With each of its jackets made in Sheffield by a small team, the firm embodies the longstanding tradition of Yorkshire craftsmanship.
It was the company’s focus on quality that also inspired its new owners – adventurer and TV presenter Ben Fogle and his business partner James Sleater – to buy the company earlier this year.
“For me, ‘Made in Sheffield’ is synonymous with quality,” says Fogle, speaking to The Yorkshire Post at Buffalo’s headquarters shortly after the takeover was announced.
“It’s a very rare badge to have nowadays, but the most important thing for us is the brand’s Yorkshire and Sheffield connection.
“There are so few outdoor brands still made in Britain, if any, so one of the main promises we have made to the company is that we will strive to keep it here. It’s not an easy thing to do, but we are committed to doing that.”
A fan of the brand since he was 18, Fogle has worn Buffalo jackets on some of his most extreme trips, including to Antarctica and Everest base camp.
Since buying Buffalo, Fogle and his business partner Sleater – who owns a string of Savile Row clothing companies – have also announced their hopes to expand the Sheffield factory and open a Buffalo shop in the city.
One of the company’s key selling points, notes Sleater, is its ability to tell its own story.
“The key thing about this is story telling,” he says. “This was Buffalo’s idea, not ours, but every single garment has got a unique tag on it, so we can tell with every single product who made each one. To have that ability to be able to tell the story of the seamstress that actually made that product from start to finish is so important.
“It’s one of Buffalo’s unique selling points, that as a business it has control over almost every element of production. A lot of other outdoor brands don’t control their own production.
“The skilled labour, the knowledge, all of that is here, and it’s about cementing it and building on it.
“That’s what our buying this is about, to protect this business.
“It’s not about offshoring like everyone else, it’s about protecting the asset we have here.”
The pair also hope that in buying the brand, they can help to spread its story, in turn giving a boost to Yorkshire’s global profile as a clothing manufacturer.
“Post-Brexit, and with the uncertainty around tariffs from Trump all around the world, Britain should now be working as hard as we can to do the things that we do best,” says Fogle.
“Sheffield was once the centre of the most extraordinary silversmithing, and there were once incredible textile factories all across Yorkshire.
“But as we know, lots of these places have now closed.
“Maybe now is the time to really shine a light on that again, and really show the world what we can do.”