1 hour ago
Image caption,
Louis Jones founded the business Surprise Shirts when he was just 16
A teenager who started a business from his bedroom when he was 16 has become so successful he now employs his mum and dad.
Louis Jones, 19, from Horncastle, sells football shirts to people from all around the world.
However, the buyer does not know what club shirt they will get when they open the package.
Mr Jones said the business he started in 2020 now sold to 66 countries and had grown “beyond belief”.
“We’ve sold more than 35,000 shirts now and have more than 80,000 followers on social media, it’s insane,” he said.
Image caption,
Rob Jones works for his son in what has become the family business
Mr Jones runs Surprise Shirts day-to-day with his parents Rob and Kellie Jones, from their office in Horncastle.
Dad Rob said working for his son was “a dream come true”.
“We’re huge football fans anyway, so if someone had said three years ago I’d be working in a business employed by my son in football I just wouldn’t have believed it, it’s fantastic.”
Meanwhile, Louis’ mum said: “I’m so proud of him, every day we come in and it’s just great.”
Image caption,
The business has become a global success, but it started off as an idea in Louis’ bedroom
The young entrepreneur keeps track of his international empire with a huge wall map, with flag stickers marking countries where sales have been made.
He said for the die-hard football fan getting and wearing an international shirt from previous seasons was a way of not being disloyal to their own team.
However, although the football shirt contained in the package is a mystery, the customer can state which colours, leagues or teams they don’t want, before receiving a completely random shirt.
Image source, Louis Jones
Image caption,
Two of Mr Jones’ favourite shirts include Forward Madison FC’s ‘DripKit’ from 2020 (above left) and Terengganu FC’s 2021 3rd shirt (above right)
It is probably no surprise that the young salesman is a big fan of a fancy bit of kit himself.
He said he had an eye for outrageous design, which was why one of his favourite shirts was Forward Madison FC’s ‘DripKit’ from 2020, which he said was “one of the craziest shirts I’ve ever seen”.
However, he said equally good was Terengganu FC’s 2021 3rd shirt, which he described as “a crazy pattern with a stunning colour palette”.
“I think black and gold work perfectly together on lots of football shirts and the turquoise just tops it off.
“Also it’s one of the first shirts I’ve ever seen with an iridescent badge, which is something Chelsea have now utilised on their new home shirt,” he said.
Image source, Louis Jones
Image caption,
Mr Jones helped design his favourite football shirt which features an outline of the island of Anguilla
But Mr Jones said one shirt stood head and shoulders above the rest. His favourite of the many thousands of strips is Uprising FC’s 23/24 away shirt, which he had a hand in coming up with.
“I personally worked with the manufacturer, Icarus, and their design team to create this one, so it really is my dream shirt.
“It features an outline of the island of Anguilla, where the club are based, as well as a repeated pattern of the three dolphins, which can be found on the island’s flag, with the stunning turquoise chosen to reflect the colour of Caribbean waters.”
Mr Jones said his ultimate goal was to get the business to a place where he could sell it and so be able to “retire my mum and dad”.
“That that would be the biggest achievement of my life,” he said.
2023-10-07 08:23:11
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