Company Profile - Blues Group

Dressing up for success

Spearheaded by dress-up veteran, Tony Lewis, and a team of industry specialists, Blues Dress-Up is a newly formed division of the Blues Group, one of the UK’s market-leading apparel businesses. Tony sat down with Toy World’s Caroline Tonks to chat about all things dress-up and how the new team is ready to fill a gap in this competitive category.

After 25 years in the dress-up arena, Tony Lewis has started a new chapter as director of DressUp with Blues Group, creating a new division within the established fashion and apparel company. Tony was initially approached by Blues’ Group Managing director, Mike Coles, who he has known for over 30 years, to set up the dress-up division of the business.

Tony tells us: “I’m incredibly impressed with the Blues operation; it’s a major player within the UK. It has a great selection of licences, is well respected at retail and has already established a strong business with the major supermarkets. When you put all that together, there’s a very big opportunity for dress-up.”

Tony has been working on setting up this new division of Blues with Ruth Golightly, Sales & Design director, for the last seven months, making great progress. During this time, there has been a big shift in the market. “Recent developments have created a new opportunity in the dress-up world,” says Tony, “which we’ve been able to take advantage of. We’re only in our first year, but we’re ready to supply a wide variety of licenced and generic costumes. We’ve opened numerous accounts and employed eight people from within the industry.”

Blues Dress-Up is poised to sit nicely within the wider Blues Group companies – Dennicci, Blues Clothing, Blues Nightwear, Cohen & Wilks and Brecrest Sports – which cover licensed babywear, toddler daywear, licensed and non-licensed nightwear, outerwear and licensed baby sportswear, respectively. There will be all-new packaging, logos and branding for Blues Dress-Up to mark the launch of the brand in 2025.

While Blues Dress-Up might be a new name in the industry, the team behind it certainly isn’t. With many years of experience combined, every member of the team is integral and highly skilled at what they do. Key members include Maureen Coen and Christina Cockill as Senior Account managers and Tim Holness as Wholesale and Online Account manager. Tony handpicked these individuals for their knowledge of the category and dedication in the dress-up world. “I employed many of the key players both in my time at Christy’s and Amscan, over 15 years ago,” he adds.

With this level of experience comes a deep understanding of the market and a knowledge of what products and licences will perform well, especially in the long-term. Over the years, Tony has learned that a successful product must be high-quality, excellent value for money and have a point of difference.

“In the grocers and the nationals, sales are predominantly baby, toddler and kids. Retailers in the independent channel, which includes specialist shops, the online market and wholesalers, have a greater flexibility to stock both kids and adult costumes. The adult market is definitely something we believe can grow.”

Tony believes it’s important to tailor this approach to the kinds of retailers Blues is working with, whether that be a major supermarket or a small independent. “We work closely with the supermarkets on each new collection. They come up with ideas; we design the product and then we work together to match the price point required. Each major supermarket wants something unique and different from its competitors; by working collaboratively, we can build the specific product they need.”

For the independents, Tony and the team carry out expansive comparison shops of what products and ranges are currently in the market and then build a range based on what they’ve seen. “For the independents, we build our designs on historical sales data and our creative knowledge of the industry.”

Blues is already a major player in the licensing arena, so it has been a natural progression, not to mention a relatively straightforward process, for Tony, Ruth and the team to add dress-up on to a number of the licences the company already works with. “Adding dress-up to an established portfolio has given us a head start,” explains Tony. “The licensors have been backing us, and we’ve also set up a supply route and partnership in China.” Blues Dress-Up’s key licences include the Magic Light Pictures portfolio, including the Gruffalo, as well as Peppa Pig, Peter Rabbit, Elmer, Beano, Mr Men, Wallace and Gromit and many other characters. “We’ve also just signed Bullseye,” adds Tony. “Darts has taken off incredibly in the UK, so I’m sure this licence will do very well.”

When looking for licences for Blues Dress-Up, Tony and the team look carefully at the property’s longevity as well as its consumer product history and how it’s performed in other categories. “We’ll look at all the data and check out the licensor and how they’re backing it. Experience and industry knowledge count for a lot, but data shows the real longevity of a brand. We know which ones will be evergreens, but the new ones coming through need careful scrutiny.”

Although licences are a core component, according to Tony, 50% of the business will come from generic costumes, especially for Halloween. The team is currently pre-selling both its own-brand and licensed ranges, with a catalogue due to launch imminently, while work has already begun on spring/summer 2026. “We’ve got key retailers buying Halloween from us in our first season, and then we’re looking to launch the independent range,” says Tony. “The independent dress-up market is headed up by Tim, who recently joined the business after 19 years within the industry.”

Blues Group is predominately focusing on the UK market, as that is where it has its strongest presence. “I think the industry is ready for freshness and change,” Tony states. “We’ve come in as new players, but at the right time. There will always be a need for the traditional, but we’re also looking at bringing something new to the market.”

“I’m genuinely excited for the future. What I love more than anything is setting up a business like this, working with the creative team and retailers, building something that is incremental for the group and offering a quality product at the right price. And that’s what we do. We are skilled at designing to a spec to meet market demand. We are extremely competitive, offering fantastic quality and great value.”