When you imagine clothing destined for landfill, your mind probably conjures images of worn-out rags rather than exclusive designer dresses or garments once worn by famous celebrities. Yet two entrepreneurial brothers have turned this assumption on its head, building a multi-million pound business by rescuing these forgotten treasures.
From Dorm Room to Multi-Million Pound Enterprise
Zac Hembry, aged 33, first founded Messina Hembry while studying at university in London. What began as a side hustle to earn extra money quickly evolved into a serious venture. He operated from his dorm room, personally handling every aspect from purchasing and washing clothes to daily post office visits.
After completing his studies in 2014, Zac recruited his older brother Josh, then 36 and working as an estate agent, to join the growing business. 'We work well as a team,' Zac reflects. 'We split our tasks, Josh would take photos and I did data entry. While we rarely argue now, we did more at the start. It has brought us closer together.'
The brothers initially operated from their parents' home in Suffolk before progressing to a small, rundown office that Zac describes as 'a storage cupboard at the bottom of a block of flats'. Their perseverance paid remarkable dividends.
The Business of Authentication and Sustainability
Messina Hembry's operation has grown to impressive scale. The company now:
- Recycles approximately 1,500 items of clothing daily
- Prevents 50 shipping containers of clothes from reaching landfill each year
- Generates £10 million in annual revenue
- Employs 100 staff members
- Operates from a 50,000sq ft warehouse containing over 500,000 items
- Sells around 10,000 products weekly
Their environmental impact extends beyond mere numbers. Through their recycling efforts, they help offset carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to 5,000 cars annually.
The brothers source clothing in bulk from textiles recycling companies across Europe, the UK and the USA, constantly searching for hidden gems. Their most notable discovery? A vest once worn by football icon David Beckham.
'For the David Beckham item,' Zac explains, 'we knew it was an unusual and rare piece. After doing some research, we found out it was a one-of-one item sold in LA by designer Jerry Lorenzo. We then tracked down images of him wearing it and cross-checked all the details to authenticate it.'
Their authentication process varies depending on the garment. For sportswear, they verify whether items were match-worn, while other unique pieces require detailed historical research.
Overcoming Challenges and Future Ambitions
The journey hasn't been without obstacles. Early in their business development, they received cease-and-desist letters from major brands objecting to their secondhand sales. However, as Messina Hembry grew larger and awareness about fashion waste increased, these objections gradually dissipated.
The COVID-19 pandemic presented another significant challenge. 'It was worrying from a staff point of view,' Zac admits, 'a stress all businesses went through, and it was also a busy time for us, but it was tough to source clothes.'
Despite these hurdles, the company has flourished. From Zac's initial investment and early sales of 'a few hundred pounds', the business now achieves eight-figure revenue.
Looking ahead, Zac isn't content to stand still. He hopes to adapt the tools developed for their business to assist the charity sector, launch additional product lines, and potentially explore consignment selling. His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs? 'Try new things all the time. If we try 20 new things, one of them might work out, and it's persevering with the knowledge that 95% of things might be a waste of time, but that over the years, five or ten new things will work.'
Zac emphasises the broader responsibility towards addressing fashion waste: 'When you look into how much pollution has gone into producing the clothes, there has to be some accountability. People fill a textile bag or drop their clothes at a recycling bank and forget about it, but there has to be more done.'
Their success story demonstrates that sustainable business practices and commercial success can go hand in hand, transforming potential environmental tragedy into opportunity—one celebrity vest at a time.
