How I rode celebrity coat-tails to riches

Nick Robertson used family connections to set up a business selling products similar to those used or worn by celebrities on screen. Now his company is bringing in £73m a year in sales.

Academia was not Nick Robertson's strong point he never managed to get anything higher than a D at A-Level. Nor did his brother Nigel, another pupil at Canford in Dorset. But it didn't matter. "We came from a background where doing well was never in doubt. Austin Reed was my great grandfather, and your personality and connections were always said to be the most important things in life," he says. "And the proof is in the pudding." Nigel is retired in Monaco, having sold his business directory, 'Scoot', for £30m in 1998. Meanwhile, Nick, 41, is founder and chief executive of Britain's biggest online fashion retailer, ASOS (LON:ASC).

After leaving school, Robertson worked as a media buyer. At 29, he got into the product-placement business, starting his own agency, Entertainment Marketing, in 1996. Putting the likes of Weetabix boxes on kitchen tables in Coronation Street, "we began understanding the relationship between celebrity endorsements and brands", he says. A classic example is the fact that sales of Ray Ban sunglasses shot up after Tom Cruise wore them in Top Gun.

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Jody Clarke

Jody studied at the University of Limerick and was a senior writer for MoneyWeek. Jody is experienced in interviewing, for example digging into the lives of an ex-M15 agent and quirky business owners who have made millions. Jody’s other areas of expertise include advice on funds, stocks and house prices.