Seven reasons why retailers need to support the UK textiles industry

This week saw the publication of the biggest report on the UK textile manufacturing industry in 20 years. The Alliance Report: ‘Repatriation of UK Textiles Manufacture’, states the UK textile industry is worth £9bn to the economy, and explains how consumers are demanding fashion in a much shorter timeframe than they used to.

Paul Short, ex-buying and merchandising director for the N Brown Group, now chairs the company’s dedicated industry investment programme. The Brown Textiles Growth Programme has already secured £12.8m to invest in UK manufacturers and is hoping it will secure another £19.5m from the government to extend its programme further.

Sitting alongside Short on the board are a number of traditional manufacturers and technical companies, as well as the likes of M&S and Asos. Short provides seven reasons why retailers need to build up relationships with UK textile companies:

1. Speed to market

“The way we spend and think about buying is different from ten years ago,” explains Short. “There are more channels to market, and it’s 24/7, 365 days a year, and customers can look at your brand on an hourly basis.”

Short says retailers need to be fresh with their products. “Your plans will have more promotional activity than ever before, and you have to offer those products otherwise people will get bored and go elsewhere.”

If retailers want to be consistently updating their product lines, using the UK textile industry can help get products out to market quickly. “You need to get things out there very quickly, in two, three, four weeks’ time, and you can’t do that with some overseas markets, maybe Turkey if you have very good logistics, but not China.”

2. Textile affects more than just fashion

“The textile industry is much broader than most people think”, Short says, noting that most of the board didn’t quite realise the extent of textile’s reach.

It extends beyond fashion and clothing to many aspects of daily life, from sitting in a chair or on the tube, to pulling your curtains and getting into your car.

“Most items you touch will have a textile base to it,” adds Short.

3. Be more flexible

Having your manufacturer on your doorstep allows retailers to try new ideas and regularly update designs, as well as making the sampling process much quicker.

“Being able to see the product as a sample and able to fit it on someone, really improves the process,” says Short. “You can test things in the UK and you have the flexibility.”

4. Improve planning

Short explains that the multichannel world has increased the complexity of forecasting and planning of stock levels. “It’s incredibly difficult because each channel has a slightly different outcome,” he says. “If you put something right at the entrance of a store it’s going to sell well, but if it’s on the fifth page of the website, or on the bottom-left-hand page of the catalogue, it’s not going to sell as well.”

Throw in international markets which are subject to different seasons and Short says retailers end up with a very complex set of forecasts.

“But having manufacturers closer and able to get products out there in various channels without costing you an arm and a leg is very important.”

5. Increase profits

Retailers are under tremendous pressure to turn a profit, and cash flow is key. “Issues around inventory costs, residual costs and margin erosion are absolutely critical to all retailers.”

But Short argues that having an effective UK supply chain takes out some of the risk from the equation by not having to buy massive volumes of stock which may not sell, and remain on warehouse shelves as additional costs. Retailers can buy incrementally because the supply chain is close to home.

“Textile capability will have a big impact on overall profitability of companies.”

6. Net margins

“Working with UK textile companies focuses the mind of the retailer more on net margins,” adds Short, explaining that traditionally retailers importing goods from abroad weren’t worried about net margins because the gross margins were so big.

“But when prices in the Far East are rising, it becomes very important to know the true costs of logistics, inventory, write down.”

7. Forging closer relationships with manufacturers

“People forget this but we have a great pool of designers in the UK and being able to work face to face with manufacturers makes a big difference.”

The N Brown board is trying to improve this disconnect between the two by producing an inventory of manufacturers across the UK, which could be accessed by retailers.

“You’ve got to build up a relationship which takes time,” he says.

Are retailers working with manufacturers already?

Short says he is seeing a substantial number of retailers making the effort to work with UK suppliers, “but there are some talking the talk, but not walking the walk.”

He says these retailers are the ones saying they have a UK range of clothes, but they are in fact difficult to find in store or online.

“And when you do, the pricing isn’t effective and the range is too quirky – something that isn’t mainstream,” he adds. “That’s a token gesture and they buy 300 pieces for 200 stores. It has to be joined up.”