UK Sourcing Hub

UK Manufacturing - the move to on-shore

UK Apparel manufacturing is having a renaissance due to the impact of the online retailers. There is scope to increase further as traditional high street retailers adapt to circumstances that have combined that necessitate retailers to assess their sourcing strategies. The major success stories over the last decade of Inditex (Zara) and online specialists have harnessed the flexibility of having production close to home. Whilst Far East production is not going away anytime soon, the ongoing advancement in automation will add further argument to the change towards bringing production closer to home. Starting the on shoring journey now rather than waiting for automation to further improve the economics is critical in leapfrogging the competition

Impact of Brexit

Brexit increases uncertainty

for the global supply chain – not withstanding port congestion and possible increase in lead times
for costs – no deal tariff schedule is temporary for 12 months and while it replicates EU rates and maintains GSP there are implications for EU imports and quick lead time countries such as Turkey where an agreement wont be signed by exit day
for the level of demand – how to forecast sales and stock requirements so far in advance

Technology - Consumer

E-commerce has injected energy into the apparel market: Sophisticated, fashionable online-only players are providing a very different shopping proposition from previous generations of retailers, combining with the rapid advances in the technologies people use to find inspiration, communicate with fellow consumers, compare brands, as well as browse, customise, and purchase garments

Today's trends are more likely to be set by influencers and consumers rather than just by designers, increasing the pressure on mass market apparel as full price sell through becomes harder to maintain

This inevitably results in an increasing clamour for speed to market, with a true fast track fashion cycle requiring UK production

Sustainability

Reduction in carbon footprint (everything UK based)

Less waste by

Less environmental impact of over production - reacting to the correct trends so only buying what the customer wants with small batch sizes and on demand replenishment
Less Markdown - the buy is accurately tailored to demand so there is less need to discount products
Fast Lead Time not Fast Fashion and the connotations that come with this

Factories & the new fundamentals of manufacturing

All Factories are Sedex or Fast Forward approved
All operate an open door policy for kitson consult and their partners
Foster closer relationship through trust and open communication
Support infrastructure within kitson consult to iron out any issues and rules out any fear of sub contracting
Several factories run operations in Morocco/Egypt so can benefit from near shoring at GSP rates
Support infrastructure to assist retailers on adjusting their critical path pre production and data driven decision making to keep the offer fresh, reduce markdowns and the cash flow optimised
Move to be at the forefront of automation to not only increase efficiency but also mitigate against risk of skill shortages

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