CWB speaks to independent schoolwear retailers about supporting customers during the cost of living crisis and how the current climate is affecting shopping habits.

 

Simon Biggin, owner, SJB Uniforms & Workwear, Sleaford

“We have always rewarded those who support us, which is why we have had a loyalty card scheme since we started. When a customer shops in-store, they gain a stamp for every full £10 they spend. Once they’ve collected 10 stamps they receive 10% off a full basket spend to use when they choose. There’s no time limit on the discount, so customers can keep hold of it until the following year’s big Back to School shop if they wish. We can’t compete when it comes to the supermarkets’ prices; what we can offer is value, personal service, expertise, and rewards for choosing to shop with us.
We offer pre-loved badged uniform but only for one school – our largest secondary – due to the size of the shop and storage restrictions. We launched pre-loved schoolwear last year with great success and expect the same response this year. We do all the processing, which takes some time; grading the garments, pricing and tagging them, and then promoting them. We receive a third in commission and customers can get some great bargains.
We have noticed customers are spreading the cost of purchases this year and started buying earlier and they don’t seem to be buying as many plain items, which they can find elsewhere.”
www.sjb-uniforms.co.uk

 

Niki Khera, director, Uniforms by Niki, Essex

“We provide offers and discounts throughout the year during the quiet period. However, this year we introduced our Early Bird offer in May, which was a huge success. It gave parents an opportunity to purchase before the busy period and receive a discount on their order. We are the only schoolwear supplier in Thurrock to offer pre-loved school uniform online and in-store via our UniCycle Programme. We take donations from parents and lost property from schools, which we then wash, dry and list on our website, so parents can purchase these items online. Our programme has been running for five years and we are seeing increased demand for more pre-loved schoolwear each year, mostly during the quieter period from November through to January.
In terms of changes to shopping habits, we have seen more customers purchase branded school uniform as well as non-branded uniform. As parents continue to juggle a busy lifestyle, they are also buying earlier each year and are being more organised, especially for new year 7 and nursery and reception starters. Ultimately, our customers are looking for quality, value and convenience, which is why we offer everything they need under one roof.”
www.uniformsbyniki.com

 

Luke Conod, founder and CEO, School Uniform Shop

“This Back to School, School Uniform Shop stepped up to support parents and guardians by offering substantial price reductions on a wide range of school uniform items. We are dedicated to offering affordability, ethics and sustainability, and ensuring all children have access to high-quality, ethically sourced school uniforms without straining household budgets. Understanding the financial challenges faced by families during these times, we offered savings of up to 30% on many school uniform items, making it easier for parents and guardians to equip their children for the academic year. These cost reductions come at a crucial time for many, addressing the increased cost of living and making Back to School shopping more manageable. Our efforts to reduce prices while upholding ethical standards and sustainability reflect our dedication to the well-being of both our customers and the people making our clothing abroad.
For the fifth consecutive year, we received the Ethical Company Award from The Good Shopping Guide, a testament to our unwavering commitment to ethical practices and responsible sourcing. We operate from modest offices and a warehouse, embodying the spirit of local enterprise. Our hardworking and dedicated team strives daily to provide families with expert customer service that meets the highest ethical and quality standards without compromising on value and competitiveness on price. To reduce our carbon footprint and delivery costs, we have implemented a strategic approach by working closely with suppliers. Approximately 60% of customer orders are dispatched directly from the supplier to the customer, minimising unnecessary transportation miles and contributing to a more environmentally friendly business model. Unlike conventional marketing practices, we focus on maintaining an exceptional range of products at competitive prices and boast an up-to-date website. This strategy positions us at the forefront of online searches, ensuring maximum visibility for customers without incurring exorbitant advertising costs. The cumulative impact of these innovative approaches enabled us to offer significant price reductions of up to 30% in comparison to 2022, easing the financial burden on families while delivering exceptional value.
We also offer a loyalty programme that all customers can join, which allows them to earn points as they purchase products. These points can then be redeemed as money off future purchases. We offer bonus points for introducing new customers and during special events, as well as a 10% discount to all customers in July to encourage them to shop early. This year we have noticed that customer basket sizes are the same as last year, which considering inflationary price increases would mean they are lower than last year. We are also seeing customers shop more frequently and we have more customers taking advantage of our PayPal ‘Pay in 3’ option to help spread the cost.”
www.schooluniformshop.co.uk

 

Ash Vij, owner, Tru Uniforms, Manchester

“We offer customers payment plans for purchases both in-store and online to help spread the cost and ease financial pressure. We also do an early bird offer for high schools with a free tie when spending £75 or more. We haven’t really seen any new shopping habits this year, although customers are definitely being smart with their purchases and buying a size bigger to make garments last.”
www.tru-uniforms.co.uk

 

Steve Optix, director, Brenda’s Schoolwear, Surrey

“We don’t offer a loyalty scheme. We’ve considered it on occasion over the years, but like all customer-centric retention methods, the cost must go somewhere. Instead, we’ve tried to focus on keeping prices as low as possible and creating cross-sells with promotional offers on popular combinations of purchases, which we continue to tweak each year. We also do not offer a pre-loved uniform service. Again, it is something we’ve discussed in depth many times. But as we expected, aside from schools now being obligated to provide a proposition for second-hand uniform, new start-ups specialising in the facilitation of pre-loved uniform sales have been springing up and larger schoolwear chains and high street stores have got involved. From a smaller business viewpoint, there are too many variables to be able to justify the space and time. Suppliers have been offering various collection points, but when a customer asks about the best thing to do with used items, we suggest donating them to the school.
Post-Covid, we’ve followed suit with many other schoolwear shops and introduced a cut-off point of mid-August to even out the trade through the summer and it’s been working well. This is even more of a necessity now as almost half our trade is online, and it encourages parents to be more organised. So, customers have been buying earlier, but over the last couple of years − certainly more so post-Uniform Bill − items such as logoed book bags, PE bags and jackets are on the decline, and we expect this to continue. What this means is that as a business we are looking at a larger shift back towards good quality generic products and letting our service and selection do the talking, not the logos.”
www.brendas.co.uk