Six independent schoolwear retailers discuss their Back to School retail experiences for 2019.

 

Sally Stephenson, director, The Pencil Case

“This year’s Back to School was better than in 2018. We exceeded our sales target and found sales were more smoothly spread across the summer. This meant the last week of August was not quite as manic as in previous years. If there was anything that suppliers could do to help our business further it would be to improve stock holding and delivery service.

A notable trend we identified this year was girls wanting cropped, tight-fitting, ankle grazer style trousers. We also sold more 40” chest jumpers than we ever have before.

We’re now focusing on upcoming plans for the business. This includes improving our website in order to increase our customer base for plain school uniform, Scout and Guide uniforms, ballet and school stationery.”

 

Tim James, co-founder, Schoolblazer

“This year’s Back to School brought three key trends to light at Schoolblazer. Firstly we saw growth in transgender and transitioning uniform, where girls want to wear boys’ uniform and vice versa. In our view this is a very different issue to that of non-gender stereotyped schoolwear; although we saw growth in that area too.

Another development we saw was increased interest in ethical trading and as a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) we can only see this growing. Enquiries aren’t coming from the schools as such, it’s primarily from parents and older students. When we go into schools, we are encountering searching questions around the factories we use and the issue of modern slavery; sourcing in the UK or Europe does not let you off the hook. Interest in ethical trading will only increase and with it comes the need for transparency and open discussion about what you are doing as a business to support it. Children are genuinely interested to know.

Finally, whilst second-hand school uniform has always been available, we are now seeing more children paying attention to it. Previously the purchase of second-hand uniform was something instigated by parents. However, it is now becoming something children want as they take more interest in the circular economy and how to prevent textile waste from going to landfill. I believe the issue of reusing school uniform has huge potential and is a real plus point for the schoolwear industry. Quality school uniform is more expensive up front, but it is also durable and made to last and therefore highly recyclable for years to come.”

 

Alex Gani, business development director, School Uniform Direct / The Direct Co Group

“This year’s Back to School was our most successful yet with around a 5-7% increase in like-for-like sales. This was partly due to improvements to the services we offer making our teams more efficient.

We’re finding parents are buying fewer plain items such as trousers and skirts for primary school age. We believe this is most likely due to these products being widely available and advertised by many of the supermarkets. We’re also noticing a number of our primary schools are moving away from the polo and sweatshirt combo. Instead they’re opting for a more traditional tie and V-neck jumper. Some are introducing blazers for their upper years too.

For secondary schools, we are seeing the popular uptake on technical sportswear. Also, a move towards suit style blazers and jackets as opposed to a three-pocket traditional blazer.

Manufacturing from the Far East is looking to be more and more complicated for the suppliers coupled with bigger requirements being demanded by the manufacturers to suppliers. However, suppliers need to have the ability to bring in quick turnaround top-ups on special and bespoke items of smaller quantities. It will be a common request, but better stock holding and quicker lead times would really help our business.

Elsewhere, we have some exciting developments in the pipeline that will be unique to the schoolwear industry. We’ll be ready to launch in 2020, so watch this space.”

 

Rohit Kumar Vij, operations and accounts, Abbey Street Shopping Centre T/A VIJ Brothers

“Back to School was excellent for us this year, one of the best we’ve had by far, mainly due to bringing in our imported blazers and bespoke tartan skirts that we produce ourselves under the name Tru Schoolwear. We also didn’t increase our prices like some of our competitors, despite our suppliers’ prices rising. Instead, we absorbed the increases in order to provide a normal service to our customers.

New initiatives this year included giving a 5% discount to parents that work for the NHS or in the schools we supply. As well as school uniform, the discount also included Guide, Brownie, Rainbow and Scout uniforms. Another change we made was carrying double the amount of stock this year compared to last. This ensured we always had items ready to sell without making our customers wait.

Plans for the business are ongoing but include opening a couple more branches. We already have a big store in Accrington. However, we are running out of space with the growing number of schools we supply. Hopefully we have another exciting year ahead.”

 

Brad Hutchinson, director, Whittakers Schoolwear

“In this industry we are all used to experiencing the huge increase in demand for schoolwear over the last few weeks of summer. However, this year we experienced a greater increase in sales over the last few days than ever before; we saw over 20% of our annual revenue in the eight days leading up to the first day of term. I can’t think of another industry that experiences such an immense spike in sales, let alone one that is so heavily reliant on bespoke items. On the whole we had a fantastic summer with an overall increase of 7.5% in like-for-like sales.

Improvements to our service this year included refinement of our internal systems. This allowed each shop to take deliveries of stock in the evenings, which proved very successful. We also updated our website and trialled a ‘free delivery to school’ option at the checkout. We did this for 50 of our schools and processed a bulk delivery to them each week. It was really helpful for parents who may not be at home through the day to take delivery.

We’re receiving ongoing requests for slimmer fitting garments such as shirts, trousers and tracksuit trousers. Girls’ sports leggings, which have taken a couple of years to get going, are now also very much in demand.

We are always looking towards controlled expansion and this autumn we are in the process of acquiring two new schoolwear businesses. The investment will take us up to 10 retail outlets, providing our team with an exciting new challenge over the coming months.”

 

Luke Conod, managing director, School Uniform Shop

“We have had a good Back to School. Sales were strong, driven by a combination of several new uniforms for current schools; new schools coming to us for their uniform requirements; and through the expansion of our David Luke Eco-uniform range in-store and online. This year has highlighted that is becoming more and more important to schools and students to have ethically sourced and sustainably produced uniform.

Subsequently, we are delighted to have been awarded The Good Shopping Guide Ethical Accreditation Award 2019. It would be great to see more investment in consumer marketing on the ethics and sustainability of purchasing quality school uniform that lasts; it’s something that really sets us apart from the ‘stack it high, sell it cheap’ throwaway mentality of the supermarkets.

Plans for the business include improving our offer of add-on purchases both in-store and online. Elsewhere, we will also be encouraging our team to spend one day a year – where they would normally be at work – contributing their time to local charities and good causes.”