p76-77 Embroidery:Layout 1 17/08/2009 13:54 Page 76
COMPANY PROFILE
From rags to
riches
Strange but true: when the Spice Girls exploded onto the music
and fashion scene, they were indirectly responsible for the success
of garment decorators Essential (formerly Essential Embroidery
Design Ltd). Editor, Debbie Eales visited the company’s new 18,000
sq ft premises in Dunstable to meet founder, George Georgiou,
following a £100,000 spend on in-house screen printing
George Georgiou with staff member
T
he rag trade runs through George Georgiou’s the family firm held on to its sole supplier Christmas presents was a sleeping bag, because
veins like one of the golden threads that his contracts with High Street chains, orders were once it got busy, it was a case of working 24
company uses to decorate garments. inevitably reduced. hours and sleeping in the office. It has been very
Casually dressed George appears laid back. But his “We knew we had to find something else,” said successful, but we have directed it that way. No
razor sharp business brain, combined with an George whose friends involved in the promotions one taught me. I taught myself how to digitise.”
insistence on quality and excellent service, has industry pointed him in the direction of “The first thing was to just learn the trade, then it
seen Essential grow from a two-man, 1,000 sq ft embroidery. seemed that things fell together naturally. We
operation 11 years ago to a thriving company “I was also looking at a McDonald’s franchise,” he went into promotional – doing anything and
employing 38 people at its new base in Dunstable. added. “In the end, it boiled down, literally, to the everything – because it seemed to be the area we
And while embroidery is still the cornerstone of flip of a coin. I think I went with the embroidery naturally fell into. But I could see a real gap in
the business, diversification into digital and screen because it was the quicker of the two although I terms of service quality.”
printing and an in-house procurement service for was accepted by McDonald’s as a franchisee.” Having heard “horror stories” from customers, he
bespoke garments, headwear and bags has seen a George snapped up the assets of a Luton company became aware that not every company did things
name change from Essential Embroidery Design that was about to go bust and, with absolutely no his way. “We began to make inroads. We had help
Ltd to simply Essential, which more accurately knowledge of the garment decoration industry, in that we met some people who introduced us to
reflects the company’s offering. production began from day one. Having grown up people and helped us move along. But all we ever
Surprisingly, George’s move into garment in the fashion industry, it was the right direction to needed was a foot through the door and then to
decoration was all down to the flip of a coin. go in, he remembers. do what we did naturally. We did what we said
He takes up the story: “I was involved in a family “When I walked in, I didn’t even know how to we’d do and delivered on time or early.
business, manufacturing leather belts for major switch the machines on. But there was a tiny “I had come from the fashion industry, working as
store chains. But when the Spice Girls came on the customer base which allowed me to start working a sole supplier to the major stores. If we sent
scene in the mid-’90s, it had an instant and and producing from day one and to basically learn paperwork in wrong, it meant a £100 fine, so we
dramatic effect on fashion overnight.” the trade,” he said. learned quickly,” said George.
Setting a trend for high cut tops and low slung “I have worked every machine and in the early Promotional was a natural for Essential, with trade
trousers, belts were no longer de rigeur. And while days – we joke about it now – one of my and schoolwear becoming big areas in the early
days. “We did look at end user clients, but it
naturally fell into trade and we were very quickly
working to capacity. Our problems were always a
case of ‘how do we produce enough?’.”
In the early years the company was purely
contract. “We had garments sent to us and we
just branded them,” said George.
From there, the company grew and kept adding
machines. Having purchased two machines in the
initial buyout, he immediately scrapped one.
“There was a 12-head and a 10-head,” said
George. “They were old machines and I realised
that if I was to make it a success, I needed to get
the latest equipment. I got rid of one of them
initially and I got a six head drop table machine,
then got another one in and added them one at a
time.
“At the time, a six head was around £36,000 to
£37,000. Since then, I have made it a policy to
change the machines every five years to ensure
that we have got the best on the market.”
| 76 | September 2009 www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
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