MADE IN BRITAIN
Richard Kottler, CEO British Footwear Association, talks to Editor, Cheryl Taylor
T
here is no doubt that there is a genuine resurgence of interest in buying products carrying a Made in Britain label. This demand is emerging both from domestic and more particularly from overseas sources.
In the case of the home market, the consumer is being bombarded with the “advantages” of buying UK produced goods and there is a definite glow of Britishness around - the Royal Wedding, the upcoming Olympics, the feeling that other countries are having a worse time than us - despite the underlying financial pessimism. But it is the export market that is the main driver here. The British
Footwear Association first noticed this about two years ago when a number of our members were receiving approaches from many of their (mainly Far East) customers asking for a premium line carrying a Made in Britain identity. These members asked us to recommend local manufacturers that could respond. As a result, we researched the market and were able to produce a list of quality producers who were keen to work with brands other than their own, and across a bewildering range of footwear constructions. A full list of them is on our website
www.britfoot.com, under the Made in Britain section. Since that time, we have been able to make introductions from about 17
companies to 6 of these manufacturers and in many cases sampling has followed and in at least 7 cases, bulk orders have been given. Unfortunately, I cannot reveal the names of companies placing orders for reasons of commercial confidentially but they include some major High Street retailers as well as some well known brands. And the orders have covered men’s, ladies and even children’s categories. This initiative also included organising a stand at the last edition of MODA and where four of the producers – G & J Trading, Chancery Footwear, NPS and William Lennon – were represented. There was considerable interest in their products and subsequently there have been follows ups from brands and shop chains alike. All of this is not going to lead to a massive renaissance in the British
footwear manufacturing base but it will help some of the smaller players in the game and will go some way to satisfy the urge for more locally made shoes. There will also be the helpful knock-on effect for those few remaining suppliers of footwear components and lasts. The more general picture is also encouraging. There are about 25
footwear manufacturers of any significant size left in the country and all of them report increased output for the current period. The industry employs about 4000 people (compared to 100,000 about 60 years ago !) and is split between the more traditional premium men’s welted brands such as Church’s, Crockett & Jones, Cheaney, Barkers, Loakes, Grenson, John Lobb and Trickers and other product areas. Included in this latter category will be specialist dance shoe makers like
Freed but more significantly the major forces of Hotter and New Balance. In fact 60% of all footwear manufactured in this country comes from the latter two companies. Both have invested heavily in their factories and run successful operations that can compete with Far East factories and both of which are growing fast. The apparent enigma of a British factory based away from the traditional footwear manufacturing areas and producing sports and performance shoes makes the New Balance story even more remarkable.
24 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • SEPTEMBER 2011 Richard Kottler ,
Chief Executive, British F
ootwear Association Ltd.
Equally the huge growth in production coming from the Hotter factory in Lancashire also demonstrates the ability of well run UK operations to do the unthinkable and successfully compete with Asian producers. There are a number of other factors in play here. The relative weakness of the pound clearly gives home manufacturers an interesting advantage in export markets. However, this is to a large degree neutralised by the big increases in the cost of leather and other components, much of it coming from Europe. There is also the well flagged situation where the costs of imported
goods, especially from China, are increasing rapidly so that the historical imbalance between “cheap” Far Eastern sourced products with UK made product is being reduced. As I have noted, many of the manufacturers have invested substantial
sums to improve their factories, all of which comes from their own sources. There are no Government funds readily available, despite lots of promises. It should also be made clear that the amount of Government money for export purposes, mainly in the form of grants for participating in overseas exhibitions, is being slashed over the next few years. Overall, there is really encouraging news for UK footwear manufacturers.
There is growing interest in their products, the currency issue is working in their favour, and they are putting their money where their mouths are and continuing to commit money to R & D and the manufacturing process itself. Craftsmanship, whether it be with our world leading high grade men’s shoes or with fascinating specialist producers like William Lennon, Chancery Footwear and Alt-berg will always carry a premium. The growing awareness of the desirability of the Made in Britain tag to the brand will only help this reputation and it is the role of the BFA to assist raising this awareness and to directly help its members with their training needs, government lobbying and their overseas marketing efforts. If there is one real gap, it is with good quality ladieswear manufacturing.
With the remarkable exception of Gina, there is currently no factory with the skill level to satisfy the pent up demand for local production of ladies dress shoes. Our world class young designers are forced to buy from Europe and the Far East or Brazil but would clearly prefer to place their orders with a British company. An interesting challenge for an entrepreneur looking to tap into this Made in Britain surge of interest!
Richard Kottler – Chief Executive, British Footwear Association Ltd.
richard.kottler@britfoot.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88