Business News An ethical approach to luxury fashion By Jessica Brookes
A Cotswolds-based designer is bringing an ethical and sustainable approach to her namesake women’s fashion brand, Jackie Maguire. Jackie, originally from Yorkshire,
established the luxury fashion brand in 2018 following a 20-year career working for fashion houses all over the globe. The vintage clothing inspired designer grew up close to the North Yorkshire Moors, and is granddaughter to a seamstress, who Jackie watched recreating Chanel jackets and two- pieces on her old hand-turned Singer sewing machine. By 17, Jackie was selling her first
pieces to independent retailers, and completed a degree in fashion design at the University of Northumbria at Newcastle. Talent-spotted at her graduate
Height of fashion: one of Jackie Maguire’s coats
fashion show, she relocated to Italy to design for fashion brand Maxmara. After three years in Italy, she went on to work for various British high street and high end brands. While working with Chinese
manufacturers, she became concerned about the negative environmental impact the fashion
industry was having, and wanted to work in a more ethical and sustainable manner. She also spotted a gap in the market for coats and jackets made using heritage-wool cloths. Jackie uses pure wool cloths,
working closely with British weaving mills to produce the fabrics. She added: “My business uses
British cloths which are woven right here in the UK, then travel the short distance to my UK manufacturer. We are relatively rare, producing a product which is authentically 100 per cent British from start to finish.” Jackie Maguire coats and jackets
are made in limited quantities throughout the season, in order to reduce waste and over-production. Nearly 300 specialists across the
UK help bring Jackie’s designs to life, and each garment is individually hand-cut and sewn. Jackie added: “There is now a
demand among consumers for greater transparency in the way clothes are produced, and a growing appetite for brands like Jackie Maguire which have greater integrity and an authenticity attached to them, to which people can feel confident in the product they are buying.”
How to ensure your business THRIVES over the next 10 years
By Jonathan Watt, founder of Improve B2B Ltd
Jonathan.watt@improveb2b.com
One of the biggest opportunities for improvement I see in many businesses I work with is around their Planning. As 2020 gets into its stride, one of my reflections is the amount of time we spend working on our businesses i.e. planning compared to working in them.
Most worryingly, the majority of businesses I have recently spoken to haven’t updated their Strategic Action Plan (STRAP) for 2020, let alone given themselves a direction to head into the new decade.
Here’s a condensed version of the 8 critical steps to develop an effective STRAP to set your business on the right trajectory for this decade (drop me a note see link below).
1. Start with being brutally honest on where you are – All aspects of your current situation.
2. Review and refine the vision and mission for your business – Create a compelling vision of the future of the company and what it does. Excite your stakeholders!
3. Competitor analysis – Find out what your competitors are doing to win customers and what they are not doing that customers want.
Building Value through high impact leadership & business consulting
Find me on Linkedin:
www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanwattb627071/ for an expanded version of these steps so you don’t end up like another Kodak. Have a great H1 2020 and schedule a date to update your STRAPs!
March 2020 CHAMBERLINK 21
4. Clarity in the business model – Step back from your business and look at it objectively as a valuecreation engine. What are the activities and resources that directly generate this value and which are the key customers and markets that recognise it.
5. State the top (3 7) objectives for the business in the STRAP – Drive these objectives down to detailed action plans.
6. Clarity in the business model – Step back from your business and look at it objectively as a valuecreation engine. What are the activities and resources that directly generate this value and which are the key customers and markets that recognise it?
7. Development and validation of detailed Financial Plans – Financial plans that fully aligned with the timing, resource demands, revenue plans, margins, funding and risk management approach in the business.
8. Review your Management Operating System (MOS) How does your team communicate, report on performance against the plan, and address gaps?
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