CLOTHING AND APPAREL\\\


Issue 1 2021 - Freight Business Journal


29 Modal shift in the fashion business


The recent Covid crisis and impending Brexit have not killed off the apparel trade but it has undergone some significant changes.


Outsourcing its entire global supply chain has given the Hunter Boot Company extra flexibility in turbulent times, says Davies Turner director Alan Davies. The apparel company sources product from all over the world, including many Far East countries and sells goods through a variety of channels, including wholesalers, retailers


and, increasingly,


e-commerce. Deep-sea shipping into the


UK has been severely disrupted for some months now, with containers piling up in Continental ports waiting to be shipped across to the UK by short-sea vessel or ferry. It’s been a frustrating time for all shippers, but Davies Turner can at least give Hunter visibility of all the stock in its channels, allowing it to be moved from one to another and helping to keep all outlets supplied. It isn’t a complete answer to the fundamental problem of


a lack of shipping capacity, but it does help keep things moving, says Williams. Davies Turner is now handling


the entire global supply chain for the Hunter Boot Company under a three-year contract, renewable for two years. The business kicked off in May, at the start of the Covid pandemic when the forwarder handled a shipment donated by the company to the London Ambulance Service – 25 pallets of Women’s Original Tall wellingtons, to help protect staff in the fight against the virus. Hunter Boot then appointed


Davies Turner as its UK logistics partner to handle all inbound freight forwarding of products into the UK, plus warehousing, as well as pick and pack operations, and national and European distribution, based at its national logistics centre at Avonmouth, near Bristol.


Clothing and fashion are volatile


businesses, and increasingly so with more and more sales being handled through e-commerce, Williams continues. “E-commerce sales have been going through the roof,” he explains. “And it can also change day by day. When it rains, orders double.” (Hunter supplies not only wellies but a large range of outdoor and general clothing.) Davies Turner even includes long-range weather forecasts and their likely effect on volumes in its weekly planning discussions. There are longer-term seasonal


effects on the business too. Hunter also sells sweatshirts, T-shirts and other clothing including children’s wear in addition to its outdoor apparel range so demand does not evaporate should the sun come out in summer. Hunter has a reputation for


quality and customers who appreciate one of its products


Sea-air and trucks pick up the threads for Kerry Logistics’ fashion business


With the current lack of airfreight capacity, Kerry Logistics has seen the re-emergence of sea air solutions via Korea and Dubai for its clothing and apparel traffic, says strategic sales director in the UK, Emma Rowlands. By the same token, issues


with ocean container availability across Asia have also resulted in the rail solution from China into the EU being heavily congested and booked up for the last two months. In response to this, Kerry has developed a full road service from China to Europe, and even into the UK. It has achieved a door- to-door transit time of 20 days with two drivers driving nonstop from


Shenzhen in Southern China to the point of delivery in Manchester. Rowlands adds: “We have had


a lot of success with the online fashion companies, securing several new customers throughout the pandemic who were looking for alternative solutions to their current providers.” In the UK at least, many of the


high street fashion retailers are struggling or have even gone out of business. On the other hand, online sales appear to be soaring away. Fast fashion retailers have very


short lead times and there has been a real push to ensure that transit times are improved, in order


will oſten buy others, Williams explains. Like most fashion chains, Hunter has a large number of different product lines, further multiplied by the different sizes and colours, adding up to a complex supply chain. Hunter has a loyal customer


base but not every fashion retailer has been so fortunate in recent years. Many of the big names of the High Street have fallen by the wayside, although some new ones, notably Primark, have sprung up to take their place. As a general rule, the middle market has been the most severely hit – the high quality and cheap and cheerful ends of the market have survived and, indeed, prospered. ‘Pop up’ shops in large shopping


centres have added yet a further dimension to fashion retailing and the diversity of different outlets can be expected to increase still further – along with the inexorable rise of internet shopping, which has greatly fragmented the fashion market. The old fashion industry model of placing huge orders and then


products through a hub and added value services. This could be quality control or relabelling for wholesale, retail, and e-commerce sales channels.” She adds: “Without visibility


tools such as our VBO Kerry Logistics order management system, we would not be able to manage the space allocations with our carriers as efficiently or manage product flows into hubs and DCs as efficiently. Better visibility enables more proactive planning in the supply chain and more effective control and management of suppliers at origin. Meanwhile, closer to home,


to drive more sales, continues Rowlands. Smaller, more frequent orders have driven the need for consolidation at origin and: “We have seen a real focus on handling


Kerry Logistics has seen a surge in companies who had been supplying the UK market via an EU distribution centre look to set up a hub in the UK due to the implications of Brexit.


selling the stock throughout the year has largely gone out of the window, to be replaced by ‘fast fashion’ – retailers selling shorter production runs and then replacing them, not with the identical product, but different ones. It keeps shoppers interested and gives them a reason to come into the store – or log on to the website - to see what’s new. Also largely – though not


quite – gone is the Cut, Make & Trim trade whereby fabrics produced in the UK or EU were sent to Asia for making up into completed garments, using the complex Inward Processing Relief and Outward Processing Relief customs regimes. Nowadays, most Asian producers make fully- manufactured goods that are


exported to the UK and imported under the appropriate HS code. From a customs point of view, apparel is mostly a relatively simple business these days, says Williams. One recent trend that has


resulted from the port problems that have hamstrung deepsea shipping in recent months is the emergence of producers in relatively close-at-hand, relatively low-cost countries, such as Turkey. Producers here are only about 4-7 days away from the UK by truck or intermodal transport, compared with several weeks or months by ship from the Far East and are increasingly catering to the fast fashion end of the market. As Williams says: “Speed to market is everything these days.”


Xpediator sews up UK fashion logistics


The threat of impending Brexit has not prevented Xpediator from innovating. If anything, the


Braintree, Essex-based


international freight management provider and its Delamode subsidiary have redoubled their efforts to bring new services to the market. For example, Delamode has


introduced a new UK Fashion Network to deliver hanging garments across the UK, filling a gap in the market says chief operating officer for the fashion and retail division, Luke Croome. In addition it has introduced some new processing services including hand washing and cleaning service for


high value luxury


garments at its hanging garment and processing facility in Beckton, East London. Also,


in direct response to


Brexit it has created a bonded External Temporary Storage Facility (ETSF) at Beckton as well


as implementing a UK fulfilment centre for its own clients and other EU-based brands. Fulfilment sites in post-Brexit UK will be crucial, Croome believes. “We’ll maintain inventory and ship orders for next day delivery throughout the UK. In doing so the UK based consumer will enjoy an improved overall customer experience.” Brexit is as much an opportunity


as a threat, Croome believes: “We see Brexit as an opportunity to enhance the service structure as well as to reach a larger customer base not only in the UK but also on the Continent. We’re able to provide daily line haul services into


Europe to fulfil order


commitments to e-commerce companies such as Zalando. We’ve introduced a daily inbound hanging garment fashion service using our specialised GPS tracked vehicles from Italy and Paris


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