Focus on Schoolwear
they assess their current uniform policies and decide whether they are required to make any changes as a result of this new legislation.
It’s important to stress that the vast majority of schools approach their uniform policies very reasonably and will therefore not need to make any changes to what they do currently once they have reviewed these in respect of the new guidelines. Indeed, we expect the new guidelines to remain strongly in favour of school uniform, a sensible blend of school specific and generic items and continue to support sole supply contracts provided that an appropriate procurement process can be demonstrated by the school.
Q
Can you foresee any challenges that schoolwear retailers may face in 2022?
NW: The biggest challenge facing the schoolwear industry, as well as many industries right now, is the difficulty in transporting goods to the UK. There have been huge delays for many reasons, including country lockdowns, congestion at ports all across the world, lack of availability of empty containers and delayed ships. This has meant that the cost to ship goods has increased astronomically – it appears that demand is much higher than available supply and this will continue into 2022 and beyond.
KS: Firstly, supply and demand irregularity is set to continue. Secondly, price pressures appear to be more long-term than transitory. And finally, in England, the new legislation on school uniform will take effect shortly, and this may result in schools needing to review their current policy. The knock-on effect of these points could be a push from some parents to reduce the amount of school-branded items that schools insist on.
ME: While the worst impacts of the pandemic are hopefully behind us in the UK, the sad reality is that the same
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cannot be said around the world and several legacies are likely to remain in 2022 as a result of the disruption that we have all been through in the last 18 months.
We have seen massive disruption and huge cost impacts in global shipping costs during 2021 and it’s highly unlikely these will disappear and freight rates will return to previous levels in 2022. Equally, much of the developing world which is responsible for a significant proportion of global fibre, fabric and garment production is still being impacted both by the pandemic directly and also by disruption further up the supply chain, which will undoubtedly continue to be the case into next year.
Q
How will these be overcome?
NW: To overcome shipping challenges and delays, it’s vital to order early and ensure you have everything you need in plenty of time.
KS: Forward booking – as much as the issues with delivery this season have made lots of uniform providers cynical about how beneficial forward booking next season’s requirements is, it would have been a complete disaster if
commitments had not been made Price mitigation is only possible through forward booking, as prices into 2022 are difficult to predict, so the more that can be secured at autumn prices, the better. To support school uniform retailers with schools who may have to go through a tender process when they review their current arrangements, we will be launching the David Luke Tender Academy – a series of guides, training, and relevant content that will help support the process the retailer wants to go through, or can involve a more direct collaboration with us through joint bidding. Schools will still want to retain their brand identity and sense of belonging that brings, but will want to show they are supporting the environmental and affordability aspects of uniform, so utilising the resources we have produced as part of Re:uniform, will be a great way for schools to show they are taking positive action on these important issues.
ME: Working with manufacturers and suppliers to plan ahead as far as feasible for 2022 will undoubtedly help to make the year as smooth as possible, given the potential ongoing disruption.
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