The Big Interview
down orders from customers who want to order our entire stock of certain products to allow smaller businesses the opportunity to purchase these items. It’s certainly a lovely problem to have.
– Sukh Singh, Kids Wholesale Clothing
All of these highly-anticipated new products, along with Kids Wholesale Clothingʼs current range, are manufactured in India. This allows Kids Wholesale Clothing to keep costs down, while taking advantage of the skills available that donʼt exist within the UK. “We moved our manufacturing overseas in 2016. We were scared to do it, I do admit. At the time there was such a big push for made in Britain products in the media and within the industry, but we felt we had no choice. It was a necessity in order to expand our product range and to keep our prices competitive.
“It would be lovely to manufacture in the UK, but the skill set just isnʼt there. The machinists in India are able to produce more convoluted types of garments such as our fleece dungarees with ease,” explains Sukh. Customers that have been with Kids Wholesale Clothing from the days of SSR Fashions will recognise the bodysuit as one of the companyʼs maiden garments. Available initially 16 years ago in pink, white, blue and lemon, the bodysuit is now available in 21 different colours, including khaki, which was introduced recently to meet fashion demands. “The bodysuit is certainly one of our more popular products,” says Onkar. Speaking of the colour khaki, Onkar adds that when they added the colour to their range of sweatshirts, 3,000 sold out within two to three days, proving the popularity of the colour. Customers are now waiting for more stock to arrive. “Sometimes we have to turn down orders from customers who want to order our entire stock of certain products to allow smaller businesses the opportunity to purchase these items. Itʼs certainly a lovely problem to have,” says Sukh. All of Kids Wholesale Clothingʼs products have to be stored somewhere once they arrive in the UK from India and currently these are split across three warehouses in the Leicester area. The team moved into its newest warehouse in January 2017, after completely gutting the place and rekitting it with shelving and racking in the warehouse, along with creating fresh office
space. The ultimate long term plan is to amalgamate all three warehouses into one totalling around 25,000sq ft to 30,000sq ft within the Leicester area.
A family business
Sukh has always been involved with the family business, but Onkar was a little bit more hesitant about joining the family trade. He joined the business in 2011 after graduating from Sheffield Hallam University with a degree in Criminology and Sociology, with a little push from older brother Sukh. He says: “I was adamant I wasnʼt going to work in the business. I never thought I would be this passionate about kidswear after leaving uni. However, Iʼm putting the effort in and Iʼm enjoying seeing the return.” Sukh adds: “Itʼs very much a grind, but we enjoy what we do.
We know the business inside out and still get a huge buzz from what we do. The growth in the business is just phenomenal and hopefully will remain that way for many years to come.”
The images below show the evolution of Kids Wholesale Clothing’s stand at P&P LIVE! in seven years
Sometimes we have to turn
The colour khaki is one of the more popular colours this season
2013
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
2019 April 2019 | 55 |
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
