2007 a year of innovation - Mayer House Business Media Ltd.

When talking about 2007, we could not, of course, let the opportunity go by without mentioning two very important launches that occurred this year – those being this very magazine, Printwear Today, and the announcement of a new trade show: Printwear UK. They were certainly high points for us, and ones that we hope have benefited you, the garment decorator, beyond all measure. 

Whilst it is fair to say we are blowing our own trumpet, and in an industry derived from marketing, it is perhaps no wonder - however the responses that the magazine, Printwear Today, in just a few months  has achieved bears testament to the dedication and hard work Mayer House Business Media has placed in purchasing and further developing a unique circulation, unrivalled by any other medium serving this sector.  Commenting, Nick Carpenter, Managing Director said, “We have invested a great deal of revenue and time in ensuring the circulation is the most comprehensive list of its kind. Two independent circulation specialists have been working on building the list over the last few months, generating a solid and highly targeted database of over 6,000 individual organisations.”

“In addition to which, we are very aware of the need for incessant development, and to this end have put in place a programme to ensure that the Printwear Today circulation is not only the highest but also most influential within our market.” 

The ethos of Printwear Today is to help enhance and improve the efficiency as well as profitability of the UK  garment decorating and pre-printed textile industry. Each issue is designed with this in mind and in recognising the impact of technology, our editorial goal is not only to react to market demands and conditions but also play a pro-active role, thus generating a highly influential medium, What is more, Printwear Today can now proudly claim its rightful position as a leading publication, since it is the only true monthly magazine servicing this sector with full editorial content brought to you each and every month.

2007 also saw the introduction of a new division from STAG The Buying Group serving the imprinted garment sector. Commenting Ward Robertson, said, “Building on the outstanding success of the Sport, Outdoor, Shoe and Equestrian markets, STAG continues to increase it’s exposure in the emerging and significant printwear and promotional garment and merchandise market in the UK. Through STAG, garment decorators will now be able to buy into our strength and access leading brands and cutting edge design at the right price points.” 

 

This year has, also seen a plethora of product launches, far too many to cover every one within this article, however, we have selected those that appear to have had the most impact in the trade and above all else helped sustain the profitability of this industry.

Discussing the last twelve months with David Sanders-Smith, Result Clothing, he said, “The highlight of 2007 has to be the Soft Shell.”

Having models R120 to R124 already well established across the whole of Europe, (Result introduced its innovative five-strong Soft Shell collection at the end of 2006) it certainly paid off for Result to invest in a three layer soft shell which has all of the technical advantages of being breathable, windproof and waterproof. Soft Shell, is undoubtedly the new name in the outdoor clothing business and it is predicted to outsell fleece due to its additional breathable and water resistant properties. 

Commenting further, David said, “Whereas some brands went for lower price with the construction of cheaper two-layer Soft Shell, that has very few of the advertised functionality, some have even put taped seams onto Soft Shell to appear more technical than it actually is, at Result Clothing, our ethos has been our insistence on using only the highest quality 345gm three-layer bonded fabric. In addition, our innovative styling uses inside storm facing and double facing on both chests for embroidery access, and with massive stock availability it led directly to the growth in popularity for both imprinters and wearers alike.”

The launch of three further Soft Shell garments this year by Result, enabled the company to achieve a 10% growth. 2007 also saw Result Clothing introduce a range of products using recycled materials and, in fact, 80% of the brands total offering is now using over 20% of recycled materials. With three more garments being added to this already impressive line-up for 2008 – Result is set to innovate the industry further. Concluding David said, “In addition to continuing to add to our successful range of Soft Shell garments, we will also be introducing a new concept in jackets for 2009.”

Sports and teamwear garments too have made a major impact this year, and as explained by Ryan Hornbuckle, Charterhouse, “The establishment of the GameGear brand has been a phenomenal success story for 2007. We launched it heavily this year as a range of team wear and it seems to have captured the trade’s imagination. We will continue to promote the brand heavily and with 14 new styles, we have broadened its appeal further to include women and children offering a truly co-ordinated  team wear range.”

 

Becoming even more creative, was the big story behind J&A International this year, as told by Adrian Apletree, J&A International, “Our continued growth has certainly been a highlight, but even more importantly was the successful introduction of our Creative Division. The excellent response we have received highlights that we seem to have pitched it exactly right to met the needs of the imprinted market.”

When recapping about creativity, absolutely no article could be complete without re-visiting the introduction of the WoW transfer paper from The MagicTouch. 

Aptly named, this superb transfer paper has created an enormous level of interest and no wonder, when looking at the results. Commenting, Jim Nicol said, “Having looked at the direct to garment products available, the advantages of the WoW is it simply removes any financial risk for the operator. Most of the garment decorators have heat presses and a computer, so the only investment is that of a colour printer.”

In addition to the milestone in garment decoration that The MagicTouch created during 2007 with the introduction of WoW transfer paper, it also launched some new and exciting non-textile applications, each with great marketing potential. 

 

Of course, no round-up of 2007 could be provided without making mention to one of the biggest news making stories of the year - and that of digital. Whilst digital processes have been introduced for some time, 2007 has seen it begin to come of age. With companies such as MHM developing systems and of course the Diablo direct to screen system from OYO Instruments.

The revolutionary GJET from Amaya UK, has also made its mark toward the back end of 2007 producing amazing colour depth and economical ink usage, as has the new Anajet direct to garment printer from Midwest. 

In addition to the introduction of the Anajet, 2007 has proved particularly good for garment decorators from the Midwest camp, following the introduction of the latest generation of Happy embroidery machines.

 

2007 has been particularly busy for many garment decorators, and as pointed out by Peter Joyce, TOT Shirts, it led to the addition of a mezzanine floor and night shift to allow room for increasing workload and numerous developments that have been undertaken (some of which will come to fruition during 2008). Commenting about which garments have made the most impact this year Peter said, “As a printer the core product of  t-shirts and lady fits were, as usual, the staple diet of our production although this year hoodies have certainly taken a larger proportion of our work load than usual. So much so, that sourcing large quantities during the last quarter has been impossible and therefore detrimental to a couple of large sales opportunities. We believe this is basically down to manufacturers under estimating demand.”

 

Earlier this year, at ITMA 2007, Maderia launched AFS, an optional special frame system which is installed on embroidery machines with great success. Badges and name patches are automatically embroidered in these PreFrames onto the surface of a special film, 12 x 12 cm square. Manual cutting is  thus avoided as the finished embroidery series will be simply popped out of the special foil and no further reworking will be necessary.

AFS is suitable for single-head as well as smaller multi-head embroidery machines (up to 6 heads) and for arm and bridge type machines.

Independent of the products launched at ITMA, 2007 proved a busy year for Maderia, with a number of other product releases such as the ‘FROSTED MATT No.40’ and according to Maderia, it is the world’s first truly matt and light-fast embroidery thread. This embroidery thread brings a new sensation to the perception of colours and new highs to light fastness. 

The year for Maderia concluded with a further new product, the ‘BURMILANA No.12’ which achieves raised and amazing effects, whilst reducing the number of stitches.

 According to Maderia, embroidering with BURMILANA No.12 means half the stitches can be saved! ‘This is attributed to the high percentage of wool (50%) which gives volume and texture to the thread and a hand-crafted look to the embroidery design.’ 

 

In the first half of 2007, it was well documented in the trade press that UK promotional apparel brands were leading the ethical and environmental movement with companies such as SAF, Ethical Threads, Epona and Continental, introducing organic and sustainable apparel. But in the second half of 2007, it was the transition to low carbon clothing was the beginning of the final transition to a fully ethically and environmentally aware UK promotional industry.

With low carbon and ethical promotional clothing now firmly established in the industry, there was no longer the chicken or the egg question – Which comes first, ethical textiles or ethical screen printing?

Phillip Charles, Continental Clothing points out, “Screen printers have been working just as hard as their counterparts in the apparel companies, and as they now have a good choice of ethical T-shirts and sweatshirts to print on, they can now have the final word.”

Continuing he said, “Many screen printers are making a big effort to be aware of the ecological impact of their products, production methods and materials. The vast majority of US printers have now been asked by customers about sustainable printing practices, and to print on sustainable apparel, and the majority now believe that the development of green production and products as one of the very few sectors likely to grow in the next few years.”

“ The point is, the importance placed on the level of a company’s environmental friendliness had increased dramatically, and that all this effort has become part of a bigger movement to increase brand value and rescue profit margin; the screen print industry is where it’s now happening.”

“The market will increasingly demand that we make the effort to be more sustainable and will reward the companies that do it well; this means that in 2008/2009 the growth curve will be exponential, with no peak in sight. Until it peaks – there will be no change in momentum. Business has to see where a sustainable promotional apparel market will take us, and they will not focus on anything else that is new, until this has happened.” 

Ultimately, this has given Continental the confidence to invest heavily, with a long term view, in more sustainable development, products, and marketing; and in holding larger stocks in order to satisfy the increased future demand.

Michael Conway, Quayside Group, said his high-point of 2007 had been the acquisition of SAF organic Clothing. “We have had a phenomenal response to SAF. SAF products show that a top quality t-shirt can stylish and affordable without damaging the environment. Our mens and womens 200 gsm organic T-shirts continue to be extremely popular.” 

 In fact, at the beginning of 2007, Quayside were just distributing JHK Clothing, by the end of the year the group had added SAF, Fanshirt and Stedman to its growing list of brands.

 Concluding Michael said, “We will be expanding the SAF range by adding more products, and will be reducing prices for 2008 to make it easier for customers to offer an organic alternative to ordinary cotton T-shirts. In addition, we will be distributing more product ranges from more manufacturers to our expanding trade customer base.”

All in all 2007 was certainly a year full of innovation, ethical and FairTrade awareness (although much is yet to be achieved) and will see us enter 2008 with an abundance of new  garments along with equipment and consumables each of which should be destined to help increase the profitability of your business.