CWB Schoolwear

SCHOOLWEAR BUYER: THE LATEST NEWS AND OPINION FROM THE SCHOOLWEAR INDUSTRY

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59: News

60: Talking shop Schoolwear retailers reflect on BTS 2014 and how it has shaped their approach for this year.

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Smarter for longer Our eighty years in business counts, and whether you want a plain stock garment, speedy embroidery, bespoke knitwear or fastrack service we can deliver – all year through.

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Schoolwear NEWS: The latest news from the schoolwear industry.

NEW FOR SCHOOL SHOES Launched last year, Skids, the registered trademark for Shoes for School Ltd, is offering the Back to School market a new choice in school footwear.

Making its show debut at UK children’s trade fair Bubble London in July, the UK brand is manufactured in the Philippines, handmade using a high-quality leather upper, a cow-split leather foot bed, breathable textile lining and a rubber sole.

Targeting 4-11 years, or reception up to Year 6, sizes range from UK size 9 to UK size 6. A wide selection of styles are available, but all put an emphasis on the “look” being smart and stylish while also practical and sturdy. The brand offers a Premium line, wholesaling from £17.50 to £19, and a Standard collection, which wholesales from £15 to £17.50.

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UK LAUNCH FOR TOTTO SCHOOL BAGS Brand Agility has been appointed UK distributor for the Colombian brand Totto, whose collection comprises a substantial Back to School range alongside luggage, clothes and accessories.

Highlights from the school offer include school bags, lunch bags with a water bottle and “tupper box”, and pencil cases.

“The brand is 29 years old in Columbia, and has over 500 standalone stores selling its luggage and clothing range,” says Brand Agility sales director Jacquie Sandison. “It’s currently available in 35 countries worldwide and we’re hoping to do very well with it in the UK, too.”

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NEWS IN BRIEF

BLUE MAX BANNER SPONSORSHIP Blue Max Banner is to sponsor a new competition designed to identify writing talent in the UK. The judging panel for the inaugural Mane Chance writing competition, which invites entrants across four age categories – 10 years and under, 11-14 years, 15-18 years and over 18s – is to be chaired by Michael Morpurgo OBE, author, poet, playwright and British Children’s Laureate, and actress Jenny Seagrove.

Blue Max Banner has pledged to provide the schools of each of the three school-aged winners with £500 worth of its sportswear and £500 cash in prize money.

Jenny Seagrove is founder of Mane Chance, a Surrey Sanctuary whose mission is to rescue and rehabilitate horses and ponies as well as hosting visits from schools, disabled groups and children with special needs. The writing competition is an initiative Seagrove devised to help raise funds, via competition entry fees, to support the sanctuary’s ongoing work.

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SCHOOLWEAR ASSOCIATION UPDATE Former David Luke MD David Burgess (pictured) is the new executive chairman of the Schoolwear Association (SA), succeeding outgoing chair Matthew Easter. Burgess is the fourth person to chair the trade body, which was set up in 2006 to give a voice to the industry. Christine Campbell has been appointed new vice chair, replacing Alex Gani.

The next SA members’ meeting will be hosted by David Luke at its Manchester offices on 28 July. In addition to discussing industry issues, it will include a tutorial sponsored for the group by William Turner & Son, featuring a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) expert who will advise members on how to gain ground in online rankings. Members wishing to join the meeting are asked to confirm their attendance in advance.

In other developments, this year’s SA fundraiser has been confirmed as a 70s-themed evening. Sunday Night Fever will take place on 11 October at The Village Hotel, Solihull. For tickets and sponsorship opportunities email mariebradburn@talktalk.net. If you would like to join the SA please email info@schoolwearassociation.co.uk.

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This year sees the launch of the CWB Independent Retail Awards, which will recognise performance and innovation and reward excellence in stores both old and new.

Independent schoolwear retailers across the UK are invited to enter their shops in the Best Schoolwear Store category. The winner will be announced in December, and will receive a comprehensive store marketing package and dedicated coverage in CWB, print and online.

Entry forms are available at www.cwb-online.co.uk.

THE PEOPLE’S FAVOURITE Rowlinson has been recognised with two accreditation awards for its commitment to its staff’s wellbeing.

To achieve the Workplace Wellbeing Charter – which Rowlinson is the first company in Stockport to receive – the schoolwear supplier allowed itself to be assessed, benchmarked and accredited, thus committing a statement of intent towards the health, safety and wellbeing of its staff. The assessment and subsequent award of The Charter is national recognition of this fact.

Following rigorous assessment, Rowlinson has also been awarded Investors in People Gold Standard. Last year, Rowlinson was awarded Silver in this best practice people management standard. This year’s elevation to Gold is in acknowledgment of improvements the supplier has since made.

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Trutex has designed a special-edition 2015 children’s activity pack available free to its retailers and their schools.

Providing ideas and activities for children over the upcoming school holidays, the Alice in Wonderland theme pack is a nod to 2015 marking the 150-year anniversary of both Trutex and the Alice in Wonderland children’s book by Lewis Carroll. Activities in the pack include, “How to make an origami white rabbit” and a “Queen of Hearts tarts recipe”.

A new sports kit from Gymphlex’s GFORCE range has been eagerly embraced by pupils at Stratford Preparatory School in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Originally launched with a view to becoming compulsory from September, the garments are already bestsellers in the uniform shop. The integrated kit comprises an Aircool top, skorts, shorts, hooded top and tracksuit.

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TALKING SHOP Schoolwear retailers reflect on last year’s Back to School (BTS) and how it has shaped their approach for this year, including a greater focus on online sales, increased use of social media and investing in more “fitted” and “skinny cut” uniform styles to reflect current fashion trends.

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BRAD HUTCHINSON Sales director, Whittakers Schoolwear, stores in Blackburn, Burnley, Swinton, Bolton, Accrington and Southport How was BTS 2014?

It was a fantastic period for us. All stores had an increase in sales individually while, combined, they achieved an 11 per cent rise in like-for-like sales. We also expanded the business in February, opening a concession within Oswaldtwistle Mill, Accrington, followed in May by the acquisition of Rawcliffes in Southport. Both outlets respectively surpassed sales targets for their first BTS season. The success of 2014 can be attributed to the high stock levels we hold along with the brilliant team we have.

Are you making any improvements to the way you work for BTS 2015?

Our approach to BTS hasn’t really changed during the last year, apart from making online customers more aware there is a definite cut off point for receiving orders for delivery in time for BTS. As we all know, the last two weeks can be very challenging trying to keep stocks at optimum level.

What channels do you sell across?

The stores, website, mobile and social media – we use all of them to sell our products. We envisage our sales from the virtual world to experience an exponential growth rate over the next few years, while maintaining in-store sales as the primary way of providing uniforms to parents.

Any changes in customer habits?

We’ve definitely noticed a growth in consumer spending. Over the previous six years, the majority of parents bought one or two school sweatshirts, one pair of trousers and one pack of shirts.

As the summer of 2014 ensued, it became apparent parents felt happy purchasing more than one of each garment. This was a great indication of the economic recovery. Following investment in our website, we also saw a 30 per cent increase in online sales during BTS. Our virtual presence is another string to our bow and helps us provide an extra service for customers. A trend that has filtered through from fashion to schoolwear over the past 12 months is the demand for a more fitted garment. We now provide a slimmer fit trouser and a fitted shirt to ensure we have a product to offer the consumer who may otherwise look to fashion brands.

How do you maintain successful relationships with suppliers and customers?

Building strong relationships is key to our business development and is largely based on trust and transparency. We need good and reliable suppliers, so we work hard at building a good supplier relationship, as we do building good relationships with our customers. We are communicative, treat people fairly, we are demanding but loyal and, of course, making payment on time always helps. The relationship with our customers starts from the second they walk through the shop door. We’ve created a bright, breezy, modern retail atmosphere. Each customer is greeted by their own personal shopper to help guide them and provide an enjoyable, memorable shopping experience. Gone are the days

of dark, dingy schoolwear shops. We have a long-term vision; if we can excel in the service we provide, we could see a particular customer shop with us each year for over a decade.

What services do you offer?

Through the BTS season we try to be as accommodating as possible. We open seven days a week, one of which is a late-night opening. We often organise a selling event on school grounds to make shopping more accessible to certain parents, too. When a pupil starts a new school, it can be a daunting prospect shopping for the uniform – which items are compulsory and optional? How much will a full uniform cost? Our personal shoppers help to answer all of these questions and make the customer feel at ease.

We also offer the option of a savings club, meaning customers can drop into the shop at their convenience before the BTS period and spread the cost of their purchase over a number of weeks.

What BTS marketing do you do?

The majority of our marketing and advertising is achieved through the schools themselves. We will present to prospective parents at new intake events with a professional school uniform display, along with promotional flyers offering information and discounts.

Facebook and Twitter are useful advertising platforms, too, allowing us to promote ourselves, driving both leads and sales.

What’s your forecast for BTS 2015 sales?

There has been fantastic progress behind the scenes this year, with a large number of schools that are new to us, along with changes to some schools’ current uniforms. With the recent news that inflation is below zero for the first time in over 50 years, and consumers feeling their hard-earned money is going a little further, we’ve forecast another year of growth in like-for-like sales.

Any plans for the business?

We have a structured plan in place for growth. Cash flow can make or break a business, so we’re extremely careful about our structure, making sure we are never over stretched. With this in mind, we do not have an aggressive expansion plan in place, but we still aim to grow the business year-on-year. We are always vigilant in our approach to sourcing new retail outlets.

SALLY STEPHENSON Owner, The Pencil Case, Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan How was BTS 2014?

I opened The Pencil Case in March 2014, so summer 2014 was my first BTS. I took over the supply of local school uniform from a long-standing stockist who retired in December 2013, so I had a rough idea of what to expect. I put together forecasts based on their previous sales history. Despite this knowledge, sales exceeded expectations and we delivered double the forecast.

Do you plan to do anything differently for BTS 2015?

Last year, I didn’t expect demand for plain uniform, especially JUNE/JULY 2015 - 60

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senior girls’ skirts, to be as high as it was. As a result, to meet demand, I was ordering on an almost daily basis towards the end of August. This year, I’ve placed a large forward order to make sure we have the stock available at the start of the season. This will enable us to sell more, as well as be more efficient, and we won’t need to spend time constantly re-ordering and booking in regular deliveries of stock. This year I’m going to trial late-night opening one day a week to help busy working parents, which may also reduce the pressure on Saturdays. We will have more staff available to manage very last minute demands, too.

Have you noticed any trends in terms of the styles of uniform children are wanting?

Yes, there seems to be a lot of tall, slim teenagers who need jumpers with longer arms. The current sizing means they have to buy bigger jumpers to get the longer arm lengths but, these are then too big across the chest. This year, I’ve asked my supplier to make jumpers in 44” and above with longer arms. In the primary school ranges the opposite is true – children are struggling to find trousers that fit round the waist that aren’t too long in the leg.

How do you maintain successful relationships with your suppliers and customers?

Personal relationships are critically important to our success. We aim to provide outstanding customer service and get to know our customers personally so we understand what they want and can meet their needs. I have a policy to always have all sizes of badged uniform in stock to ensure customers are never disappointed.

We also remember customers’ names, the schools their children attend, what they’ve bought previously, ask them for feedback on what we could do better/other products we could stock and enjoy chatting to them every time they come in. The same is true of suppliers. I enjoy building relationships with account managers and believe if they understand my business, they can help us to improve and grow our sales, which is obviously mutually beneficial.

What services do you offer?

We are open Monday to Saturday 9am-5pm, so parents can come to the shop straight after dropping children at school. Parents can contact me 24/7 via email, mobile, Facebook and Twitter to order or reserve uniform. I host late night shopping evenings for new, Year 7 children and their parents who want to try on and buy uniform together. I promote the fact our range comes in a variety of waist sizes and leg/skirt lengths, so we can always get the perfect fit. If I do not have a particular size in stock, I can order it in for delivery usually within 24-48 hours. As I live locally, and know so many of my customers personally, I often drop uniform off at their houses after work or in the playground when I am collecting my own children from school.

Which channels do you sell across?

Mostly in-store, although I regularly receive enquiries via email, text, mobile, Facebook and Twitter. Customers can pay by card over the phone and collect from the shop later. I also hold a pop-up store at the new Year 7 parents’ meeting at the secondary school every June, and Reception parents’ meeting and parents’ evenings at the local primary schools.

What marketing do you do?

I use social media to promote my business – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. There are Facebook groups set up for several local towns, which are a very effective way of promoting my business for free to a wide audience. I advertise regularly in the free local newspaper, which has a circulation of 45k and is very well read, and in local magazines. The schools for whom I supply badged uniform send my communications out to all their parents via their ParentMail newsletters. Most of the feeder primary schools send out my order form to their Year 6 children before the summer holidays, so they know to come to me for their new secondary school uniform. Outside of the BTS period, I run various marketing activities. I have a stall at the secondary school PTA’s Christmas Fair and I’m planning to do the same this year at various primary school PTA summer fairs. I open on Sundays and Bank Holidays for the Cowbridge Reindeer Parade and the Cowbridge Food & Drink Festival, as these attract thousands of visitors to the town. I also sponsor various events throughout the year, such as the children’s sections of The Vale of Glamorgan Agricultural Show and the Cowbridge Food & Drink Festival. I donate gift vouchers to relevant charities such as Scouts, school PTA raffles and Cowbridge May Fair organised by The Rotary.

What’s your sales forecast for BTS 2015?

An increase in sales compared to last year, which is based on the fact that we’ve been open for over 12 months, so more people know we are here than last year. We will have much more stock of plain uniform skirts and trousers right from the beginning of the season, so we will be able to sell much more of this compared to last year.

Word is spreading that we sell good-quality, well-fitting plain skirts and trousers, and we are now open six days a week – last year we didn’t open on Mondays.

Any plans for the business?

We are in the process of building a transactional website, which I hope will be live before the 2015 season starts. This will enable customers to buy uniform online 24/7 and either have it delivered or click & collect from the shop. I also hope to sign up further primary schools this year to become official stockists of their badged uniform.

LUCY FORD Co-owner, Pretty Miss, Cwmbran, South Wales How was BTS 2014?

The first few weeks had us panicking about sales; however, after the second week of August, sales rocketed. Over recent years, we’ve found the spending/purchasing trends of our customers is getting later and later in the season. Last year, we employed more seasonal staff than ever before, rotating shifts so no one felt over worked and we constantly had “fresh legs” on the shop floor.

This system proved priceless and we will be utilising the same approach for BTS 2015. In addition, we’ll be extending our trading hours until 6pm weekdays and until 3pm Sundays. In theory, BTS 2015 should be very good for us as we’re supplying additional schools that are having complete new uniforms. As usual, we’re anticipating sales will be late and follow the trends of previous years.

Any changes to customer buying habits?

Overall, customers are purchasing later and later. Our busiest day of the year is usually Black Tuesday – the Tuesday after the August bank holiday. That said, this year will be interesting as the Tuesday following the bank holiday is the first day of term for many schools in our area. Perhaps BTS sales will be a week early? However, with many customers being paid on the last Friday of the month, we’re still predicting sales to be very last minute. On the whole, in terms of sizing demands, we’ve always had much larger children in our area of the UK. More recently, however, with fashion leaning toward skinny fit trousers and fitted shirts and blouses, we’ve found regardless of a child’s physical size, they now want to wear their uniform as small or tight as possible to reflect fashion.

How do you maintain successful relationships with your suppliers and customers?

For a business, relationships are everything, and we really care about our customers. This year we are celebrating 55 years of trading. We were one of the very first shops to open in the Cwmbran town centre, and the only original business remaining.

In a relatively small town, many of our customers have become friends, shopping with us for many years as we clothe each generation in a family. To help customers, we offer many incentives and services to make purchasing school uniform as easy as possible, everything from savings clubs to a personal shopping experience. For as long as I can remember, we’ve offered a year-round savings club, as well as a “buy now pay later” lay-by scheme. This helps customers spread the cost of purchasing uniform, which if you have more than one child, can be quite costly. On the whole, we have great working relationships with our suppliers and have been trading with many of them for over 40 years. Like all businesses, they appreciate loyalty and like you to be knowledgeable about their products and lead times. >>> JUNE/JULY 2015 - 61

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What channels do you sell across?

To date, we have only sold uniform from our store or directly from the schools we supply. This year, however, we have launched an e-commerce website that we believe will be hugely popular with customers for BTS 2015. We recently joined Facebook and Twitter, too. We’re hoping our social-media presence grows throughout the year, and we may utilise these channels for additional sales in the future.

What BTS marketing do you do?

Presentations in schools and promotional flyers handed out with our price lists. Most years we also run a “win a bike” competition, which customers can enter when visiting the store.

Any plans for the business?

Our intention is to build on our very strong foundations and expand our embroidery and printing arms of the business. We’ve seen promising trends from our small social-media presence, and we’re hoping this is going to continue throughout 2015 and beyond.

JAN GREEN Co-owner, Brenda’s, Camberley, Surrey How was BTS 2014?

Very good. We spend the year planning to ensure as smooth a BTS as possible, and we anticipate BTS 2015 being our busiest yet.

Are you making any improvements to the way you work?

We are always striving to improve and work more efficiently to give the customers the best possible experience. We want to change customers’ perceptions of a schoolwear retailer for the better. The main changes this year are to employ even more temporary staff.

Any changes in customer habits?

Parents used to buy sizes to last, but more and more often we are hearing “that’s too big” and they buy to fit. More customers are confident in buying online these days, too, and we have seen our online sales grow rapidly.

How do you maintain successful relationships with suppliers and customers?

We always keep in touch. We work well with suppliers as they do with us. We always tell customers if there is a delay on any product.

Our forte is our huge stock holding, giving the customers what they want, when they want. We also keep in touch with parents via social media.

What services do you offer?

We have always offered alterations and have been embroidering for four years. We sell schoolwear in-store and online, including mobile-friendly shopping, with web orders delivered in 24 hours.

We also have Google Business View so customers can look inside our store from their armchairs.

Any plans for the business?

We are about to have the front of our store refurbished along with great new window graphics.

PANY KOKKINI Owner, Thomas’s Schoolwear, London SE21 How was BTS 2014?

Obviously, the last few days are always a little frantic, but we had a team of five experienced staff and felt it went well. Having the stock in the shop is the main issue, and having suppliers that are specialists in schoolwear, such as David Luke and Blue Max Banner, is always a real help. We gave a small discount to parents who booked an appointment during July and the first two weeks of August to alleviate the last-minute rush and that worked well. We also introduced an online order service, which we feel is important for parents – even if they don’t always use the facility.

Any changes in customer habits?

More customers than ever are paying by card, which I suppose is a reflection of the economy. Mums are always looking at price, but we feel we cannot afford to go down the “cheap” route as mums don’t always remember what they’ve paid for an item, but they will note if it’s fallen apart during the first few wears. Mums are also buying fewer items more often from us, and buying generic garments from other online websites. Online is a real threat to all our high streets. We try and counter this by going that ‘extra mile’ for our customers and by being well stocked.

How do you maintain successful relationships with your suppliers and customers?

We maintain good relations with suppliers by using them regularly and paying on time. With customers, we seek to build trust over time, giving them honest and relevant information; having the stock they need available; making returns easy; keeping the shopping experience as stress-free as possible; and by trying to resolve any issues as quickly as possible with the least fuss.

What services do you offer?

We offer an online service whereby we can deliver to the school so parents can avoid carriage costs and we now stay open a little later, until 5.45pm, and half day on Sundays from 11am to 3pm. We also have our own tailor who offers alterations at a fraction of the cost – turning the sleeves up on blazer, which includes the lining, costs £5. The same job at our local dry cleaners costs £22.

What are your plans for the business?

We’d like to be more active on social media, launch more popular lines in trainers to appeal to the general public, introduce a “tell us what you think box” and, as we are also a sports shop, keep an eye out for more unusual gift items.

JULIE GRAY, Owner, Kool Kidz, Wetherby, West Yorkshire How was BTS 2014?

Very busy compared to the previous year.

After reviewing last year’s BTS, we have employed a new member of staff to help with our existing staff and we’ve put in a new stock control system, which will help with our ordering. We’ve also updated our website.

Any changes in customer habits?

Their buying habits have changed; we’ve seen increased sales via our website’s ordering service. We haven’t seen anything significant to the sizes customers require, but we have been asked more for 4/5 years and 6/7 years with some products who do not do these sizes as standard.

How do you maintain successful relationships with suppliers and customers?

We would like to think we’ve achieved successful relationships with our suppliers by being honest and talking on a regular basis.

Maintaining good communication ensures we are all working together for the future. Our customers are our business, so we offer them a service with a personal touch to suit their needs.

What services do you offer?

Part of our service is to offer longer opening hours in the BTS season along with a Home Delivery Service via internet and telephone sales to help working parents.

What is your BTS marketing strategy?

Mainly promotional flyers via the schools, local advertising and presentations in schools.

Any plans for the business?

We are looking at opportunities to take on new schools, and we’re getting ready to launch a new printing and embroidery service as an addition to our business.

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CAROLYN JOYCE Category manager for Baby & Child at Notonthehighstreet.com Carolyn Joyce reveals what her role as Notonthehighstreet.com’s category manager for Baby & Child entails, as well as which kids’ products are currently trending on the site.

— Laura Turner: What’s your career background and how did you come to work for Notonthehighstreet.com?

Carolyn Joyce: My previous role was at House of Fraser, where I spent five years working in e-commerce across a number of product areas including fashion, home and, most recently, baby and child. I had always been attracted to Notonthehighstreet.com from a product point of view, and also for the values, history and vision of the company. Last year, when I came across the category manager role for Baby & Child, it was a no-brainer for me to apply for the job. Moving into this role, I was so excited to start building on the amazing success in the category and to start planning for the future of the category.

LT: What’s a typical working day for you?

CJ: It can vary hugely depending on the time of year and if we are planning for a big seasonal gifting occasion, such as Christmas.

Generally, the responsibilities I focus on are optimising the Baby & Child categories on site, planning the content for these pages and feeding this out to our marketing team.

I also spend time analysing our range and highlighting opportunities to broaden into new types of products, liaising with our account management and new business teams to set this in motion. I assess sales within the category to highlight any opportunities and emerging trends to make sure we are showing our customers the best and most relevant products. I also take time to keep up-to-date with developments in the baby and child industry to ensure that we have a great strategy in place to plan for the future. All the while, I keep up-to-date with our partners, too, and

discuss how they can continue to grow and develop with us.

LT: Where do you source product for the site?

CJ: As a marketplace, all of our products are either sourced or made by our amazing partners. Some of these have been with Notonthehighstreet.com since it was founded in 2006, and have established large, commercially and creatively rewarding businesses. Other are just starting out on their journey with us, which is equally as exciting.

Many new partners apply directly to the site, but we are always on the lookout for new ones who can produce beautiful, unique products.

LT: What is the criteria for partners?

CJ: Many of our new partners are small and emerging businesses looking to grow and increase their customer reach. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to approving a potential new partner, but we always look for products that are unique and businesses that are keen to scale and grow with us. The strength of the product is key, as is its ability to inspire our customers to choose a life less ordinary.

LT: As you mentioned, Notonthehighstreet. com seeks to inspire – what inspires you in your work?

CJ: Our partners are very inspirational – a lot of them have started their business with a great idea for a product and have gone on to achieve huge success. It is amazing to be surrounded by their stories when they have been instrumental to the success of Notonthehighstreet.com. It makes me even more motivated to seek out the next great thing for the site’s Baby & Child category.

Other places I take inspiration from are blogs and social media, which are great for keeping up-to-date on what consumers are excited about, and also from parents and children I know personally. I have just become an auntie, so my new niece is a great source of inspiration – she deserves the best.

LT: What are the current bestsellers?

CJ: Most of our bestsellers are personalised with the child’s name – this can range from books to dressing gowns. Products that commemorate the birth of a new baby with custom details are also extremely popular among products such as keepsake toys and wall art and prints.

LT: Are there any trends customers are currently buying into?

CJ: Animal motifs, and woodland animals in particular, are popular with our customers.

Dinosaurs often appear among our bestsellers,

NAME: Carolyn Joyce JOB TITLE: Category manager, Baby & Child DATE OF BIRTH: 17/11/87 PLACE OF BIRTH: Bristol, UK NOW LIVES: London, UK

and patterns such as stars and stripes are being bought into as well. Personalisation is extremely important – allowing a customer to create something bespoke adds sentimental worth, which is invaluable when purchasing a gift.

LT: Which children’s and babies’ brands or products are your personal favourites?

CJ: Naturally, I would say that all of my favourite baby and child products come from Notonthehighstreet.com!

LT: How would you define the concept and ethos of Notonthehighstreet?

CJ: Notonthehighstreet.com exists to connect the best small independent businesses and their beautiful, unique products with the world. We are a platform with a global reach, meaning we can help our partners talk to a huge and varied audience looking for design-led products that speak volumes about their taste.

LT: Tell us something we don’t know about Notonthehighstreet.com…

CJ: Since being founded in 2006, Notonthehighstreet.com has injected over £300m into the UK economy through our support of small businesses.

JUNE/JULY 2015 - 66

Bonnie Jean by Gerson and Gerson, Inc. Bubble London, Stand C50 Tel: 001 212 244 6775 Kevin.Gray@gersonandgerson.com www.consupro.net

CHILDREN’S S P R I N G S U M M E R 2016

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