Sir Digby Jones is a champion of British business
and believes that British manufacturing has "so much to be proud of".
However, there is one key struggle which these manufacturers are constantly
facing. Staying one step ahead of their global rivals. It is all about having
the "right product, in the right market, at the right time". Probably
easier said than done.
Hawick is located in the Scottish borders and
knitwear has been manufactured here since the late 1700s. Digby Jones has been
brought in as a consultant for one of the few original wool manufactures,
Hawick Knitwear. Many of the employees here are long serving and have become
highly skilled in their time at Hawick. Many of the roles within the company
require high precision, which has been passed on through generations working
within the business and Hawick knitwear has becomes highly important within the
local community as it provides jobs for hundreds of locals and attracts school
leavers into the business world.
"Do it professionally, do
it competently. But do it"
The main problem
highlighted throughout the programme is that Hawick Knitwear produces a large
volume stock for other companies, therefore a high amount of the products do
not bear the Hawick name and the brand is not recognisable. Digby believes that
developing a strong brand is key to a company's long term survival, however the
shareholders need to be willing to invest the money into the brand. It becomes
apparent the Hawick Knitwear attracts a high amount of Chinese customers, so
much so that the Edinburgh store, also the most profitable, has hired Chinese
speaking sales assistants to aid sales. Digby wishes to pursue this lead and
proposes the Hawick Knitwear should go international and open a store in
Shanghai. He pushes this idea suggesting that within five years Hawick Knitwear
could be an identifiable brand within departments stores in both Shanghai and
Beijing. Personally, I believe this to be slightly optimistic, yes they do
attract a high number of Chinese customers, however are they ready to branch
out that far? Does it not comes with too higher risks for such a small company?
The problem with Hawick Knitwear is that they
have developed a niche market for themselves and have become highly successful
within this. Therefore, they are highly sceptical about pushing out of this
comfort zone and the risks that may come with it. They ideally want to take a
more steady pace, focusing on growing and developing the brand within Scotland
and the UK, then Europe before setting up in Asia. This may seem the more
logical method, and is evidently the one preferred, however Digby still
believes that there is a successful market in China and that is order to get
the rewards, you have to take the risks.
Paul Alger, Director of International Business
Development for UK Fashion and Textile association, suggests that Japan would
be a far more lucrative market than China and proposes this as an alternate
route into Asia. The route of expanding into Japan has already been done by
many British companies and is often easier to crack than China. It is advised
the Hawick Knitwear pursue Japan with a slimmed down collection, focussing on
the Heritage range, made 100% in Hawick and with a strong British story and
brand. Digby is supportive of this plan, expressing that you have to "do
it professionally, do it competently. But do it". A plan of
action appears to be taking shape, with approval from both sides.
A meeting with Ruia
group, the majority shareholder in Hawick Knitwear, reveals further
reservations about the proposed expansion into Japan, and plans revert back to
focussing on the core markets within the UK and Europe. This is disappointing
for Digby, who really believed in the Asian markets, and also for the viewer in
a way as you could see the plans coming together for the expansion, only for
them to go back on them at the last minute.
The programme ends with one last meeting with
Digby, where it is revealed that plans have changed once again and Hawick
Knitwear are willing to test the Japanese markets, however with minimal time
and investment. The feedback is positive from Japanese buyers and there is
potential for quick returns for limited investment. This may not be the plan
the Digby initially set out with, however this is a compromise of both sides
and a plan is put in places which everyone seems to be happy with.
Was Digby right to push the idea of going global,
or would they be better focussing on their established niche markets? Let me
know in the comments below.
