Industry Puts U.K. Manufacturing Under the Spotlight

SENDING OUT AN SOS: British high-end clothing manufacturers need a boost – at home and abroad – or the industry will continue to decline, according to a new report commissioned by the British Fashion Council, Marks & Spencer and government-funded industry organizations. The high-end industry currently suffers from a number of challenges: Businesses tend to be small – most are 10 people or fewer – and are missing opportunities to cooperate and network. Some suffer from image problems and need of a lick of paint and better marketing, while others are too small or niche to deal with young designers’ increasing demands as they grow their businesses. Add to that a skilled workforce that is fast dwindling and a gross lack of overall marketing about the benefits of “made in the U.K.,” compared with countries that regularly crow about their manufacturing, such as France and Italy. According to the report, in 1980, 15 percent of U.K. gross domestic product came from manufacturing. That figure fell steadily to less than 10 percent at the start of the financial crisis in 2007, with a 60 percent decrease in jobs over the period. Oxford Economics and Glasgow Caledonian University carried out the research on 137 high-end clothing

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