Posts Tagged ‘Highly Commended Corporatewear’

Sparkling Success At Corporatewear Show

Friday, April 15th, 2011

Incorporatewear, the UK’s premier corporate clothing supplier, joined more than 50 exhibitors from all over the world at the Workwear and Corporate Clothing Show.

The biggest event in the UK corporate clothing calendar, took place at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena on April 5 and 6, attracting visitors from more than 20 countries. Covering all work-related garments, fabrics and systems the Workwear and Corporate Clothing show is an essential event for everyone in the corporate clothing world, from textile manufacturers to end-users.

Incorporatewear co-founder Jeff Banks was on hand to welcome existing and prospective clients to the stand where the uniforms on show included Virgin Atlantic Airways and Beaverbrooks The Jewellers.

A showcase of stunning Beaverbrooks jewellery added extra sparkle, in addition, the display featured a mouth-watering selection of cupcakes from Incorporatewear’s “cutting the cake a different way” campaign.

Paula Cannon, Incorporatewear’s Design and Technical manager created a mesmerizing catwalk show which featured garments from Coventry Building Society, Virgin Club House and Stagecoach. The pièce de résistance, a stunning wedding dress made totally from recycled pilots shirts.

The exhibition also played host to the annual “Workit” conference, debating the latest issues in corporatwear, uniform buying, fabric buying and ethical sourcing. Sally Fairhurst, head of uniforms at Virgin Atlantic Airways, was among the speakers, providing an insight into how Virgin and Incorporatewear control costs without sacrificing style.

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Virgin Atlantic Uniform

Friday, March 11th, 2011

Incorporatewear, the UK’s premier corporate clothing supplier, has recently been assisting Virgin Atlantic Airways (VAA) in reconfiguring its warehousing operation at their corporate centre in Gatwick.

Incorporatewear’s Operations Manager, Daren Turner, has been overseeing the expansion of VAA’s hub in order to adequately accommodate local stocking needs.

“This is a real win-win situation,” explains Daren, “not only does this help Virgin ensure fast and efficient issue of uniforms but also means our replenishment programme can also be optimised.”

Daren’s comments are echoed by Sally Fairhurst, Head of Uniforms at VAA, who comments that “these changes are going to transform the way we operate and will make the day to day operation easier for both companies.”

Incorporatewear have been managing Virgin’s iconic uniform since late 2010 and, as with all of its clients, looks for innovative solutions to provide the highest levels of service possible.

“We are delighted to have been able to support Virgin in this project,” continues Daren, “and believe that this ably demonstrates Incorporatewear’s breadth of operational skill.”

The transition of VAA wardrobe management has seen major change across the supply chain: from the implementation of bespoke web functionality to operational reconfiguration – all in a day’s work for Incorporatewear.

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Showing Up

Monday, February 28th, 2011

This year’s Workwear and Corporate Clothing Show will be again held at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry on 5-6 April 2011.

As you would expect Incorporatewear, as the UK’s premier corporate clothing, uniform and workwear supplier will be exhibiting and can be found at Stand WD34.

“The last year has seen some significant structural changes in the corporatewear sector,” observes Chris Wood, Incorporatewear’s acting Managing Director, “and we’ve seen unprecedented cost increases in raw materials, labour rates and logistics costs across the board, particularly from the Far East. Nevertheless Incorporatewear has risen ably to the challenge, adapted its business model and attracted a number of prestigious new clients. As such we’re very optimistic for 2011.”

Incorporatewear recognises that service and quality remain of paramount importance to its client base and the Workwear and Corporate Clothing Show provides an ideal showcase.

In particular, Incorporatewear will be showing off its latest collections on the catwalk and making the most of what always proves to be a tremendous networking event.

We hope to see you there.

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Fully Qualified Corporate Clothing

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Incorporatewear the UK’s premier corporate clothing supplier is pleased to announce that Alison Kirk has become a member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.

Alison, a supply chain manager, studied in her spare time for nearly three years to gain the UK’s top professional qualification in procurement.

Now, after a gruelling three-stage assessment process and final exam, she is a fully-fledged member of CIPS.

Her success strengthens Incorporatewear’s procurement team, which sources clothing worldwide to supply the corporate wardrobes of many of Britain’s biggest companies, including, Virgin Atlantic, Nationwide Building Society & Premier Inn.

“I am absolutely delighted,” said Alison, who will officially graduate in July at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall. “I’ve had to put in a huge amount of effort to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to become a recognised procurement professional. It has been a massive challenge while working full time and looking after my young family.

“But it has been absolutely worthwhile. I have learnt so much that I can put into my work at Incorporatewear. For our clients, my qualification shows we are using best practice when sourcing and managing our supply chain. It gives me access to the latest news and techniques in our profession from around the world, so I can contribute to keeping Incorporatewear at the forefront of supply chain innovation.”

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Incorporatewear Inside Corporate Clothing Operations

Monday, February 7th, 2011

Incorporatewear’s operations department is one of the many core functions that ensure the successful delivery of our corporate clothing programmes.

This week it is Daren Turner’s opportunity to open the doors to Incorporatewear’s operations team.

Visit the Incorporatewear corporate clothing website for the full story.

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Sizing the Modern Employee

Monday, January 31st, 2011

Garment sizing is one of the most challenging issues facing corporate clothing suppliers and buyers today, and it’s one that Incorporatewear takes very seriously.

Wearers demand style, practicality and, of course, fit and we must address a range of factors when designing corporate clothing including global size differences, maternity wear and obesity. And we have to make it easy for wearers to get the right fit first time.

Obesity
As the shape of people changes, we develop design strategies to adapt. In our design studio, we have an array of mannequins with a whole range of different specifications. These help us adjust the styling of garments to suit anyone from a slim, petite size six to a more rounded size 30.

Global sizing differences
In our experience, a “one-size-fits-all-countries” approach to tailored wear won’t work. Our solution is to supply garments in petite, regular and long fittings as well as a wide choice of sizes. For many clients, we also offer a selection of garments within overall corporate wardrobes letting wearers choose from different styles, fabrics and sizing to increase the range of garments that suit them.

Maternity
Maternity is a factor that we take into account at the design stage of developing a new range. We offer styles that allow for the expansion of waistbands and ensure that maternity garments work alongside the rest of the corporate wardrobe. We want the expectant mother to be comfortable and to feel part of the team, not isolated in an oversized ‘tent’.

Online Ordering
Most of the items returned to clothing companies are due to size issues so we try to ensure our wearers get it right first time. Communication is vital so we issue “how to” guides, measuring packs including tapes and size charts, and DVDs. We hold workshops on self-measurement, and we provide a home measuring service. We regularly survey all the main retailers’ size charts and adapt our sizing books so that our sizes reflect what our wearers are used to on the high street. We also provide bespoke measuring guides to help wearers get the best fit for comfort and shape and we’re proud that our rate of “returns for fit” is well below the rate of the typical consumer mail-order clothing business.

If you have any sizing or garment fit related questions please contact us on 0844 257 0530 or info@icwuk.com

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A Thinking Business

Friday, November 19th, 2010

Incorporatewear, the UK’s premier corporatewear supplier, was recently named as a regional finalist in HSBC’s Business Thinking initiative.

HSBC threw down the gauntlet to companies throughout the UK to consider what sets them apart from other businesses and how their business thinking is likely to translate into action.

Incorporatewear keenly took on the challenge, assessing its place in the UK corporatewear sectors and considering the driving forces behind its success and future development.

“HSBC’s process focussed our collective corporate mind,” explains Chris Wood, a director of Incorporatewear. “We were able to explore the company’s potential to leverage technology, new fabrics and innovation in the corporatewear sector. This is vitally important to our future and it was a bonus to receive recognition from HSBC too.”

As a direct result of its submission, Incorporatewear received additional funding facilities from HSBC which have helped to mitigate some of the global pressures currently affecting the wider sector and support the company’s recent contract successes.

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