With the recent fall in spending on Corporate Uniforms, we recently invested in new garment printing technology from the USA.  Until now, printing a full-colour design has been expensive for small printing runs due to set-up costs involved with seperating colours for screen set-up and cost of the screens themselves.

The future is Full Colour Digital Garment Printing.  In a nutshell - ANY design, NO set-up costs, NO minimum order.  We can now print photo quality images onto cotton rich fabrics, including Organic cotton. using Eco-Friendly inks.  The result is a 2880dpi high resolution, permanent print that way exceeds a screenprint.

Below are a few examples of recent work form our facebook page.

 

A full-colour fade design for TWC Clothing.

A banked velodrome for Leeds Fixed Wheel Club

Small logo for a recent customer

 

A brown-paper effect t-shirt print for some Film Makers

Recent car print for a customer

Prints are available up to 280 x 450mm in size and the garment can be any colour.  This is the latest garment printing technology and will eventualy replace all the magic papers and heat-pressed methods currently available for runs of printing up to quantities off 100.

 

 

 

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For the first time, we are able to supply ‘Fairtrade‘ certified cotton garments and accessories.  The ‘Fairtrade‘ mark is synonymous with ethical sourcing and ensures small-scale cotton farmers, in developing countries get a fair and stable price for their cotton.

Fairtrade Cotton T-shirt.

200 gram Deluxe weight

Round Neck

Available in Black, Navy & White

 

 

 

  

Fairtrade Cotton Polo-shirt.

220 gram Deluxe weight

3 Horn Buttons.

Available in Black, Navy & White

 

 

 

 

Fairtrade Cotton Bar Apron

2 Zipped outer pockets

1 Central open pocket

Available in Black

 

 

 

 

 

Fairtrade Cotton Long Apron

Front pocket

Available in Black

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fairtrade Cotton Bib Apron

Neck strap buckle adjuster

Available in Black

 

 

 

 

 

Vintage canvas tote bag.

Zippered main compartment.

Zippered internal pocket.

18 litre capacity

400 gram Fairtrade Cotton Canvas

 

For more information please email us or call us on 01228 599700 for details

The recent trends in Corporate Clothing have shown a swing towards smart shirts for ladies and from that the market for a matching collection of gents and ladies shirts.  The Russell Collection is currently our best selling range, offering 14 styles of gents and ladies, short and long sleeve shirts.  Innovative fabrics and styles adding an “unmistakeable edge to every organisation”

The Wardrobes collection by Brook Taverner has recently been boosted by a collection of business shirts, superbly tailored, using traditional Jermyn Street methods.  Here’s the background info bit!

in 1664, Charles ll authorised Henry Jermyn, Earl of St Albans, to develop an area near St James’s Palace.  Jermyn Street has flourished ever since with a world renowned reputation a hub for gents fashion, especially bespoke shirts.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jermyn_Street .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The gents Bareggio has a plain collar, placket front, and 2 button cuff, in machine washable 100% superfine cotton.  Colours are ‘Lilac stripe’ and ‘Blue stripe’.

The Bresso again has a plain collar and placket front but with double cuff with cuff-knot, also in washable cotton.  Available colours are ‘City Stripe’, ‘Pink & Blue Stripe’ and ‘Blue Stripe’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ladies are called the Solaro, a fly front shirt with double cuff and cuff-knot and the Sassari, again with Fly front and 2 button cuff, both in machine washable 100% superfine cotton.

Solaro - ‘Pink & Blue’ and ‘Blue Stripe’

Sassari - ‘Pink Herringbone’, ‘Lilac’ & ‘City Stripe’

With outstanding attention to detail and excellent fit accross the size range, these shirts will offer a touch of class and definately stand out from other ordinary Corporate Wear garments.

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With the current state of affairs in the world economy, it’s easy to see how and why businesses choose to cut spending on marketing and advertising during an economic downturn.  When faced with the task of saving money and not wanting to make staff cuts or compromising on quality, it’s fairly simple to look at outgoings and make a simple cut on budgets for marketing and especially advertising.

Recently, the Financial Times embarked on a new - and very different - advertising campaign.

http://www.ftadmin.co.uk/downturn_web/index.html

They took space on 16 billboards in London and stripped the boards back to their boards, except for a small poster in the top right hand corner in FT coloured paper that said “Global Downturn - what’s the first mistake businesses make?” There’s then a link to the FT’s website. Here’s what it says on their website:

Faced with a downturn, many businesses cut advertising and marketing spend. But it’s their biggest commercial mistake.

However, in each recession over the past 90 years, independent studies show that the businesses who maintain or increase their advertising spend are the ones who survive the tough times and thrive afterwards.

That’s why we’re still advertising. Make sure you are, too.

And they’re not alone.

- In the recession of the early 90s, Barclaycard doubled its adspend with Rowan Atkinson as a bungling secret agent while Access halved theirs. Barclaycard saw advertising awareness almost triple; Access’s awareness halved.

- In the 1930s depression, Kellogg’s maintained its marketing spend while Post did not. Kellogg then dominated the dry cereal market for the next half-century.

- In 1975 Ford cut its advertising budget by 14% in an attempt to increase profits, while Chevrolet increased its spend. Chevy’s market share rose by 2%; five years later, Ford had still not regained its market share. 

Stories like these are everywhere and it’s easy to see why.  To maintain or increase spend while others are cutting theirs makes for a game of snakes and ladders as shown in the Ford/Chevrolet example above.

It should be remembered that advertising still needs to be ‘punchy’ and eye-catching.  It’s all too easy to say that advertising doesn’t work but how many boring adverts do you skip by all the time?  A clever example of a simple campaign that became very popular and covered my the media was this :

A new season of the Soprano’s was given the push it needed by this simple arm and bumper sticker on a few New York cabs.  Relatively low-cost but highly effective!

Here at Andrew Parrini Corporate Clothing, we are currently working on a catchy idea which may involve a very large washing line between 2 buildings with the biggest clothes you’ve ever seen - watch this space. 

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Since the early stages of the economic downturn and a couple of months spent in the doldrums on my part, I began to face the current problems head on, in the latter part of 2008. Here at Andrew Parrini Corporate Clothing, after an enthusiastic start back to work after the festive period, i am glad to announce our best January sales since 2002 when we started keeping electronic accounts. A lot of this can be attributed to the work done in late 2008 to get us moving again after a period of uncertainty.

Our sales of Corporate Wear to Staffordshire County Council, Express Newspapers, St.Pauls Medical Centre, Government Offices and St.Chads Catholic High School totalled £6,000.00 and accounted for 80% of our sales. The ramaining 20% of our January turnover was made up from Workwear, Jackets, Fleeces and Printing/Embroidery, bringing the total monthly sales to £7,500.00 which is way above predictions and 50% more than any year previously. February is already looking promising and we’re currently working with new and old customers alike to ensure that we continue to buck the trend of the negative press and the gloomy outlook that so many of us are led to believe.

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Employee Clothing Programs

 

As many companies work to streamline their operations, the notion of working with employees on standard modes of dress continues to be an issue.  With so many types and styles of clothing available, it can be quite difficult to make sure that a company’s staff has a unifying look.  For years, several companies have made sure that their employees wear clothing purchased through a common vendor, with great results; take a look at why more companies are switching to vendors for compliance with standard modes of dress policies.

 

Reflects Well Upon the Company

 

Companies that maintain a uniform policy, even if it is in the business casual mode of dress see all of their employees in a uniform way.  When dealing with clients and customers, employees convey a professional image at all times, which has been predetermined by management.  This way, there is no question about what is appropriate or not; it has already been outlined.

 

Professionalism

 

Again, uniforms give a company an air of professionalism and ensure that everyone complies with the same standards.  The company is well-represented and is able to offer these items to their employees through payroll deduction.  Everyone is able to concentrate on work rather than focusing on what will be worn each day.

 

Level Playing Field

 

When uniforms are used in the workplace, it creates a level playing field for all employees.  No one is singled out for their ability or inability to wear certain brands or styles.  Everyone is wearing similar clothing, which means that there is no room for pettiness and showing off.  This also provides many fringe benefits for the company that result from jealousy and competition related to the way people are allowed to dress.

 

Quality

 

When businesses decide on a standard mode of dress or uniform policy, they make sure to select items that reflect who they are as a company.  The end result is that employees are able to make choices within a certain selection of items that adhere to quality and consistency standards.  Ultimately, both the company and the employees benefit from these policies.

 

By-line:

This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of Apparel coupons. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24 at gmail dot com 

 

Each new year brings new things and in the workwear market, this brings new brands and new products from existing brands.  The Corporate/Businesswear market isn’t dictated by the seasons like the high street suits that are available but the workwear market is highly competitive and our suppliers are always looking to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Some brands like Dickies and Carhartt have a workwear and high street line.  Another brand that are making a cross-over from the leisure market to the workwear market are Helly Hansen.  For 2009, they’re combining knowledge and experience from the outdoor market and offering a great range of performance outdoor workwear from jackets, fleeces to a superb range of trousers that are available in a massive range of waist and length measurements.  This is really important as knee pads must be at the correct height to work properly.  If the length of the legs needs to be hemmed, the knee pads end up as shin pads!!

Mascot workwear are new the our range for 2009, promising high quality durable workwear that carries the slogan ‘Tested to Work’.  Design inspiration is taken from high street fashion and all products are tested by tradesmen. The range of 3 trousers styles are all triple stitched with zips that are guaranteed for 1 year, from the budget range to the top-end pair featuring Cordura reinforcement, adjustable knee pad pockets and reflectors.  With a micro fleece, polo shirt and a couple of fuctional jackets, Mascot will certainly be a popular choice in 2009.

As if 2 new workwear brands wasn’t enough, there’s 2 more tried and tested brands to add to the list. Caterpillar have been on the go since 1904 and in 1990, began making work shoes.  Now they offer a wide range of sturdy workwear including 2 trousers, 2 polo’s, 2 jackets, a bodywarmer, hooded sweatshirt, socks, hats, safety glasses, caps and of course, safety boots in 2 styles.

Snickers are another tried and tested brand who have steadily built up a fantastic reputation for creative and technological workwear over the last 30 years.  They’re setting the standard, once again in 2009 for functionality, safety and comfort with a fairly simple range of 3 trousers, kneepads, hoodies and a belt.  It’s far from being a budget range and will only attract those who know what the brand has to offer for the price.

Filling in the budget range are Contract Workwear with 5 trousers and 2 boiler suits.  Nothing flash here but it will plug a gap in the market for a cheap workwear range.

Accessories are big this year too.  We are now in a position to offer gloves, safety hats, face masks, ear defenders, bags, safety glases and the ‘Tuff Cap’  which is a traditional style cap with high density EVA internal foam pads for shock-absorbancy.

All in all, we’re better equipped than ever to deal with any workwear enquiry than we’ve ever been.  All that’s needed now is the recovery of building and manufacturing.  The irony is that it may be 2010 before we’re able to capitalise on the huge range we now have to offer!

Andrew Parrini Corporate Clothing are pleased to announce that as of today, the full range of skirts, trousers and jackets in the ‘Easycare’ collection, from the ‘Wardrobes’ range by Brook Taverner are in stock in all colours and sizes.  Please see my previous post for details or click here

 

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The Easycare Collection from the ‘Wardrobes‘ range has been popular for more than 4 years. 

It is tailored from the finest Microfibre Polyester and is the ultimate in easycare washable Corporate Tailoring.

Having recently been updated, this 8 piece collection offers something for all wearers from highly fashionable styles to more classic styles.

Choose from 3 jacket styles, 3 trouser styles and 2 skirts; all available in 3 colours. Just wash your clothes at 40° put them on a hanger to dry and they are ready to wear in 2 hours. Wearers love the convenience of this lightweight ultra Easycare collection.

 Altino                    Borello                   Calabria

      

 Trento                   Latina

         

Alessandria             Barletta                Diano

       

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There’s no co-ordinating menswear in the Easycare collection but all our other ranges have gents options.

Prices start at £52.50 for the jackets, £23.45 for trousers and £19.60 for skirts.

See our website for more details.

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As the current financial situation causes all businesses to stand back and re-think, I’ve been looking at the smaller sales that contribute in some way to our turnover at Andrew Parrini Corporate Clothing.

For a while now we’ve been making printed fabric banners that are cheaper, quicker to turnaround and more tactile than the heavy vinyl alternative, becoming increasingly popular for indoor use.

Using the same technology and knowledge we use for our corporate logo service, we can supply :

- Polycotton cloth in most colours for general use.

- Flame retardant PROBAN cloth in a limited range of colours for indoor public use

- Print text, logo’s and even photographs in a wide range of colours.

-sew edges and eyelet, all in house.

So far we’ve made our fabric banners for birthdays, weddings, engagements, advertising and fun.

To find out more, send us an email and if possible some artwork, whatever it may be.

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