Just to let you know, we are back.
We are working together as team again from Berkhamsted, social distanced but nevertheless, working together 😉
We are also taking meetings from next week on a strict “one per day” basis and only when an online meeting won’t suffice to review samples. Many of our fittings are still done remotely and we share the samples and photos with our clients.
We’re also growing. Jake joins us next month who was about to join us hours before lockdown happened. Jake will support the design and development team to assist our growth.
Factories are also back, however not back to normal. China is now functioning as it was pre-Covid 19, however, it took them nearly 2 months to get back to speed. European factories have also reopened, however many are still working with a restricted workforce as many seamstresses continue to look after their families due to some school years not going back until September. This is effecting sample development more than bulk production as the sample room has only a few highly skilled staff that stitch the samples. Pattern cutting at some factories is still being carried out remotely at home and the backlog of samples will take some time to clear before normal capacity is resumed. We predict this may take as long as the end of September in some factories.
Fabric mills are in a similar position, with the Far East now back to normal capacity, however European mills struggling with a smaller workforce until September.
As the pandemic slows and businesses start to reopen, we expect the brands to start their new developments and place bulk orders for 2021. If you are looking to launch in 2021, then we highly suggest you start the development ASAP so your program can be scheduled before the big brands start theirs. Some factories are now getting so many enquiries and developments and due to the reduced workforce have stopped taking on any new work until 2021.
Overall, we are really pleased everything is getting back to some kind of normal and thank you for your continued patience while factories get back to speed.
