Case Studies

Braintree Clothing: growing internationally the sustainable way

By Smart Currency February 15th, 2015

Braintree Clothing growing internationally the sustainable way

Eco clothing company Braintree is all about feel-good fashion, from in-house designs which flatter sustainable fabrics, right down to its use of chic upcycled furniture in its London headquarters.

John Snare, Managing Director of Braintree UK, started out at the company’s Australian offices. In 2002, struck by the lack of competition in the UK and European marketplaces for eco fashion, John moved to London with a box of samples and uncontainable ambition. This led to the opening of a store on the iconic Portobello Road, and a first order of around 15,000 garments from a Spanish private label – a large order, for a company just starting out.

Now, more than a decade later, Braintree Clothing works along the entire spectrum of trade. The company sells in stores,retails online, trades wholesale and exports its garments. This wide mix involves a large number of functions that happen day-to-day. Once designs for a new collection have been drawn up, the company sources its material from the Far East. “We have strong relationships with our suppliers, particularly in China. Strong relationships help ensure the quality of a product and, ultimately, the longevity of a business,” explains Snare.

“The eco-friendly fabrics that we use make our products unique. There are a few people in our world, but not many. We’re a little bit different. I think Braintree is a good one- stop shop for sustainable fashion, where you can get dressed from top to toe, from knitwear to jersey to accessories, for men or women.

“We tick a lot of boxes when it comes to retail, and design is incredibly important to us – our aim is to be a fashion brandwith a sustainable edge. We want to be the go- to brand for this reason. Our garments have to be environmentally and socially sustainable, but they’ve also got to be fashionable, wearable, affordable and of good quality – if it doesn’t look good, no-one is going to buy it.

“About 80-85% of our retail function is within the UK. The bulk of our exports are wholesale, and they’re growing. We mainly export to Europe, because it’s easier to do business with European countries from the UK.

“I come from Australia, which is a large country with a small population. To ship something from Sydney to Perth used to take a week. If someone ordered something from Perth, they might not get their items for 10-20 days. If someone orders something from Rome, we can deliver it to them in 2 days. Lead time is quicker to Europe. The population supports the logistics.

“Given that we also design our own products, we have to cost garments up to 8 months before they land, sometimes earlier. We might cost a Spring/Summer collection almost a year in advance, for delivery in February. We won’t include something in the range if we don’t know how much it’s going to cost. We need to know that a garment will retail at the level that our customers are willing to pay, so we have to know ballpark currency exchange rates. Our pricing strategy depends a lot on currency.

“It’s important for us to save on currency costs. At the beginning of a season, we’ll cost what we think the rate will be. In the past few years we’ve started using forward order accounts, which allows us to lock in a rate. We have to take advantage of this to get better rates – we have a business to perform, and every point on an exchange rate is a bonus, given the volumes that we’re dealing with.

“Buying on the spot, you’d just be at the mercy of the market at the time. A forward order allows us to lock in a rate and know exactly what the season will cost us. It also lets us know what we will be able to achieve, profit- wise, on a garment. We have a good relationship with Smart Currency Business. We try to forge relationships in everything we do – with suppliers, partners, and distributors.

“We get currency providers ringing us up almost every day, but we’ve been with Smart Currency Business for a while. I have recommended Smart Currency Business to others; it’s a great company to work with. Very straightforward. And there’s a personal service, a personal touch. It’s good to deal with names and faces. It’s easier to deal with people whom you know, whom you can have candid conversations with. And you get to trade barbs on a lot of topics, like cricket.”

 

For more information, get in touch with the team at Smart Currency Business, contact us on 020 7898 0500 or email [email protected]