ImagesMagUK-July-2020

www.images-magazine.com 04 images JULY 2020 Published by: 360 Communications Ltd images magazine, 360 Communications Ltd, 58a Livingstone Road, Hove, BN3 3WL, UK 01273 748482 | www.images-magazine.com Advertising: advertising@images-magazine.com Editorial: editorial@images-magazine.com Subscriptions: subscriptions@images-magazine.com | images is available free of charge to UK subscribers | Subscribe / unsubscribe / update contact details online: www.images-magazine.com Publisher/advertising: Jonathan Vince | jonathan@images-magazine.com Features editor: Rachael Glazier | rachael@images-magazine.com Features writer: Mark Ludmon | mark@images-magazine.com Publishing assistant: Gaby Bowring | gaby@images-magazine.com Design/Production: ATG Media | production@atgraphicsuk.com Printing: Stephens & George Ltd | Goat Mill Road,Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, CF48 3TD ( issn 0966 7512) Opinions expressed by contributors in this magazine are not necessarily shared by the Publisher. Editorial contributions are invited, on the understanding that the Publisher has the right to alter or abridge all such material as he sees fit. While the greatest care has been taken to ensure accuracy, the Publisher accepts no liability for either errors or omissions. JULY 2020 | VOL.29 NO.7 SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 The Big Promotional Trade Show – Dublin The Ballroom, Red Cow Moran Hotel, 22 Naas Rd, Fox-And-Geese, Dublin 22 thebpts.co.uk SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 Print & Stitch - Castle Donington Donington Park Circuit, Donington Park, Castle Donington, Derby DE74 2RP printandstitch.org SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 Print & Stitch - Manchester Village Hotel Ashton, Pamir Drive, Ashton- under-Lyne OL7 0LY printandstitch.org SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 Promotion & Branding Show – Chester Double Tree by Hilton Hotel - Chester, Warrington Road Hoole, Chester, CH2 3PD promobranding.events SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 TBPTS – Heathrow The Buckingham Suite, Heathrow/Windsor Marriott Hotel, Ditton Rd, Slough SL3 8PT thebpts.co.uk SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 Promotion & Branding Show – Croydon Hilton Hotel - London Croydon, Purley Way, Croydon, CR9 4HH promobranding.events SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 TBPTS – Manchester Manchester United FC Old Trafford, Sir Matt Busby Way, Stretford, Manchester M16 0RA thebpts.co.uk SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 Print & Stitch - Strathclyde DoubleTree by Hilton Strathclyde, Phoenix Crescent, Bellshill ML4 3JQ printandstitch.org OCTOBER 1, 2020 Print & Stitch - Newcastle Newcastle Marriott Hotel MetroCentre, Marconi Way, Gateshead, NE11 9XF printandstitch.org Details correct at time of publication. Visit the Images website for the latest information and updates on industry events EDITORIAL DIARY T he UK’s staggered return to work is under way and the journey back to some sense of normality has begun. Is your business now up and running again? Did it ever stop? Are your order books beginning to fill up? Have you had to change your business model in response to the pandemic? And what is working for you right now? We’ve said it before and it’s worth repeating – the garment decoration industry is both resilient and inventive. Many decorators have found ways to continue working throughout the coronavirus outbreak. We’ve seen them ‘pivot’ (the new business buzzword) – moving swiftly into the manufacture and supply of face masks and PPE; printing ‘born during lockdown’ and charity tees; launching new training courses alongside their core activities; forming alliances with other – complementary – decoration businesses for the first time; and, in some cases, simply continuing to do what they were already doing well, only better. In this issue we speak to five decorators that between them have done all these things, and it’s been fascinating to hear how they approached and overcame the specific challenges they faced from March onwards. You can read their accounts in ‘Covid-19 diaries’ (page 28). There are winners in every situation and what has become apparent over the past few months is that online print-on-demand services have been thriving. We’ve spoken to businesses that have installed new digital printers to keep up with demand, introduced extended shifts to manage bulging order books under social distancing conditions, and even quadrupled turnover compared with the same period last year. Online retail as a whole has been growing for some time and there are several factors that have fed into the present success of the print-on-demand decorators. The question now is whether ecommerce has reached a tipping point and, together with ongoing health concerns and hassles around visiting bricks-and-mortar stores, will mark a permanent shift in the way that consumers choose to shop. As we were preparing to go to press the Premier League kicked off again, marking the return of professional sport to our screens, while the health, beauty and hospitality industries were gearing up to reopen from 4 July (although this had yet to be confirmed by the government). With this in mind we spoke to Barrow AFC, newly promoted to the Football League, about the vital role of sports merch to smaller football clubs (‘On the ball’, page 54) and to health and beauty businesses Cecily Spa and The Treatment Rooms about how their uniform needs have changed as a result of the pandemic (‘The beauty’s in the detail’, page 49). Both sectors offer potential new sales opportunities for responsive, proactive, service-oriented garment decoration businesses. Jonathan Vince Back to business