ImagesMagUK_January_2022

IS DECORATOR PROFILE www.images-magazine.com 32 images JANUARY 2022 T he Snuggle name stands out on the building up ahead as you enter Sabre Way industrial park in Peterborough, and once you step through the gate the same name pops up again and again on surrounding units. Since moving here nine years ago, the company has expanded into a further four units as it has grown its business, boosted by a boom in print-on-demand. Snuggle now covers around 15,000 square feet with a set-up including seven DTG machines and a growing embroidery section. “When we moved to Sabre Way, we had 4,000 square feet over two floors – about five times what we had before – and thought we were never going to Snuggle up Mark Ludmon visits DTG powerhouse Snuggle to find out how Akil Thathia and Shabbir Maimoon are growing their business to the Max Our customers’ customers are asking for things that are sustainable and good quality outgrow this,” says co-founder Akil Thathia. “We were majorly wrong.” Akil and his cousin Shabbir Maimoon set Snuggle up 11 years ago in their home town of Peterborough to supply mobile phone accessories, but the pair soon realised there was an untapped opportunity in garment decoration. “We were supplying SMEs who kept asking for clothing as well,” Shabbir recalls. “It got to the point where we thought ‘we seem to be missing a trick here’. It all came about as we outsourced an order of 200 sweatshirts and really struggled to find someone willing to do it. When we finally did outsource it, even though we’d had samples, the final order was done really badly. We thought that if it’s so difficult to outsource an order to get help when you need it, it’s an area we could go into. It is why service is very important to us. Things will go wrong – it’s inevitable in this industry – but it’s really important to get it fixed straightaway because we have been on the other side and know what it’s like. It just feels terrible.” Busier and busier They started with one Polyprint DTG printer, supplied by Amaya Sales UK. “At the beginning, it was real trial and error as neither of us were from a print background,” Shabbir says. “But we got a lot of support from Amaya.” In 2017, business had grown enough for them to switch to Kornit Digital’s DTG machines. “We had seen them at Snuggle’s new showroom Kornit Atlas machines at Snuggle