Images_Digital_Edition_June_2019

www.images-magazine.com JUNE 2019 images 41 IS DECORATOR PROFILE easy to use,” Adrian says. “It gives us more stats, such as peak times in the shop, sales in different areas... It shows you the status of everything.” It also helps handle Amazon and eBay orders via the Shopify management system – a small but potentially time-consuming part of the business. Also new is an improved website at seworkwear.co.uk which features a full design system that anyone can use to design their own embroidered and printed clothing, running off the TradeGecko platform. “We are using every bit of technology now to bring the company forward,” Adrian adds. Since the new shop and production space launched in February, business has been increasing all the time, Adrian says. “We are just exploding with work. Our [sales growth] target for last year was 10% but we ended up doing 25% and that was without advertising.” There has also been a 500% increase in footfall, which Adrian calls “bonkers”. Along with acquiring new customers, they are retaining existing ones, both regionally and nationally. Key accounts include Severn Trent Water, Oxford Instruments, local authorities and the NHS as well as every college at the University of Oxford – for both staff and students. It also provides customised clothing for sports and social clubs and sells uniforms for a local secondary school and 10 primaries – a small, supplementary part of the diverse business. Targeting the skate scene The latest innovation is a move into leisurewear. Some of the company’s high-quality workwear has always appealed for leisure pursuits such as fishing and walking, but the new shop is building on this by targeting skateboard enthusiasts with casual clothing, shoes and even skateboards from leading brand Globe. With a big skatepark in Abingdon and no other retailers catering for this customer base, it is drawing people in, Adrian says. “We are starting to push it. Word is getting out.” The company’s move into leisurewear follows the arrival in the business of Adrian’s 22-year-old daughter, Jodie, in October last year. With a background in cosmetics sales, she has been instrumental in the new retail set-up as well as production and marketing. Adrian’s wife Viv has been on board since the garage days and now looks after the accounts and helps in production. Their youngest, Sam, aged 21, joined the business in production two years ago after doing an apprenticeship in engineering. While Keith has retired from the day-to- day running of the business, he is still involved and his wife Pat – also there since the start – continues to work three days a week. “It is a proper family-run, third-generation business so we are pretty proud of that,” Adrian says. After this year’s developments, sales are currently split around 20% consumers and 80% trade, with garment decoration remaining the largest part of the business. With both sides growing, Adrian is committed to not chasing sales just on price. “There’s no point trying to compete on price: you are just buying business. There’s no margin for error. I just don’t want to get involved in that kind of work.” Instead, South East Workwear thrives on relationships with customers and Adrian’s expertise: he presents YouTube video series, Hammer and Togs, with carpenter Wayne Perrey, showcasing all kinds of new products from workwear to tools – filmed in a purpose-built studio at the family home. Adrian may be shattered, but he still has a restless energy that suggests South East Workwear will not be standing still. “There’s an option for more space here which would allow us to expand the shop – I would like to try making it more like a department store – and to have a little bit more room for production,” he says. But, as the embroidery machines whirr in the background, he concedes that this may have to wait until next year. www.seworkwear.com [L-R] Colin Steel, field sales, Conner Crawford, embroidery supervisor & sales assistant, Jodie Burton, sales & marketing manager, Simon Squires, shop manager, Viv Burton, director, Adrian Burton, director, Pat Burton, production & sales assistant, Sam Burton, print supervisor & sales assistant, Mathew Jones, sales manager There are 20 embroidery heads in the production room The shop has a wide range of footwear on display