Member Article

Growth is made to measure for North East exporter

The Ashington-based firm that brought the ‘onesie’ to the world has growth all sewn-up after taking advice from a specialist business coach.

Since it was established in 2008 The All-In-One-Company has exported suits of all shapes and sizes to over 150 countries worldwide and managing director Kate Dawson is again gearing up for her team’s busiest time of the year.

Despite recording a turnover of over £1million last year, wide seasonal fluctuations in the company’s order book was hindering further expansion so Kate turned to Mike Jobson of Oxford Innovation for advice.

“With the onset of the colder weather and the run-up to Christmas we always experience a sharp increase in sales at this time of year,” explained Kate. “With our annual plan so heavily-weighted towards the final quarter of the year it was becoming difficult to plan the company’s next stage of growth and take decisions around recruitment and premises.

“My initial thought was that we should look for ways to flatten our order book and spread production more evenly across the year but Mike showed me how real growth could be achieved by bringing our quieter months up to the level of the busier ones.”

Through its delivery of the £1.35m Business Northumberland High Growth Programme, Oxford Innovation provides coaching to high growth potential businesses and start-ups across the county. Programme manager Mike Jobson said: “In some respects, Kate’s problem was a nice one to have but managing growth is not always straightforward and it can become counter-productive if it is not planned properly.”

Before she started working with Mike, Kate had been considering buying new premises and adding to the company’s 23-strong team. “Based on our busiest periods, it seemed obvious to me we would need a much larger production unit and new employees to meet the demand. However the premises we were looking at were expensive and skilled, experienced machinists are hard to find,” she said.

Mike’s analysis of The All-In-One-Company concluded the existing workforce could cope with producing 17,000 suits annually if production was spread more evenly throughout the year. Working together, Kate and Mike developed a solution based around the team producing a new collection of 3,000 ready- made suits during the historically quieter periods of the year enabling fast turnaround of the remaining bespoke orders as they are received over the internet.

Now, instead of buying expensive new premises, Kate has extended her existing unit on Ashington’s North Seaton Industrial Estate and remains on the lookout for skilled machinists while also training apprentices for the future.

“I’m really happy with this solution,” said Kate. “The business was already successful but the next stage in its development had to be very carefully planned and managed. With Mike’s help and the fantastic team I have here we’re now very well placed to grow and meet the incredible demand for our all in one suits.”

For his part, Mike is confident about the future of The All-In-One-Company: “This is a fantastic business and one our region can be very proud of,” he said. “It’s been a great pleasure to work with Kate and her team and I look forward to seeing them employ more people and sell more products around the world for many years to come.”

The Business Northumberland High Growth Programme is jointly funded by Arch, The Northumberland Development Company; Northumberland County Council and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Oxford Innovation’s methods have proved successful elsewhere in the UK, where the organisation has worked with over 2,500 high growth businesses. And despite the challenging economic circumstances of the last three years, Oxford Innovation has helped its clients across the UK access over £100 million of funding, creating or safeguarding more than 400 jobs.

Anyone wishing to find out more about the Business Northumberland High Growth Programme and how Oxford Innovation can potentially support their business should call 01670 528403, email northumberland@oxin.co.uk or visit www.businessnorthumberland.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Round Table Solutions Ltd .