Member Article

TV's bake off drives record festive sales for Clothes2order

Fast-growing Clothes2Order is enjoying record festive trading as sales of personalised Christmas gifts surge.

Demand for items such as aprons, baseball caps and onesies with names, nicknames or family ‘in jokes’ printed or embroidered on them has contributed to a 104% increase in year-on-year revenues since October for the e-commerce business.

Entry into new export markets such as the United States and Australia has also been a factor in the firm’s success during the final quarter of 2013.

The popularity of TV shows such as The Great British Bake Off is thought to be behind the growth in demand for personalised aprons, as home baking and cooking become more popular.

Clothes2Order’s apron sales have risen 175% in the final quarter of 2013 compared with the same period of 2012. Orders for caps are up by 149 per cent, while hoodies (+75%) and t-shirts (+50%) are also showing a significant increase.

The company, which is based at Trafford Park, Greater Manchester, has added onesies to its range this year.

Managing director Michael Conway said Clothes2Order’s ability to produce single items and deliver them within 24 hours has helped it increase market share in the run-up to Christmas.

“We’ve seen lots of demand for slogans, ranging from ‘I’m not small, I’m fun-size’ to ‘Granny Jill makes the best shortbread’, while Twitter-style hashtags followed by a name or nickname are also proving extremely popular,” he said.

“Personalised gifts at Christmas show someone has put a lot of thought and effort into buying a present, and seem to be a growing trend.

“We have taken on three more artwork and customer service staff during this quarter as demand has risen. Our business orders are up by 50 per cent, and we have seen a 150 per cent increase in gift sales to give us the strongest Christmas trading figures in our 12-year history. Overall revenues for the year to date are now up by 65 per cent.”

Mr Conway added: “We have started selling beyond Europe for the first time in this period, to include the US, Canada and Australia, with orders even being received from Afghanistan, Barbados and Hong Kong.

“We are constantly seeking opportunities for growth, and have responded to demand from overseas for our products.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clothes2Order .