Textile Hearts Still Beating in Four West Yorkshire Companies
April 17, 2000
Despite an anemic domestic market,
Lister, Prestigious, Hield Brothers
and E. & S. Smith are finding ways
to be successful.
Lister Anything But Listless
Bradford, England - One week he was in Germany, and the next he was in Dubai.
Then he flew back to Manchester, England and the next week, he went on to Barcelona, Madrid and Oslo, Norway.
That's the life of Chris Worrall, managing director of Lister, master weavers since 1858. Lister is under new management with Worrall at the helm, and Haddow Holdings is providing the financial underpinnings of the effort.
Lister is a known brand on High Street, said Worrall. He said he is building his business on the brand and new product for the furniture industry, contract and the retail markets.
A new cushion division has started for retail sales. Sister division Corniche will help sell the product. ''Korea may be selling product at half price, but nobody here wants to buy containerloads and hold inventory,'' he said.
Lister's expertise is in velvet, especially a new style of velvet with cords. About 60 percent of its current velvet lines is made in-house and the rest is commission-woven.
''We're starting to do export again with the wholesaler and the furniture manufacturer, especially in Germany, Norway and Sweden. Our velvet lines are in demand. Embossed velvet especially is coming back big for us,'' he said. Recently, Lister received the curtain and seating contract for the Royal Opera House in London.
''We're bringing back the traditions this company was always known for. In this company, a customer is treated as a friend,'' said Worrall.
The company is also cognizant of the need to couple tradition with modernization. ''We've just invested a half million pounds in a new computer system,'' Worrall said. ''With it, I can control every meter in this building and know where it's going. Every meter is barcoded.''
Worrall said that eventually, Lister's entire fabric collection would be viewable online.
Lister is also diversifying into other product categories, including furniture, readymades with new packaging for retail sale, and a collection of chenille rugs to be introduced at Intohome. Lister shows at Proposte and Decosit as well.
Prestigious Expands Bradford Warehouse
Bradford, West Yorkshire, (UK) - Prestigious Textiles Ltd., an important drapery fabric converter, is adding 20,000 square feet of space to its warehouse here to handle a burgeoning export business, now 50 percent of its $45 million plus sales.
''Even though the pound is so high, our export business is up,'' said Prestigious owner Trevor Helliwell. ''At Heimtextil this year, traffic from the Euro market was flat, but customers from the Deep Sea markets and the Middle East made up for the slack.'' Helliwell said that the company ships fabric to 85 countries.
In addition, Prestigious is adding 20,000 square feet to handle clearance items.
By Autumn, Helliwell said he expects to launch a line of readymade curtains to be sold to retailers in France, Germany and Ireland. ''Window sizes in new construction are pretty standard in Europe. The new readymades will feature voiles, burnouts, natural jacquards and some prints. ''For some time, prints have been coming back,'' he said.
Prestigious is turning its inventory 4.5 times a year with eight salesmen in France, four in Belgium, seven in Germany and three in Ireland, Helliwell said.
''We're carrying close to $10 million in inventory,'' said Helliwell.
He said that about 20 percent of the company's business is geared to upholstery goods. Piece sales account for 83 percent of the busines, he said.
Helliwell said that Prestigious ships every day in Europe and sells wholesalers all over the world. ''We're shipping six parcels a minute using a special ultrasound sealing system developed by Hageman of Germany.''
Hield Bros.' Wool Blends Makes 50 Friends
Bradford, (UK) - Hield Bros. took lambswool yarn finishing expertise from the apparel industry and developed a $5 million upholstery business, selling to 50 major contract wholesalers and several furniture manufacturers.
Hield is also developing some casement items in wool.
''This is a growing business, ahead of the inflation rate,'' said David Hield, president. He said he's on a first name basis with his customers. ''We're in a kind of fun club,'' he said. ''They come here first to see we're a mill and then we do business together. ''Our first customer was Designtex in 1986, and after five years, we were selling every single Association of Contract textiles member in the U.S.A.''
The line is in the $50-$60 wholesale level but through engineering mixing wool and nylon, the price is down to $40 a yard. Though primarily a contract line, Hield is finding that residential business is growing at a faster rate than contract.
''Wool is perceived as a prickly substance, even though we make it cool and comfortable,'' Hield said. ''Selling wool in the Southern half of Europe is hard work. Nobody is interested because of the climate there. Our customers outside of Northern Europe are few and far between.''
Hield also produces silk varieties. Unlike other companies, Hield does very little sampling. ''Our customers are clever enough to make decisions without samples,'' Hield said.
''We do two new collections a year. While most designs last three years, we have a ten-year life on really good designs,'' he said.
The company shows at Proposte and at Decosit.
Smith Adds Armitage Design Archives
Bradford, (UK) - E. & S. Smith Ltd. has purchased the design archives of Armitage & Rhodes previously owned by Simon Ashton.
''We were encouraged to purchase the rights to produce the designs by existing Armitage & Rhodes customers,'' said Richard Smith, owner of E&S Smith.
Smith put on a night shift to continue to produce the designs. He is also adding new equipment to increase production in Shearbridge Mill, which he purchased from Sanderson last year. Many of the A&R production and staff workers joined Smith after A&R ceased doing business.
Smith has sales of about $10 million annually and expects to build a totally new facility within the next five years to house its growing business, Smith said.
Lister, Prestigious, Hield Brothers
and E. & S. Smith are finding ways
to be successful.
Lister Anything But Listless
Bradford, England - One week he was in Germany, and the next he was in Dubai.
Then he flew back to Manchester, England and the next week, he went on to Barcelona, Madrid and Oslo, Norway.
That's the life of Chris Worrall, managing director of Lister, master weavers since 1858. Lister is under new management with Worrall at the helm, and Haddow Holdings is providing the financial underpinnings of the effort.
Lister is a known brand on High Street, said Worrall. He said he is building his business on the brand and new product for the furniture industry, contract and the retail markets.
A new cushion division has started for retail sales. Sister division Corniche will help sell the product. ''Korea may be selling product at half price, but nobody here wants to buy containerloads and hold inventory,'' he said.
Lister's expertise is in velvet, especially a new style of velvet with cords. About 60 percent of its current velvet lines is made in-house and the rest is commission-woven.
''We're starting to do export again with the wholesaler and the furniture manufacturer, especially in Germany, Norway and Sweden. Our velvet lines are in demand. Embossed velvet especially is coming back big for us,'' he said. Recently, Lister received the curtain and seating contract for the Royal Opera House in London.
''We're bringing back the traditions this company was always known for. In this company, a customer is treated as a friend,'' said Worrall.
The company is also cognizant of the need to couple tradition with modernization. ''We've just invested a half million pounds in a new computer system,'' Worrall said. ''With it, I can control every meter in this building and know where it's going. Every meter is barcoded.''
Worrall said that eventually, Lister's entire fabric collection would be viewable online.
Lister is also diversifying into other product categories, including furniture, readymades with new packaging for retail sale, and a collection of chenille rugs to be introduced at Intohome. Lister shows at Proposte and Decosit as well.
Prestigious Expands Bradford Warehouse
Bradford, West Yorkshire, (UK) - Prestigious Textiles Ltd., an important drapery fabric converter, is adding 20,000 square feet of space to its warehouse here to handle a burgeoning export business, now 50 percent of its $45 million plus sales.
''Even though the pound is so high, our export business is up,'' said Prestigious owner Trevor Helliwell. ''At Heimtextil this year, traffic from the Euro market was flat, but customers from the Deep Sea markets and the Middle East made up for the slack.'' Helliwell said that the company ships fabric to 85 countries.
In addition, Prestigious is adding 20,000 square feet to handle clearance items.
By Autumn, Helliwell said he expects to launch a line of readymade curtains to be sold to retailers in France, Germany and Ireland. ''Window sizes in new construction are pretty standard in Europe. The new readymades will feature voiles, burnouts, natural jacquards and some prints. ''For some time, prints have been coming back,'' he said.
Prestigious is turning its inventory 4.5 times a year with eight salesmen in France, four in Belgium, seven in Germany and three in Ireland, Helliwell said.
''We're carrying close to $10 million in inventory,'' said Helliwell.
He said that about 20 percent of the company's business is geared to upholstery goods. Piece sales account for 83 percent of the busines, he said.
Helliwell said that Prestigious ships every day in Europe and sells wholesalers all over the world. ''We're shipping six parcels a minute using a special ultrasound sealing system developed by Hageman of Germany.''
Hield Bros.' Wool Blends Makes 50 Friends
Bradford, (UK) - Hield Bros. took lambswool yarn finishing expertise from the apparel industry and developed a $5 million upholstery business, selling to 50 major contract wholesalers and several furniture manufacturers.
Hield is also developing some casement items in wool.
''This is a growing business, ahead of the inflation rate,'' said David Hield, president. He said he's on a first name basis with his customers. ''We're in a kind of fun club,'' he said. ''They come here first to see we're a mill and then we do business together. ''Our first customer was Designtex in 1986, and after five years, we were selling every single Association of Contract textiles member in the U.S.A.''
The line is in the $50-$60 wholesale level but through engineering mixing wool and nylon, the price is down to $40 a yard. Though primarily a contract line, Hield is finding that residential business is growing at a faster rate than contract.
''Wool is perceived as a prickly substance, even though we make it cool and comfortable,'' Hield said. ''Selling wool in the Southern half of Europe is hard work. Nobody is interested because of the climate there. Our customers outside of Northern Europe are few and far between.''
Hield also produces silk varieties. Unlike other companies, Hield does very little sampling. ''Our customers are clever enough to make decisions without samples,'' Hield said.
''We do two new collections a year. While most designs last three years, we have a ten-year life on really good designs,'' he said.
The company shows at Proposte and at Decosit.
Smith Adds Armitage Design Archives
Bradford, (UK) - E. & S. Smith Ltd. has purchased the design archives of Armitage & Rhodes previously owned by Simon Ashton.
''We were encouraged to purchase the rights to produce the designs by existing Armitage & Rhodes customers,'' said Richard Smith, owner of E&S Smith.
Smith put on a night shift to continue to produce the designs. He is also adding new equipment to increase production in Shearbridge Mill, which he purchased from Sanderson last year. Many of the A&R production and staff workers joined Smith after A&R ceased doing business.
Smith has sales of about $10 million annually and expects to build a totally new facility within the next five years to house its growing business, Smith said.
