Contrary to what the newspapers appear to believe, this is not in fact the first time one of these large multinationals has tackled school-specific uniform. Such schemes have been launched and faded into the ether on a number of occasions by a number of retailers.

I feel there is rather a tendency among the larger multinationals to think that anything a small retailer can do, they can do better. If a longestablished family business in the heart of Birmingham can form personal relationships with the local schools, understand the minutiae of their uniform requirements, ensure a broad spectrum of sizes and of course, get the logos right, then why can’t they? And, moreover, why can’t they do it quicker and cheaper?

Quick and cheap are after all the supermarket buzzwords. Despite the impact it has on our members we cannot criticise the supermarkets for the greywear they stock every Back to School – the basic grey trousers, white polo shirt combos. Every year they attempt to outdo each other on price and customers no doubt know what they are getting. The problem is these multinationals simply do not do school uniform very well.

School uniform simply cannot be about stocking a limited range of the most popular sizes for a few weeks of the year over the summer when demand is at its peak (and therefore the space they dedicate to it is at its most profitable). If you are a school uniform supplier you need to carry a broad range of stock year round. Moreover the flexibility needs to be there to cater for children who fall outside the average size ranges for their age group. Our members carry items such as blazers which go up to 56 inch chests – they don’t sell them very often but I cannot tell you how grateful a parent who needs an unusual item such as this is to find it. This demonstrates the ‘personal’ or ‘emotional’ side to school uniform – an element which is often undervalued or completely missed by those who do not specialise in this sector.

I find it hard to imagine the pile ‘em high, sell 'em cheap supermarkets having all sorts of unusual size items on the shelves for months on end ‘just in case’. Sadly, if this scheme succeeds, this may be what they will have to do as it will be difficult for anyone to compete. By default they will become sole suppliers.

The Schoolwear Association is the trade body for the school-specific uniform sector, which represents the interests of everyone from retailers, suppliers, direct-to-school and wholesalers to fabric manufacturers and garment decorators.

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