RANKS have been in the printwear business for more than two decades, after starting life as a cottage industry selling T shirts to a few regular end users. These days, the Harrow-based company focuses on leisure and workwear, also offering an ever more diverse range of the popular hoodie, which RANKS have sold for more than 12 years.

Q. You couldn't really miss RANKS at this year's Printwear & Promotion LIVE! - especially with those two gigantic RANKS hoodies suspended from the ceiling!  
A. I think perhaps I should rename my company The Big Hoodie Company! Originally, one of the hoodies was meant for the ceiling and the other was meant to be worn by a mascot, but we couldn't find a mascot big enough! The hoodies had a 60in chest!
 
Q. The hoodie continues to be a printwear phenomenon, doesn't it?
A. Well RANKS have been doing hoodies for the last 12 or 13 years – probably even longer. But this was the first time that we showed only hoodies at P&P LIVE! And we had inquiries from all sorts of people, from corporate and workwear customers, to leisurewear buyers and colleges - not just from the UK but also a lot from Ireland and Europe.
 
Q. How has the hoodie range grown?
A. In the last 10 years we have increased the range with more sizes and colours. We specialise in a ladies fit hoodie, we do a unisex hoodie and we do children's hoodies (from size 6-12 months) – both full zip and pullover. This year, we have introduced the contrast hoodie, although we have been doing that style for five years for private labels. It has been very popular since the exhibition. Customers saw the quality and liked it and we have taken so many orders.
 
Q. Anything else that's new for 2010?
A. We have a new skinny fit, the RK44, which is a fashionable longer length in lighter weight single jersey. We have a new, lighter weight polo shirt, and there's a new hoodie, the RK25, in contrast colours. Then we have new colours in the hoodies, sweatshirts and polo shirts. We do up to 31 colours. 
 
Q. And what about workwear?
A. We did a new soft shell jacket last year; the Oxford shirts are doing well, along with the cargo pants, tabards and the polar fleece, which always does well.
 
Q. The printwear industry has been through some tough times recently. How has RANKS fared?
A. 2009 was pretty tough. The first six months were very tough, even though we had a lot of new products, new colours and new sizes. We didn't increase any prices.
 
Q. It's more than two decades since you started out. Recessions are nothing new to you.
A. Because I was starting up and I was small, the first recession didn't affect me too much, but because I have grown, the effect of this recession was a little bit harder.
 
Q. Are people ordering in a different way because of the recession?
A. We have changed our business activities from previous years. We are more into workwear and leisurewear now. The people we supply are supplying end users and they are making the uniforms last longer, or are just are buying less. People are not spending as much. Touch wood, we had a very good year on the leisurewear side. The hoodie market has been growing very strongly.
 
Q. What do you put that down to?
A. I think it's just a trend. Even the workwear companies are buying hoodies from us. Last year we introduced a lot of new colours. We also do private labels for customers. There are other companies for whom we produce licensed goods. The garment is finished abroad with the print and embroidery, the labels and everything.
 
Q. Tell me about sourcing?
A. We source from various places - Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Egypt.
 
Q. How do you monitor quality and colour consistency?
A. I visit the factories as a minimum once a month. Then we get samples coming through. We have frequent shipments and we can easily tell when something is going wrong.
 
Q. You have a bulk storage facility, don't you?
A. Yes, that happened about 15 years ago. It's near the port in Felixstowe. It's a logistics warehouse where we hold 40,000 cartons - a couple of million garments. I am running out of space here, so I have just bought a couple of empty containers.
 
Q. In terms of fulfilling orders, you can do next day delivery?
A. Even having so much stock, we can't complete 100% of the orders. But we make sure the customer gets served properly with what he wants.
 
Q. It's interesting that you handle the distribution yourselves. Why did you decide that?
A. When we first started, we had a very small place and I always wanted to be a distributor of brands. In 1997, we moved to a bigger premises and I was very friendly with Fruit of the Loom. We became stockists for them. We thought we might go the brand route, but there were a lot of people doing it. So we continued with the RANKS brand and Fruit, then eventually dropped Fruit as everyone had it, and just increased our range. By having our own range, we can control our own stock, quality issues, prices - everything.
 
Q. How has your product range evolved over the years?
A. I was just doing stock lots for the first couple of years, then we started having regular customers buying regular stocks.
 
Q. How did you get into the business?
A. I was working for a T shirt company for about five years and they were only doing basic T shirts. When I left them, I didn't have any intention of starting my own business but then things didn't work out and I started working from home, supplying stock lines and importing stock. I started to get regular customers. The colour ranges grew and I began introducing polo shirts and sweatshirts, hoodies, jog pants, fleeces - and then I went into workwear, trousers, shirts, jackets, tabards.
 
Q. How do you see the company evolving?

A. I wouldn't like to change anything. I'd like to continue as I am. I carry huge stocks so that I don't let the customers down in the peak periods. There is a lot of competition but there are very few independent people left in the industry - people like me, who are importing their own garments.

 
Q. What do you do to keep customers?
A. I have customers who have been with me for the last 20 years. A lot of it comes down to recommendation and having a good product. They have stuck with me and they have grown and their stuff is in all the retail chain stores and department stores like Harrods and Selfridges and my product is there with them.
 
Q. Didn't you used to work in Harrods?
A. Yes, I had a Saturday job in Harrods. When I was a student, I was a sales assistant in the tobacco section. I didn't smoke, but I used to take all the fancy cigars to college and show off a little bit.
 
Q. Is there entrepreneurial blood in your veins?
A. My father and family have always been in business. When I was a child in Kenya, I would never go out and play. I always used to go to the shop and help them. It was a stationery shop with a printing press - I always enjoyed it. When I came here, and I was doing my accountancy degree, in the summer months I got a job at J H Jacks as a junior book keeper and it was recognised that I had business acumen and they put me in charge of one of the companies. The company was importing fabrics and T shirts and other garments from their own factories. I worked there for five years.
 
Q. Is RANKS a family concern?
A. This company is run by me and my wife Kalpna, who looks after the day to day running of the business. 
 
Q. What's your perception of what's happening in the industry at the moment?
A. The last few years have gone through a very difficult patch. But there will always be room for the printwear industry. 
 
Q. Tell us about a day in your life.
A. There's no typical day. I can never plan what my day will be like. I have been here today since 7.30am. We were expecting a container, which hasn't turned up. He missed his slot to pick up the container at Felixstowe, so now we will end up with two containers to offload tomorrow, plus the two empty containers we bought are being delivered tomorrow. So, this morning has been wasted. But I've caught up with my paperwork, been in touch with the factories - who are six hours ahead of us, and tidied up my desk! My wife runs the company more than I do, because I tend to look after the purchases more. I'm dealing with the factories, dealing with larger customers in the UK, the quality issues and I tend to be out of the office a lot.
 
Q. What about pricing? All manufacturers are being squeezed at the moment, aren't they?
A. In the UK we are always forced to decrease prices every year - irrespective of whether prices have gone up at the factories. Last year, we didn't increase the prices. This year we have decreased some prices, just so that we don't lose any market share.
The price of cotton has gone up by 20 or 30% since October/November. The value of the pound is very weak against the dollar, so everyone will be forced to put their prices up. People will be offering less discounts off their brochures. We still sell white T shirts at 69p - but they will also be pushed up in price. Buyers will be paying what they paid a few years ago, because prices will have to go back to those levels again.
 
Q. Why would someone choose a RANKS garment?
A. I think it comes down to experience, price and quality. Our hallmarks are personal service, good stock service, competitive prices and quality. From day one our garments have always been a size bigger. When you have a size bigger, no one is going to complain! The factories we work with are all WRAP registered. There's no child labour. And we have certificates in place. If customers ask, we can send them.
 
For more information visit www.ranksent.com

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