Business Model of Cooper & Stollbrand - Essay Example

?Introduction Cooper & Stollbrand is one of the longest serving, last remaining and most sophisticated garment manufacturers for premium outwear in the UK. It thrives on the message that ‘Made in England’ is not bad, infact its of utmost need in the current scenario for UK to manufacture and not completely depend on services. This company has found some young blood through its MD, 27 years old James Eden who has recently left his job and invested in the company. This has lead to some welcome changes in the business model and hence the company is surviving, infact doing better each day. This essay is based on the video as seen on Channel 4 depicting how the factory is run and how this small company is sending across a big message that manufacturing in England is not dead as yet. Business Model The existing trend in the market is manufacture in huge quantities, utilize economies of scale and sell cheaper. Turn over is the key for most of the companies to make money. For costlier brands, its not turnover so much, as much as its about manufacturing cost. They prefer to get it produced outside England as labor is pretty cheap in third world countries. But as heard from the Managing Director, Eden, its not about mass production. If the quality is right and the approach is right, one can manufacture products locally and still have a good margin on it. Company is able to manufacture for top brands like Quba & Co., Topshop and Selfridges credit of which to an extent goes to the current business model as follows Sourcing Raw Materials Everything from machines to mats, needles to nozzles and fabric to fittings are sourced locally from the UK. This saves time in its delivery, saves on transport cost and is local which supports local industry. Labor All of the staff of Cooper & Stollbrand is local ladies who have been working in the industry for decades. They are dedicated and passionate about the manufacturing of products in UK. They are highly skilled and are very reliable when it comes to delivering results. There are young polish, Pakistani and afghanistani ladies who have joined the team and are happy working here. Processes The processes of production are well managed by supervisors and management team. There is a clear demarcation in job roles of machinists, supervisors and quality control and management which makes the hierarchy small and manageable. Supervisors ensure that stuff is cut much ahead of stitching so the machinists know what coming and how much is left. Positioning of the company and its products If you note, throughout the video machinists are working on high profile coats which will be sold in posh central London stores with a pricey tag. Topshop coats retail at around ?175, and order is significantly small at 325 coats in 3 days. 50 Quba & Co. coats are to be prepared in a short period which will retail at ?500. The positioning of the company is that it is able to produce highest quality of garments, which are produced locally. There is a new awakening among British consumers to buy stuff ‘made in England’ to support local industry. Since most of the corporate customers are high end retail stores, the no. of pieces they would order would be small and hence manageable by Cooper & Stollbrand. Such quick delivery, high quality and cost effectiveness cannot be provided by manufacturing units in India or China. It will not be cost effective for the buyers either to order as the quantities are far too less for it to be ordered from other countries. Staff management / HR Staff is extremely happy and satisfied with what they are doing. A happy team of staff members would be less demanding, will work at reasonable pay and work hard to meet set delivery targets. This gives Cooper & Stollbrand a unique edge which other manufacturers might not have. Secondly the staff members are paid on number of pieces they delivery subject to stringent quality checks. This ensure that the staff members are quick in producing the garment so that they earn more money, and the co. is able to deliver on time. Financial Management Cost effectiveness for Cooper and Stollbrand comes from many different factors. They have their own space and hence cost of property is less Management offices are inside the manufacturing hub and hence the Co. saves costs on the overheads of maintaining an office in posh locality or office building Machinists are not paid flat per hour, they are paid on no. of pieces. More no. of pieces means more profitability for the co. and hence the co. does not mind paying the machinists per piece of garment produced They save a lot on time of sourcing raw materials as they are locally bought. This leads to lesser investment in stocking raw material and accessories. Co. saves money on transportation cost as compared to the idea of sourcing raw materials from far off places Since co. does not produce garments in bulk, it is easy for them to adapt to new fashion and quickly change to the latest fashion and start manufacturing. Conclusion 27 year old MD of Cooper and Stollbrand, Eden realize the importance of local manufacturing. The staff members also believe in this fact that manufacturing is most important for England given the current scenario. This is supported by a wave of awareness among consumers of garments that locally made products make sense. They understand that cheap garments use cheap quality of raw materials, are manufactured in third world countries where the laborers are paid minimally which is a violation of human rights, and that most of the companies are money making machines and think less about home economy. The website of Cooper and Stollbrand also sells selective garments to add to its top line and profitability. They also have a separate website dedicated to the founder of Cooper and Stollbrand which helps to create a connect between the co. and the end user. If things continue the same way, Cooper and Stollbrand is poised for a decent growth in coming future and stand out as a classic example of how manufacturing can still survive in a predominantly service based economy. Read More