The first week in September is traditionally the busiest time of year for National Schoolwear Centres, but this year exceeded expectations.

'This is a very exciting milestone for National Schoolwear Centres,' remarks Director of Operations Ian Masson. 'This is the first time that network sales have reached the £1 million mark in a single week, that's an average of £18,867 per store...or £3,144 per day!'

The company attributes this success to the nature of the concept. As the UK's only dedicated national schoolwear retailer, its only direct competitor is John Lewis, which only stocks schoolwear during the back-to-school period. Ian adds: 'There's been a lot of publicity surrounding low-cost schoolwear being offered by companies such as Tesco and Asda, but they can't compete with the local service provided by our franchisees.

'Franchisees drive footfall to their stores by establishing relationships with local schools. We offer a staggering 15,000 to 20,000 products from three categories: core lines such as grey trousers and white shirts; discretionary such as swimwear and dancewear; and trial lines. The attraction is that we stock everything parents need to kit their children out for school all year round.'

National Schoolwear Centres has had an amazing year so far opening new stores throughout the UK at an average of one every three weeks. The company currently has 53 stores trading, but opportunities still exist for determined, customer-focused people.

Published: 28 November 2005

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