On the 12th October 2022 the Fashion-Enter team welcomed a group from the head office of the online retailer ASOS for an informative CPPD seminar and tour. Production Director Caroline Ash led the session providing an insightful seminar, followed by a tour of our north London factory.
As the group were from industry Caroline was able to go into detail in key areas such as sampling, costings, supplier and buyer negotiations, compliance and ethics. She also gave insight into future technologies such as Optitex, Kornit Digital printing and the Zund cutting machine and how new technology is paving the way in sustainability in fashion and textiles.
Caroline commented: “We had a great seminar today with ASOS, they were from wide ranging departments – womenswear, menswear and shoes!
“Amongst other things we looked at garment costings and how to reduce the work content on a style, how this affects price, which in these days of ever increasing costs is vitally important.”
Feedback from the group included:
“I learnt about costing info which is vital for buying re: negotiation. Fabric cutting, different types of stitching and cost times factored into production. Really enjoyed it – thank-you. Wish we had more time!”
“The lady leading the course was very knowledgable and approachable for questions.”
“I found out about the importance of fit comments, accuracy, how positive Optitex is, how the factory runs day-to-day and how to push for the best cost price. I really enjoyed today, thank-you.”
“I took a deep dive into what goes on in a UK factory that produces high street products on a big scale, such as how long production takes, treatment of staff, requirements etc.”
“We were looked after very well and told a lot of useful information that I can use at work.”
“I heard about the importance of sustainability. Lovely speakers, very informative and clear!”
“Really informative, I liked the presentation but more time in the actual factory would have been really nice to see.”