Tight fit in the rag trade
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• Leading garment distribution companies are having to fight hard to hold on to their market shares because of the slump in retail clothing sales.
Tibbett and Britten chairman John Harvey and Alan Rinks of United Carriers International, which owns textile distributor Scorpio International, refuse to confirm that the two companies are locked in a price war but Rinks admits he is facing stiff competition from "companies who are pretty desperate for business, and who are offering exceptionally competitive prices. It's looking a pretty depressed market and we're all doing our best to hang on to our market share."
Harvey says the sector is "overcrowded" and plagued with "very considerable instability." He predicts that, of the big operators, "probably only a couple will survive". TNT Garment Express, T&B and Scorpio are currently three of the largest in fashion distribution. "Niche markets are fine — but they can become tombs," says Harvey, but he stresses there is "no suggestion that we are going to quit the garment industry."
The garment distribution sector has been a graveyard for several companies over the past few years, the most recent casualty being the Harvest Group, which went out of business in June. Harvest has now disposed of its 15-strong truck fleet and has made all its drivers redundant.
Major names which have pulled out of the sector include NFC, JP Janssen, P&O, Dutch Railways and Unilever.