Industry Update

The Importance of Forward Orders

It’s clear that we are living through challenging times and that the cost-ofliving-crisis resulted in many businesses across the trade ending 2022 with more stock than planned, and more importantly created real uncertainty surrounding how 2023 will unfold.

It’s probably no surprise that suppliers are seeing lower like-for-like forward orders from customers this year. Because of this, it’s important to highlight the potential significant impact this will have on the industry.

• Suppliers use forward order levels to forecast full year sales.

• Lower forward orders mean a likely reduction in the number of garments being manufactured for the entire year.

• Suppliers may therefore not be carrying enough stock as an industry to satisfy summer demand.

In a joint statement, schoolwear suppliers have said, “We would be extremely grateful if as retailers you could review the levels of forward orders you have placed with your suppliers throughout the trade and consider if you should now place further top up orders where necessary to ensure you have sufficient stock to supply your customers over the summer.”

The statement also expresses that there’s particular concern for retailers who are relying on buying more stock “in season” than they have done in previous years, as this will not have been planned for and may therefore not be available when demanded.