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UK's Source Lab eyes overseas expansion for growth
27 Jan '12
2 min read
Stockport's Cheadle Hulme based Source Lab, which produces licensed apparels for Premier League football clubs, is gearing up for a great year ahead with plans to boost its sales overseas.
The firm, instituted in 2004, has inked a deal with Mulitex, a Hong Kong based global sourcing and distribution firm. With this new association, Source Lab will cater to the ever-increasing number of soccer lovers in the Far East, which is considered to be a big market with immense growth opportunities, as people there are fond of watching Premier League football.
Though the firm, which annually produces about 2 million hoodies, T-shirts and other items, has been associated with Mulitex for long, the recent deal would enable it to offer its collections to overseas buyers.
Source Lab is also planning to explore other sports like rugby, especially because England is going to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
As the firm keeps on renewing its contract with existing clients, last year it closed deals with clubs like Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Sunderland. Thus, the firm now holds licences to prepare men and women leisurewear for 13 soccer clubs across the Europe and the UK, including Everton, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Glasgow Rangers and Barcelona, and negotiations are on with three more clubs.
The company designs apparels in-house, but actually gets them manufactured overseas, which are then sold in club shops and in Debenhams.
In the year to May 2011, the firm earned £ 5.8 million in revenues, which with great growth prospects is expected to grow by 25 percent this year.
Source Lab's growth expectations are rooted in the fact that football still remains an established sport in the UK, and the clubs are still drawing considerable investments, with continuously rising number of members, which is boosting the demand for leisurewear.
The firm, instituted in 2004, has inked a deal with Mulitex, a Hong Kong based global sourcing and distribution firm. With this new association, Source Lab will cater to the ever-increasing number of soccer lovers in the Far East, which is considered to be a big market with immense growth opportunities, as people there are fond of watching Premier League football.
Though the firm, which annually produces about 2 million hoodies, T-shirts and other items, has been associated with Mulitex for long, the recent deal would enable it to offer its collections to overseas buyers.
Source Lab is also planning to explore other sports like rugby, especially because England is going to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
As the firm keeps on renewing its contract with existing clients, last year it closed deals with clubs like Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Sunderland. Thus, the firm now holds licences to prepare men and women leisurewear for 13 soccer clubs across the Europe and the UK, including Everton, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Glasgow Rangers and Barcelona, and negotiations are on with three more clubs.
The company designs apparels in-house, but actually gets them manufactured overseas, which are then sold in club shops and in Debenhams.
In the year to May 2011, the firm earned £ 5.8 million in revenues, which with great growth prospects is expected to grow by 25 percent this year.
Source Lab's growth expectations are rooted in the fact that football still remains an established sport in the UK, and the clubs are still drawing considerable investments, with continuously rising number of members, which is boosting the demand for leisurewear.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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French Textile Equipment Manufacturers’ Association (UCMTF)
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Brother Internationale Industriemaschinen GmbH
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National Institute of Fashion Technology
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