Non-Executive Director
Victor Rosenberg
With over 50 years of wide-ranging apparel and clothing industry experience at every level, from factory floor to boardroom, I can offer solutions to the many challenges businesses face either as a non-executive director or a consultant.
Having been a director of diverse companies within this sector, I possess unique management expertise in manufacturing, wholesale and retail, import and export as well as logistics. This enables me to increase profitability for the companies I assist through cost reductions and increased efficiencies. I have demonstrated this in my past work with PLC’s, SME’s and start-ups.
I have a rare understanding of the complete clothing production cycle from the initial design sketch through to delivery of the finished product to the customer.
A problem solver, I am easily approachable with a hands-on attitude.
In addition to this, I enjoy teaching my colleagues how to correct any problems encountered for themselves, thus passing on the wisdom and experience I have gained over the years.
My take on fashion production and what I can contribute
Everyone is acutely aware that the fashion industry has changed dramatically within the last couple of years. The shockwave the coronavirus brought coupled with an awareness of environmental changes and the contribution the fashion industry makes to that has shifted consumer behaviour.
BOF McKinsey & Company states in “The state of fashion 2021”:
“Given the extreme jeopardy facing the industry, there is no simple, standardised playbook for the coming year. Instead, fashion companies must tailor their strategies to fit their individual priorities, market exposure and capabilities.
In other words, deploy your “silver linings strategy” that takes advantage of bright spots in the proverbial storm. The key principles for managing change will be flexibility and agility, alongside operational resilience — a critical capability in an uncertain environment. To inform decision-making, we expect data and analytics to play an increasingly important role, helping companies to track shifts in demand across geographies, categories, channels and value segments.”
What this means is that the clothing industry model as it is is no longer viable. Buying cheap in the Far East (or other low wage countries), and transporting to and selling cheap in the UK is not sustainable in the long term. The increases in raw material prices, labour & transport costs, plus the additional time it is now taking to get the product from the factory gates to the consumer, is disrupting the supply chain.
Clothing prices will inevitably increase because of that. There will always be lower priced clothing, and for that part of the market there will be no discernible change, but for the mid and higher priced market there will be significant changes.
One of the “bright spots in the proverbial storm” is that design and production in the UK (locally) has come back to the forefront. Historically, the UK took leadership in quality garment manufacturing but this was suppressed by cheap manufacture in China and the Far East.
There are significant problems to overcome in the UK, such as increasing energy, rent, labour costs and a general lack of skilled labour, but it can be done.
To change the tide back to the UK and encourage upcoming designers and manufacturers to go back to the quality garments and encourage skilled labour, we need to facilitate new strategies and base those on our knowledge on what we as UK companies already know about the manufacturing process.
The UK is uniquely placed in this industry and a strong trend towards sustainability and cleverly designed clothing is on the up. New designers are taking the place of larger fashion houses that either went bust or had to drastically change to survive.
We need to facilitate this new trend of creativity by supplying the knowledge of fashion manufacturing to the new generation. Inevitably, there will be challenges but in order to take a strong position from the get-go, designers and manufacturers need to provide bulletproof strategies based on actual knowledge rather than guess work. Closing the skill gap starts with knowing where the “potholes” are and avoiding them. In the current situation, no one can afford to bleed money into areas that have been overlooked or are unaware of.
A good example is that most UK factories work CMT, where they only supply the labour and their customer supplies patterns, fabric, trimmings etc. There will be a knowledge gap as UK buyers are used to working Fully Factored with the manufacturers in the Far East, where they only need to sketch their requirements and the factory then makes up.
As a NED, my exposure to manufacturing has been vital for my clients and in stark demand. I have been turning around companies and running my own factory right here in the UK.
In my experience, training teams and setting up systems are now essential and I have the privilege to help new and established companies to harness their skill, streamline the production process and strategies with on the ground knowledge and experience.
I have been providing independent oversight and challenge and ensuring, with the Board of the company as a whole, the effective implementation of decisions.
My insight regarding best practice on ethical, financial, manufacturing issues are of great value to my clients.
I think that taking personal responsibility and ownership as well as ethical alignment with today’s values should weave its way throughout all departments and ranks. Creating a culture that reflects the values of the leadership is an important task and not a small one. This can be achieved with a keen eye on detail and a conviction that everyone counts and contributes to the outcome of the brand. Ultimately, this will also be reflected in the product and the brand’s reputation on the whole.
Key Achievements
- Perfected product quality. (For Puffa by reducing returns rate from over 5% to under 1%)
- Advanced supply chain delivery times & order fill rates (For Tricoville 95% on time previously 61%, with order fill rate of 98% previously 79%)
- Developed new sourcing solutions (For Puffa developing CMT in Hungary and then FF in China)
- Created new products and sales channels (For Puffa adding accessories and summer clothing) in recognition of customer feedback
- Developed then managed sales team for Puffa Ltd – 10 agents UK + 6 International agents or distributors (Europe and USA)
- Guided 6 founders with no prior experience of clothing, branding or accessories, from original concept to successful product launch
MD for Puffa ltd
Recruited by the owner to replace the management team & facilitate the turnaround of the company after 3 years of loss. Puffa Ltd became profitable within 12 months through a 20% reduction of product costs and improvements to manufacture.
Devised and implemented new systems for production planning, product costing and pricing, and stock control of raw materials and finished goods. Personal visits to European fabric mills to establish best working relationships. Controlled the management and co-ordination of all operational functions and cash flow, whilst driving through productivity and efficiency improvements using lean manufacturing techniques. Wrote supplier manual and developed Q.C. and sealing procedures.
Sourced and audited, new factories and suppliers both in the UK & abroad including Europe and the Far East (for both quality & ethical trading). Devised processes to ensure that exacting quality control and administrative procedures were implemented and adhered to resulting in 95% of all deliveries reaching customers on time, with the balance delivered within 10 days of agreed delivery date, coupled with a returns rate of less than 1%.
Group Production Director for Tricoville PLC
The company produced formal women's clothing, knits and woven.
The Group also owned Bellino - women's casual co-ordinates in knits and woven and Entente, Women's evening wear
Non-Executive Director for Iron Ocean Ltd.
A High Tech Performance clothing company
Operations Director for Muubaa Ltd.
Fashion Leather Clothing.
The company employed 40+ people.
What others are saying
*References provided upon request
In my own words
A brief introduction
Fashion 101 Podcast: Garment manufacturing – the do’s and don’t when approaching a manufacturer.
Having had my own factory and having been a managing director of an iconic brand, my passion is to help other designers and fashion brands to approach manufacturing with the know-how they need to succeed. Please check our podcast for an introduction to what I have achieved. This interview is part of the Fashion 101 Podcast series.
'Even truth needs to be clad in new garments if it's to appeal to a new age'
