Images Magazine Digital Edition October 2018

INDUSTRY NEWS www.images-magazine.com 14 images OCTOBER 2018 PRINT SHOP POOCHES #35 Murphy and Minnie Whether it‘s pedigree pups or mangy mutts, decorators‘ dogs are valued members of staff at embroidery and print shops from Barking to Furness. This month we have Murphy and Minnie from Fotofabric in Wetherby, West Yorkshire Full names: Murphy and Minnie Breeds: Border/Jack Russell cross, and schnauzer/terrier (of some description) cross Ages: Murphy is six years old while Minnie is just 18 months. Time at company: Six years for Murphy and a year for Minnie. Job titles: Murphy is director of security and biscuits, and Minnie is fitness coach. Job descriptions: Murphy is responsible for letting everyone know when there’s a visitor to the premises with mammoth barking sessions, and ensuring he gets his snacks. Minnie‘s responsible for keeping us all on our toes chasing after her because she’s got something she shouldn’t have for the umpteenth time that the day. Special skills: Murphy excels in tennis ball acrobatics, while Minnie is a natural comedian Favourite colours: It‘s blue PQ-2728C for Murphy and pink 219 XGC for Minnie. www.fotofabr1c.co.uk Murphy was pretty fed up that Minnie had swiped his snacks (again) “Minnie, don‘t eat Murphy‘s bis... Oh!“ Orn races to sponsor TeamXG Racing Orn Clothing has become a sponsor of Luke and Kade Verwey and their motorcycle team, XG Racing. Orn‘s marketing manager Jane Peters visited the team at Silverstone in September, where they were wearing Two Tone softshells, hoodies and polo shirts supplied by Orn and embroidered with the team‘s logo. “The lime green of Orn‘s bestselling Two Tone range is almost an exact match to the Kawasaki Green [the bikes ridden by Luke and Kade], which looked fantastic embroidered,“ said Jane. “The whole team couldn’t have been more appreciative of the garments; they loved the hoodie for the warmth.“ The boys‘ father, Warren Verwey from graphics services company XG Group, has known Orn‘s managing director Ivor Tunley since Orn began 10 years ago, explained Jane. “As a favour to Ivor, Warren designed Orn‘s very first logo. Now, 10 years later, Orn is helping Warren by sponsoring his sons and Team XG by supplying the whole range of black/lime Two Tone garments.“ Jane added: “Warren said he was absolutely delighted with the garments – he couldn’t believe the quality of them and how good the range looked branded. He felt that the team looked complete wearing them, and that it was this final touch that really made them look like a professional, competitive racing team.“ Kade is currently second place in the 2018 Dickies British Junior Supersport Championship, and Luke is eighth. www.ornclothing.com Brits spend nearly £1 billion on back- to-school purchases New research published at the end of August 2018 by market intelligence agency Mintel reveals that parents in the UK spent £915 million on back-to-school shopping last year, with £436 million spent on school uniforms and shoes alone. According to the research, the average parent spent £273 on uniform, shoes, sportswear, bags and stationery in 2017, an increase on £218 in 2016. School uniform spend alone was on average £127 per parent in 2017, compared with £93 the year before. While 48% of the spend last year was on uniform and shoes, with sportswear making up a further 18% of sales, supermarkets are the nation‘s number one place to shop, taking 33% of sales, with 13% buying from a specialist school retailer. Chana Baram, research analyst at Mintel, said: “Spending on back to school is being driven by rising inflation, the increased cost of childrenswear and stationery, and a boost to the back-to-school population caused by a previous boom in birth rates and the decision to raise the school leaving age to 18 in 2015. “Currently supermarkets are the preferred place to purchase back-to-school items, with parents attracted by the convenience of being able to buy all school items in one place. Other retailers could benefit from offering a wider variety of school-related products to help make them more appealing to busy parents.“ Quality of items is flagged up by 40% of back-to-school shoppers as being an area for improvement, while 36% of shoppers would like to see an improvement in stock availability, and 34% would like to see more consistent sizing. www.mintel.com