October 25, 2016 Industry news
Almost every recognised retailer and brand on the UK high street, and online too is now a GS1 UK member, including BooHoo.com, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Ivy Park, Miss Selfridge, Pretty Little Thing and Taylor Blake.
Our recent 89% increase in membership in the apparel, accessories and footwear market, demonstrates the increasing importance of our standards in the sector, and the benefits they bring to apparel retailers and brands. We had 1,896 new members joining us in the past year, taking the total number of GS1 UK members in the apparel market to 4,025.
The key driver for this substantial growth is the requirement for apparel companies to expand their distribution, either overseas or by partnering with the major UK retailers. As a result, GS1 standards have become a basic requirement of trade due to this increase in the number of trading partners.
We’ve joined GS1 UK as we’re taking our next steps into retail – online and offline – and we wanted to be prepared for this. We felt confident to join GS1 UK because of their heritage and legitimacy. We’ve allocated our first set of GS1 numbers to our products and we’re now live with them through Amazon too.”
Tracey Taylor, Director at Taylor Blake
Jacky Broomhead, Market Development Manager, Apparel at GS1 UK, said: “This dramatic growth in our apparel membership demonstrates that apparel retailers and brands now consider GS1 standards to be an essential requirement to their operations. As the number of channels and fulfilment options increase, how retailers move a product through the supply chain is becoming as vital to their success as the product range itself. Through the adoption of GS1 standards apparel retailers are able to efficiently trade with external partners and reduce the time and cost of getting a product to market.”
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