The Sockmine

Type
Reshoring
Country
United Kingdom
Reshoring from
China
Reshored business function
Production
Region
East Midlands (England); Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire; North Nottinghamshire
Location of affected unit(s)
Sutton-in-Ashfield
Sector
Manufacturing
(13 - 15) Manufacture of textiles, apparel and leather
14.1 - Manufacture of knitted and crocheted apparel
14.1 - Manufacture of knitted and crocheted apparel
No information on job gains number available
Announcement Date
7 September 2017
Employment effect (start)
1 January 2013
Foreseen end date
1 December 2017

Description

Roy Lowe & Sons is a family-owned company established in 1996 in UK where the company produced socks until 2006. At that time, it decided to offshore and outsource production activities in China, Turkey and India to reduce production costs. In 2013, the company launched a new brand (SockMine) for its technical, sport specific, leisure and work-wear socks lines; moreover, it decided to leverage on the "Made in UK" label. Therefore, it restarted production activities in its old plant in Sutton in Ashfield. Between 2013 and 2017, the company reshored around 10% of its entire production. Higher product quality, reduction in delivery time, better protection of innovation, and co-location of R&D and production activities were the main reasons for reshoring.

Sources

Citation

Eurofound (2017), The Sockmine, Reshoring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 39, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/39.