Why boutique owner Amanda Slattery has called it quits after 18 years in the fashion sector
Image shows owner Amanda Slattery in her store, Maya Maya
Amanda Slattery owns Destination Maya Maya, an independent womenswear fashion boutique in Kendal. She has been in the fashion business for 18 years, yet this year will mark her last year in bricks and mortar retail. During this time as a small business owner, Amanda has manoeuvred and endured her way through recessions, the ‘near’ death of the high street, a pandemic and Brexit.
What follows is a candid conversation about why Amanda is leaving the industry on her terms and what lies ahead.
You've been in business for 18 years, why are you leaving?
After 18 years in business, 2024 will be my last year in bricks and mortar retail. I used to enjoy it and now I realise that I am simply enduring it. I have successfully manoeuvred my way through and around recessions, storms, flooding, the ’near’ death of the high street, a pandemic and Brexit. I am proud of my achievements and proud that I am leaving the industry on my terms.
I guess back in 2006 I hadn’t expected to be having to deal with and understand the issues that arrived with Brexit – rules of origin of a product, additional customs and duties and up-front VAT payments – a killer for independent businesses cash flow. This became the norm and we all had to learn to ask our suppliers the question ‘are these landed prices’?
What shocks me most about this industry is the lack of forward planning, for an industry that works on forward orders, it doesn’t seem to focus on anything other than next season! For several years I have wondered and asked, who are the fashion retailers of the future, who will the forward-order buyers be? The next generation of buyers seem, in the main, to be fast fashion or recycle focused. It's easy to see the average age of forward-order buyers at trade shows, it isn’t getting any younger.
How has the sector changed during this time?
I don’t recognise the industry I joined 18 years ago. I swore our business model would never transfer to online. Wrong! I was convinced I would never need to become a social media expert. Wrong!
I certainly hadn’t envisaged a time when you didn’t need to arrive at Trade shows an hour before they opened or you wouldn’t be able to park. That had changed significantly before the pandemic, the number of buyers and exhibitors at Trade Shows had reduced noticeably as people’s buying habits changed and the high street had begun to suffer.
We have all, of course, had to deal with the rise of fast fashion and how easy it has become for the consumer to sit at home and order 20 different items and simply return them. Of course as time moves on, the age group that once would have been my customer (mid 30s) have all grown up with fast fashion and convenience and now that’s simply how they shop! The consumer I know is literally a dying breed.
You made a comment about the game of risk and guesswork which is decimating brands. Can you elaborate?
One thing that hasn’t changed, but seriously needs to are order lead times. Forward ordering 6 to 8 months in advance has become impossible to manage. It’s always been a game of guesswork and risk, but with the ever-changing, volatile world has meant you need a crystal ball. You order, you sign, you own it and whatever happens in the next 6, 7, 8 months is irrelevant. That order’s going to arrive and be completely out of season, which has its own impact on margins as more and more is being sold at sale
What other impacts have you seen?
The Gen Z’s are more focussed on either fast fashion or recycled fashion. I’m a great supporter of reuse and recycling, but it’s risen to a new level of people effectively forward ordering goods ‘used’. The event wear market is in danger of becoming obsolete, or seriously compromised. Mothers of Brides, wedding guests etc are now simply posting pictures of the outfits they want on preloved sites, often pictures they have taken in boutiques, but they don’t want to pay full price. This needs to stop, it's unethical and will eventually decimate this market. I brought this to the attention of other brands operating in this space some time ago, but there was a reluctance to consider it a problem.
What would you like to see for the sector moving forward?
My main concern for SMEs in the fashion industry going into 2024, is one of lack of any preparation for, or knowledge of, pending legislative changes in the fashion industry. It bothers me that many Trade Shows and brands are not using their position to educate their retailers on potential future changes . A sceptical person might say that the majority of the UK fashion industry is conveniently turning a blind eye.
I have tried of late to educate myself on the future of fashion and the change from a linear to a more circular business model. I am pleasantly surprised to see so much focus on it – more than I had realised existed. I found the Community Clothing business model a refreshing approach and am reassured to see businesses like this thriving.
I am also closely following the Better Business Act and their efforts to effect change to legislation to make businesses more responsible in all areas, not just profit.
And of course, Fashion Roundtable’s Creative Wellbeing Economy paper. A great source of knowledge and a recommended read to anyone whose business is in, or relies on, the future of the fashion industry.
“I am getting off that twice yearly buy-sell, buy-sell, forward-order treadmill and intend to use my skills and knowledge to hopefully effect some positive change to an antiquated supply chain in need of an overhaul.”