35 years ago, Johnnie Boden couldn’t find the right shirt, so he crafted them himself on his kitchen table. This humble beginning is now an upmarket online and catalogue-based clothing retailer, with a turnover of around US $ 445 million. With a gigantic warehouse in Leicester, the company has a team of around 900 professionals and offers a wide range of apparel.
Why Boden
There are a few such apparel brands or retailers that have their sourcing from across the globe but not from Bangladesh, at least not as a first-tier factory. UK-based apparel retailer Boden is one such example as its first-tier factory list issued in May 2024 shows that there is not even a single Bangladeshi supplier associated with the company. This could be one of the major reasons that Bangladesh should put in more thrust to have business from this brand especially as its recovery efforts are continuing and sales are expected to welcome a notable uptick for the current fiscal.
The offerings and price range
Offering a large range of knitted and woven apparel products for women, girls, boys and babies like tops, trousers, swimwear, tunics, coats and jackets, it is also into accessories like socks and underwear, bags, jewellery and boots. Boden’s products are made from various types of raw materials like blends of cotton and elastane, cotton and polyester, recycled polyamide and elastane and much more. Depending on the products, materials and allied factors, its products cost more than US $ 368 while a few are also available at the price of US $ 31.
Step towards positivity
The retailer changed its leadership team and product and marketing strategy early last year and during the first half of 2024, it witnessed an 8 per cent increase in sales on a year-on-year basis. Along with sales, there was a positive impact on gross margin due to reduced discounting. Refocusing its womenswear offerings around its core customer base and ramping up catalogue distribution once again, the company pulled out of menswear in 2023. Just a few months back, it rolled out a new AI platform Peak to improve its product inventory and pricing. The pricing recommendations provided by the platform have resulted in margin gains. The company has a strong focus on quality aspects as it claims that it washes Mini samples the equivalent of 30 times to make sure they’re in it for the long haul. Just a few days back, Boden launched its latest learning and development venture, the Product Academy, which elevates the experience and expertise of Boden’s junior designers, buyers and merchandisers by training them in all technical aspects of their roles.
Sustainability at core
The company, a member of the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI), works with trusted manufacturing partners in China and claims that these suppliers are ethically audited on an annual basis using the SMETA audit methodology. It doesn’t work with any suppliers or factories in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region nor (knowingly) sources materials from the region. It is also associated with Sedex &Wider for sustainable issues while BSR, HERprojects are also the focus of the company. In association with Canopy, a not-for-profit organisation, the company is working to ensure that the forest fibre in its viscose products and their packaging do not originate in ancient or endangered forests. At its Leicester warehouse, the company follows a zero-to-landfill policy, uses solar energy and recycles more than 500 tonnes of card and paper and nearly 100 tonnes of plastic on an average year. Products take back scheme, supplying unsold garments to charity and repair:rewear service are also some of the thrust areas of the company showing its tilt towards sustainability.
