Closure News

 Why has this happened!

Our business, for which we have worked so tirelessly to serve our Community over the past 14 years, has been destroyed as a result of the New School Uniform Policy (the “Policy”) see link below. The introduction of the new School Uniform Policy has far reaching implications to a School Uniform Specialist like ourselves.

 By way of context, the Policy requires all Government schools to review their individual uniform policies to restrict branded/unique items to five only, inclusive of PE kits. The reality of this to our business, is that our turnover would be reduced by at least 20%, and with capital tied up in discontinued items that we may not sell, in addition to an environment of escalating costs, we simply would not be able to survive.

 The Policy was introduced following a Market Study conducted by the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (“JCRA”), followed by a questionnaire issued by CYPSE (the Education Dept), of which only 588 individuals responded out of a potential 15,000. This constitutes less than 4% of the surveyed population. Within this subset, only 2.5% expressed concerns about the affordability of school uniforms, which no doubt included the views of both parents from Government and fee-paying schools. To note, fee-paying schools (Including Victoria College and Jersey College for Girls) are outside the scope of the Policy.

 It was the basis of this minority view, that Inna Gardiner, the Minister for Children and Education (the “Minister”), finalised her Policy with just a three-month consultation period with schools and retailers. By contrast, a similar policy passed in the UK took over two years so that all parties could be involved, whilst providing ample time for businesses to adjust and adapt. Whilst the objective of the Jersey Policy is seemingly straightforward — aiming to reduce the number of branded and bespoke items — its implementation poses enormous challenges for a School Uniform Specialist like ourselves.

 It is worthy to highlight that the JCRA report noted the average annual spend on uniform in Jersey was £115 and the results from the Minister’s questionnaire (which includes the fee-paying schools) spend between £100 and £200. This equates between £2.21 to £3.85 a week. We feel that this clearly demonstrates that school uniform is affordable in Jersey. Replacing a bespoke garment for an alternative plain item will not have a great effect on this weekly spend. Indeed, it could result in quite the opposite effect, especially if children are peer-pressured to wear a branded NIKE or Addidas replacement, for example.

 When the Minister first started talking to the media in August 2023, (see timeline below) we immediately engaged with the Education Department and were informed that reductions would start to come into effect as early as September 2024, this subsequently changed to come in with full effect by September 2026  

 As all forward orders for the Back-to-School period must be placed by the end of November 2023, to ensure best price and timely delivery for the Summer, we pleaded with the Educational Department to consider the outcomes of missing these deadlines. Orders placed after this date incur price increases and potential late delivery penalty costs. As the Minister refused to give any assurances to underwrite the necessary orders for this coming Summer (2024), and in the absence of knowing what schools would be required to change, our hands were tied and accordingly did not place any forward orders. There is now a real risk that some children at Government schools may not have uniform for the start of the next academic year, which is devastating. It is important to again reiterate that we made the Minister aware of this risk on multiple occasions prior to this deadline.

 We were informed by the Education Department that no compensation would be available for redundant items and losses incurred to us as a result of the implementation of the Policy. Furthermore, in the absence of contracts with Government schools, any new supplier that may step forward would not be obliged to buy our stock either. It was stressed that not a penny of Government funds would be spent on uniform, closing any opportunity for Schools to re-introduce a school shop to facilitate the selling of uniform in the future.

 In essence, the new Policy limits and reduces what we are allowed to sell, and we have to absorb all losses incurred when items become obsolete. Our business, as a result, has been devalued and we face a substantial loss in revenue when costs of operating a business and purchasing stock are spiralling. Further, we are unable to diversify the business, as our capital is tied up in the stock that will now be discontinued, accordingly, our ability to sell our business as a going concern in the future has been obliterated. 

 We strongly believe that the Minister and the Department have poorly managed this process from the outset, with little effort being made to work with us. Whilst we acknowledge that parents may struggle with the costs of starting a new school, other initiatives should have been explored, for example, removal of GST from school uniform, a grant for parents of new Year 7 pupils or even nationalising school uniform as a not-for-profit venture. There is financial support already in place for families that are struggling and access to a valued pre-loved uniform provided by all schools. We feel that the introduction of the Policy fails to deliver a significant saving for families that warrants the closure of a local service providing business.

 We have put 14 years of blood, sweat and tears into JSSK and to have to defend our business from being made into the scapegoat for the Minister’s inability to deliver on her promises, has caused no end of personal anguish, stress and heartache.

 My Husband, Chris and I believe that the decision to withdrawal from the market has been forced upon us and the process has been completely mismanaged, and you have to ask, to what gain, because we firmly believe it will not reduce costs to Parents and in fact may increase costs, by reducing competition, increasing peer-pressure for must-have branded items and possibly the Jersey Pound being spent off-island as parents and schools struggle to source uniform.

 We have worked tirelessly to provide the best possible service to our community, supplying ethically sourced quality uniforms at the best possible price, for which we are proud. This is just another example of the destruction of private businesses in Jersey through the Government’s unnecessary interference.

 Paula Shield

Closing Down Information

 We will be Closing Saturday 4^th May 2024

We will be holding a closing down sale, Starting Immediately , where all our remaining inventory will be reduced. Please take advantage of this opportunity to purchase your uniform at the lowest ever prices, whilst stock last

As uniform stocks begin to run out, we will endeavour to support parents of our government schools, by creating a new prepaid ordering service in the short term, which will be fulfilled and distributed via the schools in early June. Please take advantage of this opportunity to purchase and order uniform at the lowest ever prices. To ensure we have sufficient time to purchase, receive and deliver orders, the closing date for this service will be Saturday 20^th April.

Useful Links

Copy of our Letter to Parents 19 Jan 2024

Timeline of events since March 2023 that led to our decision to close 

New School Uniform Policy issued by CYPES (the Education Dept) 21 December 2023