48% increase in membership – including Arcadia Group, Debenhams, Monsoon, Accessorize, Jane Norman, Peacocks and Sweaty Betty

London, 14 October 2015 - GS1 UK, the supply chain standards organisation, announces a great increase in the Apparel, Accessories and Footwear sector membership with a number of key industry players joining – 697 new joiners signed up in the past year.

This increase of 48% brings the total number of GS1 UK apparel members to 2,129 and showcases GS1 UK’s great success in the sector, as it is laying firm foundations for multichannel growth with dedicated programmes to support its new members.

Jacky Broomhead, Market Development Manager, Apparel at GS1 UK, said: “GS1 standards are becoming a necessity for apparel brands. Through their adoption, products can move more efficiently throughout the global supply chain, reaching the customer more quickly. The great increase in new members we’ve seen in the past year shows that apparel retailers are recognising the benefits of GS1 standards.”

The key driver of this growth is the apparel retailers’ shift away from closed loop supply chains. Retailers and brands are looking to international markets, new ecommerce channels and concession or wholesale partners as a means of achieving growth. When targeting new markets they begin working with more external partners and find that their legacy numbering systems aren’t compatible. By adopting GS1 standards across their entire range, they can mitigate these issues and ensure interoperability on a global scale.

Emily Stow, 3PE Junior Operations Manager, International Partnerships at New Look said: “New Look have been GS1 UK members for a number of years, however recent focus on international growth has meant we needed to explore and understand industry standards. GS1 UK has helped us identify opportunities to streamline operations and improve supply chain processes across several areas of our business to support future growth.”

GS1 standards are always evolving in order to keep fashion moving forwards. With standards like unique identification of products, process automation and inventory management through RFID, GS1 members manage to achieve end-to-end visibility, efficient cross-border trading and concession management and operational efficiency through agile ordering, fulfilment and payment.

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About GS1 UK

For further information or requests for interviews, please contact Tim Haidar: 020 7092 3584 / Tim.Haidar@gs1uk.org.

GS1 UK is a community of over 28,000 members working in retail, foodservice, healthcare and more. GS1 UK is one of 112 independent, not-for-profit GS1 organisations operating across 150 countries worldwide. GS1 UK helps everyone involved in making, moving and trading goods, automate and standardise their supply chain processes using the common language of GS1 global standards.

www.gs1uk.org/apparel

For more information contact:

Jen Horsman
Instinctif Partners
+44 18 6935 3806
jen.horsman@instinctif.com