What now for British manufacturing?

By: Petah Marian - 19 April 2012 14:35

With all of the hot air surrounding clothing retailers and brands bringing their manufacturing operations back to the UK, today's announcement that Aquascutum's Corby site will close is just another nail in the sector's coffin.

Some 115 staff have been made redundant as a result of the decision, with immediate effect.

When industry pundits talk about successful stories in British clothing, they talk about things like heritage branding, premium pricing and luxury - all of which were central tenets of Aquascutum's positioning. Yet this doesn't seem to extend to the Corby site, which administrators say is "not viable to continue to trade due to loss-making operations and a lack of funding".

Another complaint by those looking to manufacture in the UK is the difficulty getting good staff, and issues around the ageing workforce. But another 115 experienced workers are today without a job.