Christmas jumpers saved our business
A STRUGGLING textiles firm turned its fortunes around – thanks to Christmas jumpers.
Family-run business Newcamp Limited now creates festive fashion for ten months of the year at their Ardwick-based workshop - with 650 garments currently being dispatched a day.
It is run by founder Mohammed Rafiq, who has been dubbed the ‘King of Christmas jumpers.’
The 57-year-old, from Chorlton, set up the knitwear business in 2001 having emigrated in the 1980s.
His son Saif, who is a manager and head of distribution at the business, said: “My father has been in textiles all his life.
“When he arrived from Pakistan he couldn’t speak any English and was a cutter at a factory just like this.
“He has been doing that job for 30 years now moving from factory to factory before deciding it was time to make his own.”
Starting with cardigans, sweaters and cricket jumpers, Mohammed would fill up his van and travel to markets across the UK to sell his goods.
However, sales started to slip around 2008 as the main trade went to the high street and shops like Primark and Topshop took over.
Newcamp went into making school jumpers for a few years until they hit on the cracker of an idea Christmas jumpers.
Saif, 24, said: “Christmas Jumper Day came out of nowhere and our market traders started asking us for them.
“At the time we didn’t really know what they were or which designs to create. So we just went out and got some Christmas cards together to look at the patterns and I went a bit crazy on Google.”
By 2013 they had started perfecting the art of the Christmas jumper and once Saif came back from studying Sports Therapy in Liverpool he decided it was time to sell online.
“We saw that our customers were selling them on eBay so we thought we might as well make a page because we had the machines to make them – we were able to do the full process in-house.”
Now around 25 staff manufacture the jumpers from March to December and they have created 600 designs in total – including the Grinch, ‘Dabbing around the Christmas tree’ and Star Warsthemed garments.
They have even branched out into United and City Christmas jumpers and will expand into rugby next year.
This year they have 65 designs available across ladies, unisex and kids, including the ever-popular Christmas dresses.
Speaking of the industry, Saif said: “My dad is really well-connected. All his friends have their own factories and make clothes for Boohoo.com or Pretty Little Thing and Missguided. People are shocked that we only do one product they come over and say to him ‘you’re the king of Christmas jumpers.’”
Saif also revealed how people are often surprised by the fact they are an Asian family making Christmas jumpers.
“People ask me whether we celebrate Christmas and I say we have probably got a bigger Christmas dinner than you.
“We have 30 members of family that come round and we have a full lamb, turkey, Yorkshire puddings, the lot, and the family bring all the desserts.”
Describing the reaction, Mohammed said: “I would never have expected to be making Christmas jumpers for this many years and the designs and styles get better and better each season. It’s a change from making plain coloured cardigans I can tell you that.”
An international business The year-round operation sees the family fulfilling orders for Christmas market traders in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands and they are already working on 2019 designs.
Saif admits: “It is a bit strange working on Christmas jumpers in the middle of summer.
“Imagine when it is boiling hot the machines are on and the fans are going because the machines can’t take the heat – we are sweating, but we are still in the Christmas spirit.”