School Uniform Supply Monopolies

looby75

to be fair I used the word kickback first.

TechnoBadger

looby75 wrote: »

to be fair I used the word kickback first.

Fair dos. Whatever it's called though it's a sum of money or gifts given by schoolwear shops / companies to schools so that they can have exclusivity in the supply of uniform. Probably easiest to call it a bribe because that's what it sadly appears to be. (If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, waddles like a duck then it's a duck!). I wonder if the term the industry uses though is your 'kickback'?

NicolaL_2

Deleted_User wrote: »

My MIL was saying it would be better to have the logo made into an embroided badget that could be stitch on and taken off to resew onto new garments. I guess the only problem with that is people wouldn't put them in the same place on the jumpers spoiling "the look". How do the iron on ones fair then Nicola?

They work perfectly. Apparently the special adhesive is the same as the stuff they use to attach the lettering and logos to football shirts. Making sure the badge is in the right place just means following the guidelines on the school website.

One surprise benefit of the logos is that unlike the old polo shirts the embroidery doesn't rub against DC's skin - especially during PE.:T

TechnoBadger

Just wondering if anyone else has views of last week's anti-bribery legislation and its implications for some schoolwear retailers' traditional method of procuring exclusive supply deals with schools - i.e. the giving of payments / other gifts to the head for the school in return for this exclusive official supply. I will be checking with the various authorities later in the week to see what the official line is.

Would anyone like their school's uniform market opened up to other suppliers in order to hopefully bring the prices down?

pigpen

TechnoBadger wrote: »

Would anyone like their school's uniform market opened up to other suppliers in order to hopefully bring the prices down?

But then they wold chnge the uniform every year to force parents to buy whole new sets rather than just the required items.

I feel the badges which can be sewn/ironed/printed onto appropriately coloured garments is a better idea.. The school states what colour jumper/sweatshirt and doesn't dictate cost or where you buy it from and you buy the badges and sew/stick them on.

Or the garments which have the badges are limited.. eg.. just sweatshirts maybe add blazers or poloshirts for some schools.. Allowing coats, hats, trousers, shirts etc to be bought from anywhere.

PE' kits should either be given out free (it would be a massive incentive for some parents to send their child to school where they were given something for nothing rather than the school being forever on the take..) or be easy enoughcolours to locate anywhere.. eg. black shorts blue top.. rather than the logo's stuff. £3 tesco cheapy tshirt rather than the £15 I paid for DS2's last one which I think he has worn twice would make more sense.

jellyhead

Tesco clothing are doing a competition on facebook to win uniform for the whole school

The terms say that school must comply with the rules and allow their school crest to be used. The prize is a voucher for a 2-pack of polo shirts and a sweatshirt. They do a range of colours.

Are Tesco going to make embroidered uniform? If they are, this is a good way to get parental support for it - imagine the outcry if a school won with the most votes, after parents had badgered everyone they know into voting, then school refused to comply!! Then once tesco show they can do it, and provide good quality logo uniform parents will see no reason why tesco uniform shouldn't be allowed ...

jellyhead

I asked on facebook and got this replay from them:

Hi Sharon,
Just to let you know we do have a school embroidery service on our website. To view follow link https://www.clothingattesco.com/icat/embschoolwear/
If your school is not on our list, you can nominate and we will follow this up with the school for inclusion in the future.
Have a great night!

looby75

I really didn't know that jelly, thanks for posting the link it could be really useful for ds's uniform, especially when he goes to high school.

jellyhead

I had no idea about it. Not many school signed up to it though.

ETA:

I just looked at a random primary school and sizes go to 11-12. Only £8 for a sweatshirt, and £12 for TWO polos!

looby75

jellyhead wrote: »

I had no idea about it. Not many school signed up to it though.

I've just nominated ds's school. I'm sure the head won't be happy but there you go lol

I wonder if it's a new thing, hence the fb comp to win uniform for the whole school.