Yorkshire bespoke suitmakers and weavers Antich: 'Our Huddersfield family firm is the UK's only weave-to-wear tailor'

Huddersfield family firm Antich & Sons has been bucking the trend ever since it was founded in 1989. As other textile companies were switching production overseas, Antich was growing its Yorkshire manufacturing operation, and diversifying into retail.

Within the Antich Group, there are four divisions: Antich Fine English Tailors - retail; English Tailoring Company - garment production; C&J Antich fabric weaving; and C&J Antich technical weaving.

This gives managing director David Antich a particular insight into the challenges – and opportunities – facing the UK’s textile and clothing sector.

“If you had asked five years ago, would our company be trading to the same level today as it was then, I think I would have said no,” he says. “Since 2020 UK manufacturers, and more specifically the textile sector, have dealt with almost two years of global pandemic, uncontrollable energy costs, a five per cent hike in the interest base rate, high levels of inflation, and employers’ NI increases.

“The uncertainty of the last five years has taken the day-to-day lesser challenges of investment in skills and new technologies and grown them into constant greater risks. However, never has it been more critical to have ‘remain steadfast’ as your business mantra."

Founded by his father, Chris Antich, 36 years ago, Antich & Sons is one of the newest kids on the block, says Mr Antich. “This obviously brings with it the disadvantage of not having ready access to the generational financial security from more prosperous manufacturing times. On the plus side, it also brings the application of a fresh attitude to change culture at a speedboat pace. If you are not continually moving forward, you are in real terms going backwards. To move forwards, you must commit to an idea and deliver.”

Antich & Sons is very much a family business. Mr Antich’s mother, Janet Antich, works in the office, and his brother Peter works in the factory.

Diversification has been key to its long-term development, stability and sustainability credentials.

“Eight years ago I set a 10-year plan of diversification. My father had built a very reputable business from three main pillars. These were training, investment in the latest machinery, and a commitment to recording, developing and analysing data generated by the business, which in turn allowed him to engineer a proactive work culture.

“If there was to be continued growth in the Antich Group’s future, we had to lever these strengths (while they still existed) and still continue to develop new ones.

“The pandemic, although a seriously damaging period for Antich & Sons (and the wider sector) allowed the directors and I to demonstrate our commitment to a future through diversification.

“When the sector as a whole was making redundancies, we protected every job and continued on with our investment plan. This allowed us to hit the ground running once normal trading conditions resumed, rather than adding ‘rebuild a workforce’ to the long list of challenges our businesses face today.

“The expansion into high tech aerospace, automotive and defence sectors who offer long-term commitment, with typically 10 years-plus contract cycle times, compliments the high value seasonal fashion business that is very susceptible to many external factors.

“Our expansion into the retail sector complimented the core business. Over the last 30 years there has been a race to offshore for the most effective price point. Post-pandemic, when you can’t have a meeting where sustainability and transparency are not on the agenda, it puts the Antich group in a strong position.”

Post-lockdown weddings have boosted tailoring. It also has a formal hire department, all part of a service for which it won Best Menswear in the North of England Wedding Awards, for two years running.

Mr Antich says: “Our commitment to UK manufacturing at a time when everything was against us now puts us five to 10 years ahead, with some of the most sustainable and transparent clothing made in the UK.

“Our retail team has a saying: ‘An Antich garment travels more miles in your ownership than it did when being woven and made.’”

Mr Antich says that the textile sector has become accustomed to a lack of support from successive UK governments.

"The textile clothing and manufacturing sector is split into two clear subsets: the clothing and textile manufacturers who would close business operations before re-shoring their production; and the fashion and textile businesses whose brand (and bottom line) is more important than providing employment for staff - staff who are also contributing to the UK economy.

“The bigger brands are being dragged kicking and screaming to find products that are sustainable, locally sourced, and transparent. However, the metrics on how this is measured and the lack of transparency and impartiality of decision-making on what these future metrics will be, in my opinion will mean yet again customers will be misled as to what are actually sustainable, transparent and locally sourced textile products or clothing.

“The best support the Government could give is to get a grip of this position, provide clarity for consumers, and afford the manufacturers and retailers remaining in this sector who do actually make things in the UK the ability to clearly call out those who use the Government’s own ambiguity on the matter to continue with their charade.

“For a sector to prosper as a whole, it needs to increase its gross value. This comes by innovation, re-developing markets or grabbing market share from overseas. All too often ‘UK textiles plc’ does not commit to this on a long-term basis.

“This mentality and action weakens the circle you inhabit. Metaphorically, you are pointing your gun inwardly at your nearest and dearest, instead of facing outwards as a sector and taking on the challenges to grow the circle and secure a future.

“If the Government can’t come up with a pro-business environment, the best thing they could do is to remain static, don’t change anything, and give businesses in the UK a time to take a breath.”