Manufacturing 2 Seater Settee
If you’re considering setting up a company for 2 seater or 3 seater settee manufacture then here are a few pointers to bear in mind.
The cost of labour in the UK is extremely expensive and you will need to choose a region where that cost is at it’s cheapest, however minimum wage is an obstacle you can’t get around. Also rents and business rates can be crippling in the UK and with tough competition, low margins and ever rising material costs it can be extremely tough to keep your head above water. You may want to consider some other options.
Importing 2 seater settees – Find an overseas supplier and become a reseller of their products in the UK. There are thousands of suppliers overseas, you will have to invest in stock but you can keep your staff levels to a minimum and you will only need a storage facility rather than a manufacturing facility. There are plenty of websites to source overseas products from and you will need to get and compare quotes between suppliers. Also bear in mind that settees from overseas must conform to the fire regulations in the UK. However these days this should not be too difficult as most overseas suppliers are now up to speed with these regulations, but it’s worth making sure.
Another option if you have your own designs and wish to manufacture these designs is to get a third party to produce them for you. Unfortunately you’ll struggle to find a manufacturer of settees in the UK that can produce at a cost that allows enough, if any margin for you. If you go down this route consider Eastern Europe, the Baltic states particularly that are now part of the EU. A good way to find manufacturing contacts is to talk to the embassies of these countries, they’re only too keen to encourage export and will be able to find lists of suppliers for you.
With the right investment you may want to consider setting up a factory in Easter Europe. Rents are roughly a third of UK rents and labour costs roughly a third which means you can get three times the labour and three times the space for the same cost as the UK.