In the beginning.... During the mid 90's Jason (founder of The Uniform Super Store) was managing bars at night and studying for a Bachelor degree in Counselling during the day. One of his responsibilities at one of the bars he managed was to improve the image of the staff and reputation of the establishment. Jason set about introducing a uniform with branding that clearly identified the new direction of the business. However this is where the trouble started in rebranding the business. "It was extremely difficult to find a uniform business that was prepared to assist. Most uniform businesses contacted did not have the range, and those that had appropriate apparel, were simply not turning up when meetings were arranged."
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Jason thought that if this lack of service was happening to him, it must be happening to others. Using his skills and knowledge gained from further education, he then spent the next 2 years studying the uniform industry, the potential competition and potential client base. The one point of interest that he soon learnt regarding clothing in Australia was that Australian manufacturers were fast becoming extinct due to cheap off shore apparel. Further research showed Jason that this was not going to change as the government was actually encouraging off shore apparel.
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With this in mind, Jason then set off for Thailand and Vietnam to source qualified and experienced clothing manufacturers.
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Upon returning to Australia Jason left his counselling studies with only one term left to complete his degree and entered into a Business Management Course.
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Once he had completed his Business studies, he then took up a full time position managing an embroidery business. Jason spent the next 3 years gaining hands on experience in both the embroidery industry, uniform and promotional industry as well as the screen printing industry. These 3 years proved to be extremely valuable as Jason used this time to assess how other uniform businesses were operating as quite a few actually came to his embroidery business for their actual embroidery.
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The one vital point that he was soon to realise was that the general turn around time for completion of uniforms was 4-6 weeks. Having now worked in the manufacturing side of the industry, he found these lead times as extremely long and could be greatly reduced with the correct business model and systems. He also took note on how the industry was predominantly run by business owners that operate with old techniques and had not utilised the benefits of the internet in full.
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In 1999, with the blessing and support of the embroidery business owner, Jason started up his new uniform business. Initially titled Planett Uniforms so as to appeal to sporting clubs and sporting organisations.
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His first task was to build the best uniform web site in the industry. During the late 90's not one business in Australia had yet developed an online shopping cart for the industry due to the complexities of the range and branding options. In 1999 The Uniform Super Store web site was launched and received instant criticism from his opposition. "One of my competitors actually took the time to call me once having viewed my web site and then proceeded to inform me that my prices were too low and that i needed to increase them. I informed him that by utilising technology and the internet i was able to keep my prices down and pass on the savings to my customers. Needless to say he was not happy"
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Over the next 2-3 years The Uniform Super Store grew at a steady rate, expanding its customer base outside of traditional boudaries. With the expanding customer base and diverse requirements, the range of apparel greatly expanded to incorporate office apparel, hospitality wear, school wear and work wear. In fact, office apparel was now selling at a faster rate than the sportswear.
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In the year 2003 The Uniform Super Store scored a major victory in recruiting Kirsty McIver to the ranks. Kirsty was employed with one of the major banks working with their top 2% of clients. Kirsty brought to The Uniform Super Store a level of professionalism in servicing customers not before seen in the uniform industry. Kirsty saw a massive area for growth into the corporate apparel and set about incorporating this aspect to the range of The Uniform Super Store current range.
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Between the years 2004 to 2007 saw massive growth. The web site was expanded and revamped to stay ahead of the competition. Their own range of corporate apparel and knitwear was released to gain higher quality apparel for its customers.
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2007 saw the purchasing of 2 new embroidery machines to enable faster turnarounds. At present, The Uniform Super Store is able to turn around repeat jobs within 5-10 working days. With the 2 new machines, The Uniform Super Store is expecting the completion times to drop to 3-6 working days! For an industry still happy to work on 4-6 weeks for turn arounds, this is remarkable.
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In 2007 The Uniform Super Store was offered the opportunity to buy out the sales department of Executive Uniforms in NSW. Jason jumped at the opportunity to expand. By buying out the sales department of Executive Uniforms, The Uniform Super Store was able to ensure that this Australian Manufacturing business of medical and dental apparel did not go into extinction. The purchasing of Executive Uniforms also gave to The Uniform Super Store the business name and domain name, http://www.uniforms.com.au/ In buying Executive Uniforms, Jason was able to ensure that another Australian manufacturing business did not close down and was able to gain the domain name uniforms.com.au. This domain name is seen as a massive gain as it incorporates "The Uniform Super Store" branding that Planett is seeking to build.
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A word from the founder. Thank you for taking the time to read over the history of this exciting business. It is no secret that we have a set goal of becoming the "best and the biggest" uniform business in Australia! I mention "best" first as i believe there is no point being the biggest if you are not already the best. It really comes down to prioritising our customers needs and service before our own goals.
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With regards to your business, you know just how important your brand is! Here at The Uniform Super Store we see it as quite possibly your most important asset. It is the way that you deliver your brand that will determine your standing in an already crowded market. Your company, your team, your products, your brand all tell your story to your potential client.
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