Industry news Find out about all the latest from the fashion accessories industry in our regular news roundup HEAVENLY FEET CELEBRATES GROWTH WITH LAUNCH OF CARBON-NEUTRAL WAREHOUSE Leicester-based Heavenly Feet has moved its storage and fulfilment outlet to a new location to cater for growing demand. The new base is a carbon-neutral warehouse located near Nottingham, just off the M1 allowing easy access to the brand’s retail partners nationwide. The move has taken place thanks to Heavenly Feet’s huge success in recent years after continued year on year growth. The new base will cater for their planned growth and ongoing move to becoming more sustainable. Furthermore, Heavenly Feet has celebrated reaching 300 independent retail partners to stock the brand - known for its reputation to sell-through. As well as national stockists, the company has built a stronghold of independent retailers across the country since it launched over twenty years ago, and these relationships are managed by an in-house team of agents. In tandem with these company-wide updates, the brand has also launched a new range of stylish and practical water-resistant boots in time for the colder months, which has proved the fastest selling new product range in the last 12 months. This is the first time the brand has introduced an everyday waterresistant shoe to its portfolio, which currently includes trainers, boots, wellingtons, sandals and slippers. With three new pairs of boots in the range, these shoes have been constructed to resist water intrusion on a daily basis, offering practicality as well as style as shoppers work to make their budgets stretch further. Ken Gray, owner of the Heavenly Feet brand comments on the business’s recent successes: “This has been a very exciting time for Heavenly Feet. Specialising in comfort as well as style thanks to our superior fit design, we have always dedicated ourselves to creating shoes that our customers simply love to wear, and so far the sales figures for our water-resistant boots have been very promising. “As well as our new range, we’re thrilled to be taking the necessary steps to reduce our carbon footprint and commit ourselves to being a more environmentally conscious brand, from our logistics and fulfilment right through to point-of-sale display and the footwear boxes themselves. We truly believe that we all have a part to play in reducing carbon emissions and we’re proud to be delivering great products to our customers in a sustainable way.” Available in multiple colours, the water resistant range consists of three different styles; the Lombardy (£69.95 RRP), the Veneto (£69.95 RRP) and the Trentino (£64.95 RRP). For more information, please visit www.heavenlyfeet.co.uk ACID AND THE BRITISH MILLINERY ASSOCIATION CIC UNITE AS INDUSTRY PARTNERS TO PROMOTE IP AWARENESS AND COMBAT COPYING The British Millinery Association CIC (BMACIC) and ACID have been in dialogue for some months now with a joint desire to work collaboratively to promote IP awareness and have formalised this by entering a new Partner arrangement to support BMACIC members in protecting their rights in this area through education and access to ACID support and resources. Underpinning the design and making of those who create hats is a passion for originality and creativity, a proud heritage and a craft that combines skills and knowledge. From couture to ready to wear, milliners generate intellectual property in different forms including design rights, copyright, trademarks and less so, patents. BMACIC members are known for their originality but sadly, copying and infringement of these rights of businesses based both in the UK and globally is still an ongoing challenge, and one that many in the sector struggle to address effectively and affordably. BMACIC Ambassador Chair Jane Fryers said, “One of our aims at the BMACIC is to encourage inspiration not imitation, and I think our partnership with ACID will help to make people realise that copying is not acceptable in the world of millinery.” Dids Macdonald, OBE., CEO of ACID said, “Through our initial discussions we agree on so many aspects about the importance of IP protection for original hat designs so raising awareness about respect for intellectual property issues will, in the fullness of time, resonate with all those who care about ethics. “Now that we have formalised our relationship by becoming Partners, the ACID team and I are delighted to be collaborating much more closely with Jane Fryers, other Ambassadors, and all at the BMACIC. The many benefits of our new Partner status will be the catalyst for education and awareness, prevention, deterrence against copying and support. The first bespoke IP Basics event will be developed during the next few months and start with a first session in February 2023.” INDUSTRY NEWS 97
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