At last, some early good news for the fashion industry. Small– and mid-sized UK clothing manufacturers are “riding high on a wave of newfound confidence for 2025” after new figures revealed a dramatic uplift in sales revenue and purchasing.

Average sales  for small- and mid-sized businesses jumped 128% in the third quarter of 2024, while the number of purchase orders (POs) placed with suppliers was also up by 123%, according to inventory management software provider Unleashed. 

Clothing manufacturers, including makers of footwear and accessories, saw the fourth-biggest jump in sales revenue out of all the 12 manufacturing categories analysed. They also saw the second biggest rise in POs.

Revenue and POs were both up by 88% across the manufacturing sector – “signalling high confidence among consumers, retailers and other businesses”, the report said. 

Another plus was that clothing manufacturers are buying more inventory “in anticipation of further orders”. 

Joe Llewellyn, GM of Cloud ERP at The Access Group, the parent of Unleashed, said: “This uptick in sales revenue and purchasing bodes well for the manufacturing industry. 

“Firms are buying more inventory – and while this might bring back bad memories of post-Covid disruption, when manufacturers were forced to adopt a ‘just in case’ strategy – it’s actually a positive sign in the current climate.

Llewellyn added: “Lead times remain low, so the orders we currently see flowing through the supply chain look like genuinely robust business confidence.”