Handstitched in the grounds of the Cholmondeley Castle,
Rutherfords’ made-to-order leather bags are experiencing
unprecedented demand, resulting in the business recording a
400% increase in sales on last year. With the Japanese
market accounting for 70% of sales revenue, the export
market has been crucial to its success.
What started as a hobby in 2012 for Rutherfords’ founder
Alex Hughes soon became a quest to revive the almost
forgotten art of handmaking English bridle leather goods.
Employing techniques and tools dating back 100 years, the
former lawyer combined her husband’s engineering background
with meticulous hand-finished elements that give each piece
its character and history. Today Alex employs 4
leatherworkers and has developed an apprenticeship
programme with the University of Chester for fashion and
design undergraduates.
Rutherfords sought advice from the Department for
International Trade on how to export safely during the
Coronavirus pandemic. The business managed to create a
socially distanced work environment, allowing it to fulfil
orders from Japan and also enter new markets in the US and
Europe, doubling their exporting destinations from 4 to 8
countries as online sales took off.
Alex Hughes, Founder of Rutherfords, said:
After completing a two-year apprenticeship with one of
the UK’s top leather craftsmen, I knew I wanted this
passage of knowledge to lay the foundations of the
business.
Leather luxury items often become family heirlooms and
every piece we stitch together needs to encapsulate that
sense of devotion. That sentiment transcends the business
and I hope one day I’ll be passing Rutherfords on to our
talented team so they can keep the name and craft alive
for many years to come.
Anyone thinking of starting a small business has to be
outward-looking, and working with the Department for
International Trade (DIT) made exporting our products
abroad so much easier. I would encourage businesses to
contact DIT to understand how rewarding exporting can be,
as it certainly helped us in Japan and subsequent
markets.
A trade deal with Japan will assist us in reducing our
tariff and non-tariff barriers to continue to expand our
presence abroad.
Rutherfords has been working with the Department for
International Trade since 2018, to maximise its exporting
strategy and facilitate the logistics of shipping to Japan.
Earlier this week,
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss announced the start
of trade negotiations with Japan, with manufacturers of
textiles and clothing among the UK industries expected to
be some of the biggest winners of lowering trade barriers
with Japan.
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said:
Rutherfords is an example of how much a small business
can benefit from exporting and how much more it could
benefit from a Free Trade Agreement with Japan.
Japan is one of our largest trading partners, and a new
trade deal will help to increase exporting opportunities,
boost investment and create more jobs.
In the year to March 2020, the UK exported £1.6 million
worth of leather bags to Japan, an increase of 14.1% on the
previous 12 months, with Japan placing in the top 5 export
destinations for UK leather bags.
