Celia Jarvis

Sunday Times The Best of British 13 October 2013

On a Saturday morning, inside the elegant Farmloe Building in Clerkenwell, The Best of Britannia is taking place. It’s an aptly named exhibition promoting the finest in UK design and manufacturing. From cashmere jumpers to twin engine speedboats, 44 British organisations have turned out on a winter weekend to sell their wares and celebrate the UK as a global leader in creative design and quality production
The timing of this exhibition couldn’t be better. Only last week, George Osborne called for the UK to start exporting again -declaring it the only way to stabilise our faltering economy.
But is such a strategy even plausible? Currently only 3% of the UK’s GDP comes from exports, a trifling amount when compared to Germany’s 50%. Plus with rival companies from the Far East able to match on quality, excel on price and trounce on time to market, you have to wonder whether there’s even a place for British products.
To find out I speak to Sara Smith, owner and founder of English bone China by Sara Smith. Her range of cups and saucers are based on the look and feel of a traditional English tea-set but updated with vibrant shades, contemporary detailing and, crucially, bigger sizes. In the last six months Sara has secured export contracts with buyers from eleven European countries, and believes it’s the made in Britain stamp that makes the cups so desirable. Sara says:
“Knowing they’re made in the UK and not mass produced in a faceless factory does make the cups more appealing. I think overseas customers have an even stronger association between items being made in Britain and them being the genuine article - especially when it comes to bone china and tea-related items”
This sentiment is echoed by Andrew Wyatt, Director of Fletcher Boats. Established in the late 1950s Fletcher Boats is one of only a few companies to still manufacture in the UK, using only British made parts and products. He says:
“There is a certain cache to having a product built and made in Britain. The feedback that we get from our overseas clients is that if you buy British then you buy a quality product. The design of this boat is second-to-none and that’s what makes the difference. Other countries imitate but the UK innovates.”
But with innovation being such a tenuous concept, and the plethora of convincing copies from China, is ‘Made in UK’ really worth the asking price? According to a study from the Centre of Economics and Business Research, it is.
Their findings, due to be published next year, reveal the Made in Britain label triggers a willingness among customers in new and emerging markets to pay up to 7% more - compared to products without a declared country of origin. In addition, 50% of respondents, in all countries, perceived the quality of British items to be “good” or “very good”.
I spoke to Wan Chi, Head of Design at Ferrari’s Formula One team and a former student of both Chinese and English universities. He believes Britain is leading the way in design innovation due to its forward thinking teaching methods. Chi says:
 “Design is taught differently in the UK. There’s a huge impetus on getting students to think creatively, to get inspiration from outside of themselves and to bring it back into their work.
“Continually British students are taught to ask, what’s not working? How could this be better, sleeker, faster? Other countries might be able to produce things quickly but I doubt they could do innovative designing and prototyping like the UK.”
So it seems that, theoretically at least, with its reputation for quality manufacturing and world leading innovation, the UK is in a great position to start exporting again. The Government are doing what they can to help, but only time will tell if George Osborne’s vision for success is viable.