Cotton Traders
Encyclopedia
Cotton Traders is a British
clothing
company, specialising in rugby
apparel and leisure
wear, based in Altrincham
, Greater Manchester
, England
. It was founded in 1987 by former England national rugby union team
captains Fran Cotton
and Steve Smith
.
, supplying rugby shirt
s via mail order using advertisements in the Sunday newspapers. The business was making an annual turnover of £2million in just two years.
As the company grew, additional ranges were added. These now cover leisurewear and casual clothes for both men and women, footwear, household textiles, and accessories.
The site is now split into three main buildings in Altrincham and a warehouse in Bradford
. One building is Cotton Traders House which is responsible for the management of the company, and a call centre
further down the road deals with most customer service and the placing of the orders. In 2006, Neptune House, a vacant office building opposite the head office, was purchased. Head office departments are now split between Cotton Traders House and Neptune House.
Today, Cotton Traders generates a turnover in excess of £60 million a year, with approx. 600 employees across the UK and many more employed worldwide by its suppliers. Cotton Traders mail order business now has approximately 1,600,000 customers on its database, and produces 27 different editions of the catalogue each year, resulting in the dispatch of approximately 100,000 parcels a month.
In July 2006, 19 years after its launch, Cotton Traders implemented a new computer system to enhance efficiency of operations covering all aspects of the company. However, the implementation of this computerised system caused a great deal of disruption to the ordering and customer service departments of the company, which now (Jan 2007) is thought to have been overcome. In response to this, the company declared 2007 the 'Year of Service'.
Cotton Traders hit the big screen in February 2010 with the smash hit 'Invictus' starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. The film ‘Invictus’ is based on the events of the 1995 Rugby World Cup where South Africa achieved victory with the support of Nelson Mandela. The movie, which is directed by Clint Eastwood, centres on the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela, shortly after becoming president of South Africa, openly supported the team throughout their battle to win the Rugby World Cup championship in 1995. His aim was to use the language of sport to unite his country after many years of oppression. In the film, Nelson Mandela is played by movie veteran Morgan Freeman, whilst the captain of the South African Springboks, Francois Pienaar, is portrayed by Matt Damon
.
If you watched closely, you will see the Cotton Traders logo appearing on the South African kits at numerous points during the film. During the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Cotton Traders sponsored England, Wales and South Africa, and the Cotton Traders logo can be seen clearly throughout the film but in particular on the Springboks’ training jerseys and tracksuits.
Newcastle Falcons
Sale Sharks
Worcester Warriors
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
clothing
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
company, specialising in rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
apparel and leisure
Leisure
Leisure, or free time, is time spent away from business, work, and domestic chores. It is also the periods of time before or after necessary activities such as eating, sleeping and, where it is compulsory, education....
wear, based in Altrincham
Altrincham
Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was founded in 1987 by former England national rugby union team
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
captains Fran Cotton
Fran Cotton
Francis Edward Cotton is a former English rugby union prop forward who played for England and the British Lions. His clubs included Coventry R.F.C. and Sale. After retiring, he remained in rugby administration and founded a clothing company...
and Steve Smith
Steve Smith (English rugby player)
For other rugby players of the same name see Steve Smith and Steve Smith Stephen James Smith is a former international rugby union player...
.
Brand history
The company started out in a small room next to Altrincham railway stationAltrincham railway station
Altrincham Interchange serves the town of Altrincham in Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. It was originally named Altrincham and Bowdon railway station and is located on Stamford New Road, adjacent to the Altrincham Ice Dome—home to the Manchester Phoenix ice hockey team...
, supplying rugby shirt
Rugby shirt
A rugby shirt, often referred to as a rugby jersey, is a shirt worn by players of rugby union or rugby league. It usually has short sleeves, though long sleeves are common as well....
s via mail order using advertisements in the Sunday newspapers. The business was making an annual turnover of £2million in just two years.
As the company grew, additional ranges were added. These now cover leisurewear and casual clothes for both men and women, footwear, household textiles, and accessories.
The site is now split into three main buildings in Altrincham and a warehouse in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
. One building is Cotton Traders House which is responsible for the management of the company, and a call centre
Call centre
A call centre or call center is a centralised office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. A call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing,...
further down the road deals with most customer service and the placing of the orders. In 2006, Neptune House, a vacant office building opposite the head office, was purchased. Head office departments are now split between Cotton Traders House and Neptune House.
Today, Cotton Traders generates a turnover in excess of £60 million a year, with approx. 600 employees across the UK and many more employed worldwide by its suppliers. Cotton Traders mail order business now has approximately 1,600,000 customers on its database, and produces 27 different editions of the catalogue each year, resulting in the dispatch of approximately 100,000 parcels a month.
In July 2006, 19 years after its launch, Cotton Traders implemented a new computer system to enhance efficiency of operations covering all aspects of the company. However, the implementation of this computerised system caused a great deal of disruption to the ordering and customer service departments of the company, which now (Jan 2007) is thought to have been overcome. In response to this, the company declared 2007 the 'Year of Service'.
Cotton Traders hit the big screen in February 2010 with the smash hit 'Invictus' starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. The film ‘Invictus’ is based on the events of the 1995 Rugby World Cup where South Africa achieved victory with the support of Nelson Mandela. The movie, which is directed by Clint Eastwood, centres on the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela, shortly after becoming president of South Africa, openly supported the team throughout their battle to win the Rugby World Cup championship in 1995. His aim was to use the language of sport to unite his country after many years of oppression. In the film, Nelson Mandela is played by movie veteran Morgan Freeman, whilst the captain of the South African Springboks, Francois Pienaar, is portrayed by Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
.
If you watched closely, you will see the Cotton Traders logo appearing on the South African kits at numerous points during the film. During the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Cotton Traders sponsored England, Wales and South Africa, and the Cotton Traders logo can be seen clearly throughout the film but in particular on the Springboks’ training jerseys and tracksuits.
Sponsorships
Cotton Traders supplies jerseys to the following teams: Leicester TigersLeicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle Falcons
The Newcastle Falcons is an English rugby union team currently playing in the Aviva Premiership. The club was established in 1877 and played under the name of Gosforth Football Club until 1990. The name was then changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in...
Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
Worcester Warriors
- BarbariansBarbarian F.C.The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
Durham County Cricket ClubDurham County Cricket ClubDurham County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Durham. Its limited overs team is called the Durham Dynamos. Their kit colours are blue with yellow trim and the shirt sponsor was...
Sale FCSale SharksSale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...