Back-to-school bonanza for Aussie uniform sellers

Mid-January is when the summer sales start to subside and many retailers take a breather but for school uniform suppliers, the madness will continue until Australia's 3.8 million school students return to the classroom.

Brisbane manufacturer and retailer Weareco does 80 per cent of its $10 million annual turnover in December and January.

Sales through the roof

Sales in the latter month invariably "go through the roof" according to owner Rodney Levien.

"We try to encourage parents to come early, before Christmas so many people leave it to the last minute," he says.

A family business established in 1979 as Ys Clothing Company, Weareco operates 45 on-campus and standalone stores across Queensland and employs 53 local staff.

In addition to producing garments for its own clients, the company's Vietnam factory offers a white-label manufacturing service to other school uniform suppliers and churns out around 300,000 items a year. Read more