Combining Fashion Sense and Business Sense

When a young Auckland fireman, John Morgan, set off on a trip to India in the 1970s, little did he know that he was about to embark on a career in the fashion industry.

“I stayed with a family in Jaipur and one of the women in the family convinced me that I should start importing Indian fabric and clothes,” recalls John, now managing director of the successful New Zealand fashion wholesaler, House of Janak.

“We started out selling Indian clothes and 

 alternative fashions but over the years, we’ve moved slowly into the mainstream and our range has become more sophisticated and European in style. I suppose you could say we’ve grown up with our client base,” said John.

Janak is the name of the Indian woman who persuaded him to try his hand at fashion importing.

Fellow director Mike Jackson joined the business in 1981 and is responsible for managing the sales and marketing operations.

House of Janak has been a client of Scottish Pacific Business Finance for seven years and John says efficient cashflow management is essential in the fashion industry because orders are placed so far in advance of sales.

“For example, we were selling the winter 2000 range to retailers in September, for delivery in February, so we do work a long way in advance.  “A lot of retailers drag out their payments, but by using factoring, we can get the money in quickly when the orders arrive, which frees up our facility to pay for the next season’s orders,” said John.