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Essay: Market Structure of School Uniform in Medway

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1 Introduction

The CMA (Competition & Markets Authority) issued letters to all head teachers in England on 15th October 2015, stating that the cost of school uniforms has increased ‘significantly by as much as £5 to £10 per item’ due to appointing exclusive suppliers for school uniforms. Furthermore, the CMA demands that ‘prices are competitive and deliver good value for money’. They estimate that parents and carers have paid more than ‘£50 million’ in costs in the last year for uniforms due to higher prices. The Chief Executive of the CMA, Alex Chisholm says “School Uniforms are an unavoidable purchase and exclusive agreements with retailers push up prices for hard pressed parents. We’re delighted that the government is backing up our continuing efforts with a clear direction that parents should be given a choice.” It is clear from this that there is significant market power abuse in the hands of firms to the extent that the CMA are investigating into it. Consequently, an investigation into my local area will allow me to gain an insight into economics in my local area.

Almost all secondary schools in Medway set out a strict dress code in which students of that school must follow. As stated by Alex Chisholm, ‘School Uniforms are an unavoidable purchase” therefore this topic is significant to parents and carers within Medway with children between the ages of 11-18. School Uniform is used by the majority of 11-18 year olds. Therefore, as the purchase of secondary school uniform is unavoidable, it is important to know the market structure so that we can predict behavior of firms. The School Uniform is a very traditional industry to the extent that school uniforms have remained the same for 450 years. It has many new players in the market and is developing and therefore I’m interested in the market structure to see how firms are likely to act and behave.

1.1 Personal Engagement

I have had first-hand experience dealing with Simmonds, a uniform provider for a few schools in Medway. I’m interested to investigate the behavior of Simmonds as well as other firms, applying economics to an environment that I’ve been a part of. I was intrigued and eager to apply market structure theory because I am interested in strategic decision making and the behavior of consumers in response to market structure.

1.2 Outline

Through basic observations of the market, I will investigate into the following:

1. The barriers of entry into the school uniform industry.

2. The number of firms and the size of the firms in Medway.

3. The Degree of Monopoly Power within Medway, if any.

4. The Long Run Profits of the firms, if any.

This will lead me to answer my research question: “What market structure best characterises the industry for school uniform in Medway?”

1.3 Insight into Medway

Secondary Research

The Medway District is a 192km2 region in South Eastern England with a population of 271,105 people in 2013. It is a relatively average area of the country, with an average income £27,648 – only marginally greater than the national average of £26,000. Therefore, residents of Medway will have average disposable incomes.

A map of Medway can be found in Appendix A

Type of Secondary Schools in Medway:

12 Comprehensive Schools

6 Grammar Schools

2 Independent Schools

Total Number of Secondary Schools = 20.

Primary Research into Firms and School Classification in Medway

Firms operating in Medway School Uniform

Total Number of Schools involved with.

Comprehensive Schools

Grammar Schools

Independent

Brigade

1

1

0

0

Perry Uniform

1

0

0

1

School time

4

2

2

0

Simmonds

4

1

3

0

Tower Sports

4

2

2

0

Uniform Base

5

5

0

0

The data shows all uniform providers in Medway, the number of schools they produce for and the classification of the school they produce for.

From looking at this data, specific firms produce uniforms for a certain type of school as opposed to producing for an area. For instance, Uniform Base only produces for comprehensive schools, whereas Perry Uniform supplies the only independent school in Medway. This could be an early implication that the goods sold are in different quality as

1.4 Economic Theory

Within economics, there are 4 different types of market structures: Perfect Competition, Monopolistic competition, Oligopoly and Monopoly. I will eliminate perfect competition as perfect competition is purely theoretical and implies that all firms are small and sell homogenous (the same) products. However, this is not the case as firms are supplying different types, styles and sizes of uniform. Therefore, I will consider Monopolistic Competition, Oligopoly and Monopoly.

Monopolistic Competition – The second most competitive Market Structure (Perfect being the most competitive). Sub-section adapted from (Hardwick, Langmead and Khan. An Introduction to Modern Economics P.204-205)

1. Many firms with varying sizes, however with an insignificant share of the market.

2. Differentiated are sold, leading to customer loyalty although sometimes homogenous products are sold.

3. Low barriers to entry.

4. No consideration of rival strategy in price strategy.

5. There is excess capacity in the industry. Production is always less than the productive efficiency (When marginal costs = average cost, MC=AC)

6. Firms can gain customers through improving quality of service and advertising.

7. Firms are price makers.

8. In the LR, only normal profit can be made.

Oligopoly- The second least competitive Market Structure. Sub-section adapted from (Dobson and Palfreman. Introduction to Economics P.104-107)

1. Few large firms with significant share of the market that can affect the industry.

2. Homogenous or differentiated products are sold.

3. High barriers to entry that are significant.

4. Firms can obtain abnormal profits in the LR.

5. Strategic behaviour is involved as firms react to rival’s change in price and output.

6. Firms rely on non-price competition, including price collusion, branding (gaining customer loyalty), further services, advertisements and promotions to attract more customers.

Monopoly – The Least Competitive Market Structure. Sub-section adapted from (Tragakes. IB Economics in a Nutshell P.32-34)

1. Single, or one dominant firm.

2. No close substitutes of goods.

3. Barriers to entry are high.

4. There is limited product variety.

5. Firms have significant power in the market.

6. Firms are price makers.

7. In the LR, abnormal profits (Total Revenue – Total Costs > 0, TR-TC>0) are made

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2 Application of Theory

2.1 Size of Firms and Market Power

In order to understand the market share that each firm has, economic data
must be gathered. Consequently, I set up and arranged meetings/interviews with representatives of each firm in operating in the market. After interviewing representatives from the uniform providers, I managed to find out the revenues that each school had with their respective uniform provider. All data lasts exactly a year (School year Calendar) from 1st September 2016 – 31st August 2017. Raw Data in Appendix. Summary of data below.

Primary Data

Name

Revenue Calculation

Total Revenue from Medway Secondary Schools

Brigade

28720

£28,720

Perry Uniform

49500

£49,500

School Time

26755+25600+28950+34500+27560

£143,365

Simmonds

32500+36000+31100+47100

£146,700

Tower Sports

8060+7020+8140+8400

£31,620

Uniform Base

32550+24150+27925+28925+26470

£140,020

Total Revenue for Medway = £539,925

From using the revenue of all the firms within the Medway, the market share that each firm has in Medway can be calculated. This will allow comparison between market share between firms and the concentration ratio of the market.

Name

Market Share Calculation

% of total Market

Brigade

£28,720/£539,925

5.3

Perry Uniform

£49,500/£539,925

9.2

School Time

£143,365/£539,925

26.6

Simmonds

£146,700/£539,925

27.1

Tower Sports

£31,620/£539,925

5.9

Uniform Base

£140,020/£539,925

25.9

Total

100

From the diagram and data, it is clear that there are 3 firms that have considerably larger market shares than the others.

CR1: 27.1

CR2: 53.7

CR3: 79.3

From evaluating the market share of Secondary School Uniform, it is clear that there are a few large firms approximately even in size that are controlling the school uniform industry. This is a characteristic of an Oligopoly as they are 3 firms controlling nearly 80% of the market. However, it could also be argued that it is an example of monopolistic competition as there are 3 small firms making up just over 20% of the total market share. The three smaller firms are still significant in the market place and still have market power within their submarkets as shown through revenue. Based upon this data, it is safe to conclude that it is not a monopoly. Monopoly theory states that there is a “single or dominant firm”, however this is not the case.

The rest of this essay will be based around whether the market structure is an oligopoly or an example of monopolistic competition.

2.2 Type of Goods Sold

Each Secondary School within Medway has its own personalised school uniform specific to the school. Consequently, the selling of goods is differentiated. Although some school uniforms look similar, they all have different designs and logos. Product differentiation is both a characteristic of Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly. As schools create agreements with specific schools, only those firms are allowed to produce uniform.

Although products are differentiated, I decided to look further into what type of differentiation it is. As a school blazer is universal to all schools in Medway, I decided to use this item to see the difference is between schools. In doing so, I found that there was a large disparity in the colour of the blazer, the style of the blazer and most importantly the materials used for the blazer. The most common differentiations are the colour and the school logo; however, it would appear that the material used is the most important factor in terms of the price of the blazer. Wool Blazers were part cheaper than their Polyester counterparts. Interestingly, one school provides two types of Blazer: one made from Wool and the other made from Polyester. The polyester is more expensive by £10.

2.3 Barriers to Entry

Simon S., the managing director of Simmonds, eluded me to the ways in which firms enter the industry. The barriers to entry and exit are high. Firstly, firms must have a factory in which they are to produce the goods they sell as well as machinery and labour to actually create it. Furthermore, firms must have an agreement with particular schools to provide school uniform for them. As bigger firms can utilise economies of scale, smaller firms struggle to bring the price of the goods under a price that is sustainable. In addition, having an agreement with a single school will not cover the running costs and therefore will cause the firm to go out of business. As the products are so differentiated, producing for a particular good and selling to a particularly small submarket is unsustainable if it is the only means of the firm generating revenue. Since almost every school has its own provider for school uniform already and the firm needs to be authorised to produce school uniform, this makes barriers to entry extremely high, which is a feature of Oligopoly.

2.4 Price of Products and Type of Competition

In order to determine the market structure, I must first determine what type of competition firms face. To understand this, I must see whether firms are facing price competition, “competition between firms to attract customers away from the products of other firms by lowering the price of a product”, or non-price competition, “competition between firms to attract customers on the basis of the factors of production other than price, through product differentiation”

If a company is facing high price competition, then it is likely that firms will not make high profits and consequently they’ll make little or zero economic profit – “Total Revenue minus Economic costs.”. A determinant of market structure is the long run profits of the firm, if these are abnormally high, this means that it falls under the market structure of either monopoly or oligopoly.

Similarly, if firms are facing non-price competition this means that other factors are important in the purchasing of the product such as brand loyalty or differentiated products. This is a feature in both monopolistic competition and oligopoly. Non-price competition occurs much more in Oligopolies as opposed to Monopolistic competition because competition in an Oligopoly are strongly advised against due to the fear of price wars and reduced profits for all firms.

In terms of school uniform, firms are selling their products based upon them being differentiated for a specific school in which children will attend and as for most schools in Medway, there is only a sole provider for some uniform due to licensing agreements with the school itself. Consequently, these firms face no price competition or in-fact any competition in terms of selling uniform as the goods are entirely differentiated from the rest of the market. As school uniform is a necessity for children attending a school and there are no close substitutes for the good, this could show that the market structure is a monopoly, although this is not the case as firms are only in control of a particular sub-market through licensing.

– Intermarket Comparison of Price of School Blazer (Overall)

All schools in Medway with School Uniform require students to wear a Blazer wit
h the school crest on. After gathering all data and analysing it, I have calculated the mean price of a school uniform blazer at a Secondary School in Medway and then I have calculated the standard deviation from the mean of the prices. If the standard deviation is low, this means that the type of competition is price competitive, however if it is high then it would suggest that the type of competition is non-price.

I have calculated that the mean price is £33.90.

The standard deviation of these prices is £13.91.

Graph to show the relative prices of school uniform for a Size 30 Blazer (accurate January 12 2018)

Comparing the price of School Uniforms there is a large disparity between the prices charged for each unit.

I shall calculate the percentage of deviation from the mean cost of a blazer.

(13.91/33.90) = 41.03 %.

However, in this research I have noticed a trend in my data. Grammar Schools and Independent Schools charge far more the purchasing of school uniform relative to comprehensive schools.

I have calculated the mean and the standard deviation for each of the Subdivisions of school.

Type of School

Mean

Standard Deviation to 2.dp

Comprehensive

£29.57

4.43

Grammar

£32.78

6.55

Independent

£84*1

0.00

*1 There is only 1 independent school in the area.

It is clear that there is a distinction between the prices of blazers sold in comprehensive schools compared to independent and grammar schools. Upon further research, it would appear that grammar school pupils are generally on a whole come from wealthier families compared to their comprehensive school peers. Consequently, these families will have greater disposable incomes to spend on school uniform. Furthermore, those attending independent school pupils must have a level of income to be able to afford to pay fees and consequently, we can see perhaps that producers of the uniform are abusing their market power. Abuse of market power occurs in both an oligopoly market structure and a monopoly market structure. This could be a possible implication, however, it could be the quality of the blazer in itself that determines the price as opposed to the type of school. Within Medway, the Kings School Rochester (the only independent school) has been noted for having a prestige school uniform to the rest of the schools in the local area. Consequently, the changing in price could be due to the design, style and materials used as opposed to abuse of power. So it is evident that the industry is largely dependent on non-price competition, which is a feature of oligopoly and monopolistic competition.

Long run Profits

By determining the long run profits of a firm, you can see whether firms are making normal profit or whether firms are making abnormal profits.

Above are two market structures to distinguish concepts of normal profit and abnormal profit. A goal for school uniform firms is to maximise profit of the firm. In order for this to happen Marginal Cost must be equal to Marginal Revenue (MC=MR) and it is the demand at that quantity that determines the price that the firm will set its price. On the monopoly diagram there is a substantial gap between the average revenue and the average cost of a good. Finding this difference and multiplying it by the quantity of goods sold shows the profit that the firm makes, identified by the box on the monopoly diagram. This is an example of abnormal profit. On the other hand, on the perfect competition diagram, when MC intersects with MR they are equal. In addition, the average cost is also equal to that. Applying this to calculation of profit, if costs and revenue are equal then marginal profit made will be zero and as a consequence the profit made will be 0 because (0*QD=0).

When interviewing S. Smith of Simmonds, he supplied me with a breakdown of how Simmonds allocates each of their costs specific to the Rochester Grammar School in Medway, details in Appendix.

In addition, he was able to provide me with the data regarding their approximate profits from Medway Secondary Schools for the last 5 years.

Year

Approximate Gross Profits in (£) from Medway Secondary Schools.

2012

£12,110

2013

£15,240

2014

£14,270

2015

£16,370

2016

£18,210

2017 ( As of 30th November)

£16,190

2017 (Projected)

£17,500

From the statistics given to me in an interview, it is clear that over time Simmonds profit is increasing gradually. From the 4 schools that they provide for in the area, they are making more profit year on year. Although, this is not entirely representative because it doesn’t take into consideration the year on year inflation of the pound.

2.5 Degree of Monopoly Power

In order to analyse the degree of Monopoly Power, it would be important to see the changes in price over time and to see if the prices for the uniform change over time. As the top 3 firms in the market are similar in terms of market power, I will use Simmonds as an example and generalise it to the other firms in the industry.

Using a process called Web Archiving I managed to gather price data of goods since their introduction to the market. I will use the Rochester Grammar School to generalise for the rest of the schools in Medway. I will focus on the Polyester Blazer to see the price changes over time.

Comparing the increase in price of the blazer relative to the inflation rate, I noticed that there was a significant percentage increase in their prices per year. The blue dotted line is equivalent to the average increase in price for the blazer and the orange dotted line is equal to the average rate of inflation. Although an observation would be that the dotted blue line is consistently higher that the dotted orange line, meaning that Simmonds prices are increasing at a rate greater than inflation meaning that it is becoming more unaffordable. As school uniform is a necessity, it will have a low-price elasticity of demand and therefore this could be seen as Simmonds abusing their market power for school uniform. However, in order to prove this, I shall solve this mathematically by finding the area under the polynomial curve that models this function.

Rate of inflation modelled by a polynomial year on year.

= 3,067,094,201

Annual percentage increase in price of a Blazer.

Although the numbers don’t represent anything as a value; the conclusion of this data is that the number for the annual percentage in price of a Simmonds Blazer number is greater than that of the rate of inflation, therefore showing that Simmonds have increased their profit margins and abusing their market power to a greater extent relative the rate of increase in prices.

(>3,067,094,201)

Processes

Conclusion

For the first criterion, barriers to entry, the barrier
s to entry are high within this industry. Schools appoint exclusive retailers and acquiring licences to provide uniform from a school near impossible for a new firm entering the industry. Ho
wever, pre-existing firms with power in the industry can challenge one another providing better agreements with schools, due to economies of scale and access to the relevant factors of production on demand. If a firm is already producing clothing and has the relevant infrastructure to convert into manufacturing for school uniform then it will be possible for a firm to get involved. However, school uniform is a very specialised industry and firms who are not full committed to producing school uniform will struggle. I believe that the barriers to entry resembles an oligopoly market structure because monopolistic competition will

For the second criterion, number of firms and size of firms, there are a total of 6 firms operating in this industry. There are 3 firms that have significant power in the market controlling collectively 80% of the market. As an oligopoly is defined as “few large firms with significant share of the market”, it is clear that the market structure that would best characterise this would-be Oligopoly.

For the third criterion, degree of monopoly power, it is clear that there is a widening gap between annual increases in price of school uniform and the rate of inflation. Proportionally, the price of uniform is getting more expensive as firms know they can increase their profits. This is perhaps what incurred investigation by the CMA and since hasn’t returned to a fair and contestable market and for this reason. Firms still have significant power in the pricing of the uniform they sell which features in an oligopoly

This raw data on its own isn’t enough to

Limitations of this Research

One limitation of this research is that it doesn’t incorporate the second hand uniform industry.

This means that the real concentration ratios and market shares may perhaps be slightly different although not enough to cause huge changes to the overall conclusion of the research, but perhaps change the extent of the conclusion. When I questioned the MD of Simmonds about the effect of the secondary market on sales, he said he doesn’t know because he cannot see what the sales would have been without the secondary market. There’s no drastic change year on year, so it is hard to predict the outcome.

A further limitation is that it my conclusion lies on numbers and data supplied by individual firms. Very easily, firms could give figures that are inaccurate and do not support

Additionally, it is impossible to assess a market structure over a short time span. Therefore, my con

Appendix

Appendix A – Picture of Medway in England.

Term/Concept

Definition

Source

Market structure

Refers to features of the market that demonstrate the nature of competition as well as the pricing policy followed in the market.

Own

Perfect Competition

The industry is made up of a very large number of firms. Each firm is so small, relative to the size of the industry, that it is not capable of altering its own output to have a noticeable effect upon the output of the industry as a whole. This means that a firm cannot affect the supply curve of the industry and so cannot affect the price of the product. Individual firms have to sell at whatever price is set by demand and supply in the industry as a whole. We say that the individual firms are price- takers. The firms all produce exactly identical products. Their goods are homogeneous. It is not possible to distinguish between a good produced in one firm and a good produced in another. There are no brand names and there is no marketing to attempt to make goods different from each other.

Firms are completely free to enter or leave the industry. This means that the firms already in the industry do not have the ability to stop new firms from entering it and are also free to leave the industry, if they so wish. We say that there are no barriers to entry or barriers to exit. All producers and consumers have a perfect knowledge of the market. The producers are fully aware of market prices, costs in the industry, and the workings of the market. The consumers are fully aware of prices in the market, the quality of products, and the availability of the goods.

Blink J. , Dorton I. , Economics Course Companion, Oxford (2012) Second Edition p.102-103

Polyester Blazer

Viscose Blazer

Jumper

Kilt

Flashes

Polo Shirt

Navy Shorts

Sweatshirt

2007

£27.65

£37.95

£18.35

£37.35

£0.95

£7.95

£6.95

£13.65

2008

£28.35

£38.65

£18.65

£37.65

£1.15

£8.35

£7.35

£13.95

2009

£28.65

£38.95

£18.95

£37.95

£1.35

£8.65

£7.65

£14.35

2010

£28.95

£39.65

£19.35

£38.35

£1.65

£8.95

£7.95

£14.65

2011

£30.95

£41.65

£20.65

£38.95

£1.95

£9.35

£8.15

£15.65

2012

£32.95

£43.95

£21.95

£39.65

£2.15

£9.65

£8.35

£16.35

2013

£34.95

£46.95

£22.95

£39.95

£2.35

£9.95

£8.35

£16.95

2014

£34.95

£47.95

£23.65

£40.65

£2.65

£10.65

£8.95

£17.65

2015

£36.95< br />

£48.65

£23.95

£40.95

£2.95

£11.65

£9.95

£17.95

2016

£36.95

£48.95

£24.65

£41.65

£3.65

£12.65

£10.65

£18.95

2017

£39.95

£49.95

£24.95

£41.95

£3.95

£12.95

£10.95

£19.95

Year

Price of Polyester Blazer

Annual Inflation Rate in the UK (Dec–Dec) %

Polyester Blazer increase in Price per year %

2007

£27.65

2.12

——-

2008

£28.35

3.11

2.532%

2009

£28.65

2.83

1.058%

2010

£28.95

3.73

1.047%

2011

£30.95

4.20

6.908%

2012

£32.95

2.71

6.462%

2013

£34.95

1.99

6.070%

2014

£34.95

0.50

0.000%

2015

£36.95

0.20

5.722%

2016

£36.95

1.60

0.000%

2017

£39.95

2.90

8.119%

Secondary School Name

Gender/Type of School

Uniform Provider Main

Uniform Provider Secondary

Brompton Academy

Comprehensive (Male/Female)

Uniformbase

N/A

Greenacre Academy

Comprehensive

(Male)

Brigade

N/A

The Howard School

Comprehensive

(Male)

Uniformbase

Tower Sports

The Hundred of Hoo Academy

Comprehensive (Male/Female)

Uniformbase

N/A

Medway UTC

Comprehensive (Male/Female)

No Uniform( Dress Formally)

N/A

Rainham School for Girls

Comprehensive

(Female)

No specific except for some items (H&M)

Tower Sports

The Robert Napier School

Comprehensive (Male/Female)

Uniformbase

N/A

St John Fischer Catholic School

Comprehensive (Male/Female)

Schooltime

N/A

Strood Academy

Comprehensive (Male/Female)

Uniformbase

N/A

The Thomas Aveling School

Comprehensive (Male/Female)

Schooltime

N/A

The Victory Academy

Comprehensive (Male/Female)

Simmonds

N/A

Holcombe Grammar School

Grammar

(Male)

Simmonds

N/A

Chatham Grammar School for Girls

Grammar

(Female)

School time

Tower Sports

Fort Pitt Grammar School

Grammar

(Female)

Schooltime

N/A

Rainham Mark Grammar School

Grammar

(Male/Female)

Schooltime

Tower Sports

The Rochester Grammar School

Grammar

(Female)

Simmonds

N/A

Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School

Grammar

(Male)

Simmonds

N/A

The King’s School Rochester

Independent

(Male/Female)

Perry Uniform

N/A

Rochester Independent College

Independent

(Male/Female)

No Uniform

N/A

Appendix 1

Secondary School Name

Revenue for Uniform Provider 1

Revenue for Uniform Provider 2

Brompton Academy

Uniform Base- £32550

N/A

Greenacre Academy

Brigade- £28720

N/A

The Howard School

Uniform Base- £24150

Tower Sports – £8060

The Hundred of Hoo Academy

Uniform Base – £27925

N/A

Medway UTC

N/A

N/A

Rainham School for Girls

N/A

Tower Sports – £7020

The Robert Napier School

Uniform Base – £28925

N/A

St John Fischer Catholic School

Schooltime- £26755

N/A

Strood Academy

Uniform Base – £26470

N/A

The Thomas Aveling School

Schooltime – £25600

N/A

The Victory Academy

Simmonds – £32500

N/A

Holcombe Grammar School

Simmonds – £36000

N/A

Chatham Grammar School for Girls

Schooltime – £28950

Tower Sports – £8140

Fort Pitt Grammar School

Schooltime – £34500

N/A

Rainham Mark Grammar School

Schooltime – £27560

Tower Sports-£8400

The Rochester Grammar School

Simmonds – £31100

N/A

Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School

Simmonds- £47100

N/A

The King’s School Rochester

Perry Uniform – £49500

N/A

Rochester Independent College

N/A

N/A

d

Appendix

Representatives for each firm

S. Smith, Managing Director of Simmonds, Simmonds and Son Factory, Paddock Wood, Tonbridge, 30th November 2017

T.Lai, King’s School Rochester employee (Perry Uniform), Rochester, 8th January

D.Green, The Howard School Uniform Representative for Uniform Base, The Howard School, Rainham, 8th January 2018

D.Lewis, Employee in the shop at School Time, Rochester, 9th January 2018

K.Cheung, Brigade Employee at the Greenacre Academy, Walderslade, 9th January 2018

A.Dean, Tower Sports Representative at Chatham Grammar School for Girls, Rochester, 10th January 2018

My findings from interviewing Mr. Simon Smith, the business model of Simmonds’ costs are as follows:

10 % towards rent of school shop – This includes telephone bills, lighting and insurance. The school shop is a small rectangular room (2.5m x 4.0m) with stock of uniform.

7.5% towards Direct Staffing of the shop – There is an employee that works at the shop 3 days a week (4.5 hours total) selling uniform and doing administration.

7.5 % towards Staff Management costs – Employees working at the factories, general managers who organise any stage of the cycle.

4% towards administration – Includes computer programme licensing such as Microsoft and on Stock Control System Programmes.

2% goes on Promotion – Includes funding for raffle prizes and activity for promotion although the markets are captive.

2.5% for finance for Credit Card.

65% for manufacturing and creation of stock as capital purchases – responsible for the costs of moving the stocks,

1.5% for miscellaneous costs.

Secondary School Name

Materials/Colour for School Uniform (Blazer

Price of Blazer at Provider 1

Brompton Academy

• Dark grey 100% polyester designer blazer.

• Blue braided trim and grey lining.

• 40 degree C – Easy Wash.

• Teflon Coating (Fabric protector)

Uniformbase- £29.95

Greenacre Academy

100% Polyester Dark Grey

School badge embroidered directly onto the pocket.
2 buttons, 3 patch pockets, 2 inside pockets & mobile phone pocket
Two side vents.

Bridgade – £22.95

The Howard School

• 100% Woven Polyester

• DuPont HPR Teflon coated

• Internal zip pockets

• Vented back

Uniform Base – £29.95

The Hundred of Hoo Academy

• Contrast colour lining

• Internal zip pockets

• Maxtech Stain Resistance

• 100% Polyester Woven Twill

• Back vent and jetted pockets

Uniform Base – £29.95

Medway UTC

N/A

N/A

Rainham School for Girls

Navy Fitted Blazer

School Shop- £31.00

The Robert Napier School

Grey 100% Polyester Designer Blazer

Uniformbase – £31.00

St John Fischer Catholic School

100% Black Polyester

Schooltime- £26.95

Strood Academy

Navy Fitted Blazer

Uniform Base- £27.00

The Thomas Aveling School

100% Black Polyester

School Time- £26.95

The Victory Academy

Navy blazer with sky trim and embroidered school logo

Simmonds -£39.95

Holcombe Grammar School

Grey blazer with embroidered school logo

Simmonds – £35.95

Chatham Grammar School for Girls

100% Black Polyester

Schooltime -£26.95

Fort Pitt Grammar School

100% Black Polyester

Schooltime- £26.95

Rainham Mark Grammar School

100% Black Polyester

Schooltime -£26.95

The Rochester Grammar School

100% Polyester

Simmonds – £39.95

Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School

100% Polyester with embroidered school logo

Simmonds – £39.95

The King’s School Rochester

Pre-Prep and Prep fully lined blazer, 3 patch pockets, 2 button fastening and school logo on breast pocket

55% Polyester 45% Wool

Perry Uniform- £84.00

Rochester Independent College

N/A

N/A

Brompton Academy

29.95

Greenacre Academy

22.95

The Howard School

29.95

The Hundred of Hoo Academy

29.95

Medway UTC

N/A

Rainham School for Girls

31

The Robert Napier School

31

St John Fischer Catholic School

26.95

Strood Academy

27

The Thomas Aveling School

26.95

The Victory Academy

39.95

Holcombe Grammar School

35.95

Chatham Grammar School for Girls

26.95

Fort Pitt Grammar School

26.95

Rainham Mark Grammar School

26.95

The Rochester Grammar School

39.95

Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School

39.95

The King’s School Rochester.

84

Type of Secondary Schools in Medway:

12 Comprehensive Schools

Brompton Academy, Greenacre Academy, The Howard School, The Hundred of Hoo Academy, Medway UTC, Rainham School for Girls, The Robert Napier School, St John Fischer Catholic School, Strood Academy, The Thomas Aveling School, The Victory Academy.

6 Grammar Schools

Chatham Grammar School for Boys (recently renamed Holcombe Grammar School), Chatham Grammar School for Girls, Fort Pitt Grammar School, Rainham Mark Grammar School, The Rochester Grammar School, Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School.

2 Independent Schools

The King’s School Rochester, Rochester Independent College.

Bibliography

Brompton Academy School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://www.bromptonacademy.org.uk/46/uniform

Chatham Grammar School for Girls School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://www.chathamgirlsgrammar.medway.sch.uk/

Fort Pitt Grammar School School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://fortpitt.medway.sch.uk/new/parents/school-uniform/

Greenacre Academy School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 Jan
uary 2018]. Available on Internet : http://greenacreacademytrust.co.uk/greenacre/parents/academy-uniform-info/

Holcombe Grammar School School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://www.simmonds-ltd.com/

Medway UTC School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://www.medwayutc.co.uk/information/uniform-policy/

Rainham Mark Grammar School School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://www.rainhammark.com/page/?pid=389

Rainham School for Girls School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://www.rainhamgirls-tkat.org/101/uniform

Rochester Independent College School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://rochester-college.org/

Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://www.simmonds-ltd.com/

St John Fischer Catholic School School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://sjfhs.co.uk/school-uniform/

Strood Academy School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://www.uniformbase.co.uk/shop/-/-/schoolrange/StroodAcademy

The Howard School School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://www.uniformbase.co.uk/shop/Schoolwear//product/Style_HOWBL

The Hundred of Hoo Academy School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://www.uniformbase.co.uk/school.php?id=242

The King’s School Rochester School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://www.kings-rochester.co.uk/Uniform

The Robert Napier School School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://www.uniformbase.co.uk/shop/-/-/schoolrange/RobertNapierComprehensiveSchoo

The Rochester Grammar School School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://www.simmonds-ltd.com/

The Thomas Aveling School School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://www.thomasaveling.co.uk/uniform

The Victory Academy School Uniform (2017) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet : http://www.simmonds-ltd.com/

Competition and Markets Authority (2015) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468358/School_uniform_open_letter.pdf

Government UK (2015) [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-welcomes-competition-plan

Daily Mail (2010) Pupils vote to wear School Uniform that’s been in fashion since 1552. [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1341949/Pupils-vote-wear-school-uniform-thats-fashion-1552.html

Wikimedia, (2018) Picture of Medway [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Medway_in_England_%28zoom%29.svg/816px-Medway_in_England_%28zoom%29.svg.png

Wikipedia (2018) Medway. [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medway

Kent Online (2015) Kent Rich List [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet: http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/kents-rich-list-41185/

Wikipedia (2018) List of Medway Schools [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2018]. Available on Internet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_schools_in_Medway

Books

Hardwick P., Khan B., Langmead J. (1982) An Introduction to Modern Economics.

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