Long-lasting ambassador for textiles

NEW products and new markets are breathing new life into an Oldham business that has been trading in the town for 37 years.

Ambassador Textiles, established in 1972 by Barry King, was named after the street in which the first premises were situated.

Four years later the company, which supplies fabrics and textiles throughout Britain, moved to Miles Street before settling on its current headquarters in Huddersfield Road 20 years ago.

These days founder Barry, well known in Oldham for his sports connections, mainly as the owner of Maple Squash Club, is only part time, leaving the day-to-day running of Ambassador with Austerlands man Mike Donohue, who joined 25 years ago.

Mike is the managing director while Barry describes himself as director with responsibilities for development, which is a loose enough description for a man who still understands the special demands of the textiles business to make a telling contribution.

Ambassador is continually seeking new markets and new outlets for new products they source from around the world.

Two floors of the building near the new Tesco Extra are laden with bolt after bolt of fabrics, from a new line in faux fur to more tradition textiles used for making men’s underwear.

On the day I visited, two pallets were being packed ready for shipping to Sweden while another was wrapped and ready for moving to a factory in Glodwick. Another was ready for shipment to a new customer in Beirut.

“We sell to anybody, anywhere and we deliver to all parts of the country on a daily basis,” Barry said.

“Our two biggest customers are wholesalers, like ourselves, and we act as their suppliers, delivering directly to their customers.”

While justifiably proud of the export element of the business, Barry cautions that these sales represent only 6 per cent of turnover.

“We have a really good agent in Sweden, who has been with us for more than 20 years, but other contacts we have had in Scandinavia, and others in Cyprus and Malta, have fallen away due to retirements and customers simply driving our prices too low for us to remain competitive,” he admitted.

A relentless pursuit of new products has kept the seven full-time and two part-time staff busy.

Barry’s daughter Caroline, who is establishing a growing internet business — fabricsonline — is maintaining a three-generation family link.

Barry now supplies some of the country’s biggest names, discount and designer High Street brands, with finished product manufactured in Higginshaw and Derker by local suppliers.

The continual search for new customers has resulted in contracts with companies manufacturing products for pets and equestrian suppliers, while his latest innovative product, polar fleece material for a range of products from jackets and blankets to accessories for baby buggies, is proving the most popular of all.