Antler

Antler is a British luggage company. It is reshoring its suitcase production to Britain for the first time in 20 years, emphasising the increasing importance of British-made goods to consumer and retail groups.

The Atom suitcase uses a specific material, Armordon, made by Scotland’s Don & Low. The suitcase is being manufactured and assembled by Linecross, a plastics company based in Rutland in the East Midlands, which also supplies luxury carmakers.

Julia Reynolds, chief executive of Antler, gave several reasons for the reshoring. 
On one hand she claims that: “It’s the reverse of 20 years ago… when everyone in the UK was going out to China and teaching the Chinese how to do it,”. Indeed, the company was aided by one of its Chinese suppliers in transfering skills in automotive component manufacturing to suitcase assembly. On the other hand, the reshoring was at least partly driven by rising costs in China. Advances in suitcase design also means production is now more about engineering than the traditional skills of cutting and sewing. Finally, there is an increasing trend for retailers and consumer goods companies to make clothes and accessories in Britain.