Case Study: Cambridge Clothing

Managing currency volatility in an import-heavy business

Cambridge Clothing is one of New Zealand’s oldest apparel companies, with origins dating back nearly 160 years. The company designs, manufactures, and distributes tailored menswear across New Zealand and Australia, with much of its manufacturing outsourced to Indonesia.

That operating model creates meaningful foreign exchange exposure. Cambridge Clothing pays many suppliers in USD, sells most of its product in Australia, and manages AUD inflows that must be repatriated to New Zealand or converted to USD or NZD.

Why pricing certainty matters

Cambridge Clothing’s design, manufacturing, and distribution cycle can run six to twelve months. Pricing decisions may need to be set months before purchase orders are placed, which makes exchange rate assumptions an important part of margin planning.

When exchange rates move during that cycle, the impact can affect product pricing, supplier costs, and profitability. The business needed a clearer way to manage currency volatility and build more certainty into seasonal planning.

Building a structured hedging program

Before working with Corpay Cross-Border, Cambridge Clothing had attempted hedging through traditional banks, but the process was cumbersome and lacked the level of guidance the business needed.

Corpay Cross-Border worked with Cambridge Clothing to build a structured hedging program using FX forward contracts. The approach was aligned to seasonal buying cycles, pricing windows, cash flow timing, AUD inflows, and USD outflows.

This helped Cambridge Clothing establish a known worst-case exchange rate for designers and merchandisers when setting pricing for future seasons.

Using flexible execution alongside forward contracts

Cambridge Clothing now uses a mix of forward contracts, spot purchases, and direct USD trades through Corpay Cross-Border.

This gives the business flexibility when deciding whether to draw down on existing hedges or buy spot, depending on market conditions and payment timing. Regular conversations with Corpay Cross-Border also help the finance team evaluate the best available option when USD purchases are needed.

Improving margin planning through FX visibility

For Cambridge Clothing, the goal was not to speculate on currency markets. The goal was to use currency hedging as a way to reduce downside exposure and support more confident planning.

With greater visibility into its exchange rate position, the business can give design and merchandising teams a more reliable pricing foundation months before products are purchased and sold.

Supporting treasury decisions with market insight

Cambridge Clothing also uses Corpay Cross-Border’s market updates and short-form forecasts to support internal treasury discussions and board-level conversations.

This external perspective helps validate FX assumptions and gives the finance team additional context when reviewing exposure, pricing decisions, and future hedging requirements.

Building a more predictable FX process

Within the first year of working with Corpay Cross-Border, Cambridge Clothing reported a significant improvement in gross profit from improved FX outcomes, moving from a prior-year loss position to a positive result.

The partnership has also helped simplify execution, support regular review cycles, and make FX management a more structured part of the company’s financial planning.

For an import-heavy business operating across currencies, managing FX is not only a treasury task. It is a practical part of protecting pricing, planning margins, and building confidence in future decisions.

Learn more about Corpay Cross-Border’s currency risk management solutions.

Read the full case study to see how Cambridge Clothing uses FX forward contracts to manage currency volatility and build pricing certainty.

Cross-Border

Risk management