The early 1980s recession and pressure on manufacturing and exports were difficult, or even disastrous, for Karrimor, as for many other manufacturers and exporters in the UK. Two of the company's three factories closed and 100 of the 300-strong workforce were made redundant. Determined to remain focused on the manufacturing strengths of the business, a core selling and reputation point, Parsons sustained the business by investing in product lines that would sell counter-seasonally to backpacks, and modernised Karrimor by visiting the United States to learn newer business practices, where manufacturing and business practices were often far in advance of those in the UK. According to Parsons, the changes cost the family-owned business over £1 million by completion, but left Karrimor at the start of the 1990s as "the industry's most significant supplier", and it continued to win awards and renown.