So! Is the glass half full or half empty? I could also ask the question, “What’s new?” I am trying to describe the flavor of our retail market, both the positive and negative aspects of our textile/apparel/accessories industries.
Ifeel that there is no one common thread generating business in 2008. We have mergers, acquisitions, financial instability, and consolidations on one side of the ledger, with exciting new fashions, the global economy in fairly good shape, growth projections (though at a smaller percentage), the lowest cost of monies in modern times, and widespread write-offs of bad debts not putting the world into a depression.
I do not have all the answers, except to say that it takes professional dedication to build a profitable business today. Population growth is part of the answer, as this makes for more consumerism and larger markets, but will you be sharing in the revenues at a profitable level?
The restrictions on investment into many so-called bilateral trade agreements are not really working. Governments are putting up restrictive barriers that just do not make sense, such as for India, Brazil and other WTO member countries. The bickering at the WTO is like a marriage ready to break up, and higher oil and other commodity prices make accurate, competitive costing a very difficult thing.
New regulations by the WTO as well as our bilateral agreement policies have made importing of products into the U.S.A. using foreign facilities very strict and selective. The requirements of very low first costs, quality of specifications and the guarantee of on-time delivery have become so strategic that requests for markdown discounts, charge backs, and litigation have become an everyday occurrence.
The 21st century is whole new ball game, and the rules are changing almost daily. The logistical pipelines are trying to make ‘Quick Response’ one of the keys to solving some of the problems, but this is only a part of the solution.
I suggest that whether it is your brand or whether you are a private label producer, you should meet with the principals of your customers. There are still too many ‘middleman’ organizations between you (the manufacturer who is taking all the risk to manufacture a product) and your customers. The saying, “The world is getting smaller”, is a factual truth, as communication allows us to be only seconds away from the source.
Are you going to bury your head in the sand so to speak, and just repeat your same old methods? Or will you become an activist and speak directly to the buyers receiving the product, thereby no longer taking direction from others who may not have the sense of urgency required to produce successfully.
“What’s new?” could be you, the manufacturer, going directly to management and having a continuous open line of factual communication. You will then be able to shorten your production time even with all of the variables that take place in production of textile and apparel products.