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Abstract:
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The Apparel Industry was one of the first globally operating industries.
Already in the early 1970ies did European fashion companies extend their
manufacturing workbenches into lower cost neighbouring countries, making it
one of the first industries to have a globally distributed network. In the first
decade of the 21st century, the conditions for clothes manufacturing has
changed considerably. The Sourcing Share of Asia increased dramatically
especially since Chinas participation in the WTO in 2005 which led to the
abolition of quotas. India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Malaysia and the Philippines
also play a major role in the Asian Textile and Garment Market. But even so,
West Europe, the Mediterranean Rim and the East European Countries still
play an important role on the global textile and apparel market, maybe no
longer from the volume perspective but in terms of variety, complexity and
product quality, particularly for the more demanding markets. Latin America
has seen a significant decline over the last decade but is developing similar
strategies like Europe to compete through quality and specialty niche rather
than volume. Does this mean that the West European Apparel Industry is dead?
The European Textile and Garment industry has undergone a severe decline
since 1970 which nearly made it extinct in some of the EU founding economies.
The labour intensive manufacturing segment which is almost not existent in
Western Europe today particularly suffered. The only uncritical area where
specifically one country in Western Europe is still defending its share, possibly
due to changed sourcing practices and a recently increased presence on the
global marketplace is the textile sector in Italy, which has even seen a rise in
both volumes and employees over the last decade. |
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