An AAPN Member Report from Outdoor Retailer Show

July 30, 2009

From Don Cilley, Carmel Creative Knits:

This was the first time in over a year that I have been at a show that was - ALIVE! Across the board, both brands and retailers have pulled themselves back into a shell – no inventory risks, no new product risks! Last week the word was that people are ready to get moving again – the market sees real optimism for the 2011 lines. Product development people are focused on new opportunities and getting the product right for a consumer they expect will be there.

Carmel Creative Knits has been promoting RECYCLED COTTON and ECO fibers for the past two years – last week one of those Billion Dollar Majors came up to me and said “I have had your fabric on my desk for the past year – we need to talk.” I had given up on them! I hadn’t tried to set up a meeting with them prior to the show. The interest in GREEN is still out there and coming back. RECYCLED is finally gaining interest over organic.

The “Storm Fleece” was also a major hit. Think of the hoodie sweatshirt you have in your closet – but this one is water resistant. It is an improvement on an basic item that everyone loves to wear, but now with functionality!

We are beginning to see the light at the end of a long dark tunnel. Between now and then – hold on and stay in the game!

Tags: americas , fabric , networking

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Kingpins - a different kind of face-to-face marketing venue

July 22, 2009

Sue and I attended our first Kingpins show last week. It is a small privately owned show, not a trade show, more of an encounter. It is held twice a year in NY, twice in LA and twice in HK.

We counted 25 exhibitors. Three of our members – FesslerUSA; Denimatrix/PCCA; and Union Textil from the DR – exhibited. They tell us they got their money’s worth.

It was strictly enforced invitation-only so you had next to no students, start ups, kids screaming in strollers and bag ladies filling pockets with freebies. Every store and brand of jeans you might imagine made an appearance. The format is gourmet food all day long, small footprint for the show, located in a loft on 36th and 10th, with a blockbuster rooftop party at 6:30 until whenever.

The theme is jeans and t-shirts. The exhibitors were full package with tons of samples. And they were solidly in the ‘fashion’ space of the industry. It was a two day show. The second day was really slow because of hang over’s from the party at the end of the first day. Two day shows CAN work.

Fortunately, Kingpin’s was one black away from Javits, where the TexWorld show was on and many went to both.  You could sure get in and out of Kingpin’s quickly.

Even though every customer was slowly walked around the show and told who was in each booth, no-one had nametags which actually forced quite a bit of interaction. I loved one moment when I saw someone Twit another booth that “Abercrombie & Fitch just walked into your booth”. Cool.

We spoke with the owner of Kingpin’s about an idea we have to promote the factories of the US, Mexico the Caribbean and CAFTA in this format and potentially at the same time as this event. There’s interest and we will let you know more.

It was an extremely pleasant experience, as focused and non-threatening as a show can get. Nothing beats a top designer with full responsibility coming in, sitting down and asking what is possible.

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Some REALLY Whacky new trade legislation

July 01, 2009

We don’t take sides on legislation but we can’t resist the weight of common sense. This is one the most far fetched, out-of-left-field proposals I’ve read coming out of DC in my life. Now, if you were to substitute ‘DR-CAFTA’ everywhere it says Philippines in the following creative writing exercise, THEN maybe you would be onto something.

Here’s my highlights:

McDermott noted, “that the United States and the Philippines have "mutually benefited from strong economic and cultural ties that date back many decades," until that pesky decade when they booted us out of Clark AFB and other mutual agreements.

This one cracks me up, “McDermott, a member of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, said the Philippines represents a "tremendous economic potential and enduring political and security significance to the United States."  Really?

I particularly slowed WAY down to make sure I understood each and every word of this staggering new insight, “....and for the first time, US textile manufacturers would have a program that utilizes sewing done in an Asian country.”

By the way, this is a hard kick in the butt of supply chains intertwined in this entire hemisphere including and especially factories in the US. I think some of you out there know the real story behind this. I do but I’m not in a position to broadcast it...........suffice it to say somebody paid somebody a LOT of money to come up with this, and I know some of the guys who collected on it.


Trade Bill Designed To Boost Textile Exports
James A. Morrissey, Washington Correspondent
Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., has introduced legislation that would permit duty-free entry into the United States of apparel made in the Philippines, provided it contains yarn and fabric made in the Philippines or the United States. Its provisions are similar to the yarn-forward requirement in a number of US free trade agreements (FTAs).

In introducing the legislation, McDermott, a member of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, said the Philippines represents a "tremendous economic potential and enduring political and security significance to the United States."

The bill says the United States and the Philippines share the same concerns and challenges stemming from the removal of textile and apparel quotas worldwide and the import safeguards guards covering US/Chinese trade. It also notes that the US apparel industry is heavily dependent on sewing operations outside of the United States, and for the first time, US textile manufacturers would have a program that utilizes sewing done in an Asian country. The United States has negotiated an FTA with South Korea, but it is bogged down in Congress in view of strong opposition from US automobile and textile manufacturers and others in this country as well as from agricultural interests in Korea.

The law would grant duty-free treatment to apparel products wholly assembled in the Philippines, provided they are made from US or Filipino yarn and fabric. It specifies a wide range of products including men's and boys' shirts, shorts, underwear and trousers; and women's and girls' skirts, shorts, blouses, slacks, brassieres and swimwear.

Noting that the United States and the Philippines have "mutually benefited from strong economic and cultural ties that date back many decades," McDermott pointed to a sharp decline in trade in recent years. He said  apparel imports from the Philippines have fallen by almost $1 billion since 2000, and US textile exports to the Philippines amounted to only about $20 million last year.

Kevin M. Burke, president and CEO of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, strongly endorsed the McDermott bill, saying, "Our efforts to tear down barriers to trade will strengthen the relationship we share with our 30th-largest trading partner while working to benefit our textile and apparel industries."

Peter B. Favila, secretary of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, also endorsed the legislation and urged Congress to approve it "as soon as possible."

June 30, 2009
 

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