At the South African International Trade andInvestment Conference and Exhibition 2007, the Deputy President PhumzileMlambo-Ngcuka praised the KwaZulu-Natal (a province in South Africa)based clothing sector for its productivity in a very competitive industrialsector.
She said it was imperative that there should be more pressure placed on South African consumers to support local design as fashion was an importantsector within both the textile and apparel industries. She said that thereshould be more investment in labour.
This is a contentious issue as many in the sectorclaim that it is the lack of productivity and our high wages that makes theindustry uncompetitive. Many South African manufacturers it is claimed aremoving from South Africa and relocating in countries such as Lesotho and Swaziland because of cheaper labour.
The South African Department of Trade and Industrysaid that there was robust consumer spending and this was good for the apparelsector. I am cautious as to how long such consumer behavior will last and Ithink we are going to see the effects of the new Credit Act in the firstquarter of next year. Already some of the retail stores are indicating thatthey may do away with their six months free credit systems because a lower turnoveris expected.
This is a serious warning to the fashion sector. Iexpect South African consumers are going to want to continue paying less fordesign intensive clothing. In meeting this demand retailers are going to sourcemore from offshore. This will create even tighter margins for South Africandesigners.
The outlook on the global platform for trade intextile and apparel looks positive but how much of this market will SouthAfrican producers capture? It is expected that global trade in these economicsectors will reach US$ 805 billion by 2015. Vietnam and Cambodia it is estimated will be some of the major gainers in this growth. The countries tosuffer the most are from Africa. Even with AGOA exports from Sub-Saharan Africaare not good. The total global market for textiles exports in 2004 from theAGOA region = 2.6% and for clothing exports in 2004 = 3.7%.
In a parallel debate at the conference it wasmentioned that there were many opportunities for the South African apparelsector in the domestic market. Some South African companies have restructured production lines become tighter and leaner and have improved in their service delivery toretailers and it is these companies that are doing well. These companies havebrought added value to their operations. They have reduced inventory holdingsand are experiencing lower customer returns.
It is predicted that the entire relationship betweenretailer and supplier will begin to change in the next few years as the globalindustry restructures itself to meet new challenges. Buyers/retailers areexpected to outsource more responsibilities from their suppliers.
The Chinese director of the West Asian and AfricanAffairs government department said the "liberalization of textiles is alegal right of China as it provides a lot of jobs for Chinese." Hesupported the claim by the South African government that the implementation ofquotas on some Chinese products has benefited South Africa. He said Chineseexports to South Africa had declined to 30% and even 50% for some categoriesbut said imports from other countries into South Africa had increased. Heclaimed that imports from Myanmar (Burma) had increased by 341% and importsfrom Malaysia had risen to 560% in the first four months of the year. - ends
COUNTERING COUNTERFEIT GARMENTS IS THERE A STRATEGY?
In the past few weeks, there have been numerous articles in the South African press about this thorny issue. In October Canterbury South Africa, the official manufacturer of Springbok jerseys made a ridiculous statement that in principal was supported by Rugby SA. Canterbury SA wants to inspect every person wearing a Springbok jersey entering a stadium to see if they are wearing counterfeits and if they are to either ban them from entering the stadium or to name and shame them. The obvious question is how are they going to do this and how will the people checking the jerseys know what is counterfeit and what is a Canterbury SA manufactured jersey?
This author approached Rugby SA to enquire as to how many of the 31000 jerseys sold were made in South Africa and at the time of writing have had no response. Canterbury SA said that they wish to introduce an "entry level Springbok jersey [that will sell] for less than R300.00." No doubt, this will be made offshore.
Counterfeits are not only sold on street corners but are being sold in the formal sector as well. For example, the owner of the Durban based boutique chain Ooh La La will be standing trial for dealing in counterfeit Soviet jeans. This author has previously said that the South African Revenue Services and the unions should spend some energy into monitoring these private boutiques that stock imported merchandise. We need to investigate if they are meeting the import and label regulations. Furthermore, I have argued that these stores should also stock a certain percentage of locally made designer wear. The trickle down effect for the designer sector in South Africa would be tremendous.
The issue relating to counterfeits is serious but the industry needs to become more proactive in trying to educate consumers about labels, and the importance of supporting local content. This is an ideal opportunity for the South African design community as a collective to implement such a promotional and educational drive.
We have all these fashion groups saying they are active in the promotion of local design content but we see very little collaborative engagement. Personalities and territorial control still dictates the industry.
The author has spoken to a number of people in government who find it incomprehensible that the industry (fashion sector) bemoans the state of play yet cannot work together or even develop a collaborative platform to implement and drive a national agenda that involves and provides a voice for everyone.
For more than a year, this author have been asking the design community to come forward and assist in staging a national conference where we can iron out our issues, put aside personal agendas and establish a strategy document. It is so clear that there is no plan of action for this sector. We need to take matters into our own hands. We need to construct and stitch a plan of action on our own and then and only then do I believe the industry will really flourish.
The ReDress Report was compiled by Renato Palmi
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