Retailers Cut Corners -- and Fabrics -- to Avoid Apparel Price Hikes

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We, the Apparel Makers' Blog is bringing this article to our readers as we thought that manufacturer here in Bangladesh need to aware about the changing trend in USA and other potential export market, how retailers are thinking to survive in the market. They are cutting the expenses to continue their business. Read the full story by - MERCEDES CARDONA. 

Expect your T-shirts to get a little bit thinner next year - and maybe even a little more expensive as well. As apparel retailers try to cope with rising costs, "cutting corners" could take on a new meaning in the clothing department.

Merchants are facing higher cotton prices, labor costs and other rising expenses to produce apparel, but they know shoppers are still cash-strapped and won't stand for moves to pass on wholesale price increases. This time last year, retailers were warning that clothing prices would go up, but with unemployment still high and incomes stuck in neutral, merchants have found little room to maneuver.

So, retailers are asking their vendors to perform some manufacturing sleight-of-hand to keep unit prices down. You may see more of the same fabrics interpreted in different pieces -- which lets manufacturers buy fabric in bulk -- as well as designs that use less fabric per piece and more cotton blends in some pieces.

Cotton prices are up about 80% and synthetic fabrics by about 50%, says Cathy Tesija, executive vice president of merchandising at Target (TGT). And while there are options for mitigating the increases - by shifting manufacturing to countries with lower labor costs and making more efficient use of fabric -- some of those costs will have to be passed on, she says.

"We don't want to get to the point where we redesign the garments to the point where they're not appealing," Tesija says.


See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/hUtq3E


About the Write: Mercedes M. Cardona is a New York-based freelance writer. In 25 years as a journalist she has written about business, travel, lifestyle, health, decor, and career issues. She has worked for media organizations including the Gannett Co., Fairchild Publications, Crain Communications and the Associated Press. Her writing has appeared in newspapers, websites and magazines worldwide, including USA Today, Advertising Age and the websites of The Miami Herald and Newsday.

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