U.S. Apparel Industry example essay topic

1. Introduction to the industry Companies that design, manufacture, market, and / or license brands for men's, women's, and / or children's clothing, footwear, and accessories (1). The fast-paced exciting apparel industry is one of the largest industries in the United States. Americans spend billions of dollars each year on soft goods ranging from the latest apparel fashion to basic underwear. 2. Recent economic trends The apparel sector is an important element in early economic growth of countries in early stages of development.

The abundance of low-skill workers fits well with an industry that requires physical labor rather than mechanized production methods to produce its goods. As the economy develops in time, the education and skill levels of those workers rise, and with them rise workers' wage rates. They become less and less able to produce apparel at prices competitive with other countries that are not yet as developed. But they become better able to manufacture products that require greater levels of skill, like cars or steel. Apparel production begins to shift gradually out of the country to countries that still have an abundant supply of low-skill workers. 3.

Major firms, their size in sales, number of employees, assets Table 1. Segments, niches, and competitive patterns Segments and niches: The consumer apparel segment includes jeans wear and related products, women's intimate apparel and children's apparel, occupational apparel, knitwear, outdoor apparel and equipment. The outdoor apparel and equipment segment consists of the company's outerwear and adventure apparel, plus daypacks and technical equipment, sports apparel and distributor knitwear operations. Competitive patterns: The branded companies of the apparel industry are capable of designing, manufacturing, and marketing apparel products, thus making themselves very competitive.

5. Subsidiary industries (suppliers, vendors) The subsidiary industries include design, manufacture, and marketing consisting of departmental stores, outlets, company-operated specialty retail and outlet stores, and concession stores where its products are sold in third-party-owned locations. 6. Cross-national (international, Multi-national) opportunities At the age of globalization, products of the U.S. apparel companies can be found in every corner of the world. 7. Unique practices Unique practices include implementation of leading-edge supply chain capabilities combined with a holistic business process that dramatically reduces cycle times, increases visibility across the entire value chain, enables quick response to changes at retail, and ultimately delivers satisfaction to the consumer, in the form of the right product, at the right place and time, at the right price, and in the right size and color.

8. Forecasts In general, the U.S. apparel industry is alive and well. That is not to say there still aren! t some serious problems and question marks. The point is: it remains a viable, innovative and forward-looking industry, one that!'s likely to edge back after years of economic decline. Growing emphasis on new stylings should help, by keeping consumers in a spending mode. So should an economy which, while still far from robust, is expected to grow at a respectable 2.5 to 3 percent annual rate over the coming year.

Nor do costs seem to present any insurmountable problems. To be sure, there should be some small advances in fiber costs, but ample supply will keep such boosts in bounds. Combine this with solid productivity gains that should pretty much offset relatively modest payroll hikes, and overall cost pressures seem quite manageable (3). 9.

Ethical and social responsiveness issues The industry!'s central concern is the use of child labor in the production of apparel for the U.S. market in foreign countries. To tackle this problem, the U.S. government has begun to review the extent to which U.S. apparel importers have established and are implementing codes of conduct or other business guidelines prohibiting the use of child labor in the production of the clothing they sell.