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Articles Of Interest

South African Government Warns Retailers
Page 1

Hanesbrands to Cut 2185 Jobs
Page 1

Bangladesh Still in Trouble 
With Workers
Page 1

$14M Smuggled Chinese Garments Seized
Page 1

Lingerie Americas Fashion Show in New York
Page 2

Ban on Underweight Models
Page 2

Buyers' Best Sellers
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Harding Signs with Ultimo
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September 15, 2006                                            Issue #177

4/24

             McPete -Sez, 
     The Lingerie Newsletter 
                  & 
       Women's Wear Journal
         
                 
Sleepwear-Daywear-Foundations-Loungewear-Hosiery-
       Swimwear-Dancewear-Clubwear-Funwear 
                              Ready to-wear.

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South African Government
     Warns Retailers
South African retailers have been warned by their government that they could be guilty of treason if they try to get around quotas placed on Chinese clothing and textile imports.
The bizarre and disconcerting warning from Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka came after leading retailers warned that an imminent cap on Chinese textile imports would force them to import alternative supplies from other foreign producers - including those in Vietnam, Bangladesh and Eastern Europe - whose goods are cheaper than local manufacturers.
Leading South African retailers Edcon, Truworths, Woolworths, Foschini, Pepkor and Mr Price have warned local clothing prices could surge by up to 25% if no alternative suppliers are found before the recently agreed quota on Chinese imports goes into effect on September 28.
This declaration has been a red flag to a government which spent years negotiating the quota deal with Beijing in a desperate attempt to stem major jobs losses in the local clothing industry. 
The agreement, which covers 31 categories of textile and clothing, was signed in June and will run to the end of 2008.
Government reaction has sparked industry indignation. "There are better ways to manage the economic difficulties that had developed in these two industrial sectors (textiles and clothing)," said a spokesman for Business Unity South Africa (Busa), a grouping of the country’s leading firms. 
"Implementation at a practical level could take several alternative routes, which Busa would like to explore with the government."
Leading retailers have highlighted poor productivity in the domestic clothing sector as the cause of imports. 
One possible solution to the standoff between government and retailers is the September 28 deadline being delayed to allow retailers to boost their stocks of Chinese clothes and textiles ahead of the main Christmas retail market, according to one main retailer.
Retailers, though, have been put on notice by the deputy president that their purchasing activities will be monitored closely.
The country’s umbrella union group, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, has blasted retailers' worries over Chinese import limitations as alarmist and highlighted record corporate profits in the retail sector. 
SACTWU, the biggest union in the clothing, textile and leather industry, with more than 100,000 members, has backed the quota deal as a way to ensure the long-term viability of the domestic industry.


17/24  
Hanesbrands to Cut 2,185
                   Jobs
Hanesbrands Inc, the $4.7bn apparel business that was spun off from Sara Lee Corp in the middle of September, is to close three factories in the US and Mexico and axe around 2,185 jobs as it takes steps to strengthen its global supply chain.
Production at the plants in Monclova, Mexico, Lumberton, NC, and Marion, SC, will be moved to “lower-cost” domestic, Caribbean basin and Central American facilities.
The cost of closing the manufacturing plants, which make fleece sweatshirts and trousers, outerwear T-shirts, sport shirts and sheer hosiery will come to $27m in the fiscal year ending December 30, 2006. 
The company says its actions will help improve speed to market, align sewing operations with the flow of textiles, leverage the company's large scale in high-volume products, and consolidate hosiery production capacity. 
The Monclova, Mexico, plant, is expected to cease by the end of December 2006 and will be moved to the company’s other facilities in the Caribbean basin and Central America. This facility has approximately 1,700 employees and sews fleece sweatshirts and pants and outerwear T-shirts. 
About 80 positions at the Rosita, Mexico, fabric cutting operation that supplies the Monclova plant will also be eliminated as a result of the production transfer. 
Hanesbrands’ Lumberton, NC, textile facility, which has 260 employees, will stop making fabric for sport shirts and outerwear T-shirts by the end of November 2006. Production will be shifted to Central America and the company's Forest City, NC, plant. 
The Marion, SC, plant, which has approximately 145 employees, will end the production of sheer hosiery by the end of February 2007 and its output will be consolidated into the company's Clarksville, Ark, hosiery production plant. 


24/24   
Bangladesh Still In Trouble
           With Workers
Workers in Bangladesh’s clothing factories have rejected a new monthly minimum wage deal, threatening to take to the streets in protest if their demands are not met.
The country’s National Wage Commission had offered the workers a minimum of BDT1,604 (US$23.92) a month, rising to BDT1,890 from next July and rising again to BDT2,117.50 from July 2008.
But trade unions representatives said the proposed settlement was “far lower” than their expectations, describing it as “absurd” and calling for an immediate minimum wage of at least BDT2,000 a month.
However, National Wage Commission member Jafrul Hasan defended the proposal, claiming it had taken into account the cost of living and the ability of employers to pay.
Dhaka’s export processing zone was brought to a halt in May as rioting workers took to the streets to protest against low pay and poor working conditions. One worker was killed and many injured before factories started operations again in June.

              
                   Models present items by Grenier 
 at the Lingerie Americas Fashion Show in New York, 
                                July 30 - August 1.  
                 Photographed by Russell VanBrocklen
See more pictures from the Lingerie Americas Fashion Show
          in the October 1st issue of McPete Sez!


2/12 
PSF Anti-Dumping Duty
         Extended?
The Japanese government may extend anti-dumping duties governing imports of polyester staple fibers (PSF) from South Korea and Taiwan in response to concerns raised by Japanese fiber producers.
Three producers – Toray Industries, Teijin Fibers and Unitika Fibers – have submitted evidence which they claim shows that fibers from South Korea and Taiwan are being sold in Japan at unfairly low prices.
Japan has imposed PSF tariffs of 6-13.5% on imports from the countries since July 2002. They are set to cease from June 30, 2007.
The Japanese Trade Ministry is now investigating the claims, with an extension to the anti-dumping duties a possible result.


21/24 Photographed by Scott Johnson www.scottjohnsonphotography.com

$14m Smuggled Chinese
    Garments Seized
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has seized more than US$14m of misdescribed Chinese-made clothing at the Savannah Port of Entry.
The almost 1m jerseys and shirts had been given false country-of-origin documents as part of a ploy to avoid China textile quotas.
Port director Frank Jaramillo said: "Our CBP officers and import specialists continue to maintain a strong enforcement posture and will continue to review textile shipments to ensure compliance with laws and regulations governing imports."

              
1/12
Mexico's Textile & Apparel   
     Makers Fight Over 
  CAFTA Membership
Mexico’s textile and apparel manufacturers are caught in a bitter row over the benefits that the country’s possible entry into the Central American Free Trade Agreement may bring to their respective trades. 
Mexico is currently reviewing CAFTA-DR membership for all its industries as a way to expand trade ties with its Central American neighbors. The country has begun negotiations and hopes to reach a deal in coming months.
Rafael Zaga, president of top textile chamber Camara Nacional de la Industria Textil, said this week that CAFTA will boost fabric exports to 100m metric tons in the first year of Mexico’s membership and to 200m tons in the second year. 
Apparel makers in Central America and the Dominican Republic will be able to make clothes with Mexican fabrics and export them to the US duty free, given they don’t surpass certain limits, Zaga was reported as saying.
Zaga said the tentative accord will boost efforts to create a Free Trade Area of the Americas, a proposal now stalled because of Venezuelan, Argentine and Brazilian opposition. 
"This would be like a mini Alca (Free Trade Area of the Americas) and will help regional integration," Zaga said. 
Mexico’s adhesion to CAFTA will also help its breadwinning textile
and apparel trades fight off huge competition from Asian producers by creating a stronger competitive trading block.
Mexico has complained that the CAFTA group will cripple its exports to the US, so membership should provide some benefits. 
But the country’s apparel industry has a very different view of CAFTA, and doesn’t want to join.
Tony Kuri, president of CNIV, said CAFTA membership will kill thousands of jobs in the apparel sector by transferring manufacturing to Central American producers. 
CAFTA "may create 10,000 new textile jobs but we will lose 200,000," Kury said.
He said CNIV is working to coax the government to reject the treaty or provide it with a workable solution.


19/24
Business Leaders Against 
   Shoe Duties Proposal
European business leaders, led by high-end footwear manufacturers, are calling on European Union member states to resist Mediterranean countries' pressure to impose definitive anti-dumping duties on shoes from Vietnam and China. 
In a joint letter to governments, EU shoe manufacturers, retailers and distributors are pushing for the rejection of a compromise proposal from current EU president Austria, which would impose duties for 12 months, with an option to renew over five years. 
Southern European states, led by Italy and Spain, have been pushing for protection - opposed by northern Europeans - resulting in a standoff that must be resolved by October 6 or current temporary duties will lapse. 
A letter from the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry, Eurocommerce and others said EU producers had moved upmarket to fight off cheap competition, with outsourced production and cheap supplies being threatened by the duties.

5/24
MA Cashmere Collapses
Textile firm MA Cashmere has collapsed without warning, causing the sudden unemployment of 23 people.
The 1971-founded company, which made hand-knitted designs, has not given details of what led to its collapse.
The firm began to suffer problems as early as the 1980s, when founder Murray Allan retired. However, a six-figure investment last year gave hope to the firm and its employees.

         
                   Models present items by Huit 
 at the Lingerie Americas Fashion Show in New York, 
                                July 30 - August 1.  
                 Photographed by Russell VanBrocklen
See more pictures from the Lingerie Americas Fashion Show
          in the October 1st issue of McPete Sez!

                    Reps Wanted
Lingerie distributor looking for US independent 
sales representatives for about 300 items. Contact 
Michael at (909)468-2705 www.sensualmystique.com
3/6
H&M Opens Two Dubai Stores
Swedish clothing chain H&M has opened its first two Dubai stores in the Mall of the Emirates. 
The company is opening its Middle East stores through a franchise deal with retailer MH Alshaya.
H&M will open a third store on September 13, in the Ibn Battuta mall.
"We are very proud to open H&M stores in this region, which is known for its high fashion awareness," said Rolf Eriksen, H&M's CEO.
The retailer will also open its first store in Kuwait City on 20 September. 


                   Reps Wanted
Fast Growing Sexy Lingerie company looking for Independent Sales representatives for the West Coast, and Mid West/Central/Southeast Regions.  
Marc Ph(866) 615-2175 marc@gworldcollections.net
2/6
135,000 Pairs Counterfeit
  Nike Trainers Seized
Police have seized thousands of pairs of fake Nike trainers in what is believed to be one of the biggest counterfeit cases in recent history.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents said that a smuggling ring had tried to import 15 sea cargo containers carrying 135,000 pairs of fake Nike Air Jordans. The trainers, which had a total retail value of US$16m, originated from China.
Six men from Mexico, China and the US are being charged with attempting to traffic counterfeit products and services and conspiring to bribe an official. 
The charges include a five-year prison sentence plus a fine of $250,000.
Nike spokesperson Derek Kent praised the teams who had stopped the operation. 
"Counterfeiting is a problem for a number of consumer goods companies such as Nike," he said
"We take it very seriously. We have a vast network of security officers, and also in-house personnel, to tackle the problem."

 
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