U.S. retailers shut down

[Jayco1]

As U.S. retailers shut down, the exporters panic...

Since we, the United States, have dismantled our textile and clothing industry, sewing skills might be good to learn, and also prepping with sewing supplies and material, before the sources dry up. or, start prepping with clothes and shoes, etc.
bh
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Exporters panic as big US retailers shut stores
17 Oct, 2008, 1049 hrs IST,Rajesh Chandramouli, TNN

CHENNAI: What is common between Eddie Bauer, Gap, Talbots and Ann Taylor? They are marquee retailers of the US, which are shutting stores and thereby sending shivers down the spine of Tirupur exporters.

Take a look at the sample list of store closures in the US: Eddie Bauer has closed 27 shops in the first quarter and plans to close a few more by the end of 2008.

The owner of Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines Plus Sizes will close about 150 under-performing stores this year.

The Talbots group has announced that it will close Talbots Kids and Talbots Mens Concepts by September 2008. In all, Talbots will close 78 mens and children's stores.

Walt Disney said it has also obtained the right to close about 98 Disney Stores in the US. Gap Inc, whose brands include Old Navy and Banana Republic, has announced plans to close 85 stores as it continues to struggle to attract customers.

Ann Taylor will close 117 stores between 2008 and 2010.

What all this implies are lower orders, lower business followed by retrenchment. And with the financial turmoil spreading to Europe, orders from that continent are slowing down too.

"Tirupur has over three lakh people dependent on garment exports. With fresh orders difficult to come by, businesses will find it difficult to stay afloat.

The Tirupur Exporters' Association expects a 5% drop in exports this year. It would be safe to assume there would be job losses of anything between 10,000 and 15,000 in the coming months, though none of the big manufacturers has resorted to this," an exporter said.

However, V Rajagopal, chairman of Celebrity Fashions, which works for US retailer Eddie Baur, said there is no slowdown in orders. "It is business as usual, but we have to be cautious."

Edelweiss Research has said that US imports of apparel from India this year (till August) has fallen by 4.8%. Yarn imports have also dropped by 7% for the same period.

Till August '08, India's textile exports to the US declined 1.6% year-on-year to $3.5 billion and market share increased marginally to 5.7%.

Nirav Shah, who covers textiles at PINC Research, says, "The slowdown in the US will affect the purchasing power of consumers, affecting discretionary spending that includes spending on clothes." He said domestic suppliers may see lower orders and also lower margins due to lower prices being offered by US firms.

According to estimates, textile and garment exports are likely to touch $24.6 billion in '08-09, which is short by a wide margin against the government targeted figures of $31.17 billion in this fiscal.


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_by_Industry/Bi...icleshow/3607119.cms

[Jayco1]

As U.S. retailers shut down, the exporters panic...

Since we, the United States, have dismantled our textile and clothing industry, sewing skills might be good to learn, and also prepping with sewing supplies and material, before the sources dry up. or, start prepping with clothes and shoes, etc.
bh
================================

Exporters panic as big US retailers shut stores
17 Oct, 2008, 1049 hrs IST,Rajesh Chandramouli, TNN

CHENNAI: What is common between Eddie Bauer, Gap, Talbots and Ann Taylor? They are marquee retailers of the US, which are shutting stores and thereby sending shivers down the spine of Tirupur exporters.

Take a look at the sample list of store closures in the US: Eddie Bauer has closed 27 shops in the first quarter and plans to close a few more by the end of 2008.

The owner of Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines Plus Sizes will close about 150 under-performing stores this year.

The Talbots group has announced that it will close Talbots Kids and Talbots Mens Concepts by September 2008. In all, Talbots will close 78 mens and children's stores.

Walt Disney said it has also obtained the right to close about 98 Disney Stores in the US. Gap Inc, whose brands include Old Navy and Banana Republic, has announced plans to close 85 stores as it continues to struggle to attract customers.

Ann Taylor will close 117 stores between 2008 and 2010.

What all this implies are lower orders, lower business followed by retrenchment. And with the financial turmoil spreading to Europe, orders from that continent are slowing down too.

"Tirupur has over three lakh people dependent on garment exports. With fresh orders difficult to come by, businesses will find it difficult to stay afloat.

The Tirupur Exporters' Association expects a 5% drop in exports this year. It would be safe to assume there would be job losses of anything between 10,000 and 15,000 in the coming months, though none of the big manufacturers has resorted to this," an exporter said.

However, V Rajagopal, chairman of Celebrity Fashions, which works for US retailer Eddie Baur, said there is no slowdown in orders. "It is business as usual, but we have to be cautious."

Edelweiss Research has said that US imports of apparel from India this year (till August) has fallen by 4.8%. Yarn imports have also dropped by 7% for the same period.

Till August '08, India's textile exports to the US declined 1.6% year-on-year to $3.5 billion and market share increased marginally to 5.7%.

Nirav Shah, who covers textiles at PINC Research, says, "The slowdown in the US will affect the purchasing power of consumers, affecting discretionary spending that includes spending on clothes." He said domestic suppliers may see lower orders and also lower margins due to lower prices being offered by US firms.

According to estimates, textile and garment exports are likely to touch $24.6 billion in '08-09, which is short by a wide margin against the government targeted figures of $31.17 billion in this fiscal.


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_by_Industry/Bi...icleshow/3607119.cms

[RedneckExpress]

So long as the J.C. Penny catalog is still a workin' I'm not too worried. I've been ordering pretty much all my clothes through them for the majority of my life, with a few things bought at Mervyns (when we still had one), Shopko, and every now and then, Sears & Roebuck (Hey I grew up with the Sears in town having that name on them, its what I'll call them till I die. I still have a couple pairs of Roebuck boot bottom work pants).

I'm wearing a sweat coat that I've had since I was a sophmore in high school. Its starting to get a bit worn thin, the elastic is shot in the ends of the sleeves, alot of different areas the fabric is just getting worn thin. But its not falling apart yet, so I will keep on wearing it.

I think I buy a new pair of Jeans or two, once every.... five years? I try to find shoes that will hold up a really long time, then wait for them to go on sale. Sadly, my recent pair of Nevados didn't hold up as long as the last pair, so I'll be doing shopping for another pair of shoes.

Stores like Macys, Old Navy, Gap, and most of the other clothing stores listed in the article, alot of these places have been fairly over priced for the quality of their merchandise for a long time. What sold them was easy credit, and "Trendy" names.

I'll take something from the "Big Mac" line from J.C. Penny any day over something branded by "Old Navy". I've got flannel shirts that are still near to new that are Big Mac that are nearly 10 years old.

[MtManLee]

I have never bought clothes other than Walmart and JC Penny. So I think I will not have to worry for a while.

[Lorna]

The store that will be shut down first, will be the stores that are not performing well in the first place and therefore not supporting themselves in the first place. Those stores should be shut down and possibly shouldn't have been opened in the first place. Alot of "fat" will be trimed from businesses in the next year. Remember when the money from the Christmas buying season was "gravy"? Now it's when they make the majority of their money. That's why they all freak out every Christmas. That seems to me to be bad business. If the stores can't make it based on the rest of the year, then I think they are doing something wrong. But what do I know.

[jfb]

I really don't think China is going to cut off WalMart, Penny, Target etc, etc,. The container ships from Asia are still coming into Seattle, Tacoma and I am sure into ports in CA and the east coast....