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Italy:EU to face stiff competition with Asian clothes makers |
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2004-10-21
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The Asian textile and clothing producers are preparing a mass assault on US and European markets, whereas Europe’s manufacturers say only a flight to quality - to luxury and design niche markets - can save them.
Fatima Lopes, a top Portuguese fashion designer, referring to Portugal’s threatened textile and clothing sector said, “We don’t have the slightest chance in competing on prices with Asia.”
“Our only salvation is to do exactly the opposite, to bet on brands and design, and quality, of course.”
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) will eliminate import quotas for clothes and textiles next Jan. 1, forcing producers such as Portugal and Italy to think up new strategies for competing in the $400 billion global market.
China is expected to be a big winner after removal of textile quotas, a low-cost producer and already the world’s biggest clothing exporter. European companies say they will respond by developing ever-more sophisticated textiles.
Italy’s Ratti, which produces delicate wools, silks and printed cottons for luxury labels such as Escada and Valentino, hopes to lure customers to the high end of the market with soya oil or corn fibre fabrics and digital prints.
“Research, product and quality, that’s what most important, that’s what made Italy a big success in the world,” Chief Executive Officer Donatella Ratti said -- but she added that these days the price had to be right, too.
In order to lower costs, Ratti has moved a tenth of its production to Romania and plans to transfer more there. In the long run, Ratti expects only a slice of its business will stay in Italy, as a breeding ground for new ideas.
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