Outsourcing in the Fashion Industry
by
Abigail Roberts
At the moment outsourcing is a very controversial issue in almost every industries. Some say keep the jobs in America, others beg to differ that Americans would rather have cheaper products than spend more money on the same quality of products. Currently the majority of the fashion industries are outsourcing because it is more economically smart, but controversial to what they think, according to studies done by Stanford graduates clothing stores could increase their profit margins by 10% to 40% by bringing their business back to our country. Living in America we are all very concerned with the present, we want things now! This is especially true in the fashion industry, no one wants to be wearing last seasons Jimmy Choo’s Trina Pointy when Panama Wedge Sneakers are all the rage. Styles and trends can change in as little as four months, giving retail stores a short time window to order, produce, and ship their goods to stores to be sold.
Outsourcing to Asia not only takes jobs from Americans, but it also takes more time and as a result stores are getting clothes months after the trend has started. Because the more you order the cheaper it is companies tend to order in mass quantities. The issue with this is that when fashion companies choose to outsource the clothing stores who distribute them get clothes later and they end up getting more of them then they need. As a result the clothes become last season and end up on the clearance rack. Selling clothes at reduced prices to just get them out of the store is a huge waste of money. Also when clothes are being made in Asia the companies' managers cannot oversee the production of goods as closely and easily, leading to the production of worse quality clothes. If the fashion industry were to move back to America than they would be able to keep a closer eye on production and order the correct number of clothes with how popular the trend is without having to worry about it taking so long.
Sources:
Rigoglioso, Marguerite. "Stanford Graduate School of Business." Outsourcing May Hurt Fashion Manufacturers' Bottom Line. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014
Belcher,, Lynda Moultry, and Demand Media. "The Negative Effects of Outsourcing in the Clothing Industry." Small Business. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2014.
I love your sources!!! you took a pretty controversial stand for your chosen industry - I like it! Excellent job on answering the question on the true cost in this market; time to market, overseeing the quality of the job being done, ability to change. I find it interesting that the negatives of outsourcing in this industry are the bonuses of outsourcing for Apple Computers. It makes me wonder if there isn't more to the story!
ReplyDeleteMake sure that you watch your grammar when you blog. The easiest way (for me) to do this is to write the blog in word, and then copy and paste it into the blog.