Rising Prices Of Clothing In The US Market

"We need more dollars to import clothing."

At present, there is a persistent high fever. Cotton price It has cooled down. As cotton prices continue to fall as the most important cost of clothing, will american apparel retailers and brand manufacturers lower their product prices? What are the factors affecting the prices of textiles and clothing in the United States? These issues have become the focus of recent industry attention.

Clothing prices remain high

In July this year, the retail market in the United States ushered in a rare sales situation. Thanks to the end of season promotion strategy, Messi's department store and its Bloomingdale s store grew strongly, with a total sales of 1 billion 612 million US dollars in July and a 5% increase in same store sales. Nordstrom, another big retailer in July, jumped 11.5% to $993 million in July. Same store sales rose 6.6%.

From the selling category, Sax's Fifth Avenue boutique Department store Women's shoes, men's wear and men's wear are best sellers. Ross's (Ross Stores) dress and footwear performance is eye-catching, while Stolze (Stage Stores)'s children's wear, footwear, junior high school costumes and swimsuits are the most popular, and Bunten (Bon-Ton) men's sportswear and women's wear are the most sought after.

Unexpectedly, Cotton making The product is not the market favorite at this stage. In contrast, footwear, silk dresses and men's accessories are selling well. On the other hand, the fall in cotton prices did not significantly drive down the price of clothing. On the contrary, the clothing prices in the US market still showed growth.

At present, the international cotton prices have dropped by 53% compared with the historical highs this spring. Cotton, as an important raw material for clothing production, should be driven down by the fall in prices. But the latest statistics released by CNN show that the prices of daily necessities such as gasoline, food and clothing continue to rise, and the price rises are higher than expected. In July, clothing prices rose by 1.2%, rising 3.9% over the past 3 months. The growth rate of clothing prices this year has reached its fastest level since 1992. Data show that consumers now need to spend 3.6% more on clothing and other consumer goods than before. Jennifer, a senior economist at Bank of Montreal, said that the rise in prices was partly due to the recent weakness in the US dollar, which has pushed up import prices. "We need to pay more dollars for imports from China and other places."

　　 Multiple factor impact pricing

The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) said cotton prices will be further lowered in 2012 as cotton production and inventories increase, and the cost price inflation expectations in 2012 will be greatly reduced. Kurt Salmon, a retail analyst at Kurt Salmon, a consultancy, pointed out that cost reduction and inflation expectations are decreasing, but clothing prices will not necessarily be lowered because prices are also affected by many factors except cotton prices. (Vinod Regren)

"For example, the wages of workers in the target market. It will have a great impact on the price of clothing. " Vinod said, "for example, in the Chinese market, the wages of Chinese workers have been raised by 15%~20%, and the increase in wages will drive the increase of the consumption power of the market, thus stimulating the production demand in China's domestic market. When the demand for goods is greater than the supply, the price of the product will rise, not only by the fluctuation of cotton prices.

"Some experts suggested that the price of clothing should be adjusted at different price levels in production, but we can not guarantee that the low price of fiber materials can solve the rise in clothing prices." Vinod said.

At the same time, low cotton prices will hurt cotton farmers' enthusiasm for planting cotton and turn cotton growers to other crops such as corn. If so, clothing prices will not only fall back, but will also be further pushed up by the decline in cotton production and insufficient supply. "At present, only about 1.25 US dollars per pound of cotton price can ensure the stability of cotton planting area." Hanesbrands CEO noir said.

In addition to the above reasons, transportation costs, climate change, hoarding or market speculation will affect textile and clothing prices to varying degrees. It is difficult to drop the price of cotton unilaterally by pushing down the price of cotton.

　　 Clothing companies are still watching

Although there is a lot of speculation about the trend of clothing prices in the US market, some large garment manufacturers in the United States do not have any plans to adjust their product prices at present.

During the fluctuation of cotton prices, clothing companies specializing in the production of T-shirts and jeans and other low priced goods have the greatest impact. Because raw material cost occupies a larger proportion in total cost. VF, a well-known clothing manufacturer, said cotton prices had never fluctuated so much before. However, the company has no plans to reduce the price of clothing products, hoping to maintain the current price level.

It is understood that the cost of fiber in clothing costs accounted for about 30%~60%. Like the manufacturer of high-end T-shirts and underwear, Han Bai company, its 2/3 raw material is cotton. This seems to mean that the clothing price of the company is much lower than that of cotton price. But the company's CEO noore said that clothing price setting still depends on market demand, and the reduction of cotton prices may affect the company's product line to a certain extent.

Nowadays, in order to attract customers to buy and increase sales, the shopping mall windows in the US have changed into autumn clothes early. Because there are many uncertain factors that affect the price of clothing, the price trend of textile and apparel is difficult to predict in the future. The current practice of American enterprises is to proceed cautiously and control such aspects as expenses, pricing and inventory.

Analysts and economists agree that although the US stock market has experienced several weeks of oscillation, some pessimism about the US economic outlook may soon dissipate as individual consumers continue to spend and factories continue to produce. "The US economy may be stronger than we think. With the advent of Halloween and the biggest Christmas shopping season in the United States, the United States will usher in a new round of consumption peaks. An economist is optimistic about the trend of the US market.