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Growing cost and quest for quality calling back European fashion firms from Asia back to Europe

Monday, 19 November 2012
Asia seems to be repelling European fashion houses back home. Increasingly common, small and medium-sized players are seen moving back home from what was a must be environment, Asia.

The driver here is that it is getting cheaper to produce back in Europe these days, and also, the issue surrounding quality control, according to Helena Waker, president of the Swedish trade organization Agenturföretagen or The Swedish Association of Agents: a network for international business, are some of the strongest forces.

"Several of our Swedish brands that have previously been produced in Asia and the Far East will come back and be produced more in Europe. This is so that it will be possible for China to meet its large quantities, and also, the need to move up quality assurance. In addition, in Europe, we can get smaller quantities and quality," said Helena Waker to radio Sweden.

Above all, it is medium-sized and smaller providers that are leaving Asia and instead moving production back to Europe. Several medium-sized Swedish brands today have 60 to 70 percent of their clothing manufacturing in Europe, which is a significant increase compared with the period before the financial crisis of 2008. And several smaller brands made their entire collections in Europe.

But that production is not coming to Sweden per se. Production is going to the Baltic States, Romania and Turkey - all of which belong to low-wage band of countries.

The attractiveness of Europe is attributed to several factors - fierce competition that allows stores to slim stocks to not be forced to sell off unsold clothes. For suppliers it will be cheaper and easier to sew clothes up close to the market, which will help them keep up with changes in fashion, taste, and demography.

Another, important reason is an increased interest in locally produced products for quality and perception need.
By Scancomark.com Team

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