Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 20, 1994 TAG: 9403160185
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BULMAN JOURNAL OF COMMERCE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Without fanfare and with hardly anyone taking notice, these textile and apparel manufacturers are successfully selling U.S.-made blue jeans, leather jackets and casual clothes to eager buyers in Japan, Canada and Europe.
U.S. exports of apparel and textiles expanded more than 8 percent last year to nearly $10.7 billion, according to the Commerce Department. Apparel exports showed the most strength, soaring 17.5 percent in the year. But shipments of textile fabric also increased, rising nearly 2 percent.
Apparel makers who overcome their "fear of the unknown" will find a bright future in exporting, said Irving Vigdor, a textile consultant in Merrick, N.Y.
"The U.S. industry is becoming more aware that it has to go global, because the growth potential here [in the U.S. market] is tiny," Vigdor said.
Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Co., a 75-year-old maker of work and casual clothing, has always devoted some energy to exporting despite encountering difficulties with import regulations in other countries.
But when officials of the Fort Worth, Texas, company noticed that international trade barriers were starting to come down about five years ago, they intensified their export efforts.
"We could see it coming, and we tried to turn up the wick, so to speak," said Dan Bickle, the company's vice president for international sales.
As a result, the company has more than doubled its exports in the past five years to about 8 percent of total sales of "tens of millions of dollars" annually, Bickle said.
And he said he expects exports to keep growing.
Exports to Mexico will probably increase the fastest in the immediate future, he said, while the Japanese market seems to hold the most potential for long-term growth.
Canada is Williamson-Dickie's other main export market.
Exporters and analysts agree that the main selling point for U.S. garments in international markets is their "Made in the USA" label.
"The `in thing' over the last 10 years has been authentic made-in-the-USA garments," Vigdor said.
Leather jackets, baseball jackets, warm-up suits and clothing with sports logos are all very popular with overseas customers, he said. European and Japanese consumers can easily distinguish between a U.S.-made garment and an imitation made elsewhere, he said.
"There is something about the way we make things and do things that is subtly different," Vigdor said. "When it comes to sportswear, we are No. 1 in the world."
The Japanese, in particular, want clothing made and designed by Americans, Bickle said.
He said this point hit home with him when his company's Japanese distributor declined to design clothing and T-shirts specifically for the Japanese market under the Williamson-Dickie brand name.
"We offered to let them design some of their own clothing, but they didn't want to," Bickle said. "They said the U.S. has its own look. They want the U.S. look."
Price competitiveness is a major factor in succeeding in international markets for apparel makers, as it is for all exporters, he said.
"You have to be competitive, but not necessarily cheaper," Bickle said. "We are not the same price as other goods, but we are competitive."
Another key to success is developing the market, he said.
Williamson-Dickie officials regularly visit customers in its international markets, he said.
"You can't just open the door and forget about it," Bickle said. "It takes effort."
Still, while U.S. apparel exports are inarguably on the rise, the numbers reported by the Commerce Department probably are somewhat misleading. That's because many of the apparel goods exported by U.S. makers are actually garment pieces that will be assembled offshore and then shipped back to the U.S. marketplace under the U.S. government's 807 and super 807 incentive programs.
Under the 807 program, named after Section 807 of the old U.S. Tariff Schedules, import duties on apparel made from U.S. fabric are assessed only on the value added in the overseas manufacturing process. The 807 goods are still subject to U.S. import quotas.
The super 807 program takes the incentive scheme a step further and guarantees access to the U.S. market for apparel originating in certain Caribbean countries. Guaranteed market access under super 807 applies only to garments made from fabric that is both manufactured and cut in the United States.
Industry estimates of the share of U.S. apparel exports shipped under the two 807 programs range from 45 percent to 60 percent, leaving 40 percent to 55 percent or $1.9 billion to $2.6 billion in U.S. apparel exported to international markets.
by CNB