• 한국의류학회지
• /
• 제32권3호
• /
• pp.462-473
• /
• 2008

In recent years, Korea's apparel exports to the USA have faced a great threat, as the trade environment around the world has changed continually. The purpose of this study is to analyze the competitive position of Korean apparel exports to the USA, and to enhance export competitiveness by applying to offshore sourcing. The trade data of the Office of Textiles and Apparel(OTEXA) in the U.S. Department of Commerce were selected for inquiry about export competitiveness of apparel products made in Korea. In addition, we targeted members of the Korea Apparel Industry Association among the 500 exporters of clothing items in "The Import and Export Textile Product 2003." A total 70 sheets were analyzed. The results of this study were as follows: 1) Korean apparel exports to USA have decreased by 20-35 percent per year since 2005 under the Free Trade Area, showing that Korean apparel industries have not adapted to the new trade environment. Although Korean apparel exports to USA have indicated a trade surplus from now on, Korean apparel industries should find new ways to overcome this situation, diminishing exports and increasing imports. 2) Korean apparel companies selected more offshore sourcing than domestic sourcing. Also, as Korean apparel companies manufactured apparel products offshore, foreign subcontracting outranked manufacturing in their own foreign plants. When they chose foreign countries to source, they turned mainly to China and Vietnam. Also, they considered the target country's manufacturing price, labor stability, apparel products, quality, lead time, and so on. In order to increase apparel exports, Korean apparel industries should focus more on developing competitively new apparel products, improving the ability of sourcing management, and establishing on-the-spot agencies.

• Fashion, Industry and Education
• /
• 제14권2호
• /
• pp.24-34
• /
• 2016

This research examined two decades of the U.S. used clothing exports to the world. All countries (209) were classified into four groups based on the level of economic development. Between 1996 and 2012, U.S. used clothing exports shifted away from low-income economies to high-income economies. For the first time, our research demonstrated that the majority of used clothing discarded by American consumers is exported to high-income economies instead of poorest nations of the world. Next, used clothing exports and imports by volume and value in seven high-income countries were analyzed. The high-income countries not only exported but also imported significant amount of used clothing, which indicates a growing demand for worn apparel in developed nations. The demand might be at least partially attributed to the popular vintage clothing trend and increasing consumer environmentalism. Implications regarding development and implementation of a new classification system of worn clothing and recommendations for future research are presented.

• 한국의류학회지
• /
• 제26권7호
• /
• pp.958-969
• /
• 2002

No one doubts that textile and apparel industries have contributed to economic miracles of the export-led growth in Korea. However, by the turning of 1990′s, these sectors have encountered many problems such as decreasing of domestic production and exports mainly due to wage rise and shortage. Therefore, foreign direct investment to the low labor cost countries has been enlarged for a way of improving its competitiveness and increasing exports. However, no intensive study has been made exploring current investments and future directions. This study focuses Vietnam as one of the promising overseas investment countries. The purposes of this study are to analyze current investment status of Korean textiles and apparel firms in Vietnam, to explore merits and problems Vietnam has, and to present useful implications and strategies for Korean textiles and apparel companies. Analysis of current secondary data suggests that Korean apparel industry, rather than textiles industry, have invested more in Vietnam, mostly in southern Ho Chi Minh City. Investments of Korean apparel and textile firms have shown steady increase from 1990 but have turned to a decrease from 1995. Findings suggested that Vietnam has merits for attracting foreign investment since it provides relatively cheap labor and outstanding skillful hands suitable for apparel and textiles industries. In addition, because of EU quota increase and the trade agreement between Vietnam and USA it is likely for firms in Vietnam to increase exports to EU and USA Rapid expansion of domestic apparel market and "Korean trend (Han Rue)" in Vietnam resulted from successful star marketing of Korean firms are another merits Vietnam has to the Korean fm. However, regulations of central government, low efficiency of bureaucratic and stiff administrative process, difficulty of making decision in case of joint venture, lack of social overhead capital, high factory construction costs, weak construction condition, and the excessive competition among investment enterprises have found to be problems. Based on pros and cons of investment to Vietnam, marketing strategies, practical implications and future directions were suggested.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
• /
• 제15권2호
• /
• pp.1-12
• /
• 2014

This study focuses on apparel production and consumption trends in major Asian economies in order to understand a paradigm change in the Asian fashion industry. A comparison of trade among ASEAN, NICs, and developed countries shows the changes that have occurred in terms of production and consumption of fashion products before and after 2000 in Korea, Hong Kong, and China. The flow of imports and exports in the apparel industry was analyzed using UN trade statistics data. The results found a change of industry structures in Asian NICs and ASEAN countries. Garment production bases have moved to lower cost regions like China and ASEAN; in addition, NICs sent a part of their export business in the fashion industry to ASEAN countries. The Asian fashion industry has transformed from a production base for developed countries into a consumption market with the emergence of newly industrializing economies.

• 복식
• /
• 제34권
• /
• pp.37-56
• /
• 1997

The Korean Apparel industry has played an significant role for the econom-ic development in Korea which is mainaly due to the apparel exports to the world market. However the Koran apparel industry has confronted drastic changes in domestic and also in international market for the last several years. Korean apparel products have lost price competitiveness in international market because domestic labor costs have increased so fast and al-so newcomers such as China or other Asian countries have emerged as compet-itive producers. Furthermore domestic market has been saturated with the Korean apparel manufacturers and also with the foreign retailers. Therefore the Korean apparel industry should establish market-ing strategies in order to regain competitiveness. This study aims to analyze the factors for non-price competitiveness of Korean apparel industry and propose the way to regain competitiveness form the buyers' point of view. The present study utilize the survey data for the internet database which is established by the Cotton Incorporated. The results show that the Korean apparel industry is not competitive in terms of non-price factors such as minimum orders terms of payment preproduction stage use of new technolo-gy and lead times. These factors are not directly related to the price of product which is suggested to the buyers. However these are flexibility factors which play important roles in decision making process of buyers because they can reduce risks in uncertain business environment. Therefore the Korean apparel industry should establish global marketing strate-gies which can enhance non-price competitiveness as well as price competitiveness.

• 한국의류학회지
• /
• 제24권5호
• /
• pp.663-674
• /
• 2000

The purpose of this study was (1) to examine the preference for apparel brands and country of origin, (2) to evaluate the brand equity for domestic and imported apparels as perceived by Korean and American consumers, and (3) to analyze the effects of country of origin and brand equity on consumers' apparel purchase behavior. The sample included 151 Korean and 114 American consumers. The data were collected from respondents by using the mall-intercept method. In addition, the path analysis based on multiple regression analysis was applied to analyze the data. The major findings in this study were as followings; (1) Both of all Korean and US consumers preferred domestic apparel brands to imported brands but the latter preferred apparels made in home country to the former comparatively, (2) Korean consumers evaluated more favorably the brand equity for imported apparels than that for domestic apparels, but American consumers were quite the reverse, (3) To Korean consumers, the direct variable to influence the purchase intention of apparels was the perceived quality and indirect variables were the brand equity and country of origin. On the other hand, to American consumers, the perceived quality and the brand equity for domestics apparel had directly influence on the purchase intention and the brand equity for imported apparels did indirectly. Finally, implications for managerial and marketing strategies were discussed in regard to building an international apparel brand equity and improving exports with high quality apparels.

• 복식문화연구
• /
• 제27권3호
• /
• pp.251-263
• /
• 2019

As the spread of the health and wellness trend continues worldwide, many consumers are spending much time on sports activities and expressing their individuality through sportswear. This study analyzes the trade networks of major exporters and importers of athleisure wear to provide an exporting policy for Korean apparel companies. As a result, The USA was found to import the most athleisure wear. On the other hand, China had the largest number of athleisure wear exports, and India's exports, which are becoming increasingly important as apparel producers were notable. Next, using the concept of the centrality of social network analysis, it was found that the USA was the largest importer and the center of athleisure wear's export network, but its influence has decreased gradually since 2010. China has the highest out-degree and betweenness centrality and center in the export of athleisure wear. The centrality of Asian countries such as India and Vietnam has increased. In Korea, the import of athleisure wear has increased greatly, but the export of athleisure wear has continuously decreased. Korea has less price competitiveness than other developing countries in Asia, but many Korean athleisure wear clothing brands are now attracting popularity not only in Korea but also in other countries with their excellent technology and design. In the future, the exporting policy of Korea's athleisure wear should focus on high value-added and differentiated products.

• 패션비즈니스
• /
• 제1권1호
• /
• pp.43-52
• /
• 1997

The main purpose of this study was to examine the sectors of Korean textile complex based on various economic characteristics and performances. The sectors in the textile complex differed in many aspects. Man-made fiber industry showed capital-intensive characteristics even though most of the sectors in the textile complex were labor-intensive. Textile industry is composed of weaving and spinning, knitting, dyeing and finishing sectors and even within the textile industry, each sector had different characteristics from each others. Weaving and spinning sector seemed to require relatively high capital investment, while dyeing and finishing was very labor-intensive. Labor-intensive apparel industry has faced decrease in labor-productivity while wage has increased. Slow growth in labor productivity in Korean textile complex was shown to be a more problem than increase in wage or ratio of labor cost to value added. Apparel companies appeared to be in better financial states than the textile companies, even though the exports of apparel products have decreased in the 1990s. However, in overall the financial states of the Korean textile complex were not as strong as those of the other manufacturing sectors.

• 한국경제지리학회지
• /
• 제23권4호
• /
• pp.373-394
• /
• 2020

본고는 북한이 임가공사업과 인력송출을 통해 중국 주도의 지역·글로벌 의류 생산네트워크에 편입되는 과정과 구조적 특성을 밝히면서, 강화된 국제사회의 대북 제재조치가 미친 영향을 파악하고자 한다. 2017년 하반기 채택된 UN안보리 결의안에 북한산 섬유제품의 수입금지와 해외 파견 북한 노동자의 송환이 포함되면서 2010년대 들어 급증했던 중국기업의 대북 위탁가공거래와 노동력 활용은 크게 위축되었다. 그러나 북·중 접경지역 경제교류에는 오랜 기간 불법적인 요소들을 포함한 다양한 비공식적 거래방식이 공존하고 있다. 대북 경제제재 강화에 따라 합법적 교류창구가 닫히게 되면서, 규모는 감소하였지만 북한의 의류 위탁가공생산과 노동부문의 북·중 협력은 음성적 영역으로 전환·진행되고 있다. 북한의 지역 및 글로벌 생산네트워크 편입의 실태를 분석한 본 연구는 대북 경제제재의 실효성과 북한경제 변화에 대한 시사점을 제시할 것이다.

• 한국의상디자인학회지
• /
• 제9권1호
• /
• pp.23-33
• /
• 2007

Clothing exports of Korea has grown rapidly till the latter half of the 1980's, contributing Korean economic development. However from the 1990's, the amount, the world market share and the international competitiveness of clothing exports have declined. Based on these phenomena, the purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of export articles in Korean Clothing Trade focused on the 1990's. Statistical data of clothing articles(SITC 84 : Articles of apparel & clothing accessories) were used. The relative importance, trade orientation tendency and unit price of each export clothing articles were analyzed. The results of the study were as follows. On the relative importance, trade orientation tendency and unit price of each export clothing articles, outer garments or products that required complicated production process(e.g., coats, suits, ensembles, jackets, dress) had been decreased in the portion and weakened in the export orientation tendency. But one item in a set or casual wear like trousers, skirts, blouses, shirts, Jerseys, pullovers, T-shirts has been increased in the portion and risen in the unit price. These trends means that clothing exports of Korea were more focused on those category and the international competitiveness on those articles were advanced. From these results, this study can be contributed to establish the concrete clothing export articles strategies of Korean firms.