This week, USFIA got VIP access to Premiere Vision Paris, a collection of six complementary trade shows for the fashion industry, in the world’s fashion capital. From yarns and fabrics, to manufacturers and designers, to the latest in accessories and leather styles, the massive show brought together representatives from more than 120 countries to make business deals and discuss their challenges. This year, the show also featured The Sourcing Connection, a selective sourcing show featuring the top, vetted suppliers. 

You could spend an entire week exploring Premiere Vision Paris, located at the Parc d’Expositions just outside the city center. We beelined for the Manufacturing Hall, where several of our members and affiliates were set up, including the Ready-Made Garment Export Council of Egypt, which had a booth dedicated to Destination Africa in Cairo in November, as well as Enterprise Mauritius, which had 15 booths showcasing the best products from the country.

Premiere Vision September 2016 - Manufacturing & Yarns. And there were four more halls, too! (Credit: United States Fashion Industry Association)

We also visited Cotton Incorporated, located in the Yarn Hall, who was showcasing their innovative cotton technologies. We got a first look at the new EARTHCOLORS by Archroma, a brand new, responsible, sulfur textile dye made from cotton waste byproducts. After cotton is harvested and ginned, the byproduct—including burs, stems, sticks, leaves, and dirt—is finely ground and turned into the biosynthetic dye, which does not produce any harmful chemical waste during processing. EARTHCOLORS is only a light, natural brown color for the time being—truly, the color of the earth!—but David Earley, Cotton Incorporated’s Senior Director for Global Supply Chain Marketing, told us that they are working hard to produce it in other colors, too.

Cotton Incorporated & Archroma EARTHCOLORS Dye (Credit: United States Fashion Industry Association)

The Sourcing Connection

There were nearly 2,000 exhibitors at the Parc d’Expositions, but those serious about finding sourcing partners quickly and efficiently were wise to travel closer to the city center to the Paris Event Center for The Sourcing Connection, a new, selective Asia Pacific sourcing platform featuring just over 50 exhibitors who had already been audited by Bureau Veritas. The exhibitors—from major sourcing destinations like China and Bangladesh, as well as new ones like Myanmar—were carefully selected by a committee, and were required to meet a compliance level of at least 65% by BV.

And unlike other shows, these exhibitors were organized by style, rather than geographical origin, so buyers could find exactly what they were looking for and “tap into innovation,” according to Dhyana van der Pols, a sourcing expert from Nash International who consulted on the production of the show. The show was small, but the exhibitors were truly the crème de la crème, as they might say in Paris, showcasing everything from womenswear and denim to this year’s fashionable fitness wear.

Premiere Vision Paris - The Sourcing Connection (Credit: United States Fashion Industry Association)

Online 2 Offline: Gateways to Consumer Spending

The Sourcing Connection included a seminar series, featuring some of Europe’s most renowned sourcing, compliance, and digitization experts. On Tuesday, “Online 2 Offline: Gateways to Consumer Spending” brought together industry leaders to talk about how to meet your consumer’s needs—and synchronize them with your supply chain.

In 2016, buyers have incredible challenges in this area—you must act fast, make short-cycled collections, and get them to the retail floor (or website) as quickly as possible. And, you have to convince someone to buy your collections. Jan Hilger, CEO of Hilger Consulting and former executive at brands including Escada, Hugo Boss, and PVH, said the current business model of sales and discounts has affected consumer behavior. How will you market the product when consumers are not spending, and when there is so much inventory available at retail? It’s important to pick strong partners, and ideally vertically integrated partners. You also have to work closely with your designers and your manufacturers to plan the fabric and production.

And, keep in mind that while you may want products that are “good,” “cheap,” and “fast,” you can only pick two of these qualities at most.

Strategies for Sourcing Success

On Wednesday, The Sourcing Connection brought together more sourcing executives to speak to a packed house about how to create a supply chain that will allow you to sell your products at full markup, while providing new products when the consumers want them—which, these days, is almost every two weeks.

Ton Wiedenhoff, CEO of Wiedenhoff Consultancy, who has worked with Falcon International, K.Swiss, and Global Fashion Group, said the challenge for brands is how to shorten lead times when you have to produce in Asia. It’s doable, if you manage your costs. Remember, cost includes a variety of factors: fabric, CMT, vendor margins, currency fluctuations, duties, logistics, bank financing, quality, and social compliance…not to mention, travel, marketing, and distribution. He provided tips on how to reduce costs in almost all areas, with the overarching theme that you need to think like a merchandiser, but act like a partner customer when buying. In addition, look for vertical operations, deal with factory owners and family businesses, and be certain you are spending time in your factories, not at the hotel pool.

However, he said, one area you should not consider a true cost: compliance. “Compliance should be in your vein, not in your cost price,” he said, and he encouraged SMEs to join non-profits to help create codes of conduct.

Deepa Hingorani, Sourcing & Product Director for DAY Birger et Mikkelsen, a Scandinavian fashion brand, gave a crash course on how to design a sourcing strategy, drawing from her experience at companies including Hugo Boss, Esprit, Scotch & Soda, and Karl Lagerfeld. Her tips include:

• Create a constant, stable partner base—you don’t want too many manufacturers to manage.
• Be aware of how much business you represent in the factory—you want your orders to be a significant portion of the factory’s business, but at the same time, you don’t want to rely too much on one factory.
• Look at your net margin, including your hidden costs, because things like buyer travel, import duties, shipping costs, and leftover fabric can add up.
• Have alternative suppliers on hand who are tested and approved.

She also provided some advice on how to find good partners. She agreed with other speakers on vertical operations, and added that sourcing closer to home and finding ways to have shorter approval processes on both ends can make a world of difference.