From The Editor: It's 2005 ... Are You Ready?
From The Editor
It's 2005 ... Are You Ready?It has been predicted that as soon as global textile quotas expire in 2005, a small number of Asian manufacturing nations will flood the worlds textile markets with low-cost imports and subsequently bring about the demise of established textile manufacturing countries. How accurate is this prediction? It is still too soon to tell. However, there is no doubt the post-quota market presents an opportunity to many of Textile World Asias readers. So the question is, are you well prepared to take advantage of it?Market access itself is no guarantee to success. Other factors, such as quality, credibility, customer service, innovation, technology, human resources, capital, speed to market, brand power, to name a few, are just as important in todays business environment.Asia is by and large the low-cost leader in textile products now. Compared to their counterparts in the West, there is no doubt that Asian textile manufacturers enjoy important advantages such as an abundance of inexpensive labor and raw materials, thus lower operation costs and end-product prices. But it will not be prudent, nor fair, to assume that Asia can only be the production base for inexpensive commodity-type products. To become truly competitive and to be worthy competitors in the global market, Asian textile suppliers must look beyond 2005 and make the commitment to become a world-class player.By Carmen Pangcpang@TextileWorldAsia.com
January/February 2005
It's 2005 ... Are You Ready?It has been predicted that as soon as global textile quotas expire in 2005, a small number of Asian manufacturing nations will flood the worlds textile markets with low-cost imports and subsequently bring about the demise of established textile manufacturing countries. How accurate is this prediction? It is still too soon to tell. However, there is no doubt the post-quota market presents an opportunity to many of Textile World Asias readers. So the question is, are you well prepared to take advantage of it?Market access itself is no guarantee to success. Other factors, such as quality, credibility, customer service, innovation, technology, human resources, capital, speed to market, brand power, to name a few, are just as important in todays business environment.Asia is by and large the low-cost leader in textile products now. Compared to their counterparts in the West, there is no doubt that Asian textile manufacturers enjoy important advantages such as an abundance of inexpensive labor and raw materials, thus lower operation costs and end-product prices. But it will not be prudent, nor fair, to assume that Asia can only be the production base for inexpensive commodity-type products. To become truly competitive and to be worthy competitors in the global market, Asian textile suppliers must look beyond 2005 and make the commitment to become a world-class player.By Carmen Pangcpang@TextileWorldAsia.com
January/February 2005
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