VF Supply Strategy

WeaveTech, formally known as Johnson-Ware is a military and security apparel company entering into the high-end performance clothing market. Before the acquisition by CVX Partners, WeaveTech which was formed in 1905, relied exclusively on the military (70%) and security (30%) customer base. The need to change the company’s customer base from military and security to high-end performance clothing market apparently arose from the allure of the later market segment and the dwindling growth of the military and security market (Beer & Swiercz, 2015). The departure of Jack Davidson, a retired US Navy Rear Admiral, and WeaveTech CEO from 1983 to 2012 in addition to the conclusion of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars meant that the traditional market was losing its reliability. Due to the unreliability, there was a need to redesign the customer base and to take advantage of the high-end market segment.

Esquel, one of the leading cotton-shirt-manufacturers in the world came from China and it supplies lots of clothing brand such as Banana Republic, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Brooks Brothers, Abercrombie and Fitch, Nike, Nordstrom and Lands’ End, in addition to private companies (Plunkett Research, Ltd.). However, due to the high demand of the US apparel stores for Chinese products, the low cost, which was the main reason why raw materials are being purchased from China, have increased. China’s competition is huge, with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Sri Lanka also producing material at cheap prices (Plunkett Research, Ltd.). The US apparel stores can instead purchase from these other Asian countries. It is hard to determine the exact number of suppliers in this industry; but, in general, majority of them are in Asian countries that can provide low-cost raw materials to US-based apparel stores. Therefore, the US apparel stores may acquire higher net profi

The management shifted its strategy from steady organic growth and profitability into focusing on growth in 1993 and then tried to restore profitability and growth through "fitness program" and series of changes during the period of 1999 to 2004. The strategic actions deviated from some of the ten principles.

company has been in existence for a little over 15 years and has made huge strides in the textile,

Although the Chinese apparel manufacturers would lose profitability due to rising cotton prices and competition from emerging countries, they stand to gain the most from the removal of U.S. quotas and tariffs. According to the author, in 2007, 95% of the 20 billion garments Americans made were purchased overseas. Due to U.S. trade barriers, China’s share of the U.S. apparel import was only 30%. Once these barriers were removed, Chinese apparel would flood the American market due to their low cost and dominance in garment manufacturing. Experts predict that China could eventually supply 85% of U.S. apparel. As they increase their market share in the

The company was founded by Richard Block and David Quayle in March 1969 and the first store was opened in Southampton Hampshire. The store was originally called Block and Quayle but was then shorted to B&Q. The owners wanted to offer their customers better value, longer opening hours and better product range.

States. The company was established in 1920 by Uriah Case (John Case’s paternal grandfather) to do

Established in 1984, 210 full-time employees, 200 part-time employees. 2006 sales = $1.9 Billion. Dealing with an

With the economy falling in shambles and companies defaulting on loans, nearly all private and corporate investment ceased. Companies couldn’t afford to

Old Navy’s history goes right where The Gap, Inc. was founded by Donald.G in 1969. Fisher, who founded his own clothing store out of frustration, when he couldn’t find a pair of jeans that would perfectly fit him. And since that time, The Gap’s retail clothing brand has been one of the most successful in United States history. Before Donald Fisher launched the first Gap store in San Francisco, he had been a prosperous real estate developer. It is fair to say, that Fisher’s first store was an immediate sensation. Young adults from the neighbouring San Francisco have flown to the stores to get low-priced jeans. And in just a few short years, the first Gap store became a huge retail chain composed of 200 stores, in over 20 states, and valued at an estimated $100 million dollars. By the late 1970s, GAP was growing at a rate of almost 80 new stores each year and generating about $300 million annually, which worth mentioning is a lot of money that days. In 1983, Millard Drexler was put in a position of a president of the company and was expected to lead the company into another decade of phenomenal growth. Dexter was a former president of another

h ive experienc investing i the ce in retail and manufac cturing sector was initia drawn to Carter’s bec rs, ally o cause of the s strong brand name ngth of the s the co ompany had developed during its 136 d 6-year history as well as for the stren y, s senior mana agement team (See Exhibit 1

The clothing industry in the US entails more than 100,000 stores with combined revenues of over 150 billions dollars a year. The giants within this industry include Abercrombie & Fitch, GAP, Urban Outfitters, and TJX Companies, which I shall be concentrating on

2. Richard M. Johns (2006). The Apparel Industry. 2nd ed. UK, London: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.. 1-124.

th century they had operations throughout 31 countries of the world. In 1978 Company had financial loss of US. $262.2 million .

1. The textile/clothing sector is vertically de‐integrated: design, textile manufacture, clothing manufacture, distribution are undertaken by specialist firms. Why? In this case, clothing firms like American Apparel have vertically integrated, in order to get time to market, increase resources availability, and cost efficiency. However, many textile/clothing sector is vertically de‐integrated which means that their design, textile manufacture, clothing manufacture, distribution are undertaken by specialist firms. (De-verticalization) is the process of separating functions and services from a once-integrated business model. Companies such as Levi Strauss & Co., who emphasize the