By: Emily Wiley
New Look Background
A value high street fashion retailer that prides itself on always giving the customer a new experience with surprisingly low prices and more “look what I just found” moments
1000 stores nation wide, in the UK, Ireland, Europe, the Middle East, Singapore, Russia, and Poland
Committed to ethical trading and animal welfare
Serve over 120 markets worldwide, including e-commerce
Suppliers
Sourcing strategy based on the UK/Europe, China, Southeast Asia, and the Indian sub-continent
Suppliers categorized into 3 groups First category: these suppliers are dedicated to
manufacturing New Look’s products and are responsible for manufacturing in house designs (China, Turkey, and Bangladesh)
Second Category: suppliers that New Look works directly with in the country of origin, sometimes supported by local agents
Third Category: suppliers where New Look works with the supplier’s design team to develop products to complement its own in house designs (2/3 of all products designed in house)
Jersey
Countries Sourced From: Bangladesh UK China
Jersey: Cons of Sourcing
Bangladesh: Protests over costs and conditions Factories are producing the maximum amount, and while retailers
are reaping the benefits, the workers are not receiving any party of it
Riots in addition to protests will start to increase due to 122 of 825 factories not paying their employees on time
Slower lead times UK
British Manufacturing on its last legs, too expensive to source in the UK
Cheaper to source out of the country than in the country Less people employed in UK for manufacturing, therefore harder to
find a company to source from China
Different quality standards Promote and produce knock-offs of designer goods, and sell them
to western (unknowing) retailers Longer lead times
Jersey: Pros of Sourcing
Bangladesh One of the cheapest due to low wages cost Manufacturing is moving to Bangladesh, becoming a greater
provider to the UK high street New Look believes in Ethical Trading, as in taking care of the
employees that produce their products and ensuring they live a decent life style
UK Supporting home country’s economy Providing jobs and security to more people Quicker lead times
China Number one manufacturer of apparel and textile industry Cheaper sourcing Well developed manufacturing industry Good reputation for quality Are willing to work with retailers because they are eager for
western business
Eveningwear
Countries sourced from: China Romania India
Eveningwear: Cons of Sourcing China
Different quality standards Promote and produce knock-offs of designer goods, and sell them
to western (unknowing) retailers Longer lead times Language barrier
Romania Harder to recruit trained staff due to job openings in the west after
Romania’s EU entry Currency value is going up, which will eventually cause production
to be more expensive Industry still developing
India Long lead time High reliance on roads, only half of which are actually paved,
making deliveries much harder Time zone differences make communication much more difficult
Eveningwear: Pros of sourcing China
Number one manufacturer of apparel and textile industry Cheaper sourcing Well developed manufacturing industry Good reputation for quality Are willing to work with retailers because they are eager for western
business Romania
Two day delivery time by truck No duty or quota on deliveries No customs control between Romania and Britain, therefore quicker lead
times Easy travel
India High productivity levels Competing with china, making the price lower Growth of IT industry, making India more capable of catering to the needs
of customers Thousands of talented employees available, all willing to take and compete
for the job, bringing modern technology and innovative ideas to the table Cheaper cost
Lead Time
Critical Path for lead times Sample development Place cloth order Finalize garment order Manufacture Shipping Customs Total: 16 weeks
Will be similar for India, due to the competition between India and China for the biggest manufacturing industry
Longer for Romania, due to travel difficulties Shorter for UK, because of the lack of customs
and closer shipping
Costs of Garment Compared to Retail Wholesale price is half of the retail
price Varies per company Jersey’s MSRP is cheaper than
evening wear Cheaper to buy in bulk, therefore
creating cheaper retail prices
References
http://www.drapersonline.com/sourcing-at-risk-in-bangladesh/5004040.article
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1861801.stm
http://clothesource.blogspot.com/2009/01/could-romania-be-europes-next-apparel.html
http://www.chinasourcingblog.org/2010/01/china-and-india-a-comparison-i.html
http://manufacturingsourcing.com/outsourcing-to-india/