On the occasion of the Première Vision trade show, which took place from February 7 to 9, 2022, Gildas Minvielle from the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) gave a conference on the sourcing strategies of French distributors. A representative panel (first price, mid-range and premium) made up of around a hundred brands, brands, popular hypermarkets and department stores.
Eco-responsibility is increasingly finding favor with French distributors. In 2022, 93 percent of them consider chemical products to be dangerous, compared to 78 percent in 2021. Water consumption, the optimization of transport or the emission of greenhouse gases come in behind. The survey conducted by the IFM shows that concerns for 2023 are changing. Digital, the number one topic in 2021 for 80 percent of respondents, rose to 61 percent in 2022. Topics related to sustainable development are more attractive for 43 percent of respondents (compared to 38 percent in 2021).
Conversely, issues relating to working conditions have not yet mobilized French entrepreneurs. While child labor is banned by 100 percent of distributors, only 88 percent of them make forced labor a matter of conscience. CQVD that for 12 percent of them, this is not unacceptable. “The violation of minimum wage rights or the fact that certain countries practice very low wages are not decisive,” declared Gildas Minvielle, during the conference. It is therefore not surprising that China, often singled out for the non-respect of human (and women’s) rights, remains the main supplier of westernized countries.
China remains the largest textile exporter in the world. Until when ?
The growth rate of China’s exports to other regions of the world has increased by eight percent per year since 2002. Its market share in world trade has increased from 32 to 33 percent between 2020 and 2021. If the preeminence of China tends to fade, the IFM sees in this, not an awareness on the part of fashion players of the ecological or societal impact of Chinese imports, but a link with “the new growth strategy of China, which relies more on its domestic market dynamics or its textile exports (44 percent) than on its garment exports”.
To drive the point home, the study shows that long-term supplies (thus from the most distant destinations) represent 50 percent of purchases in 2022. “Retailers are looking to maintain their margins by probably doing more long-term” says Gildas Minvielle. CQVD: more supply in Asia and Bangladesh. 73 percent of respondents say they want to reduce their sourcing from China. 41 percent want to maintain supplies in Bangladesh, 50 percent Vietnam and 68 percent in India.
The expert relativizes by specifying that 33 percent of distributors intend, in 2023, to increase the short term (understand the short circuits). 46 percent of them say they want to increase their imports from Morocco, 70 percent from Tunisia, 52 percent from Turkey, 74 percent from Italy and 57 percent from Portugal. 50 percent want to source from France The future will tell if these intentions are followed up.
After the 2020 shock, international trade stood at $549 billion in 2022 compared to $450 billion in 2021. The largest flows are those from Asia to Europe ($117 billion ) and from Asia to America ($124 billion). The Americans have therefore been the engine of trade between 2020 and 2021.