Sourcing at MAGIC Highlights Americas
This season, the Americas—North, South and Central—were the featured pavilion at Sourcing at MAGIC, which opened on Aug. 21, one day before MAGIC, and ran through Aug. 24 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
There was a full range of seminars dedicated to sourcing opportunities in the Americas—and encouraging interest from major manufacturers in production in the Western Hemisphere.
“Macy’s came through,” said David Sasso, vice president of international sales for Buhler Quality Yarns, based in Jefferson, Ga. The retail giant’s production is “heavily Asia,” Sasso said, adding, “For them to sit down with U.S. manufacturers—that says something.”
For many large-volume producers, the Western Hemisphere’s opportunities will be in the production centers covered under the Central American Free Trade Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement. But Sasso pointed out there are also sourcing opportunities in the region beyond Central America and Mexico.
“We’re not going to be the low-cost producer, but we can produce faster and smaller orders,” he said. “It’s all about looking at the region as a whole and not just CAFTA and NAFTA.”Denim North America, based in Columbus, Ga., was one of two American denim mills showing at Sourcing. On opening day, the company was seeing primarily start-up brands. “But we expected that,” said Eric Kelton, directing of marketing services. DNA tries to help small companies find product in smaller quantities. “When that product runs out, we try to help them move into a similar product,” he said. “It’s easy to say, ’If you can’t buy 14,000 yards, I can’t help you.’ But you never know who’s going to be the next big brand.”The other domestic denim mill at Sourcing was Denimatrix, which is in the process of rebranding as American Denimatrix to focus on its headquarters in Texas. The company made a splash at Sourcing with a booth that looked like a vintage dry-goods store. The booth concept mimicked the look of the company’s showroom in New York, explained Ryan Lipton, who works in product development at American Denimatrix’s Los Angeles office.Design Knits was showing at Sourcing at MAGIC for the first time. “We didn’t know what to expect,” said Pat Tabassi, director of marketing and development for the Los Angeles–based knit mill. “We still get a shocked response when we say ’made in L.A.’” Tabassi said she was pleased with the caliber of companies shopping the show. “When you tell them a full dyelot, they’re not scared off.” Depending on the fabric and the weight, a dyelot can range from 700 to 3,000 yards, she explained.It was hard to miss the giant alligator skin decorating the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences booth. But on closer look, the booth included alligator skins in a range of colors, as well as finished product, such as boots, handbags and watch straps made from alligator. Brian Wood, president of Exotic Leather Fashions, explained that the booth was organized by the Florida Alligator Marketing and Education Advisory Committee, a division of the Florida Department of Agriculture. The organization promotes alligator-leather suppliers, as well as producers of goods made from alligator leather.
