Sourcing Offers Access to Resources-Offshore and at Home
LAS VEGAS—Big red-and-white stripes, reminiscent of an American flag, greeted visitors to the Feb. 12–15 run of the Sourcing at MAGIC show in the south hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The stripes were the backdrop to the Trend Chaser booth. Launched about two years ago, the Los Angeles factory is a sister business to Los Angeles contemporary label XCVI.
The facility recently received Bureau Veritas approval and is working on getting certified as a WRAP resource. WRAP, which stands for Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production, reviews and certifies factories that adhere to labor laws and ethical manufacturing practices.
Trend Chaser representative and designer Randa Allen was working the booth to promote the company’s product-development offerings. Trend Chaser offered pattermaking, cut and sew, and finishing, including garment dyeing—“the complete package,” Allen said.
“We’re really excited.”
Allen said the booth drew a mix of people from small manufactures to major retailers.
“JCPenney and Macy’s came by,” she said.
Trend Chaser’s minimums are 1,000, although it can produce smaller quantities with a surcharge. Items are offered PFD, so customers can produce a range of colors and novelty washes.
Allen said the cost to produce domestically is comparable to offshore production—once shipping and turn time are factored. Plus, she said, a Made in America label resonates with the end consumer. “People in the stores do look at the label.”
Last year, Sourcing at MAGIC hosted an America’s Pavilion with resources from North, South and Central America. This season the show spotlighted free-trade zones, areas where goods can be manufactured and exported to free-trade partner countries duty-free.
Los Angeles–based knit mill SG Knits came to Sourcing at MAGIC to promote its United Pacific Group (UPG), a factory based in a free-trade zone in the Dominican Republic.
“Here, we’re focusing on the garment mill,” said Lauren Greenberg, who owns the company with her husband, Steve.
In the UPG booth were products made in the Caribbean factory, including basic T-shirts in Supima and Modal, fleece pieces, and items printed on-site at the facility.
Sourcing at MAGIC featured factories from around the world, including Peru, Colombia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Taiwan and South Korea, although the bulk of the exhibitors came from China.
For companies looking to narrow down the offerings, Panjiva had a booth to demonstrate its subscription service, which screens offshore factories based on customs data.
Chief Executive Officer Josh Green said the company currently has 2,000 subscribers, including many Fortune 500 companies. The New York–based company recently inked a deal with trend forecaster Stylesight to create a Panjiva site— Stylesight Sourcing Powered by Panjiva—within the trend forecaster’s site.
“We’ve worked hard to get the word out about Panjiva,” Green said. We’ve now reached a point where people don’t have to come to us, we can go to them.”
Green was part of a panel discussion at the show titled “China, the Dragon in Transition: Sourcing From and Selling to the World’s Apparel Giant.” At the seminar, it was announced that MAGIC will host a three-day boot camp, called MAGIC China, in October in Shanghai. MAGIC China will help brands enter the Chinese market by providing workshops and introductions to potential partners in China. The event is planned for Oct 24-16. —Alison A. Nieder
