We all take advantage of the warm autumn by spending time outdoors. The weather, although favorable, turns out to have a disastrous impact on the clothing industry.
– Voices from various segments and all companies in the industry say very clearly that the weather is not helping. It’s nice to be outdoors, but it means the customer isn’t shopping. The weakness is obvious. Companies are recording declines in both quantities and values - says Iwona Kossmann, president of DCG, denicler.eu and the Association of Fashion Industry Producers.
He adds that the future of many companies may be in question. – Everything really depends on where the company is after eight months, because September was bad for everyone. In the case of Deni Cler, we have increases of 20% in August. year to year, so the fact that we have a surplus from the first half of the year gives us faith that everything will be fine at the end of the year, says Iwona Kossmann. He adds that the coming months will be decisive: October, November and December.
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A real drama
Paweł Pawlak, owner of the Adika clothing company, is not afraid to use strong words. – This is murder for our industry. I suspect 70 percent. companies are in crisis. This is a disaster. Just as farmers talk about a harvest and weather disaster, we are also facing a disaster at the moment. This is the first time I’ve encountered this, he says.
The fall season is very important for the industry. Meanwhile, sales slowed down. – We are halfway through the fall season in terms of production and should be halfway through the selling season and moving on to the next half of production and sales. Meanwhile we have clothes produced, but we have no sales – says Paweł Pawlak. It also points to the costs that remain – primarily the maintenance of the crew.
He explains that collections of the autumn collection should start on August 15 and last throughout September. Meanwhile, the clothes are in storage. – It’s October, we should have 5-6 collections, but there will be one – it shows the scale of the problems in numbers.
Hope in the government
The owner of the Adika company indicates that the industry needs preferential loans and additional financing systems in the event of events such as those it is currently facing.
He appeals to the government to save the clothing industry. – Up to about 1 million people work in the industry, mostly women in sewing factories. I employ single mothers, women who are the only breadwinners in their families. If there is no reaction, if no one notices our problem, family clothing companies will disappear from the map of Poland. People will lose their jobs, and Poland will lose its national treasure, he says.
It reminds us that the fashion industry is the Polish jewel in the crown. – In Poland we have excellent facilities, we are a national treasure. We sew the best clothing, appreciated all over the world, emphasizes Paweł Pawlak.
He points out that if the industry does not receive help, the entire economy will lose. Now, as he adds, he is meeting with business owners who are devastated by the current situation and do not know whether they will be able to maintain their businesses.
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Visible slowdown
The largest clothing companies also recorded a slowdown in sales dynamics, such as LPP, which owns brands such as House, Cropp, Sinsay, Mohito and Reserved.
– After a successful August and early September, when both the stationary and online channels brought good sales results, as the weather warmed up in the following days of September, we began to notice a slowdown in growth dynamics. Previous experience shows that September or October is usually the weaker month in terms of sales in the third quarter, mainly due to weather conditions. A very warm month is behind us, what’s more – the warmest in the history of recorded measurements. Considering that this is the time when the autumn collection was introduced to showrooms, it was natural that its sales were lower in the current conditions than usual in the same period. However, we are counting on the demand to shift to October, for which we are well prepared in terms of goods, collections and price thresholds – the LPP press office tells Business Insider Polska.
The company’s representatives add that the company, operating in 40 markets located in regions with significantly different temperatures and climates, has been adapting collections to the characteristics of individual markets for years.
– We approach stocking stores in countries such as the United Arab Emirates in a completely different way than in Finland, where temperatures are harsh. The fact is that as the seasons we have known for years are becoming increasingly blurred in our part of Europe, our assortment is also changing. Compared to previous years, we are currently ordering more models of the so-called transitional or light light padded jackets instead of heavy and thick outerwear. The entry schedule of individual models is also changing. Heavier clothing is offered to our customers in later months of the year than before – notes the LPP press office.
2023-10-07 19:26:19
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