PowerPoint for

THE WORLD OF
FASHION
MERCHANDISING
By
Vicki Shaffer-White

Publisher
The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Tinley Park, Illinois
Part 3: Designing and
Producing Apparel

Chapter 10
Ready-to-Wear
Manufacturing
 Objectives:
 Summarize the business aspects of apparel
manufacturing
 Explain inside and outside shops
 Describe preproduction procedures from costing
and editing the line to cutting the garments
 Discuss the process and methods of apparel
production
 Explain employee concerns of health and safety,
as well as equitable pay
 Describe offshore production
The Business of Apparel
Manufacturing
 Production
 Transformation of
resources (materials)
into goods
 Factors of production
 Resources– materials
 Labor– workers
 Capital– money and
equipment
 Business– ideas and
organization
The Apparel Industry
 Crucial to U.S. economy
 Materials, services,
wages, taxes, goods
 Productivity
 Efficient use of materials
and factors of production
 To be successful
 Keep costs low, quality
high, prices competitive
 Competitive Strategies
 Basic competitive
approaches
 Being the low-cost
source for products
 Operation must be run
efficiently
 Pursuing differentiation
 Focusing on a narrow
market niche
 First to offer something
unique to meet needs
Pursuing Differentiation
 Ways to differentiate
 Higher quality
 Distinctive designs
 Better performance
 Convenient location
 Better service
 Technological
superiority
 RTW Production
 Manufacturers
produce lines
 According to
particular types of
apparel, price ranges,
sizes, and/or
geography
 Lines are produced
for separate fashion
seasons
Fashion Wearing Seasons
Shown to Retailers
 Spring - November
 Summer - January
 Fall I - February
 Fall II - April
 Holiday - July
 Resort/cruise -
August
 NO MARKET IN DECEMBER
Garment Districts
 Areas in cities where
most of the apparel
companies are
located
 Usually clustered
according to
merchandise type
and price range
 New York’s garment
district most famous
 Inside and Outside Shops
 Inside shops
 Firms that do all stages
of production from
design, fabrication and
sewing, to shipping
 Outside shops
 Firms that handle
everything but the
sewing
 Contract “out” to sewing
factories
Contractors
 Produce goods
according to another
firm’s specifications
 Allows for specialization
 Allows apparel firms
greater flexibility
 Lowers costs
 Speeds delivery
 Main drawback is limited
quality control
 Preproduction Procedures
 “Merchandising the line”
starts with a plan for:
 Colors, styles, sizes,
quality, and price in their
primary markets
 Look at changes in
consumer preferences
 Based on preproduction
information, designs are
created or refabricated
Selecting
 Acquiring products
and materials for
production based on
designer’s sketch
and the company’s
basic pattern or
sloper
 Style numbers are
assigned to designs
 Costing
 Costs calculated for producing
one item
 Fabric (garment and lining yardage)
 Thread (type of stitching)
 Findings (buttons, snaps, zippers,
hooks, bands, tape bindings, etc.)
 Labor (layout, design, cutting,
sewing)
 Finishing techniques
 Labeling, packaging, and shipping
 Overhead
 Editing the Line
 Change, revise, or
eliminate part of a line
 Construction details may be
altered to lower costs
 Approved styles made into
samples and shown to top
management and key
retailers
 Samplings may be test
marketed in retail stores to
determine popularity
 The Cutting Process
 Precutting
 Grading- making
patterns into a range of
sizes
 Pattern pieces laid on a
marker
 CAD used to create
markers
 Electronic cutting
 Multiple layers of fabric
cut at once using knife
or water-jet cutters
Apparel Production
 After cutting, garment parts
go through assembly line
 Traditional tailor system
 One person does all sewing
 Progressive bundle system
 Piecework; one specific task
assigned to each person
along assembly line
 Unit production system
 Computerized routing,
tracking, and sewing
 Modular Manufacturing
 Flexible manufacturing
 Divides workers into
teams or module work
groups
 Teams work
independently to sort out
own work problems; they
are responsible for own
productivity and
improvements
 Empowers workers
Finishing Garments
 Hems and fasteners
put in
 Final pressing
 Labels and hangtags
attached
 Final garment
inspection
 Stored in stockrooms
or sent to retailers
 Apparel Company
Concerns for Employees
 Health and safety
 Ergonomics is important
 Matches human
performance to tasks
performed and equipment
used
s
Em
st

pl o
Co

ye e
s  Proper training
 Health benefits
 Equitable wages
 Compensation plans
 Group incentives
 Offshore Production
 Manufacturing done
outside of the U.S.
 Benefits:
 Lower labor costs
 No overtime pay or fringe
benefits
 Tax exemptions and rebates
 Disadvantages may include
longer lead and response
times
 Technology has helped
Do You Know . . .
 There are several
competitive approaches used
in the apparel industry. Can
you identify three strategies
competitive jean companies
might use?
 What is included when
costing a garment?
 What criteria should be
considered before editing a
line?