U.S. company VF believes Asian manufacturers still control textile industry supply chain

Despite rising manufacturing costs in China, American VF Corporation believes that Asian manufacturers will continue to dominate the global garment supply chain. When VF Purchasing General Manager Thomas Glaser delivered a speech at the International Apparel Federation (IAF) conference, he believed that the future of the textile industry still lies in Asia. Although the cost has increased, it is still relatively cheap, and more importantly, it has a vertical supply chain and is where the fabric is produced.
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VF is a U.S. listed company that owns brands including Wrangler, North Face, etc. It has 40 factories around the world producing 35% of its sales products. Factory locations include Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Poland, and Turkey, and we continue to develop new factory locations, most likely in the Middle East. VF stated that it will adjust the entire supply chain structure based on global procurement balance.
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​​ VF’s number of factories has been reduced by 27% in the past eight years, shifting many purchases to Asia. VF has 1,400 global contractors, most of which are located in Asia, with 15% of its procurement coming from China.
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Glaser said that VF’s purchases from Asia are still small compared with other brand competitors. VF hopes to support the North American market, including Mexico and the Caribbean, where exports have increased due to the NAFTA and CAFTA trade agreements. VF produces 75 million pairs of jeans in Mexico each year and imports them to the United States.