Market Demand For Knitwear: Competitive Analysis

Market Demand For Knitwear militant analysisIndustry AnalysisCurrent securities industry place demand for knitwear is involved with the persona and competitive terms of point of intersections. There is a close competition between the manufacturers and marketers to hit the vanquish bargain and offer promotional discounts to consumers. Cut-throat competition has make manufacturers to offer multi-pack products at inexpensive determines.Developments in knitting, and advanced treatments such(prenominal) as digital printing, glazed foil prints, inkjet printing, flocking, and burn-outs earn heated up the market. parvenue knitting machines imbibe opened up possibilities hitherto into unk at presentn segments such as skillful textile, for instance products such as fishnet, fruit-net, shade net and composite products.The immaterial Fabrics and Interactive Textiles market go out return to growth, reaching a hold dear of US$1.8bn by 2015, according to new reoceanrch by globular Industry Analysts (GIA). (just-style.com)It seems that the revival of economic growth, a recovery of consumer confidence, product innovations and keep upability would exclusively help to put growth back on racecourse. On the other hand, demand for unique product offerings, served by unexplored, developing markets, pass on for sustain growth. It corporation be safely assumed that the knitwear the fabrication lifecycle is at the turn stage as shown in the figure below.According to GIA, the intimate clothing industry is defined by new fabric victimizations, including innovations in in style(predicate) and comfort equal garment designs. The report found that competition within the industry had resulted in falling prices and a shift in production, prompting manufacturers to boom out their exercises into southwesterly America, Central Europe and Asia (Nedeucerk).Europe is identified as the single largest regional market for knitwear, although the US they dominate world-wid e knitwear bea with a 65% market shargon (LTD). Asia Pacific is currently increment to be a promising market for the same. During the recession, the Asia-Pacific market was buoyed by quick growth in China, India, Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan. The world(a) knitwear market is competitive and fragmented. The economic crises have narrowed the gap between the upper and lower end of the market with style contraryiation al to the highest degree vanishing.(Ltd.)With advancements in the industry in the new-fashioned yrs, RadiciGroup is introducing CornLeaf, a 100% biodegradable solution-dyed continuous yarn. Produced by nary(prenominal)fil SA, the yarn is made from Ingeo, a polylactic acid (PLA) polymer derived from renewable ve seizeable resources. Comp ard to conventional discolor and last processes, the manufacturing of CornLeaf requires less water and energy consumption as solution dyeing technology is integrated into the spinning process. CornLeaf lighter than other natural fi bers, and has pers constantlyance comparable to other synthetic fibers. According to RadiciGroup, the yarn excessively has greater hygroscopicity compared to synthetic yarns and is faster drying than natural fibers. RadiciGroups yarn is available in a range of lightfast, wash-resistant alter intended for custom in intimate wear, furnishings and consumer corrects. (W. T. Ltd.) family InformationSana Hastakala (P) Ltd. main office, that ho engages training, product design and knowledge, and sell outlet, is situated in Kupondole, Kathmandu, Nepal. The address isG 10/113, Kupondole, Kathmandu, NepalCorresponding address P.O. Box No. 3901, Kathmandu NepalSana Hastakala (SH), when translated to English, literally means Small Handicrafts. This union was effected by conglomerates of handicraft condescensiones in Nepal to encourage the topical anaesthetic artists and producers to participate in producing hand-crafted dependables and sell them abroad. In 1989, United Nations Intern ational barbarianren Emergency Fund (UNICEF, now known as United Nations Childrens Funds) profferd proficient and financial support, in entree to assistances from local handicraft businesses, to launch SH. After a year, the organization was able to sustain on its own and, though registered as non-government organization with regimen of Nepal, now is a private limited company.SH strives to rear the resurgence of tralatitious craft skills as well as applying modern techniques in purchase ordination to generate income for under privileged craft producers who are mostly women (Sana_Hastakala).SH has to a greater extent than 1,500 individual producers, and collaborates with 80 producers mathematical groups. Income is distri neverthelessed amongst producers and employees. Profits, too, streng hence the organization and finance community development initiatives. The community development fund is utilize to assist craft producers in purchasing raw materials and equipment, and p rovide skills training (SanaHastakala_Producers).SH has been proactive in establishing clear trade in Nepal and is the open member of local chapter indorse-rate trade Group Nepal. Though many organizations have provided comment of elegant trade, the definition offered by populace elegant lot Organization (WFTO) has been widely accepted. It states that neat condescension is a trade partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and consider that seek greater equity in international trade. It contri only ifes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers especially in the South (WFTO). There are ten standards for decorous trade and the list includes stipulations to the highest degree labor conditions, gender equity, environmental considerations, and transparency to name a some(a) (Weber). Fair mountain Group Nepal (FTG Nepal) is a consortium of join trading organizations working wi th the aim to uplift socio-economic status of underprivileged and marginalized producers of Nepal (FTGN About Fair Trade Group).SH contribution to social development has been highlighted in periodicals. In 2007, arena Fair Trade Day published series of case studies on Why Kids Need Fair Trade that exemplified how SH has helped Babita Rajbhandari, who had been previously trained in SH, to educate her daughter Boibha afterward her husband passed away (WFTD).In assemble to increase awareness of the fair trade, SH regularly get ups educational programs at local institutes that offer social work courses. To provide hands-on experience of fair trade, SH provides two 8- month recollective internships every year to students from the colleges (Sana_Hastakala Polcies and Procedures FTGN Annual Activity Report).SH has two outlets located in Kupondole and Lazimpat. Their annual turnover in 2009 was NRs. 40.5 million (CAD 550,000), exports chronicle for 78% and domestic for 22% of gross re venue. Information regarding which categories contribute most to the sales was not disclosed Japan is the come in one importer of knitwear products (Sana_Hastakala Polcies and Procedures).Many recall doses of fair trade have associated with SH to promote local oversewn products in the global market most notably is Ten Thousand Villages, which has 75 retail stores in the United States of America (TenThousandVillages_USA) and 49 stores across Canada (TenThousandVillages_Canada).As promoter of fair trade, SH testament provide brochure that highlights the activities of SH, and access to merchandise producers and manufacturing centers give be provided. The ternion party inspection screwing be arranged, but the buyer has to provide the equal of hiring external agency (Sana_Hastakala Polcies and Procedures).Sana Hastakala has website http//www.sanahastakala.com that provides information to the products, and the serve provided by the organization and information on Nepalese handicr afts. The website, however, lacks web-based ordering system. This is callable to the lack of laws for e-commerce (Sana_Hastakala Polcies and Procedures).SH recently won Best Entrepreneur Award condition by Federation of Handicraft Association of Nepal for their contribution in product development, employment creation, export and sales promotion, technological, management and environmental improvements, socially answerable activities, and support to other handicraft entrepreneurs and buyers (WFTO-Asia).Competitive AnalysisOur top trine competitors are,Eco wool Ecowool is located in New Zealand it has been selling the ship skin and wool products for almost 20 years.Mayfair overseas Mayfair overseas is the largest knitwear manufacturing and exporting group in India.Trident Craft Pvt. Ltd Trident Craft is a handicraft company located in Nepal.All these three competitors offer similar knitwear products, such as roof, jacket, socks, gloves, hat, scarves, and sweaters.Competitive adva ntage over each of the competitorsEcowoolAll our products are handmade with Nepals fat artistic skill and craft techniquesWe are the founding member of fair trade groupOur main objective is to provide financial and technical support to craft producersMayfair OverseasWe do not use wounding chemicals in production because all products are hand made conventional craft skills with modern techniquesDesigns and based on both conventional Nepali and classic western motifsTrident craft Pvt. LtdWe use high quality sheep wool and agora wool from Nepal and imported wool from New Zealand to create scenic knit wearsWe are the founding member of fair trade group and provides marketing aids to our producers of our companyProduct InformationSana Hastakala, in collaborationism with local women and producers, market variety of handicraft products. Besides producing and exporting handicrafts items, SH helps entrepreneurs with financial and technical assistance some of these business enthusiasts operate in a very small scale and usually manage their business operation from home. Such assistances usually consist of capital needed for raw materials, wellness checkup, product development and design, and marketing (Sana_Hastakala About Us). The products are beads, ceramics, hemp products, knitwear, surface crafts, silver jewelry and others. The complete list of products is provided in Appendix A.We are looking for prospect buyer(s) in Canada for knitwear products offered by SH. The knitwear products include woolen cap with earmuffs (or ear-flap woolen hats), mittens (boxer gloves and hunter mittens), woolen sock, and mufflers. Appendix B provides the images of these products.SH uses high quality sheep wool and agora wool from Nepal, and also uses imported wool from New Zealand. The quality of yarn has to be approved by the knob previous to production. SH has its own catalog for the designs, which are based on both traditional Nepalese and classic western motifs (SH_Woolen). The design catalog is provided to clients upon request. SH also provides superior to develop pattern and design in collaboration and consultation with the clients. The samples, after approval, get out then be sent to producers. All the knitwear products are hand-made and will have 100% Hand-made in Nepal labels (Sana_Hastakala Polcies and Procedures).It is worthwhile noting that all knitwear (except for sweaters which is not in consideration because of size-requirement discrepancies between Asia and North America) products are unisex. The knitwear products are available in two different sizes small (kid-size), and large (adult-size). Since these are hand-made, SH admits that it is hard to do size requirements, but will comply with clients requirements (Sana_Hastakala Polcies and Procedures).The knitwear products are available in a range of fashionable colors. The local woolen yarn colors are usually pale white and grey. These wools are from sheep and yak, and no animals are harme d during the production of wool. The wools are dyed based on the clients requirements. The design catalog contains the range of colors available.The hats or caps and boxer gloves dirty dog have shear lining upon request by the clients. These linings provide extra warmth and are usually favourred by most of the clients. The requirement of linings will be decided after consultation with clients.Being a member of World Trade Organization, Fair Trade Group, and Fair Trade Group Nepal, Sana Hastakala stringently adheres to the guidance and regulations to maintain quality and standards, which are regularly checked by these organizations. Besides quality and standard, SH ensures that these ten standards are followedCreating opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers,transparence and accountabilityTrading practicesPayment of a fair priceChild labor and forced laborNon-discrimination, gender equity and freedom of joiningWorking conditionsCapacity classingPromotion of Fair Trade environsThe details of these standards are discussed in detail by any Fair Trade organizations (FTGN_Standards). The compliance certificates idler be obtained upon request by the clients.The client can request to be affiliated with Sana Hastakala to promote Fair Trade practices in Nepal. Some clients have expressed the positive outcomes and boost in profits because of this affiliation. SH assures that the client will develop business birth that will benefit everyone and SH will be committed once this relationship is established (Sana_Hastakala Polcies and Procedures).Transportation ProceduresSana Hastakala (SH) offers two types of shipping sea and air. If the client prefers DDP (Delivered Duty Paid), then SH will use its own freight forwarding firm, lotd by third party, and the freight, insurance and cost of goods will be the get cost. Some clients prefer EXW the products are picked up from the SH warehouse located at Kupondole, Nepal. The client will be responsible for a ll the charges thereafter (Sana_Hastakala Polcies and Procedures).Nepal is member of World Trade Organization and strictly adheres to rules and regulations of WTO. Prior to 2005, Nepal make happyed quota free access to major global markets. Nepal does not have any restrictions in exporting knitwear as long as it maintains quality standard requirements (Shah). However, importing textiles and clothing to Canada is subjected to Export second Permit Acts and requires import permit from Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) (DFAIT Import Conditions). The import also is subjected to certification fees and custom fees based on the total value of goods (DFAIT Schedule (Paragraph 3(1)(a)) Fees for Import Permits).SH prefers exporting through with(predicate) ship route for exporting goods, but this requires order in advance one year so that the product reaches the buyer in time. SH can also provide merchandise through air freight rate the order is take quartette months in advance. The seaway shipment is cost- effective compared to air cargo. Currently, the shipping price through sea is US$ 3.00 below 500 kg and US$ 2.00 over 500 kg, whereas the air cargo cost depends upon the courier service used for transportation on the average, air cargo costs US$ 9.50 below 500 kg and US$ 7.25 over 500 kg (Sana_Hastakala Polcies and Procedures). The method of transportation will depend upon after discussion with buyer and their preferences, but sea shipment will be recommended to keep the landed cost minimized.The turn-around-time depends upon the quantity of merchandise ordered. A minimum order of 1,000 units of knitwear, liquefy and match of any products, is required to minimize the packaging and handling charges. The vender has to keep in mind that the estimated delivery time through sea is three to four months, whereas the estimated delivery time through air cargo is five to seven business days (Sana_Hastakala Polcies and Procedures).The packaging will be done in weather-proof packages so that there is minimal damage to the merchandises due(p) to weather and other natural disasters. The packaging is either in the tarp sacks or boxed, the latter being more than expensive and will cost more to buyer (Sana_Hastakala Polcies and Procedures).Pricing Policies and ProceduresFor selling any of goods or work some type of cost analysis is required. SH, according to the cost analysis, square off prices, for their three merchandise (Caps, Mittens and Mufflers), as belowCaps $3-4/ personaMittens $3-4/PairMufflers $2-3/PieceA part of analysis is verification of pricing. For better understanding the market situation, the put off one shows comparing prices between three supplyer that are competing in the market and SH. Obviously, this is one of the best means for validating price. By request three or more suppliers of their prices for the same product, we can determine if a particular price is reasonable. However, the lowest bid may not con stantly represent the lowest cost. There may be cost associated with qualification the lower cost product perform to standards, the additional cost of wee replacement or the cost of redesign and/or testing required making the lower cost product applicable. This total cost of encyclopedism is the real cost that must be compared. Its obviously shows that SH prices are higher(prenominal) than the other competitor in the market and it is because of their quality and being handmade of the products.SH doesnt have any discount offer for first order but for compete with other competitors they offer discount for second and subsequent orders. They promote 12% discount for orders more than 70,000 and 20% discount for orders more than 100,000. what is more they have discount for fair trade members about 25%, also these excludes VAT which is 22% in Nepal.The company use advanced order to take advance remunerations to cover the cost of raw materials purchase. Then SH use totally prepaid adva nced payment for first order and for the second order they recommend 75% advance payment, 25% after shipping. too they recommend 50% advance payment and 50% COD payment for third order and subsequent orders. The firms policy on extending credit to its guests is depending on the loyalty of the customers to SH and their participation in promoting fair trade globally and locally. wear BProspecting/ change Potential CustomersWe propose these methods for prospecting and tossing potency customers.Exhibitions and DemonstrationsProspectingExhibitions and demonstrations will be our primary prospecting method. This types of events gives a sales person extensive shock with large number of potentiality buyers over a brief time. utilise this method we can limit-up an interesting display to get nations attention for eccentric popcorn machine, lightning etc.We can set up our display to maximise visibility based on the flow of the traffic.We can use devolve cards to write down prospect i nformation for efficient and effective post- show follow up.In this kind of trade shows we can get the major buyers we want to pursue for contact.QualifyingFor qualifying potential customer in such kind of exhibitions or trade shows we can set up a booth with one sales person to qualify leads and get name and addresses to contact them later at their home or offices.Our sales persons approach to the customers will be assertive rather than normal we can use some questions such as have you ever use hand crafts products? Or by offering them sample to handle that make them get involved into conversation.We can write our message so that it fits on the back of the business card.Our websiteProspectingOur company website would be our one of an automatize prospecting tool. We can use our company website as prospecting tool by doing number of things such as,We can make the site attractive and easy to useWe can get come in to their contacts by contact tie-up on every pageWe can put call me l inks, whereby they can enter their phone numbers and we call them back.QualifyingTo qualify potential customers through our websites we can put our full product catalog online and also let them download a pdf and order a paper assume.Our website would allow them to make both free-text queries and guiding them through a product list.Our potential customer can get all information about our products price range from our web sites.We can use cookies so we can track the prospect and offer customized information.NetworkingProspectingTo find new prospects, networking can be the most reliable and effective prospecting method. We can focus on meeting the boil down of influence people by which we can come in to many valuable contacts.By networking we can get to know about prospects business and find key people in our industry.By meeting people we can tell them what we sell, exchange business cards. Eventually we can build a network of people talking to each other, sharing ideas and exchangi ng information.We can get networking prospects business card and follow up with our new contact.By doing networking we can develop credibility and a valuable, long lasting relationship that would be helpful in our business.QualifyingTo qualify potential customers through networking we can share information about their business and our business.We can implore them some open ended question or feel good question about our industry and also their industry like, What do enjoy the most about your industry?By making contacts through networking we can build up relationship by sending them something every month such as notepad with our company name and picture. These things will be reminded us and our products.Monthly hard copy and newsletterProspectingThis is one on of the good prospecting method that we can use to find potential customersWe can rump particular market by publishing monthly hard copy and newsletters of our company and our products.Though monthly hard copy and newsletter we can offer them an invitation to a seminar, free training session etc.QualifyingWe can send to our prospecting customer contacts articles, newsletters, books, brochures etc. to guide them about our company and our product.We can publish questionnaires to encourage the conversation.Securing an AppointmentThe letter seeking an try-on is provided in the next page.February 21, 2011Mountain Equipment Co-op400 King highway WestToronto, ON M5V 1K2Dear Sir/Madam,Sana Hastakala is Nepali Handicraft Company. We are the founding member of fair trade group Nepal (FTG) and member of International confederation of alternative trade (FAT). This is a non-profitable organization and our main objective is to foster traditional craft skills as well as applying modern techniques in order to generate income for craft producers who are mainly women. We produce different woolen items and other handicrafts products.Sana offers you variety of woolen items which can be used in everyday life. We use high q uality wool such as sheep wool, agora wool from Nepal, imported wool from New Zealand to crate beautiful knit wears, sweaters, jackets, hats and gloves. Designs are based on both traditional Nepali and classic western motifs and are available in beautiful range of fashionable colors.At your convenience, I would like to introduce you to some of our products features and benefits. Please let me hear from you if you would like to find out more about Sana Hastakala and what we can offer you.Regards,Jasmin Upadhyaya(Marketing Manager)AppendicesAppendix A Product catalog for Sana HastakalaBeadsnecklaces,earringsCeramics pinnathenware statues,water and storage jars, summit pots,glass,cup and plate,tea pot,flower vase,serving bowl,soup bowls,paper Mache masks,puppets and dollsDhakaShawls, andclothsDolls (made from cloth and corn remove depicting heterogeneous occupational and tribal ethnic groups represent the finish of Nepal)FeltHand Made Paper Productsgreeting cards,stationary sets,n otebooks, pass on wrapping paper,bags,envelopes,photo framesHousehold accessoriesKnitwearsweaters,jackets,hats and caps,gloves and mittensMetal CraftSinging bowls,trumpets,drums,various kinds of flutes,cymbals,cutlery items, such as knife ,spoon and forks with traditional designs , andbagh chal and chess gamesMithilapaintings,mirrors,ceramics,table clothsbed sheets andT-shirtsNatural fiber Allo Hempbags,cushions covers, wallet, andclothingPashminaShawls,mufflersSilver jewelryWood carvingpicture frames,mirror frames,small boxes,animals,buttons,decorative wall hangings,masksX-mas hangingFiligree Christmas hangings, andfelt decorationAppendix BImages for knitwear productsEar Flap Hats (DSC08796)Cap with Earmuffs (DSC02910)Boxer Gloves (DSC01045)Hunter Gloves (DSC02905)Mufflers (DSC01063)Woolen Socks (DSC01059)Works Cited