Is apparel manufacturing coming home?

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You would really have to have been living on another planet not to realise that the clothing and footwear retail business has undergone seismic transformation over the past few years, leading to a slew of business failures across Europe and North America. Traditional retailers know they have to change their strategies, and this is set to have enormous impact on established supply chains – if not see their demise altogether. As this blog from McKinsey points out: “Today, the industry is at a crossroads where speed beats marginal cost advantage, and basic compliance is upgraded to an integrated sustainability strategy. The traditional supply chain setup is now challenged, and as labour costs converge, brands and retailers are starting to rethink their sourcing and production models more broadly. Moves to increased nearshoring and more automated production models have the potential to enable sustainability further and to support the adaptation of a circular economy in the apparel sector.”