Sourcing USA Summit III
World’s Cotton VIP Under One Roof
The world’s top executives in the cotton industry and related people in the U.S. cotton production and export industries gathered together at “Sourcing USA Summit” held in San Diego, the U.S. for three days from November 18 to 20, 2004. Cotton Council International (CCI) and Cotton Incorporated sponsored this event.
While the structuring of a global supply chain is under way, this event was held to enhance the expertise on cotton product business, exchange information and deepen personal relationships. Participants included nearly 340 of the world’s top executives in the textile industry (mainly cotton industry) and other industry leaders.
Among the lecture programs, attention was focused on the following topics: information on China in the lecture given by Yang Donghui, Vice President, China National Textile Industry Council as well as the lectures given by people from major U.S. apparel firms, including David Yarbrough, Director, Vice President-Private Label, Hagger Inc., Courtney Cox O’ Keefe, Vice President, Sourcing-Sportswear Group, Phillips Van Heusen Inc., and Thomas Glaser, Vice President for Global Sourcing Managing Director of VF Asia Sourcing.
In order to survive in today’s economic society with its dizzy pace of change, information holds the key. The same thing holds true with the textile & apparel industry from cotton through cotton products to retail stores. What is most important here is the change in the way of purchasing on the retail side. It is imperative that the supply side should structure a way of manufacturing and supplying best suited to the change on the retail side. “Sourcing USA Summit III” is an extremely valuable meeting place where cotton producers and even dealers selling textile products made from cotton assemble in one place at the same time. This is the place for creating diversified and fresh human relations and for structuring a new style of business.
Previously, our understanding of the structure of the U.S. cotton industry was: Out of the annual cotton production of 20 million bales, 10 million bales or half were for consumption by textile producers within the U.S. and the other half or 10 million bales were for export. This was the way that the U.S. cotton industry kept a balance. However, the cotton industry has changed drastically since 1997. Today, you can only expect 5-6 million bales of cotton consumption within the U.S. Most of the cotton production has become an export-oriented operation. Even so, the U.S. is the world’s largest consuming country. Most of the cotton exported from the U.S. will eventually return to the U.S. in the form of apparel. A global perspective has become even more important in the textile industry because the structure of production and consumption has changed considerably.
Participating countries totaled 28 countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, China, Germany, Switzerland, Taiwan and Brasil. Many participants from Japan included people from Kurabo Industries Ltd., Shikibo Co., Ltd. and Kaihara Corporation.
This event was a combination of lectures and social activities. In the social gathering, U.S. cotton dealers formed a line to exchange business cards with President Hong Xia Zhang of Weiqiao Textile Group Co., Ltd. (China), a major spinning firm in China. This phenomenon signified that there is a great anticipation for demand within China.
Copyright Osaka Senken Ltd. Jan 2005
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