TNAG-0163-FCO40-199-Export-of-textiles-to-Norway-and-Sweden-1969 — Page 167

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an even keel, safe and simple. The actual changes in

the textile and clothing manufacturing industries and

wholesaling and retailing are explained in more

detail in other sections.

Foreign competition

At the beginning of the 1950's foreign

competition began to make itself felt.' To start with

this came from European firms, and although faint

voices calling for protection were raised, the

situation was not serious enough either to warrant the

raising of barriers or to cause much unrest in the

industry. This had an assured outlet for its products

in the home market and there was no real cause for

'concern until retailers discovered an entirely new

trend among their customers. A teenage market

emerged as a new and very strong factor and demanded

cheap and fas.ionable clothes which could be worn for

a season and then thrown away. Sweden had a so-called

Backfisch industry (meaning literally "a girl's

betwixt and between age"), but it was not able to

produce what was wanted and was perhaps the first

sector of the local textile industry to be affected

by foreign competition. Retailers therefore turned

to agents and wholesalers for supplies of foreign

goods, and were probably surprised to learn how

cheaply they could get them and how enormous the

profit margins could sometimes be. As foreign

competition increased and the heyday of the postwar

years passed, it was only natural that price

competition grew keener and manufacturers began

looking about for countries which pursued a liberal

tariff policy.

Sweden had and still has a much

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cont.

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