Hong Kong and the Swedish Garment Industry.
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Government policy.
known
At present a committee appointed by the Government, as Teko Utredningen, are compiling information for a report on the Swedish textile and garment industries. The report is not due to be published until the end of this year but interim reports may be published. We have not been able to find any newspaper articles, nor any recent public statements by Govern- ment officials or others about the Swedish textile/garment industry, but we do know that the Government have not changed their attitude which is, that the textile/garment industry is not an expanding industry and individual or collective subsidies are not contemplated. The State will of course assist where unemployment occurs, and may make nice noises from time to time about its concern for Swedish industry in the face of. heavy imports from low cost countries.
The Industry.
2.
The Swedish garment industry is comparable to the footwear industry in Sweden, where many firms have gone out of business in the past eight years, leaving only the stronger firms surviving. About 20 Swedish manufacturers have set up manufac- turing plant's in Portugal, where labour costs are considerably lower than in Sweden, and many do well on the export side. A recent export drive in the United States appears to have been very successful, and further trade promotions of this kind are planned. The U.S. promotion received a small amount of Govern- ment money (though nothing like the amount we spend on similar promotions for British exporters) and it is possible that the amount of money involved in future promotions may be substantially increased.
3.
Swedish garment manufacturers sell direct to retail outlets in Sweden. A few knitwear and foundation garment manufacturers sell through wholesalers and a very small percentage of garment manufacturers through agents. The pattern of retail distribution in Sweden is ideally suited to Hong Kong manufacturers. Three out of four of the leading retail agents in Sweden, namely, K.F., Turitz and Åhlèns buy in bulk.
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