One of Hong Kong's first knitters is now leading the way to the next generation of knitting and garment production. South Enterprises has continued to reinvent itself through investment in R&D and in state-of-the-art equipment. “To remain in business you have to keep reinventing yourself,” said Manning Tang, director at South Enterprises Ltd. “The market keeps changing and you have to change with it. Many companies fail because they insist on sticking to the old ways of dong things.” ...

While newer mills can produce some very good denim, there’s nothing like the ‘real thing.’Trendy, authentic vintage denim is not that easy to source. Few of the original denim mills are still in operation. While newer mills can produce some very good denim, there’s nothing like the ‘real thing.’Cone Denim has the unique advantage of being able to leverage its over 100-year history in the denim business. The company’s White Oak mill, which was established...

Function and fashion are teaming up to create uniqueness and added value.Function and fashion are working more closely than ever before to create uniqueness and added value. However, at the foundation of today’s cutting edge developments lies fiber – the core ingredient that is quietly driving big changes in the apparel industry.And behind much of the research and development is Hyosung, a Korean company with a history of pioneering a wide range of fiber innovations. What makes Hyosu...

New technology is taking customization in exciting new directions.Digital printing is the next big thing in the fashion industry as designers and brands look for greater product differentiation and for smaller minimums.Initially starting out in the T-shirt industry where retailers offered consumers the opportunity to print whatever they wanted on a shirt, the technology is now taking the fashion industry by storm.From small studios to larger manufacturers, there’s a growing adoption of dig...

Many companies talk about setting high quality standards however, the Crystal Group is meeting those standards, and the standards they’ve set are high.“We have a 98.5 percent pass rate (on first inspection) for all of our factories worldwide,” said Catherine Y. W. Chiu, Head of Corporate Quality & Sustainability.  “Our goal is ‘Right First Time’ quality.”The 40 year-old apparel manufacturer is not only one of the oldest in the region, but also o...

“In China, it’s hard to beat other people on the price nowadays. The advantage of low prices, if not gone already, is gradually fading,” said Eric Poon（潘浩华), Executive Director of Texwinca Holding Limited, a Hong Kong listed company since 1992. Even for the industry’s power players, its difficult to the avoid cutthroat competition at the price-sensitive ‘basics’ end of the market.“We had to cut back on staff and capacity at our textile subsidiary, Ni...

Indonesia’s fast growing consumer market is not new territory for Lee Cooper jeans.  The cutting edge British label has been in the market for 20 years, selling jeanswear primarily through its 90 retail stores.  The brand was a pioneer in running its own retail operations in the local market and using that retail presence to create a ‘brand experience’, as well as to connect with and better understand the consumer.As an early entrant into the market, one of their bigg...

In 2005 traditional French lace maker Brunet took a bold step into the future and transferred its headquarters from France to Hong Kong.  The visionary move was made by owner Andreas Roschmann who recognizing that the apparel industry had clearly moved to China and its neighbors and realized that a key element in his company’s future success would be speed-to-market and competitive prices.  Manufacturing was relocated to China, with an additional facility added in Thailand this y...

Nobody ever said that the apparel business was easy, certainly no one who’s ever sourced garments internationally.  In fact, the business has become increasingly complicated now that buyers have to be concerned about compliance issues, as well as producing a quality garment and delivering it to the market with increasingly short lead times.“Sourcing is not just about price negotiation, it takes extensive hands-on efforts by experienced QC experts to produce high quality garments...

In an industry that is usually reluctant to change there a few leaders who have the foresight to adapt to changing times and challenging markets.Hong Kong-based Lever Style is one company that made the leap – from traditional family owned apparel manufacturer to a cutting edge fashion company.After completing his studies in the U.S. and working in investment banking, Stanley Szeto made what looked like an unlikely decision and by-passed the glamour of the financial industry to return to Ho...