France

Panel Presentations: France November 13, 2013 Jessica Burke Jasmine Henry Ciara Isley Amanda Mast

France

Abstract The purpose of our panel discussion research is to provide background knowledge on the developed country of France and increase the understanding of aspects pertaining to its involvement in the apparel and textile industry. Francesharing borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Spain, Andorra, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean Seais the largest country in western Europe and the third largest in Europe as a whole. The country is in its growth stage of industrial development with strong economic sectors in the fields of automotives, railways, cosmetics, luxury goods, and hospitality. The French labor force consists of approximately 45% of the total population with 24.3% working in industry related careers (including apparel and textile manufacturing) and 71.8% in service related careers (including retail). On the manufacturing side of the textile and apparel industry, due to foreign competition, France has shifted its focus from traditional production to the production of technical fibers and more innovative products. France is now the second biggest producer of geosynthetic textiles that are often used for roads, airfields, railroads, embankments, retaining structures, reservoirs, canals, dams, erosion control, sediment control, landfill liners, landfill covers, mining, aquaculture, and agriculture. On the retail side of the textile and apparel industry, France has long been known as a fashion capitol home to many fashion designers and design houses such as Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Lauent, Louboutin, Hermes, Givency, and Lanvin to name a few. Outside of the luxury goods market, the retail system is similar to that of the United States with a mixture of department stores, specialty boutiques, and mass merchandisers. France is also known for its successful grocery retailers. Frances domestic textiles and clothing consumption is worth 26 billion euros ranking its clothing industry fourth in Europe, but this figure is on the decline with production in France only contributing 40% to the

France

consumption compared to 55% ten years ago. In terms of trade, France is a part of the European Union, which imposes a common tariff on all goods that enter the country. They also have high standards of quality inspection for goods entering the country. Trade barriers in effect delay foreign goods from reaching the French markets, which is a strategy to allow French domestic goods a better chance of selling before the foreign goods reach shelves. Concerned with the impact on the environment, Frances textile and apparel industry is part of Euratex, which is the European Confederation representing the interests at the level of the EU institutions of the European textile and clothing industries as a whole. Their goals in sustainability include effective and efficient use of resources (labor, raw materials, etc.), energy, water, etc. while minimizing/optimizing the costs. Drawbacks to involvement in the textile and apparel industry in France include fairly high taxes (taxes amount to 11% of the value-added aspects of the textile industry) and higher cost labor than other European countries.

France

Annotated Bibliography Apparel & clothing trade shows in France. (2013). BizTradeShows. Retrieved from http://www.biztradeshows.com/france/france-tradeshows.mp?industry=apparel-fashion This source acts similar to a database in which buyers can research future trade shows to attend. The site provides compiled lists for several industries within several countries.

Bealer Rodie, J. (2013). French technical textiles industry: Evolving & competitive. Textile World. Retrieved from http://www.textileworld.com/Articles/2013/March/March_April_issue/NWTT_French_T echnical_Textiles.html This article explains Frances shift from typical textile manufacturing to technical textiles manufacturing.

Being responsible in retail & commerce. (2012). Groupe Galeries Lafayette. Retrieved from http://www.groupegalerieslafayette.fr/en/article/commitments/community/beingresponsible-in-retail-and-commerce/4385/ This website discusses the efforts of one French department store to be a more sustainable company. It highlights their successful projects and discusses their ongoing initiatives. Farfan, B. (2013). Frances largest retail chains on the 2011 world's largest retailers list. About.com Retail Industry. Retrieved from http://retailindustry.about.com/od/largesteuropeanretailers/a/2011-france-largest-retailchains-france-companies-stores-europe-world.htm This article discusses some of Frances largest retail chains based on revenues, the growth rate in grocery chains, and the decline in non-grocery retailers. It proposes reasoning behind the decline in non-grocery retailers and emphasizes that the ones that are surviving owe the success to an increased internet presence.

France. (2013). Index mundi. Retrieved http://www.indexmundi.com/france/ This site provided information regarding the demographics of the citizens of France. Frances textile and clothing industry. (n.d.). ORT France & Fashion.net. Retrieved from http://portale.parma.it/fashion-net/allegato.asp?ID=458190

France

This source provides a thorough overview of the French textiles and apparel industry. It discusses the regions of production, statistics within the two sectors (textiles and apparel), and demographics of the workforce within these industries. The French economy: strengths and weaknesses. (2013). About-France.com. Retrieved from http://about-france.com/geo/french-economy.htm Strengths and weaknesses of the French government were obtained through this site.

The garment industry & its jobs. (n.d.). La Mode Francaise. Retrieved from http://www.lamodefrancaise.org/en/secteur/intro.html This source provided market information on French imports and exports broken down by origins/destinations as well as product categories.

Markowitz, A. (2011). The retail industry. International Labour Organization. Retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/oshenc/part-xvii/office-and-retail-trades/item/649-the-retail-industry This website was useful in finding statistics for how many workers and what kind of workers were in the workforce in all countries.

Sustainability. (n.d.). Euratex: The European Apparel and Textile Confederation. Retrieved from http://www.euratex.eu/index.php?id=89 This source is the homepage for Euratex, the European Confederation, which deals with policy issues related to the textile and apparel industry. Their section on sustainability briefly outlines Euratexs goals in sustainability efforts but more elaborate information can be found under a tab describing completed and ongoing projects.

World factbook: France. (2013). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fr.html This cite provided information on the geography and population of France.

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Record of Activity Our group divided the panel presentation tasks as follows: Ciara: Questions #1-3 Amanda: Questions #4-5 and fact sheets Jasmine: Questions #6-8 Jessica: Questions #9-11and write-ups

We worked in class when we had lab times to ensure everyone was able to find information for their specific parts, and we met Thursday October 24 in the Knoblauch computer lab to see how everyones research was coming along. Other than our one official meeting time, we collaborated and communicated through email due to frequent schedule conflicts.