Cotton Price Effect: US Retailers Will Raise Clothing Prices

According to reports, Fitch, a credit rating agency, said that Cotton price Rising, China's labor force cost Rising, the United States Retailer This year will be forced to improve clothing. Price The highest will be 15% higher than last year.

In the past year, new market Demand for consumer growth pushed up commodity prices, exacerbating inflation in the west, and cotton prices rose by 120%, hitting a peak of more than $2 a pound in early March. The wage expenditure of China's garment factories is also rising.

this time Price increase It will affect many brands, ranging from Lo J Faith (NorthFace) to Levi's (Levi 's). It will mark the end of an era of twenty years: in the past twenty years, the cost of clothing has been declining as western manufacturers have shifted more production to low-cost emerging markets.

Mike, chief executive of JCPenney, a mid-range department store, predicted last week that the industry will raise clothing prices by 5% to 20% in the second half of. JCPenney sells many brands of clothing, including Ali Shi Fagafaga Bong (LizClaiborne) and Dockers.

Levi's (LeviStrauss) warned this month that its clothing price will rise by two digits. It said consumers' response was "unpredictable" and warned that rising prices could lead to reduced sales. Levi's's Levi's jeans usually contain 90% of its cotton.

Aga Wall estimates that the rise in costs will lead to a 0.3% to 0.5% drop in gross margins of US apparel retailers. The gross margin of American apparel retailers is usually between 38% and 40%.