New York State Apparel Manufacturer Survey 1997

Did you know that there are nearly 500 manufacturers of apparel and apparel components in New York State?

Would you expect companies of varying sizes, making everything from shoulder pads to baby clothes to tailored clothing, scattered all over the state, to have much in common?

We interviewed executives from 73 companies by telephone in 1997 to learn more about you, the New York State apparel manufacturers. This is what we found ...

Who We Talked To

• 49 companies from the New York metropolitan area, and 24 from upstate counties.
  
• Half of these companies employed 21-100, one quarter employed 20 or fewer, and the remainder employed over 100.
  
• 40 manufacturered women's wear; 35 manufactured menswear; 22 manufactured children's wear.
  
• 49 firms were privately owned.
  
• Only 22% of the sample was exclusively contractors. The remainder did either no contract work or a mix of independent and and contract work.
  
• 34 firms completed full manufacturing processes from design through marketing at their New York state location.

Present Technology and Information Resources

Accessing Information and Education

• Of the 44 executives who indicated firm membership in professional associations, 11 named AAMA. Otherwise, association memberships overlapped little among firms and were related to end product, not geographic region.
  
• 74% of the manufacturers surveyed had never sent employees to courses or workshops at major apparel or textile centers.
  

• 30 manufacturers participating in the survey have cooperated in some way with other manufacturers in the past:

              shared equipment   15

              shared facilities   11

              joint marketing   7     

              shared shipping  
   

• 58% of the sample expressed interest in a regional network of apparel manufacturers.

Challenges
The greatest internal challenges encountered in attempting to improve business:

finding qualified labor 32%
lack of understanding/poor communication 25%
worker turnover/ employee training 25%
employee motivation/morale/dedication 16%

The greatest external challenges confronted in attempting to improve business:

imports 51%
imports 36%
prices/price wars 9%

Future Needs

What We Learned

• You want to keep up to date about technology, marketing, and quality issues important to efficient apparel manufacturing.
  
• You like newsletters. You prefer printed to electronic.
  
• You prefer education to be on-site at your place of business.
  
• You are attracted to the idea of individuals learning at their own pace on their own time using computer programs and videos. This approach overcomes the obstacles of time and travel.
  
• You are receptive to collaborative opportunities of mutual benefit. Over half of you expressed interest in a regional network of apparel manufacturers.