Changes_in_the_Number_of_Establishments_and_Employment_in_the_Manufacture_of_Under_Garments_and_Night_Garments_Industry

ENGG 1009 Industrial Management and Logistics Exercise One Changes in the Number of Establishments and Employment in the Manufacture of under garments and night garments Industry 141104 Manufacture of under garments and night garments Items | 2004 (JUN) | 2009(JUN) | Percentage of changing | Number of establishments | 62 | 29 | -53.2% | Number of persons engaged | 2183 | 682 | -68.8% | The above statistics are compiled based on the Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification (HSIC) Version 2.0. The intimate apparel industry has been playing a significant role in the local clothing industry, which has gained for Hong Kong the reputation of being a leading production centre and an international sourcing hub for textiles and clothing. However, according to the graph, both the number of establishment and the persons engaged in the manufacture of under garment and night garment in June decrease significantly from 2004 to 2009. Actually, this is expectable because of the following the reasons: 1) The vigorous competition The manufacture of wearing apparel used to be the major industry in Hong Kong. As Hong Kong being flourished, the operation cost becomes very high. Moreover, the exit strategy was employed, so most of the establishments move to other developing countries such as China, India and Thailand in order to reduce the producing cost. With the great competitors, such decline is unavoidable. 2) Shortened delivery time and the fewer in quantity of goods As time on processing and quality of goods are essential nowadays, no one can stand alone in this competitive situation. At the same time, the number of fashion seasons is increased and the number of demand of a single item is decreased. Since workers need time to familiarize the procedures of making a single product, such frequent changes leads to 2 problems --- fast learning employees are needed and the workers should work for longer hours. Some establishments cannot suffer such large amount of cost, they choose to close or transfer to other areas for reducing the cost. As a result, the garment industry, including the manufacture of under garments and night garments, is no longer being the major industry in Hong Kong. 3) The promoting opportunities and the working conditions cannot recruit the young The salary of the workers in garment industry is always lower than other opportunities. As it seems to be lower class, young people don’t want to be a worker in the garment industry. Because of the lack of the promoting opportunities and the poor working conditions, no young people are willing to work, how can the garment industry to be developed in Hong Kong' 4) The implementation of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) Due to the implementation of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between Hong Kong and the Mainland in January 2004, WTO's quota phase-out in January 2005. Hong Kong lost the umbrella of the quota, so the garment industry should seek more methods to beat other competitors. Because of the above 4 reasons, the number of establishment and the persons engaged in the manufacture of undergarment and night garment would decline continuously in the next few years. This is the trend due to past 6 year’s statistic. We hope the intimate apparel industry can seek another way to survival, so the intimate apparel industry can be flourishing again. Reference: Census and Statistics Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/ Hong Kong Intimate Apparel Industries’ Association: http://www.hkiaia.org/index.asp Oxfam Hong Kong: http://www.oxfam.org.hk/public/main