Textiles Suffer The Cruellest Cut Of All
The Age
Wednesday April 11, 2001
CANBERRA
In 1997, Australia's car makers and its textiles, clothing and footwear industry fought and won a desperate battle for survival against a plan to wipe out their protection against imports. But since then, their fortunes have diverged sharply.
The car industry, underpinned by the low dollar and locked-in investments by multinational firms, has carved out a global niche in exporting big cars. But Australia's textiles, clothing and footwear manufacturers have seen their markets erode massively.
The Bureau of Statistics estimates that in the year to February, 10 per cent of all the jobs in the industry were wiped out. Its output slumped by an astonishing 17 per cent in the year to December, by 26 per cent in the past two years. Despite the low dollar, exports have fallen, and at home, imports are gobbling up market share.
Bradmill, as a textiles and clothing producer, has been hit from both sides. It is a world leader in producing quality denim fabrics, such as denim wool and stretch denim, but the kids these days are wearing cargoes.
Its own clothing brands like Pelaco were losing out to imports even before the GST sent clothing sales through the floor. And as a supplier of fabric to other local clothing manufacturers, it has been badly hurt by falling sales, the shift of production offshore and mounting bad debts.
The company needed drastic pruning to survive, and failed to do it. Industry observers believe it may be impossible to revive some of its clothing lines, labor-intensive operations in which low-wage countries have a big competitive advantage. Its denim and canvas businesses are seen as globally competitive, and hence likely to find buyers. Victoria, as home to more than half the industry's output, has a lot riding on the outcome.
© 2001 The Age