The apparel sector is one of the most important sectors in the US economy. Not only that, its significance to the overall international trade cannot be undermined. About 5% of the world population lives in the US but consumes 25% of the total apparel produced in the world. This fact alone advocates how greatly the ups and down in the sector, no matter how slight they may be, effects US, both locally and internationally and its trading partners.
Further, apparel sector is one of the five expenditure categories of the Consumer Price Index in US with Food & Beverages, Housing, Transportation and Medical Care being the other four. These five heads of expenditure account for the majority of consumer spending and activity in the country. A quick look at these five heads would give an analyst a fair idea as to the state and direction of the economy at any point in time as consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the total economic activity in the country.
APPAREL CREATES FASHION:.
The aesthetic side of the apparel industry is creation of fashion. The apparel industry manufactures clothing, but it sells fashion. And fashion changes generate hundreds of billions of dollars in sales for an industry which ones was a major manufacturing force in the US "but not anymore. No other industry more rapidly reflects changing consumer lifestyles. Social, political and psychological influences, as well as whims of style, create sudden shifts in buying patterns. Today this is particularly true. The cry for new different clothing has never been greater as increasing numbers of men and women ignore the dictates of the fashion establishment and seek clothes which express their individuality.
Fortunes can be made if the right style is marketed at the right time; they can be lost if a style is too early or too late. As one manufacturer warns, "We are in the ripe tomato business. Perishables. You can lose your shirt overnight-.