FEATURE PROJECT CARGO FASHION
that once they have the ex-factory date for their shipment confirmed, they have the flexibility to choose the best logistics model.”
Mixed picture DHL’s Lau, though, suggested the fashion sector air freight picture is somewhat mixed. “In terms of the overall market, we are probably seeing flat volumes at the moment,” he stated. “On a customer by customer basis, though, the situation varies. Retailers with a business model that thrives on speed to market are pretty consistent when it comes to their use of air freight. However, some of the fashion retailers in the ‘value’ apparel sector have reduced their air freight usage as they focus on cost management.” Te current ups and downs of the
Hernig, regional director South Asia, Middle East and Pakistan for German carrier Lufthansa Cargo. “Te fashion retail sector has been in a downturn since around mid-2011. Tere are probably multiple reasons for that. Te global economic situation is one but in Europe the unusual weather last year did not really encourage demand for traditional summer clothes and also subsequently did not promote a rush for winter collections. So there has been a drop in that air freight market.” Kevin Lam, director of freight,
“You can’t predict people and you
can’t predict the weather”
CARSTEN HERNIG 24 AIR LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT
Eastern China, for Hong Kong-based international forwarder and logistics services provider Kerry Logistics, made a similar observation. “Due to the global economic situation, the fashion market in Hong Kong, for example, is really soft at the moment,” he stated. “As a result, there is a lot of room for
price negotiation when it comes to freight services. During their rate inquiries, fashion sector customers will ask about both air and ocean rates, and maybe some other creative options, so
global air freight market for fashion goods are nothing new, though, as Lufthansa Cargo’s Hernig pointed out. “In the 12 or 13 years I have been in this industry, the fashion business has always been both cyclical and unpredictable – you can’t predict people and you can’t predict the weather,” he commented. In that context, he suggested that
while the overall market might be down at present, the situation could change very quickly. “At the moment, many retailers have their warehouses full of old fashions they have not been able to sell. At some point, consumer demand will kick in again. Te retailers will then find they only have old collections in stock and that they need to use air freight to bring in the latest products which people actually want to buy.” Aside from an anticipated general
upturn in the global fashion business at some point, future demand from that sector for air freight services is likely to be stimulated by a range of longer-term industry trends. One of the key developments in that context, agree industry sources, is the continuing growth of so-called ‘fast fashion’, the rapid stocking by retailers of the latest fashion items, often based on the clothes and other luxury products associated with celebrities. Tat trend, they point out, has led to many retailers around the world moving away from the traditional
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