Friday, January 19, 2007

This edition of the Hosiery Insider is sponsored by Dorlastan

We Say Good Bye to Alice Moore and Hello to Kathi Lucchesi: We’d like to thank Alice Moore of Johnston, Allison & Hord for her many years of service as the organization’s legal counsel and wish her the best in her new career with Presbyterian Health Care System. We’d also like to officially welcome Kathi Lucchesi who will now be working with us in addition to Morry Johnston. Many of you will meet Kathi at our April Convention. Kathi has an impressive legal background, and we are confident that she, too, will do a great job for us!

SANTONI SHOWCASES SEAMLESS TECHNOLOGY at OUTDOOR RETAIL: Santoni will be exhibiting at the January 27-30 Outdoor Retail Winter Market in Salt Lake City, Utah. Members of Seamless Consortium will also be available to discuss the benefits and features of seamless apparel with attendees and officially launch its membership campaign to the seamless apparel producers along with distributing the Seamless Handbook. For further details, contact info@seamlessconsort.com.

February 2, 2007 HOTEL SOLD OUT- Have you registered? Social Compliance and Reducing Health Care Costs Strategy Session to be held February 2, 2007 at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC. We are pleased to have Nancy Blough, Executive Vice President of the American Health Data Institute (AHDI), will discuss practical ways that your company can encourage wellness and reduce health care costs. Steve Jesseph, President and CEO of Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP) will also join us. Participate in an interactive exchange of ideas and questions with Jesseph during this session. He will incorporate the dialogue into his presentation at THA’s Convention in April 26-29. WRAP has worked with the apparel industry to create a common certification. Information can be found on the Member and Guest sections of THA’s website, www.hosieryassociation.com.

Association Delegations Travel to Hong Kong for Gathering of Global Apparel Business Executives. THA is gathering interest from those companies that may be interested in attending the 2nd edition of Prime Source Forum which will take place again in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center March 27 -30, 2007. The Forum offers an opportunity for companies to meet many brand owners from the USA and Europe. Click here for the brochure and the list of companies who were represented at the Forum last year is shown in page 6. The program is shown in page 5 of the brochure. Event information is posted on their web-site www.primesourceforum.com. Contact Sally Kay at 704,365-0913, ext. 212 or email sally.kay@hosieryassociation.com if you are interested in receiving more details.

Only 7 BOOTHS Remaining! THA MEMBERS: EXCLUSIVE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH INDUSTRY LEADERS - The global hosiery business is impacting the entire value chain…manufacturers are increasingly challenged to find readily available resources, whether it’s raw materials and/or products and services. Do these companies know who you are and what value you can offer them? What is it worth for you/your company to have face-to-face meetings with over 100 of the industry's top decision-makers and buying agents? If you act quickly, you can take advantage of this opportunity.

We are offering a special, exclusive invitation for ONLY 20 SUPPLIERS to display their product samples, sales collateral and give-aways in an exhibition booth at the upcoming THA Annual Convention on Friday, April 27 in Charleston, SC. Special Thanks to the following eight companies who have reserved their booths: Arch Chemicals Inc (Booth #8), PAM Trading Corp. (Booth #9), RadiciSpandex Corp. (Booth #10), Lang Ligon Co. Inc. (Booth #11), Nilit America Corp. (Booth #12), Sunrise Technologies (Booth #16), Dynamic Quest (Booth #18), PrimaLoft (Booth #19), and Groz-Beckert USA inc. (Booth #20).

You will have direct access to the leaders who purchase your products/services. What would making just one sale mean to you? Now multiply that. To secure one of the remaining 11 booths, which will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis, call us now at 704-365-0913 and request an Application for Exhibit Space.

ROOMS ARE FILLING UP - Have You Made Your Hotel Reservation for THA’s 102nd Annual Convention Yet? Don’t wait, call now. Contact the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina (CHR&M) directly at 843-856-0028 or 888-856-0028. The CHR&M reservations office is open from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. (Eastern). In order to get the Convention Rate of $199/night, make sure to identify yourself as being with THA and give the Reservation Code “HOA.” The reservation cut-off date is at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 26, 2007. Don’t delay, make your hotel reservations for THA’s 102nd Annual Convention – Thursday, April 26 – Sunday, April 29, 2007 at the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina.

 

The current issue of Hosiery News was distributed electronically last week. Printed copies will be distributed next week. If you know of someone who should be receiving the publication, please contact THA offices, 704-365-0913, to ensure he/she is on the distribution list. We offer both printed and electronic versions and reach a global audience. Hosiery News is the official publication of THA is the premiere source of industry/trend information that global business executives rely on.

 

 

 

 

Moretz Sports Wins Under Armour 2006 Licensee of the Year Award – On January 18, Moretz Sports, a division of newly formed GoldToeMoretz, announced it has won the Under Armour 2006 Licensee of the Year award. This is the first such award for licensees from Under Armour, Inc., a leading developer, marketer and distributor of branded performance apparel, footwear and accessories. Moretz Sports manufactures performance socks for Under Armour. The announcement was made by John Moretz, CEO, GoldToeMoretz. Full press release is available on THA’s website

Fox River Hires Creative Director – It was announced January 17 that Xany Gibson has joined industry-leading hosiery and handwear manufacturer Fox River, located in Osage, IA, as creative director. Gibson previously was part of the product development team at Mountain High Hosiery in San Diego, CA, creating lines for a variety of casual and athletic programs including Tommy Hilfiger and The Walking Co. She received her undergraduate degree in industrial design engineering and her MBA from Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica in Costa Rica. Full press release is available on THA’s website

“You Wear US Well ™” BIGGER AND BETTER will be participating in the MAGIC show this February with more exhibitors and a bigger presence! There are 14 hosiery and apparel companies plus a separate booth has now evolved for 14 yarn and fiber producers. In addition to THA, HTC and SEAMS, TTC, TC (2) and NCTO have joined the initiative. For additional information involved, please contact Dan St. Louis at the Hosiery Technology Center, 828.327.7000 ext. 4292 or sockman@legsource.com.

 

ASAP Buying Trips
You don't know what your manufacturer has or is capable of without visiting it and seeing it first hand. With ASAP Buying Trips it has become so simple to do just that. ASAP Show, will take you to China and show you many different factories that are capable of producing what you need. Not only will you get to meet the manufacturers themselves, you will be taken to the facilities where your clothing line will be produced.

ASAP has added more shows to their roster this year, as well as more cities for you to choose from. March 13-22 we will be visiting the following cities, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou. And on July 10-22 we will be visiting these cities ShenZhen, Daleng, Shaxi, Macau, Hong Kong. Both trips are only $980 plus the cost of your airfare to and from China. For more information please visit our website www.asapbuyingtrip.com


 

First Sale Rule Offers Duty Savings to U.S. Importers
U.S. importers work with a wide range of individuals and companies to get their goods from the foreign factory door to the domestic retail floor. Each of these interactions can add to the ultimate cost of the imported product, but perhaps none have a bigger effect than the importer’s purchase, often at a substantial markup, from the vendor or middleman who buys the item from the manufacturer. This relationship also opens up the possibility of substantial duty savings. A unique aspect of U.S. customs law, the first sale rule, allows companies that import into the U.S. to lawfully reduce their duties by entering goods at a lower value than the price actually paid to the foreign vendor. Most U.S. importers are eligible to take advantage of this benefit because, whether they realize it or not, they usually purchase foreign goods through multiple parties, not directly from the manufacturer. The first sale rule allows the entered value of a qualifying transaction to be based on the purchase price between the vendor and the factory rather than the importer and the vendor. The middleman’s markup to the importer is therefore not included in the dutiable entered value. As a result, by working back to the price between the actual manufacturer and the party to whom it sells, the amount of duties paid is substantially reduced. Importantly, the first sale rule may apply even if the vendor is related to the importer and/or the factory or there are multiple levels of vendors.

Dole, Hayes Reintroduce Bill to Restore Rank of Ambassador to Textile Negotiator
Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., and Rep. Robin Hayes, R-N.C., reintroduced their bills to restore the rank of ambassador to the special textile and apparel negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The two members assert that in recent years U.S. negotiators have encountered some obstacles because they did not carry the same rank as their foreign colleagues.

Administration Announces Plans to Amend Labor Provisions in Pending FTAs
A senior U.S. trade official announced this week that the Bush administration anticipates making changes to the labor provisions on the free trade agreements that have been concluded with Peru, Colombia and Panama.

Limits on Apparel Imports Amended to Reflect ATPDEA Extension
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has amended the limits on apparel imports eligible for duty- and quota-free treatment under the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act to reflect the passage of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, which extended the ATPDEA through June 30, 2007.

EU and GCC Conclude Round of Free Trade Area Negotiations
The European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council recently completed a round of negotiations on the creation of a free trade area between the two regions. According to a press statement from the European Commission, the talks reviewed all key areas in the negotiations, including trade in goods and services, investment and government procurement. The commission noted that the FTA negotiations began in 1990 but stalled after the GCC, which comprises Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, decided in 1999 to create a customs union. The talks resumed in 2002. The final agreement will include provisions on investment, intellectual property rights and rules of origin and will also cover political issues such as human rights, illegal immigration and terrorism.

USTR Says FTA Negotiations with Malaysia Could Wrap Up by End of March
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Asia and the Pacific Barbara Weisel recently indicated that the latest round of negotiations on a free trade agreement with Malaysia are the two sides are within “striking distance” of completing the talks by the end of March. However, she also allowed that some significant issues still need to be worked out, including disagreements over government procurement and the services sector.

China and ASEAN Sign Agreement on Trade in Services
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have signed an agreement on trade in services, paving the way for the completion of a comprehensive free trade agreement by 2010, according to press reports. The recently reached agreement covers a number of sectors, including telecommunication, transportation, energy and tourism. China and ASEAN began lowering trade barriers in 2005. Since then, tariffs on more than 7,000 products have been reduced. Two-way trade amounted to more than $160 billion in 2006, up 23 percent from 2005.

 

The contents printed in this document are informational in nature. They are gathered from various industry sources and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or actions of THA.

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