Friday, September 9, 2005

KATRINA RELIEF EFFORTS –
Workers/Victims of Hurricane Katrina NEED Our Help
The Louisiana National Guard and thousands of rescue personnel are on-site in New Orleans and other Gulf Coast cities working round-the-clock to find and rescue survivors from flooded homes and collapsed buildings.

Product Request (Socks/Underwear): We have a two-phase request: The first and immediate need is to provide socks and underwear to the search and rescue teams that are actively rescuing people from flooded neighborhoods. The second phase is to provide socks and underwear to the hundreds of thousands of refugees themselves. There is an established aid receiving and distribution center in Baton Rouge which provides effective conduits to move product/materials from the distribution center to the front-line workers. Point of contact: Jack Molisani, Disaster Relief Coordinator WUS, 888-378-2333 Ext. 2, cell 310-872-0069 or jackm@prospring.net . Receiving and distribution center address: 9432 is Common Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70809 or Consolidated Services has trucks going down to the impacted areas on a regular basis for the next several weeks. They have offered to collect and stage your donated products if you can have them delivered to the headquarters in Hickory, NC. Please contact Mark Anderson at 828-725-6505 or email him at mark.anderson@consolidationservices.com . Please note that these products will be sent to food banks such as Second Harvest and FEMA locations throughout the impacted areas.

HISTORICAL HOSIERY HAPPENING: September 3, 1924 – Fall Color Notes – Current fashion trends dictated that women match their hosiery with their gowns, as well as with their shoes. It was reported that new tan shades of hosiery were becoming increasingly popular as consumers looked to match tan calf shoes. According to Gotham Hosiery Company’s regular report, sales of white hosiery were minimal. As sales of white hosiery declined, black hosiery sales increased; it was noted that this change of demand was not attributed to popularity, but merely a seasonal change that takes place every year. Light tan shades, including most of the flesh tones, continued to lead sales in most of the centers heard from during the week, and there is not the slightest doubt that these colors, along with the seasonal demand for darker shades of tan and gray, would run a close race through winter. Everyone was anticipating the return of the lighter colors for next summer. In reviewing the various color cards, it seemed as if manufacturers and dyers had nearly invented all the colors possible. When it seemed as if all color possibilities had been exhausted, the dyers engaged the same professional who branded Pullman Cars, the railway cars noted for their unique color schemes, to create new names for old shades. Silhouette also became an important fashion concern and a new branded fancy half hose made its appearance on the market. It was constructed of good quality wool stitched in a woven Jacquard pattern and sold in a wide range of color combinations; it sold for $.80 to retail at $1.00.

ARE YOU MISSING OUT on learning about 100 Years of Hosiery? –
Buy Your Copy Now!

To learn more about the exciting events that have transpired in the hosiery industry in the last 100 years, order a copy of The Hosiery Association Centennial: In Step With The Industry For 100 Years . This is the only commemorative publication that captures the Association’s 100-year history of leaders, events, programs and services. Information on how to order is available on our web site. There are a limited number of copies available so they will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Act promptly as orders are being filled weekly. These make uniquegifts and are only available through THA. Requests to have the author, Sally Kay, sign your copy are also being taken via the order form. Visit www.hosieryassociation.com or contact THA staff at 704-365-0913 to obtain your history book order form.

Join Us For The Youth Sports Retailer Summit: THA is pleased to partner with Sporting Kid® Publishing (publishers of Sports Edge and SportingKid magazines) and invites your company to participate in the 2005 Youth Sports Market and Licensed Product Summit. The event will be held at the Adams Mark Hotel in Downtown Denver, Colorado, September 14 – 16, 2005 with the International Youth Sports Congress kicking off the evening of September 16, 2005. Our goal is to help retailers and manufacturers work together to educate consumers about the benefits of our products. Retailer participants include Sports Authority,The Athlete’s Foot, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hibbett and Dunham's and MC Sports.

Thank you to United Legwear and Puma® and Wigwam Mills for supporting THA in this brand new initiative. Please contact Sally Kay at sally.kay@hosieryassociation.com or 704-365-0913, ext. 212 for details on how you can participate.

THA’s HR/Safety Group will be meeting again on Thursday, September 15 at DeSoto State Park Lodge (www.desotostatepark.com) in Fort Payne, AL. The program will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. (Central Time) and will include guest speaker Sandra Reiss, attorney with Ogletree Deakins Law Firm in Birmingham, AL, who will be providing a workers’ compensation update and discussing the sensitive issue of layoffs. Ward Wilson from Chubb Insurance will also be on hand to discuss fire safety issues that are specific to the hosiery industry. For additional information, contact Sheila Simpson at 704-365-0913 Ext 205 or email, sheila.simpson@hosieryassociation.com.

CHA Supplier Luncheon will be held on September 22 at the Hosiery Technology Center in Hickory, NC. This luncheon and the October 27 luncheon to be held at The Pepper Tree Inn located in Greensboro will provide: A Student Panel’s Youthful Perspective to Fashion/ Purchasing Trends – A panel of college students (ages 18-24) will speak candidly on their thoughts behind the latest trends in fashion and what makes the shopping experience work for them.  This interactive forum will provide the students and its participants with the opportunity to openly exchange ideas to enable the hosiery industry to become more effective in marketing to and retaining customers in this age group. Registration deadline is Monday, September 19.

Please contact Mike Austell if you are interested in attending this event. We would like to THANK MCMICHAEL MILLS for sponsoring this month’s luncheon.

CHA Luncheon Sponsorships: If your company is interested in sponsoring any of the 2006 CHA luncheons, please contact Mike Austell at 704-365-0913 Ext 204. Call early before all dates are taken. All luncheons are held on the 4 th Thursday of the month and alternate between Hickory (Jan, Mar, May & Sept) and Greensboro (Feb, Apr, Aug & Oct).

WHAT A CELEBRATION!  THA’s Centennial Celebration Golf Tournament is SOLD OUT!  Thanks to Groz-Beckert USA and their leadership, this event promises to provide a memorable day for the industry.  Thanks to the many sponsors, who have committed to making this event a success - Zschimmer & Schwarz, Wellman, Unifi, Regal Manufacturing, RadiciSpandex Corporation, R. L. Stowe, Parkdale Mills, PAM Trading, PAF Sales, O’Mara, National Spinning/TNC, McMichael Mills, Ken Smith Yarns, Henderson Machinery, Frontier Spinning, Exeltor and Chemical Technologies.

The tournament will be held on Thursday, September 29 at Birkdale Golf Club in Huntersville, NC. 

THA Credit Group will be holding their Annual Outing on October 6-9 at Asheville’s Hampton Inn. For additional information about this meeting or becoming a member of THA’s Credit Group, please contact Jeanna Sheldon at 704-365-0913 Ext 203.

AL Chapter Hosts Annual Golf Tournament: The Alabama Chapter of THA will host its annual Calcutta and golf tournament on October 12-13 at Terrapin Hills. Stayed tuned for additional details on this event as they become available.

New Retail/Consumer Education Tools Now Available:     The Ladies’ Fall/Winter Legwear Fashions Runway Report and Legwear Fashions Wearing Tip Sheet are available upon request.  Both of these pieces are great sales tools and educational pieces for you to share with your retail customers.  Encourage them to share with their customers.  These documents will soon be posted on the THAwebsite,www.hosieryassociation.com and available in the next issue of Hosiery News.   Sport specific sock versions of these collateral materials are currently under construction.  Please contact the THA office if you would like your own PDF version, at 704-365-0913 or email hosierytha@aol.com.

Hosiery Insider’s New Look – This is the second edition of Hosiery Insider with a new look.What do you think? Is anyone having problems accessing the information with the new format? Do you have comments or requests for additional information you would like to see in Hosiery Insider? Please give us your feedback at insider@hosieryassociation.com.

Sara Lee to Sell Stake in Delta Galil: Sara Lee International has signed an agreement to sell its 23% stake in clothing company Delta Galil Industries for $27.7 million to GMM Capital LLC, which is owned by Israeli American businessman Isaac Dabah. Delta manufactures apparel for brands such as Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Nike and Ralph Lauren.

No More Superstar Designers, Says Gucci Chief: Robert Polet, the Canadian who was appointed chairman of Gucci, the Italian fashion house, in July 2004, has said that Gucci's designers should ask consumers what they want rather than try to impose their own ideas on them. In an interview with the U.S. financial press, Mr Polet, 50, also explained that he had been chosen by Francois Pinault, the head of the French retailing and luxury goods group PPR, to head Gucci because of his capacity for leadership and motivating people. In a reference to the fact that 36 managers have left the Italian company since he joined it, the chairman said that sometimes it is necessary to stir the waters a little.

Is Wal-Mart moving up in the world of high fashion or is Vogue taking a step down? In its latest and biggest issue ever, Vogue Magazine will include ads from the discount retailer. Several years ago they would have been rejected. Wal-Mart bought an eight-page spread that includes inexpensive clothing such as a tunic for $12.88 and a blazer for $24.68.

Talented 10 Show in Newest Fashions Begin at Bryant Park Tent: With TV shows like Bravo's "Project Runway" and CBS's "The Cut," the list of fashion's next stars keeps on growing. True passion and talent for design, however, does not come with overnight success or super-edited (and often scripted) reality-TV. The following people who are at the forefront of fashion's future and whose collections will be featured at the new UPS Hub at the Bryant Park tents during New York's Fashion Week starting tomorrow include: TOMER, SANDOVAL, GARY GRAHAM, PROJECT ALABAMA, ASHISH N SONI, DOO.RI, MATTHEW EARNEST ABAETE, MARY PING and WILLOW.

 Fashionable Quote: “I always said that I would never wear a balloon skirt again and they started to look good again,” said Nicole Miller backstage of her recent fashion show. “I had this interesting stretch metal fabric and when I started playing around with it, it worked into it. It all came from the material.”

Effects of Hurricane Could be Felt in Doha Round:  According to a  recent issue of International Herald Tribune, the damage to US agricultural production and transportation caused by Hurricane Katrina could affect prospects for moving forward this fall on a Doha Round agreement. The article pointed out that if harvests and/or export shipments of certain commodities are substantially curtailed, this could trigger more subsidies from Washington and makes it politically difficult for the Bush Administration to stick by a plan to lower government aid to farmers. With subsidies being the key issue in the troubled Doha Round negotiations, any move by the US to lower the ambition of its commitments could further harm chances of concluding a deal by the end of 2006.

Dominican Republic Approves DR-CAFTA:  According to the Associated Press and the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), both chambers of the Dominican Republic legislature have recently approved the DR-CAFTA. Once DR President Leonel Fernandez signs the bill, Costa Rica and Nicaragua will be the only signatories that have not ratified the agreement. USTR Rob Portman indicated that the US will be coordinating with the CAFTA governments over the next few weeks to determine when to put the agreement into effect.

CBP Distributes Seized Clothing to Hurricane Victims:   US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced this week that it has distributed roughly 100,000 items of clothing seized for violating US trademark laws to hurricane victims who have been relocated to Houston. The clothes, which include $2.3 million worth of jeans, shorts, shirts, jackets, and other items, were loaded in Houston, Dallas, Laredo, and El Paso. CBP notes that it has statutory authority to donate such items when the President
declares a state of emergency to exist.

EU, China Reach Textile Deal: The European Union (EU) and China agreed this week to modify the textile trade deal they concluded earlier this year in order to allow entry for millions of Chinese garments now stuck at EU borders because they exceeded the deal’s quota levels. The agreement would charge half of the nearly 80 million over-quota items against 2006 quotas or underutilized 2005 quotas, with the remaining half coming in on top of the 2005 limits. The modified pact was expected to be approved by EU member countries in the immediate future and officials said the blocked shipments could be released as early as
next week.

Nicaraguan Approval of DR-CAFTA Could be Delayed:  Inside US Trade reported last week that political turmoil in Nicaragua could delay that country’s approval of the DR-CAFTA. A faction of President Enrique Bolanos’ political party has aligned with an opposition group in an effort to impeach Bolanos and free former leader Arnoldo Aleman, who was jailed over charges of corruption. According to the article, the combined elements control a majority of Nicaragua’s single-chamber legislature and have already prevented one vote on the DR-CAFTA. Government officials are looking to the Organization of American States (OAS) to help resolve the crisis.

Chinese Leader Delays White House Visit:  This week’s planned meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Bush has been postponed to allow Bush to concentrate on hurricane recovery efforts and will be rescheduled “to another mutually convenient time,” the White House said. Trade issues such as the value of China’s currency and intellectual property rights (IPR) protection are expected to be on the agenda when the two leaders do get together.

Update on Sock Safeguard Quotas from China: The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) currently has safeguard quotas in place for cotton, wool, and manmade fiber socks (category 332/432/632-pt.) These quotas will expire after December 31, 2005. With respect to the request to re-impose the existing safeguard on socks, public comments were due by September 2. CITA now has up to 60 days (i.e., until approximately November 1) to decide whether to re- impose safeguard quotas on these categories.

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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