Cape Union Mart hatches plan against imports

"Cheap and often illegal imports from Asia and China have compelled domestic manufacturers to step up performance‚" said Cape Union Mart CEO‚ Andre Labuschaigne.

K-Way‚ which employs around 190 people‚ also increased the size of its factory's production floor by 700m² at a cost of more than R3m‚ to enhance design and production capabilities amid a challenging manufacturing sector.

Local manufacturers are competing with the Asian market's cut-throat prices mainly due to the industry's low labour costs‚ large production runs and subsidies offered by the state and other government authorities.

However‚ price is no longer the only determining factor of competitiveness in the industry.

"These markets offer low-complexity products which see all added value removed and so we cannot compete with them on price alone without sacrificing quality. However‚ we have succeeded in building a sustainable advantage by‚ firstly‚ manufacturing the best top-end technical adventure clothing using the latest production technology methods and‚ secondly‚ by focusing on highly efficient operational capabilities‚" Mr Labuschaigne said.

Over the past eight years demand for K-Way products have increased substantially with sales increasing more than five-fold over the time period‚ the company said.

The Cape Union Mart Group also houses other major local brands like Cape Union Mart‚ Old Khaki‚ Sparks and Ellis - a uniform company, and Poetry - a lifestyle concept store for women.

"We will continue to encourage government to scrap or lower import duties on fabric while it finds solutions to bolster the local textile industry. This in turn would see further growth of the manufacturing sector‚" Mr Labuschaigne said.