Word: wals
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...winds are shifting, and the middleman is becoming obsolete. "Traditional trading firms are dying off," says Victor Lo, an industrial and manufacturing lecturer at the University of Hong Kong. "They have to transform." Brands and retailers have been consolidating, liposuctioning off layers to better battle Goliaths Wal-Mart and Target--which mostly do their own sourcing. A developing China and the Internet have made it simpler and more reliable for buyers to communicate directly with low-cost factories. Li & Fung has been able to achieve an average annual growth rate of more than 20% over the past decade. But going...
...shirts for such diverse brands as Professional Bull Riders Inc. and Catwoman. Eradicating the middleman role for some products could open up other opportunities for the firm too. "This will help us do business with certain retailers in the world which we haven't been able to before--like Wal-Mart," says Bruce Rockowitz, president of Li & Fung's trading division. The Fungs "tend to be visionary," says Paul McKenzie, head of consumer research in Hong Kong for investment bank CLSA, "and get positioned early for change...
...business, the Compagnie Mauricienne de Textile, founded in 1986, is part of that boom. Its Port Louis factory is so big that workers use roller skates to get around in it, yet so nimble that it can switch from an order for 200 designer dresses to 200,000 Wal-Mart T shirts without missing a stitch...
...odyssey with Christianity began last summer at Wal-Mart, when I saw a teen New Testament amongst the romance novels and bargain blenders. Since I’m Jewish, I’d never gotten to read the Holy Bible and was quite curious. Sadly, it lacked a barcode; the cashier wasn’t able to sell it to me despite her declaration that not owning it “was a shame, because that’s one good book to have.” I took her words to heart and began my quest to understand...
...Vecchio attributes Casual Corner's demise to a fundamental shift in how people shop. "The middle-market shopper went like this," says Del Vecchio, raising one hand and lowering the other. "Middle customers started buying what was not aspirational at Wal-Mart, and with the money saved, they could now afford a Coach handbag instead of one from Casual Corner...