Denim Prices – DENIMSANDJEANS

Exports of Denim fabrics from Japan to USA (Years 2000-2007)

Sandeep Agarwal — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 06:33:58 +0000

It may be interesting to see how much Japan exports to the US and the EU. I did an analysis and here are the results.The results are not very surprising because exports to both the markets show some similar trends.
The year 2004 & 2005 have been the best for exports to both EU and US. Though for exports to US , 2006 has also been the best
The prices have been more or less stable over a period of time . In EU also the prices /kg have been more or less stable and so is the case in US. However, US shows an increase in average prices in 2007
The decline in exports of denim fabrics is visible in 2006 in EU and in 2007 in USA
If we extrapolate the figures of 5 months of 2007 for USA, then approximately 5.5 million square mtrs will be exported to US in 2007 against 6.2 million sq mtrs in 2006.
Lets have a look :

Year	Quantity(Sq.Mtrs)	Value(1000 Yen)	Value(million USD)	Price(USD/Sq.Mtr)
2000	765045	379121	3.13	4.09
2001	600841	323281	2.67	4.44
2002	2047052	1013449	8.37	4.09
2003	3534981	1768710	14.61	4.13
2004	7987713	3943224	32.58	4.07
2005	6132694	3137537	25.93	4.22
2006	6219223	3441724	28.44	4.57
2007(Jan-May)	2230106	1272908	10.51	4.71

Source: The Customs Deptt of Japan

Note: The exchange rate of USD to Yen has been taken as the current rate of
121 Yen/USD

Old Navy – Fall 2007 Denim Collection – Latest trends in Denim

Sandeep Agarwal — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 06:24:32 +0000

Old Navy debuts its Fall 2007 line in stores featuring various striking trends.

Color Denim:
As I previously mentioned , Color Denim trend is likely to be picked up by various brands. Old Navy is offering its skinny denims in crimson red, yellow, gunmetal grey, cobalt blue, and pastel purple(USD 29.50) .
A complete antithesis of skinny jeans is the Wide Legged denim – which is also being taken up
in a small way. The jeans are priced at USD 34.50 .. Wide legged jeans trend is not expected to grow as big as skinny jeans , simply because wide legged jeans can be carried by very few females(normally) gracefully.

New Fits
Old Navy aims to introduce three new fits :

Diva – sexy low rise waist and body hugging .
Flirt – Classic fit with a medium rise
Sweetheart – Casual fit and high rise

It remains to be seen whether the customers find these fits novel or they are just novel names…

Old Navy is a division of Gap Inc and brings customers on-trend apparel and accessories at amazing prices, all in a fun and energizing shopping environment.
Gap Inc. is a leading international specialty retailer offering clothing, accessories and personal care products for men, women, children and babies under the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Piperlime brand names. Fiscal 2006 sales were $15.9 billion. Gap Inc. operates more than 3,100 stores in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Ireland and Japan

US Jeanswear Industry facts

Sandeep Agarwal — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 07:23:08 +0000

Here are some quick facts of the US denim industry :

2006 US Jeans sales : USD 15.8 billion
% of total apparel sales : 12.7% (thats a lot isn’t it?)
Premium denim as % of total Jeans sales : 4.3% in 2006
Growth of Premium denim sales in 2006 : 23% !
Average price of jeans purchased by 19-24 years old : USD 32.88
Average price of Jeans purchased by 25-34 years old : USD 28.29
Average pairs of jeans with the US women : 8.1 and they wear it 4.19 times a week .. WHEW..

Asda(UK) slashes prices of Jeans to GBP2.50

Sandeep Agarwal — Sun, 06 May 2007 06:20:49 +0000

The existing price of jeans in George department of ASDA – at GBP 3/ – were already quite low and now they have reduced them further to GBP 5 for two pairs ie GBP 2.5/pair.. Its incredible how ASDA can sell jeans at these prices..It has previously faced criticism from the anti-poverty group over the working conditions of workers in Bangladesh. However, it has been able to fend them off..
If we look at the selling price of these jeans, it is very difficult to see how the costings can work out at these levels.Lets see a hypothetical breakdown
Freight cost : about 10 pence per jeans.
Profit (which I think is the minimum Asda must be keeping) – 20% on sales – 50 pence.
Storage and other costs : about 10 pence. Total 70 pence.These are the barebone expenses I am considering and the actuals will be higher.
So it would mean that the exporter from Bangladesh would be exporting at about GBP 1.80 which is about USD 2.50.. Normally a jeans uses a minimum of 1.2 meters of fabric and if we take the lowest current prices prevailing in the market in Bangladesh – about USD 1.40/m (for 13.75oz) then the cost of the fabric comes to about USD1.68.. So we have about USD 0.82 left for the Bangladesh garment factory to cover all its costs…

Anyway, its a good strategy by ASDA to get volume customers. Even if ASDA is not earning much on this product, it may be making up by more profits that come from sales of other products to the same customers.COOL….