Expect supplies to stay stable this year
By Fred Gardner -- Purchasing, 5/6/1999
With leadtimes on uniforms and work clothes holding steady, and prices possibly firming up by only 1%-2%, clothing the work force won't cost the shirt off your back as the year unfolds.Industry leaders generally straddle the work/uniform garment and retail clothing segments, with such giants as Vanity Fair marketing the VF Workwear line as well as the Blue Bell and Lee brands. Overall, the outlook for the work clothes industry is one of modest growth, 6%-9%, while maintaining stable or slightly escalating prices, industry sources say.
Typically, work clothes and uniforms are bought either through the distribution channel or large industrial laundry operations or rented from firms, which provide a complete delivery and laundry service. Clothing suppliers report market conditions are remaining stable as slackness in retail sales of clothes puts increasing performance pressure on the uniform and work clothes segment of the market.
"Pricing for health-care uniforms is flat," said David Payne, national director of health-care uniforms for the U.S., at Superior Uniform Group Inc., Seminole, Fla. "I don't anticipate any upward price movement for the rest of the year," he says. "Leadtimes for in-stock items are 48 hours, and custom designs extend from four to six weeks."
The outlook is much the same from Bob Wilander, vice president, marketing and sales at Westex Inc., Chicago, Ill., which manufactures flame-retardant materials used in work clothes and uniforms. "Fabric prices are down, and manufacturers are often assembling garments in Mexico to keep labor costs in line. The trend is to reduce costs in garment manufacturing," he says.
Some optimistic suppliers expect a slight uptick in prices and expanding demand. Mat McConnaghy, marketing and communications director, Aramark Uniform Services, Inc., Burbank, Calif., says, "We expect a 1%-2% price increase this year, based on our ability to deliver improved value-added services such as quicker laundry turnaround and delivery."
McConnaughy also expects a continued expansion of uniform use this year as public-service companies seek to enhance their stature with the public. He expects a "pretty healthy" industry expansion of 7%-9%. "The majority of growth is coming from companies that see the benefits of uniforms to project a better image--more companies are starting to use uniforms not for utilitarian needs but to help the company project a better image," he says.
He also noted that leadtimes for Aramark and other suppliers in the industry have been shortened by having garments prepared and stored at the same facility. But where other industries achieved efficiencies in servicing customers at their own plants, the work-clothes suppliers haven't found that an efficient method, according to an industry association. "There is really no in-house servicing, because with 1,700 clothing/laundry facilities spread about the country, route trucks can easily service customers up to 100 miles away. In-house facilities are just not a cost-effective approach," says Mary Anne Dolbeare, director of government/public affairs and marketing at the Uniform and Textile Service Institute, Arlington, Va.
Meanwhile, consolidation continues in the industry, said Westex's Wilander, as the giants of the business, such as Williamson Dickie Mfg. Co., Ft. Worth, Texas, and Cintas Corp., Cincinnati, Ohio, acquire smaller operations. Cintas most recently has gobbled up National Linnen Co. and Unitog Inc.
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