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| Issue date:01/02/2006 |
| ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel - Feb 2006 Issue |
| Source:Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel |
| by Cyrus Lam |
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| With a business model that stresses innovation, knowledge, quality and efficiency, TAL Apparel attains a solid position in the US market, where it supplies 10% of the shirts in retail stores |
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| Dr Harry Lee, Managing Director of TAL |
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Hong Kong-based TAL Apparel Ltd has been a garment manufacturer since 1947, having been transformed from a small textile mill to its present state as a multi-national company. The garments it produces include men's suits and shirts, cotton knit wears, ladies' blouses, pants and outerwear.
Even though TAL now has more than 20,000 employees with operations spanning across Asia, it has no plans to branch out from apparels to produce other textile products.
Being focused, according to Dr Harry Lee Nai-shee, TAL's managing director, is what made TAL successful in the past decades, and the company will continue to build success in garment production in the future.
"We have specialized in garment manufacturing all these years. I believe that this dedication is the key for our success, as we have been able to concentrate our efforts and resources on providing our customers with the best garments," said Dr Lee.
Product developments
In order to create unique, value-added products, TAL invests millions of dollars in R&D each year to acquire new technologies, and is the owner of a number of patents in the field. One of them is the pucker free technology which is registered in the US and EU. The technology ensures the seams of the garments are tidy and smooth.
TAL makes garments with exclusive fabrics developed by its in-house research team. The iron-free shirts, for example, are 100% cotton, which is uncommon in the market, Dr Lee said, adding that the shirts are machine washable and will only shrink by as slightly as 2% after 20 washes.
The company's latest technologies include the third generation of its washable 100% wool trousers, which feature smoother texture compared with the existing ones. The trousers will be marketed in small scale for evaluation before being officially launched in the market.
Shirt featuring water- and oil-repellent functions |
Another of its inventions, the "WOR" technique, is an application of nanotechnology. It gives garments the wrinkle-free, as well as water- and oil-repellent functions. The treatment is carried out on the finished garments so that the sewing threads, pockets and trims will also possess the special functions.
And "dot.TAL" is a fabric in the wellness range, using the deodorant technology developed by TAL. It ensures long lasting freshness of textiles, prevents micro-organisms such as bacteria and fungi from growing on it, and eliminates the loss of strength, discoloration and stains caused by micro-organisms.
Made in Hong Kong
TAL's products are being marketed in a wide network, as the company has set up offices and production plants in the US, Europe, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and mainland China. Among its customers, there are international brands such as Durban, Ralph Lauren, Eddie Bauer, Paul Stuart, DKNY, Nautica and Tommy Hilfiger. It has also acquired some apparel brands in the US, including Enro and Foxcroft. The former specializes in sports shirts and the latter in ladies' wear.
Dr Lee, a Malaysian-Chinese who started to head the company in 1983, said that customers expect their product suppliers to be highly reliable, and deliver goods on time. This is a reason why TAL, apart from specializing in apparels, also sticks with the strategy of maintaining a production base in Hong Kong.
While many of its counterparts, which had shifted all of their productions out of Hong Kong to mainland China since the 1980s, suffered from the safeguard measures imposed by the US on some Chinese textile products last year, TAL's products marked "Made in Hong Kong" gained entry without problems.
TAL operates under the outward processing arrangement (OPA) whereby semi-finished goods produced in mainland China or other Asian countries are shipped to Hong Kong for final assembly.
"Having the final assembly done in Hong Kong is very costly. The production cost would be 30-40% higher than if we do it in the mainland. However, we can ensure the delivery of goods on time, and 'Made in Hong-Kong' is more preferred by the customers because it implies good quality," he added.
Knowledge- and technology-based management
On serving the fast-moving fashion industry, Dr Lee emphasized that their staff should always keep themselves informed of the latest market trends. "We ensure our staff have good knowledge about TAL's products, and help our customers in forecasting fashion trends," he said.
"We also frequently hold board meetings with the directors from all our production bases. The meetings serve to enhance communication among the staff of various regions, and keep one another updated of the business environment."
When it comes to management, Dr Lee said supply chain management is an important area that a garment manufacturer must handle well.
TAL employs various supply chain management tools, with an aim to facilitate inventory control and to reduce transaction time and costs. Back in the 1980s, it had replaced the use of faxes with emails, which was at the time regarded as revolutionary.
In 2002, and in response to the trend of global sourcing, TAL started to automate the transaction of payments between TAL and its suppliers, and subscribed the service of TradeCard, a web-based platform allowing buyers and suppliers to manage money transactions between them.
Dr Lee said the technology allows the managers to check all transaction records online, even when they are out of office, allowing a tightened inventory control.
Tapping new markets
Looking ahead, Dr Lee said that TAL has planned to strengthen its presence in the European and Southeast Asian markets. "We are planning to further open up these markets in order to balance our business in the US market, which is presently the source of more than 85% of our revenue."
He is especially optimistic about the Southeast Asian market and planned to hire more workers for TAL's plant in Hong Kong to cope with the expansion. However, he said that it was difficult to find enough workers locally, and the company had resorted to importing about 60 workers every year, mainly from China, to fill the vacancies.
"Our company employs imported workers because we have not received enough applications from local people who qualify for the jobs, The HKSAR government has recently set up a new center to train up professional garment workers. We will consider employing those trainees after they have acquired the necessary skills."
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| Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Any party needs to reprint any part of the content should get the written approval from Adsale Publishing Ltd and quote the source "ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel", Adsale Textile English Website - www.AdsaleATA.com. We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprints any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiry, please contact Editorial Department. |
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| Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Any party needs to reprint any part of the content should get the written approval from Adsale Publishing Ltd and quote the source "ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel", Adsale Textile English Website - www.AdsaleATA.com. We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprints any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiry, please contact Editorial Department. |
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