Getting a handle on global marketing
Carole Sloan -- Furniture Today, January 12, 2004
Offshore sourcing is but one of many elements in global marketing, the latter the subject of a roundtable discussion during last week's Showtime fabric market in High Point.
As Carol Gee, vice president of global brands for Invista and a roundtable participant, said, "Marketing, global or not, is about differentiation, which is your leg up on the competition."
Invista, which markets its Teflon, Lycra and other brands globally, has its own people in those worldwide joint ventures to insure equal standards. But Gee said that other challenges, such as differing growth rates and objectives, come into play with global marketing.
Amy Bell, executive vice president of Ashford Court, a fairly recent offshore sourcer, pointed to one of the challenges: "There's a quantity issue — you have to be a big-hitter." In her case, this means 60,000 units, obviously a presold order.
Then there are issues of timing, freight costs and design capabilities. The latter challenge, Bell said, "is changing at lighting speed from 18 months ago."
Larry Liebenow, president and chief executive officer of Quaker Fabric, noted his company sells in 45 countries, using dedicated sales forces. He attributed Quaker's success, domestically and globally, to its product-driven approach, which includes a $20 million annual budget for product development.
Liebenow described the North American Free Trade Agreement as a success, and he anticipates important benefits from free-trade pacts in Central America and eventually the entire Western Hemisphere. He emphasized the U.S. government has to be more diligent in obtaining access for U.S. goods in offshore markets.
Sharon Bosworth, vice president of upholstery for Thomasville, called offshore sourcing an imperative in providing U.S. consumers with price/value products. She cited state-of-the-art factories in China, and said, "Consumers vote every day with their credit cards, so price and value is key."
