In recent times academics claim the rise of the so-called re-shoring trend. According to them, re-shoring - the moving of manufacturing back to the country of its parent company - has been made possible due to the change of global economic indices such as wages, transportation costs or government trade policies. Especially the fashion industry, being a dynamic and ever-evolving industry seems a suitable candidate for this apparent trend. However, trying to detect this trend throughout the real fashion world, one has difficulties finding multiple successful re-shoring attempts. The object of the paper is to examine this disparity between theory and reality by highlighting the factors influencing manufacturing location decision through in-depth interviews with German fashion companies as exploratory case studies. A detailed literature review concerning re-shoring is followed by five interviews conducted with managers of German fashion companies. Those were in turn analyzed to determine to which extend the apparent trend has arrived in the real fashion industry or which other future developments can be detected. Despite some of the interviewees showing great interest in the re-shoring trend in theory, data analysis revealed that in practice none of them have participated in the trend mainly due to high costs and uncertain outcome concerns. Yet other strategies frequently used by companies to overcome the problems of decentralized supply-chains could be detected and a future rise of the re-shoring trend is not out ruled.
| Date of Award | 27 Oct 2015 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | - Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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| Supervisor | Céline Abecassis-Moedas (Supervisor) |
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Re-shoring : a real trend or a fad? : an analysis of the German Fashion Industry
Nostitz, P. J. M. E. F. V. (Student). 27 Oct 2015
Student thesis: Master's Thesis