Clothing and Textile Sector in Finland Flanders Investment & Trade - Helsinki I November 2012
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Clothing and textile sector in Finland Flanders Investment & Trade - Helsinki I November 2012 CLOTHING AND TEXTILE SECTOR IN FINLAND Frank Van Eynde and Wilma Wiinamäki Flanders Investment & Trade Helsinki C/o Embassy of Belgium P.O.Box 800 (Aleksanterinkatu 17) 00101 Helsinki FINLAND Clothing and textile sector in Finland| November 2012 _____________________________________________________________ 1 CONTENTS GENERAL OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................... 5 FINLAND ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Basic information ..................................................................................................................... 5 Key figures ............................................................................................................................... 5 THE CLOTHING AND TEXTILE SECTOR ............................................................................................ 6 Clothing industries and employment ........................................................................................ 7 Clothing and textile imports ..................................................................................................... 8 Clothing and textile exports ...................................................................................................... 9 The Finnish clothing production .............................................................................................. 11 CLOTHING AND TEXTILE FAIRS AND ASSOCIATIONS ..................................................................... 11 Associations ........................................................................................................................... 11 Fairs ....................................................................................................................................... 12 ADDRESS LISTS ........................................................................................................................... 12 The largest distributors of textiles (fabrics) ............................................................................. 17 The Finnish clothing producers ............................................................................................... 18 The Finnish textile (fabrics) producers ..................................................................................... 26 SOURCES .................................................................................................................................... 28 Clothing and textile sector in Finland| November 2012 _____________________________________________________________ 3 GENERAL OVERVIEW Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early ‘90s, the Finnish clothing and textile industry has been in a downfall. The production costs aren’t compatible with the neighbouring low-cost countries and so the production lines have moved to the Baltics or the Far East. However, the clothing retail chains are flourishing. Despite the economical crisis the people still buy clothing and new retail chains are entering the market. Many of the clothing retail chains are Scandinavian, e.g. Vero Moda, H&M, Gina Tricot, Dressmann, Carlings, Cubus and the latest: Bik Bok. In addition to these, a large part of clothing is bought from hypermarkets and department stores. According to the market leader in shopping centres, Citycon, by 2016 twenty new retailers are expected to enter the markets. The textile and fabric retail sector is dominated by Eurokangas Oy. The company also imports fabrics. This company has stores across Finland. FINLAND Finland has survived well in the current economical crisis in the EU. Despite this, the crisis has had a negative effect on the Finnish markets and the number of investments has fallen. BASIC INFORMATION • Population: 5,4 million (Helsinki metropolitan area: 1,25 million) • Area: 385,000 km² • Languages: Finnish (90%), Swedish (5.4%) • Form of government: Republic • Member of the EU since 1995 KEY FIGURES The gross domestic product grew 2.7% in total in the year 2011. It has been predicted the GDP will grow 2.6% the next year. Macro-economic indicators GDP per capita, EUR 35,000 (approximately) Average annual inflation, % 2.8% (June 2012) Clothing and textile sector in Finland| November 2012 _____________________________________________________________ 5 Also the investments, exports and imports grew during the last year: • Investments 6.8% • Exports 2.6% • Imports 5.7% The amount of unemployed has stayed on the same level as in July 2011. The employment of the young adults has improved by two percent compared to last year. Labour market Unemployment rate, % 6.9% (July 2012) Unemployment rate 11.7 (July 2012) (15-24 years old), % THE CLOTHING AND TEXTILE SECTOR The Finnish clothing industry consists mostly of small and medium sized companies which employ people locally. The Finnish clothing industry is versatile. There are companies producing clothing for various purposes: day-to-day and festive clothing, sportswear and professional and protective clothing for firemen, nurses, builders etc. There is also production of high quality leather and fur clothing. The Finnish textile sector is nowadays very limited. Most of the production has been moved to the low-cost countries in Eastern Europe and Asia. The various training programmes in the field direct the students to the entrepreneurship and design. In addition to these, textile engineer and technician training can be found around Finland. 6 ____________________________________________________________________________ The clothing sector in Finland focuses on the design of the product. The production is often carried out either in the neighbouring low-cost countries, Southern Europe or in the Far East. The Finnish production lines have been layed off due to high production costs. The local clothing production could not answer to the very quick changes and the demand of flexibility of the modern fashion industry. CLOTHING INDUSTRIES AND EMPLOYMENT The clothing industry employs approximately 2,000 people in Finland (excluding the clothing retail sector). The textile industry employs approximately 8,000 people in Finland. Clothing and textile sector in Finland| November 2012 _____________________________________________________________ 7 CLOTHING AND TEXTILE IMPORTS Due to the limited local production, most of the clothing and textiles are imported. The value of the clothing and textile retail is appr. 3,4 billion euros. 8 ____________________________________________________________________________ Index 2005 = 100 CLOTHING AND TEXTILE EXPORTS The Finnish clothing brands are often known for the high quality and most of the clothing produced is exported. In the past a large part of the Finnish clothing made in Finland was imported to the Soviet Union area in which the branding was not necessary for the products to sell. Still nowadays Russia is the most important export country for Finnish clothing and textiles. As Russia recently became a member of the World Trade Organization, the clothing and textile exports to the East are expected to grow. Other important export countries for the industry are Germany and Sweden. Clothing and textile sector in Finland| November 2012 _____________________________________________________________ 9 10 ___________________________________________________________________________ THE FINNISH CLOTHING PRODUCTION There are a few companies which can be stated to be the most Finnish: Virke, Nanso, Amise and Turo Tailor. As the production chain in the clothing industry is very long, most of these players do not produce everything in Finland, but the head quarters and decision making is located in Finland. CLOTHING AND TEXTILE FAIRS AND ASSOCIATIONS ASSOCIATIONS TMA – Association of the Textile and Fashion Sector in Finland www.textile.fi The textile and fashion sector employs in Finland around 40 000 people, of which 33 000 in retail. The value of retail sales is about 3,4 mrd €. The Textile and Fashion Sector (Tekstiili- ja Muotialat) looks for the benefits of its members and works as a cooperation organization. The members of TMA represent around 84% of the Finnish clothing and footwear trade and 94% of the sports clothing and footwear trade. Its members include the fashion chains, department stores and distributors/importers. FINATEX – The Federation of Finnish Textiles and Clothing Industries www.finatex.fi The Federation of Finnish Textiles and Clothing Industries is a lobby, training and service organisation. Our primary mission is to enhance the business potential of members operating in the highly-competitive Finnish and international markets by furthering their business and labour-market interests. The Federation has around 150 members together employing a labour force of nearly 8,000 i.e. well over 90% of the total for the sector. Finatex is a member of the Confederation of Finnish Industries and Employers (EK). The Finnish Association of Fashion Retailers www.muotikaupanliitto.fi The association keeps a listing of its members online. The website is in Finnish. Clothing and textile sector in Finland| November 2012 ____________________________________________________________ 11 Nimettömät - Association for Lingerie Distributors and Importers www.nimettomat.net Finnish Foreign Trade Agents’ Federation www.agenttiliitto.fi The Finnish