Cherokee Print Closes As Converters Go Elsewhere
November 30, 2000
Gaffney, S.C. (USA) – Despite last minute attempts to save Cherokee Finishing Mills, a division of Spartan International, the 54-year-old commission printer of decorative fabrics will close in early 2001.
A deal to sell Cherokee to Fashion Technologies, also in Gaffney, fell apart a week before it was to close. "The overall market response did not provide the level of commitment we felt was necessary to successfully continue the operation," said Jesse Leskanic, president of Fashion Technologies, a screen engraver.
At its height, using six printing machines, Cherokee's sales reached $60 million. Recently, sales were approximately $38 million, a source said.
"The industry just could no longer support this business on a profitable basis," the source said. "It became evident during the past several months that incoming orders were not going to return to the levels necessary to support this business," said Barry Leonard, president and CEO of Spartan International.
The loss of Cherokee means the loss of as many as 250 jobs, but that's only part of the story. The plant closing is another fatality in the continued erosion of the U.S. print converting trade. Originally, Cherokee printed for the apparel trade, but with the end of that business, it switched to home furnishings and now that too is declining.
While Carlisle division of Cone Mills; Santee and American Fast Print will absorb the remaining business at Cherokee, the real winners are those companies based in Pakistan, Korea and India. These countries are producing printed fabrics, primarily for the bedding trade, at prices of as little as 85 cents to $1.10 per yard compared to U.S. prices of $1.35 for almost similar goods. These prices are for poly/cotton goods 78/44 and 96/56, commodity products most in demand by the bedding manufacturer in the U.S.A. In many cases, bedding is a completely fabricated item from an offshore supplier today so piece goods prices no longer enter into it.
"Granted, the quality offshore is not as good at this price, but the retailer and the consumer don't care," a source said.
By 2005, U.S. duties will be removed from the finished off-shore bedding products and the flood of imports into the U.S.A. will continue at unprecedented levels at lower and lower prices, knowledgeable sources agree.
The converters most affected by the closing of Cherokee are Covington, Kaufmann, Waverly, Associated/Mill Creek and Richloom. These companies have already shifted production of print goods from Cherokee but not without some pain. Many of the products printed at Cherokee will require re-engineering at a cost of up to $460 per screen with many patterns utilizing as many as six screens.
The printing equipment at Cherokee required screens that cannot be easily used in the other three previously mentioned U.S. finishing plants. As a result, converters will phase out some patterns rather than re-engineer them. "It's a good time for the U.S. converter to narrow its line by phasing out some of the patterns produced at Cherokee," a source said. Of course, if the patterns were designed on CAD systems, adaptation will be far less costly."
Cherokee set a final order deadline of 13 October 2000 to give the converters time to have an orderly transition of the work in progress but that will end in early 2001.
"It's a great shame that Cherokee is closing," said Jean Baudrand, designer and consultant. "Some of the offshore suppliers are using underpaid labor. This is completely unfair and represents an exploitation of labor. If they were being paid fairly and had a fair standard of living, it would be all right but that is not the case. The lobbies in Europe and the U.S.A. should be stricter as to the condition of wages and life in the third world."
"The third world needs to have employment but the people making the money in third world textiles business are not the workers. This is just not fair competition," he said.
"Some of the third world countries are not stable so customers who give big orders to the mills in these countries should be aware that things could change very rapidly from one day to the other."
A deal to sell Cherokee to Fashion Technologies, also in Gaffney, fell apart a week before it was to close. "The overall market response did not provide the level of commitment we felt was necessary to successfully continue the operation," said Jesse Leskanic, president of Fashion Technologies, a screen engraver.
At its height, using six printing machines, Cherokee's sales reached $60 million. Recently, sales were approximately $38 million, a source said.
"The industry just could no longer support this business on a profitable basis," the source said. "It became evident during the past several months that incoming orders were not going to return to the levels necessary to support this business," said Barry Leonard, president and CEO of Spartan International.
The loss of Cherokee means the loss of as many as 250 jobs, but that's only part of the story. The plant closing is another fatality in the continued erosion of the U.S. print converting trade. Originally, Cherokee printed for the apparel trade, but with the end of that business, it switched to home furnishings and now that too is declining.
While Carlisle division of Cone Mills; Santee and American Fast Print will absorb the remaining business at Cherokee, the real winners are those companies based in Pakistan, Korea and India. These countries are producing printed fabrics, primarily for the bedding trade, at prices of as little as 85 cents to $1.10 per yard compared to U.S. prices of $1.35 for almost similar goods. These prices are for poly/cotton goods 78/44 and 96/56, commodity products most in demand by the bedding manufacturer in the U.S.A. In many cases, bedding is a completely fabricated item from an offshore supplier today so piece goods prices no longer enter into it.
"Granted, the quality offshore is not as good at this price, but the retailer and the consumer don't care," a source said.
By 2005, U.S. duties will be removed from the finished off-shore bedding products and the flood of imports into the U.S.A. will continue at unprecedented levels at lower and lower prices, knowledgeable sources agree.
The converters most affected by the closing of Cherokee are Covington, Kaufmann, Waverly, Associated/Mill Creek and Richloom. These companies have already shifted production of print goods from Cherokee but not without some pain. Many of the products printed at Cherokee will require re-engineering at a cost of up to $460 per screen with many patterns utilizing as many as six screens.
The printing equipment at Cherokee required screens that cannot be easily used in the other three previously mentioned U.S. finishing plants. As a result, converters will phase out some patterns rather than re-engineer them. "It's a good time for the U.S. converter to narrow its line by phasing out some of the patterns produced at Cherokee," a source said. Of course, if the patterns were designed on CAD systems, adaptation will be far less costly."
Cherokee set a final order deadline of 13 October 2000 to give the converters time to have an orderly transition of the work in progress but that will end in early 2001.
"It's a great shame that Cherokee is closing," said Jean Baudrand, designer and consultant. "Some of the offshore suppliers are using underpaid labor. This is completely unfair and represents an exploitation of labor. If they were being paid fairly and had a fair standard of living, it would be all right but that is not the case. The lobbies in Europe and the U.S.A. should be stricter as to the condition of wages and life in the third world."
"The third world needs to have employment but the people making the money in third world textiles business are not the workers. This is just not fair competition," he said.
"Some of the third world countries are not stable so customers who give big orders to the mills in these countries should be aware that things could change very rapidly from one day to the other."
