NEW YORK—As the world heads to Proposte for the annual showing of European suppliers, German  editeurs are battling difficult market conditions in the wake of declining sales and poor reorders leaving their vendors and agents out of luck for payments. This will no doubt put a damper on proceedings at Proposte this year but everyone is hoping for the best. The Germans are seeking the cover of insolvency laws which give them a temporary way out of the mess they are in but this is no panacea; sooner or later, the editeurs will have to come to grips with their difficult situation. Veteran sources say that Germany is not the problem; it is the overall decline in the EU market and the devastating effect Chinese suppliers have had on pricing the overall market down to the point where fabrics lose their value. “The market is flooded with fabrics today,” says Henry Levy, Principal of Levy & Company, an important wholesaler in Latin America based in Panama. “You can buy closeouts all styles—anything you want for fifty cents a yard. The closeout buyers say they have no more room in their warehouses for these goods,” he adds. Meanwhile, Nya Nordiska, Sahco Hesslein have filed for bankruptcy while important editeurs like Zimmer & Rohde find they have to restructure their business model. The stories on this page are testament to their troubles.