China garment procurement 'is the only option'

There is "no alternative" to China as the world's leading location for garment procurement, a new report claims.

Industry consultancy Clothesource looked into concerns that the country's recent growth has led to it losing its "competitive edge".

Research into an alternative to China as the dominant location for apparel sourcing came out with a simple conclusion – the country is still top of the pile.

"Barring some catastrophic event, China will continue to dominate global apparel sourcing overall until at least 2025," comments Leonie Barrie, managing editor of just-style.

Even if it does lose market share, there is no one country ready to fill its shoes, she adds.

Ms Barrie also suggests that there are some "dangers" associated with Chinese procurement, adding: "China does not dominate sourcing for every major buying country in every product category."

The report comes after Barclays Corporate revealed retailers are increasingly looking to Vietnam for their future sourcing options.

China remains the location of choice for buyers at UK retailers, but the South East Asian nation is climbing the rankings, with 13 per cent tipping it as the destination they will look to for clothing, footwear and accessories, as well as industrial wholesale items.