• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
• /
• v.29 no.12 s.148
• /
• pp.1562-1570
• /
• 2005

The purpose of this thesis is to find the effective way of practical education in the fashion related department in order to supply the appropriate experts to the Korean apparel manufacturers located in Dalian, China. The interviews were made twice from $25^{th}$ of Feb. to $15^{th}$ of Mar. 2005 and from $28^{th}$ of July to 31st of July 2005 through the method ot a direct interview with the CEOs of the 7 representative apparel manufactures. The results of the interviews were as following. Seven companies$(100\%)$ participated in the survey all complained of insufficient workers. Also the companies were having difficulties at finding appropriate workers who can handle designing, management, and circulation, because specialists who are fluent in Korean and Chinese are very rare. Moreover, Korean apparel manufacturers are now taking a step further to launch a high quality fashion brand, getting out of the simple hand work depending on low wage or low-tech(6 companies $85.7\%$). Thus, well-educated fashion specialists(intermediate manager) are required on the part of Korean clothing companies or apparel manufacturers in China. It is expected the intermediate managers and the specialists who are capable of launching a new brand will be urgently needed. Therefore, appropriate educations in Korea would be essential to minimize the problems the Korean fashion specialists might face in China. 1 would like to present three suggestions. 1. The highly educated Korean fashion specialists on apparel industry will be a solution both to the high jobless status in our country and to the deficiency in human resources of Korean apparel manufacturers in Dalian. 2. The students in the college should learn how to write down the working chart and matching chart in practical conditions. Taking an intern-ship in working factories in China during a certain period of time will be helpful. 3. The experts should be trained with emphasis on the quality, design, and value of the brand. This study will be used as a base for Koreans who work in fashion related department to enter the Chinese fashion market having a great potential.

• Proceedings of the Korean Fiber Society Conference
• /
• 2003.10a
• /
• pp.107-109
• /
• 2003

This paper argues for the immediate use of Kansei engineering to help deal with the chaotic situation of poorly implemented and disconnected technologies. A theoretical criticism of the current industrial capitalism, together with the promotion of a new post-industrial form of capitalism lays the foundation for a explanation of how this transition can be achieved through a proper understanding of Kansei. A detailed explanation of the Interactive Production System Apparel demonstrates the benefits to both manufacturers and consumers. The paper concludes that the application to apparel is just one many potential applications to improving the lifestyle and enjoyment of individuals throughout society.

• Journal of Fashion Business
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.51-67
• /
• 2000

The purpose of the study was to investigate general characteristics of brand images of men's wear manufacturers and differences in their brand images according to characteristics of their brands and their merchandise. Thus, this study was to be an exploratory study to search apparel niche-market in men's wear market for the marketers by exploring trends of brand images of men's wear manufacturers. The questionnaire consisted of questions on brand images and characteristics of men's wear manufacturers and their merchandise. The subjects were to evaluate their brand images and rated on 5 point Likert-type scales of 36 adjectives. For the survey, the subjects were 100 employees (62 merchandisers, and 24 designers, etc.) who are employed by men's wear manufacturers which have national brands, designer brands, license brands, import brands or private brands. The SAS PC+ package was used to calculate factor analysis, mean, ttest, ANOVA, Duncan's test, and Tukey's test. The results from the study were as follows: 1) High scores of mean of brand images were simple, prestigious, mannish, and dynamic. 2) The brand images of men’s wear manufacturers were divided into 10 factors which explain 73.91% of the whole image. 3) There were significant differences in brand images according to types of brands, price lines of merchandise and ages of target consumers. 4) There were significant differences in brand images according to categories of apparel (suits vs. casual clothing), types of suits, and types of casual clothing. 5) There were significant correlations between brand images, such as simple image to conservative image, prestigious image and chic image, prestigious image to conservative image, chic image and simple image, etc.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.111-130
• /
• 2002

This study performed a structural questionnaire survey and non-structural interview of the ladies apparel manufacturers in Daegu on the qualification for the employees, skills required for job performance, job training, automatic manufacturing systems, and the use of computer. The results are as follows. 1. Almost all of the apparel manufacturing systems were Pair System, except one Line System in one company. In terms of outsourcing, most of the manufacturers answered “yes,” and in 1998 the outsourcing process was sewing, but in the year 2002, outsourcing has been increased :12 manufacturers(57.1%) outsourcing most of the processes except patterning, 3(14.3%) outsourcing the finish of sewing. 2. The workforce of 1998 and that of 2002 shows a significant difference(P＜. 01) between office work and management. The number of office workers has decreased from 15 down to 5.3 people. On the other hand, that of the management has slightly increased from 5.3 to 9.2 people. The number of the manual workers has decreased from 32.2 to 28.7 people. And the number of tailoring and patterning workers has slightly decreased, but the number has increased in sewing from 3.7 to 7.0 people. 3. The wage of an employee shows a significant difference between a sewing assistant(P＜. 01) and a production manager(P＜. 05), and the wage of a sewing assistant, in particular, has slightly raised from ￦905,000 to ￦1,054,000. 4. The qualifications required of employees are “cooperative human relations”(30.8％), “diligence,” and “ability for job analysis”(26.9％), and “positive thinking” (15.4％) in 1998, and “ability for job analysis”(38.5％), “cooperative human relations”(34.6％), and “positive thinking” (15.4％) in 2002. The areas for job openings are significantly different(P＜. 01) depending on the year. Job openings in the design section has increased from 1(3.8％) to 16 manufacturers (61.5％), and decreased in tailoring section from 22(84.6％) to 2 manufacturers(7.7％). Job openings in the sewing section have increased form 2(7.7％) to 6 manufacturers (23.1％). In terms of sex of the employees, there is a significant difference(P＜. 001). 19 companies(73.1％) wanted “male” in 1998, but 8 companies(30.8％) answered that they want “female” and 17 companies(65.4％) answered that “it does not matter.” About the educational background, there was a significant difference between the years. The number of the companies that want junior college graduates with an associate degree has increased(15 companies(57.7％). There was a significant difference(P＜. 05) in major of the employee. The number of the companies that want fashion majors has increased from 5(19.2％) to 20(76.9％). 5. In terms of job skills required, there was no significant difference. In 1998, “production skills” (46.2％) and “ability for job analysis” (26.9％) were required, and in 2002, “ability for job analysis” (42.3％) and “emotional skills” (26.9％). 6. In regard to training for job skills, “fashion professional training” has slightly decreased from 65.4％ in 1998 to 46.2％ in 2002, however, “training for job analysis” has slightly increased from 30.8％ in 1998 to 46.2％ in 2002, which indicates the fact that “fashion professional training” and “ability for job analysis” have been emphasized. 7. The number of the manufacturers purchased apparel CAD has increased from 1(3.8％) to 3(11.5％), and the number of the manufacturers that have no plan for purchase has increased from 16(61.5％) in 1998 to 15(57.7％), still taking up a big proportion. 8. About the use of computers in manufacturing, there is a significant difference(P＜. 05). The number of the manufacturers using computer has increased from 5(19.2％) to 15(57.7％) and that of the manufacturers which do not use computers has decreased from 17(57.7％) to 8(30.8％). 9. In the interviews with the owners of the manufacturers, they pointed that schools should give more weight on practical training courses, the invitation of experts in the specific field, complex production systems, training courses for sewing, field trip courses, and furthering specialty education, personality and vocational education.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• v.15 no.3 s.68
• /
• pp.461-471
• /
• 2007

Many Korean apparel firms have been adopting the global sourcing to enhance their competitive advantages. The purposes of this study were to identify the current status of global sourcing adopted by Korean apparel firms and to provide useful information for the other apparel firms planning the global sourcing. The questionnaire survey was conducted to 65 Korean apparel firms. The firms selected for this study were women's, men's, unisex casual wear manufacturers which made their products at offshore factories. The results show that about half of them started global sourcing before 2000. Unisex casual wear firms were already doing the global sourcing very actively and women's wear firms were followers. The major benefit of the global sourcing was the cost reduction. The firms that had made inroads into the global market find much satisfaction in global sourcing. These early adopters expected their sourcing countries as a future consumer market. The threatening elements of the global sourcing were the difficulties of quality control and labor cost rising. Cost and technical ability were considered importantly in selecting the global sourcing partners. The firms started the global sorucing before 2000 were greatly depended on offshore production. They concerned for the problems related to the global sourcing.

• Journal of Fashion Business
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.125-141
• /
• 2011

This paper is to focus the financial ratio analysis of the Korean textile and apparel companies due to fast changing domestic industry. Financial ratios are playing a pivotal role in management analysis to assess the present conditions to predict the future. Subjects are belonging to textile and apparel manufacturers based on Firm Classification Standard while registered as securities listed-firms or Kosdaq-listed firms under the Electronic Notification System of Korean Banking Supervisory Authority. 41 companies' data have been analyzed including 17 apparel companies and 24 textile companies. 14 representative financial ratios are analyzed. In this paper, financial ratios can be classified into four categories as follows: stability ratios, profitability ratios, growth ratios and activity ratios. The independent t-test was performed using SPSS 18 for a 10 year simple arithmetic average. The following conclusion has reached regarding aspects of management conditions and performances. When compared the ratios indicating stability, textile and apparel companies did not show much difference in debt ratio and the ratio of earning to interests. However, when compared the profitability ratios measuring the ability to produce incomes, apparel companies showed higher ratios than textile companies. Thus it is important to recognize financial characteristics of each industry.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
• /
• v.27 no.9_10
• /
• pp.1081-1092
• /
• 2003

The purpose of this study was to identify the current situation of textiles and apparel firms in the overseas markets and to examine the relationship between firms' characteristic(i.e., sales volume) and international marketing strategies. A random sample of 311 textiles and apparel firms were selected. The survey design method was used to test conceptual framework. Adjusted response rate was 33.4%(n=115). Descriptive analysis (i.e., frequency, percent) and $\chi$$^2$-test were used for data analysis. About the current situation of textiles and apparel firms in the overseas markets, the motivation for international market entry was highly found to expand their operation from domestic to international market, and most firms were found to be involved with OEMs(Original Equipment Manufacturers) as an entry mode for international market. China and US market were the most popular market among Korean textiles and apparel firms. Product differentiation strategy, pricing strategy based on manufacturing cost and buyer's offering price, place strategy using foreign buyers and participating a few international exhibition were frequently used among Korean textiles and apparel firms for international marketing. Among textile firms, sales volume was related to product strategies(product development), price strategy(buyer's offer) and place strategy(channel). Among apparel firms, product strategy(product labeling), price strategy(price satisfaction). The findings of this can be used when Korean textiles and apparel firms do strategic planning and evaluate the international marketing strategies. Also information and results of this study may assist policy makers to develop better ideas and strategies for textiles and apparel industry.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.56-67
• /
• 2012

This research investigates the effect of the antecedents (i.e. specific investment, opportunistic behavior, communications, uncertainty, interdependence, power imbalance, shared value, and flexibility) that influence the trust and commitment of domestic apparel manufacturers toward contractors as well as the effect of trust and commitment on firm performance and relationship satisfaction. A total of 128 apparel manufactures participated in this study. Factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and path analysis were conducted for the statistical analysis. Specific investment, communication, shared value, and flexibility had a positive effect on trust; however, opportunistic behavior had a negative effect. Interdependence, shared value, and flexibility had a positive effect on commitment; however, power imbalance and uncertainty had a negative effect. Trust did not exert an effect on commitment in this research; however, trust and commitment had a positive effect on firm performance; in addition, trust and commitment had a positive effect on relationship satisfaction. The findings offer insight on how to better manage apparel manufacturer-contractor relationships to ensure success.

• Journal of Fashion Business
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.45-57
• /
• 2017

This study explored the current implementation status of corporate social responsibility (CSR) among textiles and apparel manufacturers and retailers in Korea, based on the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). We also investigated the provision of information related to CSR practices on the websites of companies. A quantitative content analysis was conducted to analyze the website disclosures of 61 listed companies categorized in the textiles, apparel, shoes, and luxury industry. Analysis was focused on the presence, accessibility, and the level of CSR website disclosure. Seven themes emerged by applying the constant comparison analysis. Using Scott's formula for pi, a high level of inter-coder reliability was achieved, ranging from 0.91 to 0.97. Regarding the three dimensions of CSR suggested in TBL, economic dimension was relatively more emphasized in the website disclosures of most companies, compared to social and environment dimensions. Website disclosures were further investigated, based on the product categories of each company. Limitations of this study and suggestions for future studies are discussed.

• The International Journal of Costume Culture
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.41-52
• /
• 2000

The Purposes of this study ar (1) to identify types and levels of channel conflicts between an apparel manufacturer and a franchised agency, (2) to investigate the effect of economic dependence on conflicts, and (3) to examine the effect of conflicts on satisfaction in a franchised agency's perspective in distributive channel of Korean apparel industry. For this study, questionnaires were administered to the owner or manager of 300 franchised agencies. Employing a sample of 209, data were analyzed by using means, factor analysis, pearson correlation and multi-regression analysis. Major findings are as follows: 1) Types of conflicts between apparel manufacturers and franchised agencies are identified as goal divergence, difference in perception, ineffective communication and lack of role clarity. The highest level of conflicts are lack of role clarity, followed by goal divergence, difference in perception and ineffective communication. 2) Economic dependence leads to channel conflicts in part. Greater levels of economic dependence foster greater conflicts such as lack of role clarity and lower conflicts such as ineffective communication. 3) With respect to effect of conflict on satisfaction, the greater the levels of conflict, the lower the degree of satisfaction with ole performance and with business decision and overall satisfaction.