Clothing delivery “excellent"

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33062, 1 November 1972, Page 18

Clothing delivery “excellent"

A suggestion that retailers were cancelling orders for clothing because New Zealand manufacturers could not meet delivery dates did not match the facts, the president of the Textile and Garment Manufacturers’ Federation (Mr J. G. Aston) said in Christchurch yesterday.

He was commenting on a Press Association report from Wellington last week in which the executive director of the Retailers’ Federation (Mr B. I. Purdy) alleged that such cancellations had been made because some manufacturers had been unable to deliver clothing ordered as long ago as March. Mr Aston said that while there might be isolated instances of late delivery, perhaps between smaller manufacturers and retailers, there was nothing to justify the “sweeping generalisations” made by Mr Purdy. Inquiries among manufacturers producing a cross-sec-tion of garments had shown that there had been no cancellations and no complaints from retailers about late delivery dates, he said. DELIVERY AHEAD “In fact our inquiries showed that while the record of delivery over the last three selling seasons had been generally good, the last season’s record had proved excellent “Indeed, the bulk of goods has been delivered so promptly that some retailers have been ‘caught short* and

have had difficulty in laying their hands on the cash to pay for the goods.” Mr Aston said that delivery was so far ahead in some areas that manufacturers had begun production of their 1973 season’s winter wear, in order to keep their staff employed. Some were now working towards a six to eight-week delivery period and offering several ranges a year to meet the retailers’ wish to get closer to the market.