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The Economic Observatory at the IFM is above all an observatory
for
globalization and its effects, specialized in the textile economy.
It is a laboratory for industry and the economy in general,
and the textile economy predicts the trends to come. The acceleration
of trade flow, the concentration of distribution, the volatility
of purchasing, the change in information systems are all factors
that directly influence the worldwide textile economy. It is
thus essential to understand the implications in order to outline
the contemporary issues surrounding globalization.
The issues of competitiveness and regional integration
come in for particular
attention from the IFM’s Economic Observatory. During the
last twenty years, we have seen an intensification of the regionalisation
of international trade in the textile-garment industries (since
the signing of the 1994 North American Free-trade Agreement
(NAFTA), and agreements between the European Union and Mediterranean
countries, as well as Central and Eastern Europe).
This movement towards integration, that relies on the balance
between the textile
producing countries and the emerging garment producing countries
is today coming
under pressure from China, and to a lesser extent from India.
The consequences of this
phenomenon are considerable on many levels : economic, social,
political, and geo-political. Other countries and regions of
the world are now obliged to adopt more
competitive strategies. The future of the Euro-Mediterranean
region is also at the center of the Observatory’s reflection.
The Economic Observatory supervises the economic status quo
for the textile
and fashion industry and the public sector, it regularly carries
out forecasting on consumption, production and international
trade. The Observatory’s specific skill in terms of
statistic and database analysis, simulation and forecasting
is of great benefit.
Finally, it establishes micro-economic analyses on key-factors
in the success of
companies within the new global context, regardless of their
position in the supply
chain.
The expertise of the Economic Observatory is reflected in both
the IFM’s economic
publications and the specialist international economic and textile-based
press.
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