German clothing makers were buoyant to expand their businesses this year, while most textile manufacturers performed low due to continued weak consumer spending and the elimination of quotas at the beginning of January.
A research carried out by TextilWirtschaft, a German fashion business journal, shows that 84 percent of clothing manufacturers saw sales rise in 2005. Three-quarters of respondents said they increased profits in the year.
Rising sales and profit made positive impact on investments with 68 percent of clothing companies flowing money into innovations to adapt to changing market conditions, while one-quarter of the companies suffered higher-than-expected costs.
Most textile producers were unhappy with their low business performance this year with sales falling for 56 percent of respondents. With the flow of increased cheap imports from China and low demand showed pressure on the companies' sales and profits.
However, roughly one-quarter of textile manufacturers managed to improve profits and cost control was worked better than expected for 40 percent of the companies. Only 24 percent invested this year.
