BIG DEMAND FOR CLOTHING

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 83, 24 April 1937, Page 4

BIG DEMAND FOR CLOTHING

Retailers Have Difficulty in Obtaining Supplies FACTORIES AT CAPACITY 9 Retailers of clothing lines in Hawke's Bay are experiencing difficulty in the fulfilment ot orders to New Zealand manufacciutng houses, and in many cases it is nete&sary to wait for a period of ?r.cnths before an order can be filled. Ihe im rease in the business done is responsible toi this state of affairs, following ci> the heea oi' wage increases throughout the country. A leading retailer this morning stated that he had recently received a. letter from one of the largest firms of shirt manufacturers in the country, advising that a speeial order could not be fulfilied. The letter stated that up to a pcint half-way through July, existing orders were sui'ficient to occupy the lull producing capacity of the factory, and the recordf showed that after that date, 75 per oent. of the factory's orders for the remainder of the year were already on hand. "We are having a very hectic time at present," was ' the explanation given in the letter. "We are finding inereasingj difficulty ih filling our orders," commented the retailer. "A customer who enters the shop and asks us to order a suit for inm is often annoyed when we say that he cannot get one before Jnne. After trying other shops, he finds that , much the same position appiies. This, I consider, is due to the fact that many people, who, at this time last year, were unable to buy clothes, have now had their financial position improved, and ar© making np the deficiencies in their wardrobes. This is, of course^ very good for busin'ess, but we find that we are being swamped.

"The same position as in regard to the shirts appiies to hoth suits and materialsr for suitings. We recently received a letter from a leading clothin© house, saying that owing to rush of orders, they found that they were rapidly approaching a time when they could accept no more for some months. They advised that they had reserved us five suits, and urgently wanted to know if we would he talsing them, as they ' would be disposed of elsewhere. "That means that where we sometimes eold five of the suits in a day, we now have five for a month." Many of the factories, he continued, were already making arrangements for additional machinery and building space, but this would neeessarily take se'veral months, and the position wquld probably not improve until the work was completed. He anticipated that retaileis would have difficulty' in obtain- = ing sioeks for the coming summeri if the business held firm. All retaflers, he explained, had to estimate their saies and make orders for 12 months in advance. It was there,fore easily understood that if the present rush held, there would he some. difficulty ih obtaining full stocks for •next year. It was Iikely that manufacturing houses which had almost reached the liprit of their present production would be taking their travellers from tbe road.