Allison Brister

1/5/16

MCS 229

Global Trade and Sourcing Analysis

For my mid-priced apparel retail store, I chose to visit Dillard’s. I thought this store

would be perfect with its large variety of clothing. The department store not only had a great

selection of different apparel but also provided a large array of clothing from different countries.

When visiting Dillard’s I carried a pen and paper with me and wrote down each item’s

price, description of the product, and where the item was manufactured. I found that the majority

of the items surveyed were made in China. Most of the items I chose were dresses. I found that

the cost of all items, particularly the dresses, were similar. Despite the garments being

manufactured in various countries, the prices of the dresses were similar. I would have expected

that the garments manufactured in China would be less expensive than a garment manufactured

in the U.S. because U.S. wages are a lot higher than China’s wages. Higher wages result in

higher cost of production. Instead, I found that dresses specifically manufactured in the U.S. had

very similar prices to those manufactured in China. I did find though that the majority of clothing

was made in China and other countries besides the U.S. This is because the U.S. has a greater

cost production than most other countries. This is due to the fact that the U.S. has minimum

wage laws that insure that a laborer receives wages greater than those in other countries.

Therefore a U.S. clothing manufactures will have its clothing made in other countries due to the

cheaper cost of production.

I also studied the intricacies of the various garments. Generally, I found that those

manufactured in countries such as Vietnam, India, and Indonesia were of a lesser quality than

those manufactured in China or the U.S. These less intricate garments also cost less than the ones

manufactured in the U.S. or China. Of all of the garments manufactured, the U.S. only has a free

trade agreement with Jordan. The two items I surveyed that were manufactured in Jordan are a

red vest and a yellow quilted jacket. Both items had some degree of intricacy particularly the

quilted jacket. They were both of good quality. Because the U.S. has a free trade agreement with

Jordan the store can charge a higher price for the garments as compared to a lesser price charged

for those garments manufactured in Indonesia, India, and Myanmar. Proximity to U.S. markets

also has an effect on pricing. For example, the garments manufactured in China generally had a

higher retail cost than those manufactured elsewhere. This could be due to the fact that China’s

market is so far from the U.S. The cost of getting the goods from China to the U.S. is greater

than getting goods from the other nations to the U.S. due to proximity. China’s imports have

penetrated U.S. markets more than any of the other countries. More than half of the clothing that

I surveyed was made in China.

After performing this sourcing project, I am now more aware of where my clothing

comes from. Also I feel I will be more likely to look at tags in clothing to see where the clothing

is manufactured and compare prices. I now realize how many jobs could be given to U.S.

workers but are now given to workers overseas because the cost of production is less.

Work Cited: Dillard’s department store in Metairie, Louisiana