Essay: Textiles in Germany / Nancy Parker textile designer brand

Title Page
As a group we chose to look at Germany, then along with that I personally chose to look at Nancy Parker, a textile designer brand.
Slide 2-
Market Expansion
‘A long history of production, innovation and adaption has placed textiles and clothing amongst the leading industries in Germany.’ (Farre, 2015). The textile industry takes second place onto to food and drink on the German market. Germany plays a major role in international trade for textiles and clothing, and currently ranks fourth as a worldwide exporter. 42% of exports were seen in 2013, with Germany ranking the second largest importer of textiles after the US, which now makes them a very attractive market for textile exports. The German market is very attractive for overseas clothing manufacturers as the majority of the German wardrobe is imported. (Farre, 2015).
Imports and Exports
Imports in 2013 were $32,200 million and exports were $24,000 million. The total turnover for the industry, came out as 40% apparel and 60% technical textiles. Asia came out at 51% of imports followed by the EU at 31%. The countries main trading partners are China, Turkey and Bangladesh.
Slide 3-
Wealth Distribution Within Germany
The pie chart to the left shows the wealth distribution within German households, the 45 richest households in Germany own as much wealth as the bottom half of the population as shown in blue. The graphic illustrates the wealth in Germany as it stood four years ago. It becomes clear that wealth inequality is much greater than what has been let on. ‘According to the DIW study, the wealthiest 5% in Germany owned 51.1 percent of the countries entire wealth in 2014, along with the top 1% of German households owns a third of the country’s wealth’. (Diekmann, 2018) The analysis makes it clear that in comparison with other countries in Europe, the distribution of wealth in Germany is weighted unfairly in favour of the superrich, as shown in the chart to the right.
German Currency
The German currency is now the Euro, with nineteen other states in Europe also currently using the Euro. This became the German currency officially in 2002, before it was the Deutsche Mark, and remained in circulation until 2002. It was replaced due to Europe coming together to form the European Union, therefore replacing the original currency with the Euro.
Slide 4-
German Language
German is among the most widely spoken language in the European Union, and is the official language in Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein. It’s also one of the official languages of Switzerland and Luxembourg. German is considered a difficult language to study by English learners, with its long and winding words.
German Population
The current population of Germany is 82,665,700.
Levels of Education
There are many different levels of education within Germany. Starting off with Pre-School (kindergarten), then onto primary school, secondary school, Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium, and Getsamtschule.
Cultural Attitudes Towards the Textile Industry
Germany is a major player in foreign trade with textiles and clothing. The country is the fourth largest exporter of textiles and clothing worldwide, registering an export quota of 42% in 2013. At the same time, the country is also the second largest textile importer after the United States and has become an attractive market for many textile exporting countries since the 1980s. Especially in the clothing segment, Germany imports a vast majority of apparel products, thus offering an appealing opportunity for foreign companies.
Slide 5-
Political System
Germany is a republic, meaning it is organized with a form of governments.
It is a federal system, that is made up of 16 states. Each of these has its own parliament and state leader. It is a constitutional system, unlike the UK, for example, Germany has a written constitution known as das Grundgesetz. This basic law, as it is known, makes the courts the most powerful arm of the state. Elections within this country are held every four years and are based on proportional representation. The government is still split between two cities. While Berlin has remained the capital of the German state continuously since 1871, the capital of West German during the Cold War was the small city of Bonn.
Trading Blocs
Germany is part of the European Union trading block.
Tariff Barriers
Germany is part of the harmonised trade system of the EU and imports and exports are covered by the EU Taxation and Customs Union. Germany’s regulations and procedures can be a difficult hurdle for companies wishing to enter the market and require close attention by U.S. exporters. Goods imported from the non-EU countries into Germany are subject to the value-added tax of 19%. The import turnover tax may be lower in some particular cases (e.g. 7% as for food products, newspapers and books). (Luyken, 2017).
Competition from International Sources-
‘Germany’s biggest competitors within the clothing and textile industry are Bangladesh, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Japan, Turkey, UK and USA. The categories they fall under are “productivity”, “wages”, “training”, “innovation” and “sustainability”, which are the most important characteristics in the contemporary textile and clothing industry’ (Romberg, 2013). With this in mind, Germany is still in an above average competitive status with the highest score within “sustainability”, and the lowest one within “wages”. The UK, Belgium and US are Germany’s most important competitors.
The most serious threat towards Germany’s textile industry is the fact that newly industrialized countries such as Russia and Brazil are gaining economic power and along with it, wealth. ‘This meaning that these nations will, as Germany did decades ago, shift strategically from “cost leadership” to “differentiation”. (Romberg, 2013) Second on from this threat, is the decrease inland supply of skilled personnel due to an aging population.
Slide 6-
Price Negotiations
‘Germans like to have strict guidelines when it comes to working with companies. They like to follow strict rules and procedures, as it helps them identity roles and then execute them.’ (Alliance Experts, 2018) Companies outside the EU may face import duties, however this is subject to specific trade agreements between concerned countries. Global competition makes charging the right price absolutely critical. It is something to note that Germans generally would not negotiate and don’t like it either, just for the sake of getting a discount. However, they need to know the pricing rationale.
Legal System
Germany follows a civil law system. It is based on codified law which means that Germans follow statues and other written sources of law. Some examples could be the German Civil Code and the German Procedure code.
Facts and Consideration
The German economy is the biggest in Europe and also very stable. It has an large consumer base and a huge number of small and medium enterprises. This gives brands many selling opportunities. Germany is the biggest economy in Europe and the fourth-largest in the world, built in research and  innovation and its ability to attract foreign investment from around the world. More than 45,000 foreign companies are doing business in the country, employing more than three million people, and almost one in four jobs are dependent on the export sector. In addition to an excellent investment climate, Germany offers international businesses outstanding economic conditions.