IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envira/v38y2006i12p2271-2283.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Global Sourcing Patterns of French Clothing Retailers

Author

Listed:
  • Florence Palpacuer

    (ISEM-ERFI, University of Montpellier, Rue Vendémiaire CS 19519, F 34960 Montpellier, France)

Abstract

Combining a business-system perspective and a global value-chain perspective, I draw on French clothing import data and interviews to characterize the sourcing patterns of French clothing retailers and analyze their determinants. The dominant pattern identified is one of dispersed, unstable, and informal supplier relations, which can be explained by the importance of small specialized chains, the predominance of family and management ownership, and a low concentration level in French clothing retailing. Since the late 1990s, however, the largest retailers operating in the standard-product segment, some of them engaged in ‘financialization’ strategies, have launched supply-chain rationalization policies aimed at reducing the number of suppliers, stabilizing relations with preferred suppliers, and externalizing manufacturing-related services. A new sourcing model of Anglo-Saxon origin can thus be seen to be diffusing under the combined influence of concentration and financialization in the French clothing retail scene.

Suggested Citation

  • Florence Palpacuer, 2006. "The Global Sourcing Patterns of French Clothing Retailers," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(12), pages 2271-2283, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:38:y:2006:i:12:p:2271-2283
    DOI: 10.1068/a3883
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/a3883
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1068/a3883?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Palpacuer, Florence & Gibbon, Peter & Thomsen, Lotte, 2005. "New Challenges for Developing Country Suppliers in Global Clothing Chains: A Comparative European Perspective," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 409-430, March.
    2. Peter Dicken & Markus Hassler, 2000. "Organizing the Indonesian Clothing Industry in the Global Economy: The Role of Business Networks," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 32(2), pages 263-280, February.
    3. R. Kaplinsky, 2000. "Globalisation and Unequalisation: What Can Be Learned from Value Chain Analysis?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 117-146.
    4. Dore, Ronald & Lazonick, William & O'Sullivan, Mary, 1999. "Varieties of Capitalism in the Twentieth Century," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 15(4), pages 102-120, Winter.
    5. Gereffi, Gary, 1999. "International trade and industrial upgrading in the apparel commodity chain," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 37-70, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Donatella Baiardi & Carluccio Bianchi & Eleonora Lorenzini, 2014. "The price and income elasticities of the top clothing exporters: Evidence from a panel data analysis," DEM Working Papers Series 074, University of Pavia, Department of Economics and Management.
    2. Baiardi, Donatella & Bianchi, Carluccio & Lorenzini, Eleonora, 2015. "The price and income elasticities of the top clothing exporters: Evidence from a panel data analysis," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 14-30.
    3. John Pickles, 2006. "Trade Liberalization, Industrial Upgrading, and Regionalization in the Global Clothing Industry," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(12), pages 2201-2206, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nebahat Tokatli, 2003. "Globalization and the Changing Clothing Industry in Turkey," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 35(10), pages 1877-1894, October.
    2. Roberta Rabellotti & Alessia Amighini, 2003. "The effect of globalisation on industrial districts in Italy: evidence from the footwear sector," ERSA conference papers ersa03p500, European Regional Science Association.
    3. Hamilton-Hart, Natasha & Stringer, Christina, 2016. "Upgrading and exploitation in the fishing industry: Contributions of value chain analysis," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 166-171.
    4. Emanuela Todeva & Ruslan Rakhmatullin, 2016. "Industry Global Value Chains, Connectivity and Regional Smart Specialisation in Europe. An Overview of Theoretical Approaches and Mapping Methodologies," JRC Research Reports JRC102801, Joint Research Centre.
    5. Stefan Pahl & Marcel P. Timmer, 2020. "Do Global Value Chains Enhance Economic Upgrading? A Long View," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(9), pages 1683-1705, July.
    6. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-496 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Anna Giunta & Domenico Scalera & Francesco Trivieri & Jeffrey B. Nugent & Mariarosaria Agostino, 2011. "Firm Productivity, Organizational Choice and Global Value Chain," Working Papers 2011R09, Orkestra - Basque Institute of Competitiveness.
    8. Islam, Md. Saidul, 2008. "From pond to plate: Towards a twin-driven commodity chain in Bangladesh shrimp aquaculture," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 209-223, June.
    9. Saon Ray & Smita Miglani, 2018. "Upgrading in the Indian automobile sector: The role of lead firms," Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) Working Paper 360, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi, India.
    10. Slavo Radosevic, 2003. "The emerging industrial architecture of the wider Europe: The co-evolution of industrial and political structures," UCL SSEES Economics and Business working paper series 29, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES).
    11. Zhihui Dai & Yue Niu & Hongru Zhang & Xiaodi Niu, 2022. "Impact of the Transforming and Upgrading of China’s Labor-Intensive Manufacturing Industry on the Labor Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-25, October.
    12. Pham, Hanh Song Thi & Petersen, Bent, 2021. "The bargaining power, value capture, and export performance of Vietnamese manufacturers in global value chains," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6).
    13. Hugues Poissonnier, 2009. "Enjeux et dynamique d'évolution des critères de performance en contexte inter-organisationnel : les enseignements de l'industrie textile française," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) halshs-00459216, HAL.
    14. Pietrobelli, Carlo & Rabellotti, Roberta, 2011. "Global Value Chains Meet Innovation Systems: Are There Learning Opportunities for Developing Countries?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 1261-1269, July.
    15. Satyaki Roy, 2017. "Rent and Surplus in the Global Production Network: Identifying ‘Value Capture’ from the South," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 6(1), pages 32-52, April.
    16. Mike Morris & Leonhard Plank & Cornelia Staritz, 2016. "Regionalism, end markets and ownership matter: Shifting dynamics in the apparel export industry in Sub Saharan Africa," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 48(7), pages 1244-1265, July.
    17. McWilliam, Sarah E. & Kim, Jung Kwan & Mudambi, Ram & Nielsen, Bo Bernhard, 2020. "Global value chain governance: Intersections with international business," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(4).
    18. Paulina Ramirez & Helen Rainbird, 2010. "Making the connections: bringing skill formation into global value chain analysis," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 24(4), pages 699-710, December.
    19. Lila Margarita Bada Carbajal & Luis Arturo Rivas Tovar & Herman FrankLittlewood Zimmerman, 2017. "Model of associativity in the production chain in Agroindustrial SMEs," Contaduría y Administración, Accounting and Management, vol. 62(4), pages 1118-1135, Octubre-D.
    20. von Geibler, Justus & Kristof, Kora & Bienge, Katrin, 2010. "Sustainability assessment of entire forest value chains: Integrating stakeholder perspectives and indicators in decision support tools," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(18), pages 2206-2214.
    21. Suder, Gabriele & Liesch, Peter W. & Inomata, Satoshi & Mihailova, Irina & Meng, Bo, 2015. "The evolving geography of production hubs and regional value chains across East Asia: Trade in value-added," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 404-416.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:38:y:2006:i:12:p:2271-2283. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.