Our products are primarily manufactured in Southeast Asia
Antigua Group, a leading performance sportswear manufacturer, as a part of its design aesthetic places utmost importance to being trendy in colour and silhouette design. Ron McPherson, president and CEO of Antigua, talks about the demand for performance sportswear, its current position in the market, and its expansion strategy in an interview with fibre2fashion.com.
How big is the market for performance sportswear?
The market for performance sportswear is very large, crossing into all sports from a participant's perspective and from an observer's perspective too. With giant companies like Nike, Adidas and Under Armour in the performance apparel market, it's clear how big it is.
Where is the demand the most?
The demand for Antigua performance sports apparel is strong in all areas of the world, because the sports apparel we supply are for sports played 'outside' in warm and humid times of the year.
Is there a sport for which the demand is very high?
For our business, the demand for performance sports apparel is greatest with our golf division, followed by our tennis and corporate sales divisions.
Cricket is very big almost all over the world barring the US. Any plans to step into this discipline?
Not at this time.
What is your expansion strategy with respect to each sports discipline?
We have a small, but growing market share in all of our distribution channels. The key for growth for Antigua is increased marketing of the brand and its increased consumer awareness.
Where is your manufacturing hub? What percentage of your product lines are manufactured in Asia?
Our products are manufactured primarily in Southeast Asia – in Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Pakistan and Thailand, with a small amount in Bangladesh and China. We are a signatory on the Bangladesh Accord and a category B supplier for the FLA (Fair Labour Association).
What percentage of your profits is marked for R&D?
Like all companies, innovation is a key to continued success. Our product development department’s yearly budget is 17 per cent of the total operating earnings.
What is the design aesthetic for the Antigua portfolio of brands?
The primary design aesthetic philosophy for Antigua is to be on trend in colour and in silhouette design. Our product development team studies a number of other markets to uncover the trend, and then applies those concepts to our channels of distribution.
What has been the growth percentage in the last two years?
Antigua has grown 32 per cent since 2012. We believe growth will be single-digit for the next two years; however, we will use these two years to prepare and plan our next growth spurt.
Published on: 04/05/2015
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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