STRUCTURAL-CHANGE IN THE JAPANESE WOOL TEXTILE-INDUSTRY - IMPLICATIONS FOR MARKETING

The Japanese wool textile industry experienced dramatic structural cha nge in the 1970s and the 1980s. The number of firms in the industry ha s fallen by very large proportions. Total employment has also fallen. Japan has become a net importer or a much smaller net exporter of all types of textiles and clothing, including wool products. Imports now a ccount for a third of domestic consumption of textiles and clothing. T he degrees of import penetration are higher for natural fibres than fo r synthetics. Import penetration is also higher towards the finished p roduct end of the production chain. An analysis of these changes and t heir origins is presented here. The analysis is relevant to the prospe cts for the volume and patterns of trade in raw and synthetic fibres i n East Asia, Japan in particular. The paper reviews developments in th e retail sector in Japan, and in spinning and weaving. It examines pro blems in inventory control and product development in Japan and outlin es aspects of the relocation of the Japanese wool textile industry. Th e focus here is on developments at the retail end of the marketing sys tem in response to shifts in the composition of demand and the feedbac k into the wool textile production system. The implications for the ma rketing of wool in East Asia are discussed.