As of this moment, the U.S. has announced a one-month delay for new tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. These tariffs will now take effect on March 4, 2025. However, tariffs on China remain on schedule for February 4, 2025. Here is a breakdown of this rapidly-changing story and what you can do about it:
Read MoreOn January 24, 2024, our team made predictions on what we thought would happen in the industry for the upcoming year. In our LinkedIn post titled “2024 Crystal Ball: 4 Key Things to Watch in the Footwear & Apparel Industry.” we covered everything from consumer habits, politics and the global marketplace. Here we own up to those predictions and rate how we did.
Read MoreThe trade landscape is shifting once again. With the Trump administration back in office following the November 5 election, proposed tariffs of 60% on Chinese imports and 10-20% on imports from the rest of the world have reintroduced uncertainty into the footwear and apparel industries. While the political path for U.S. trade policy may feel clearer, its effects on your business likely feel anything but. We can help you.
Read MoreThe U.S. government has recently taken executive action regarding Section 321 shipments, setting in motion a new regulatory process aimed at curbing potential abuse of de minimis shipments—those valued at $800 or less, exempt from duties and taxes. This move is a response to growing concerns about the sheer volume of these shipments, which now exceed 4 million shipments per day, and the regulatory loopholes they might create, particularly for goods affected by trade tariffs like Section 301.
Read MoreOver the last few months, we’ve made a small but important tweak to our name.
Most of you may know us as simply “Zefyr” …and we like that. But our commercial name has always been Zefyr Consulting, and as we spoke to customers, clients, and friends, we came to realize that this was no longer accurate. So we changed it.
Read MoreFor almost 100 years now, the intention of de minimis (Section 321) in U.S. trade law has been the same—simplifying the import process for low-value shipments. However, in the last decade or so, we have seen many challenges that come with these benefits, prompting lawmakers to introduce the Import Security and Fairness Act, and more recently, the End China’s De Minimis Abuse Act.
Read MoreWhen a business is looking to grow, they need strategic planning and results-driven objectives. This is even more true when a business has a global footprint and is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. That’s what happened when a $450M Supplement and Vitamins Consumer brand connected with our team. They were looking for a global standard IBP (integrated business planning) process that would align their business and financial operational plans and ultimately lead to projected growth.
Read MoreToyota was one of the first companies to implement the notion of “Lifetime Employment.” Of course, that has since faded but the rationale for offering it for the amount of time they did has not. Toyota sees all employees as either “Value Adders” or those who support Value Adders. They take time and energy to develop problem solvers, and that represents an investment. The more time an employee has been at the company, the more valuable they are because typically you have invested more, and they have become better employees. And Toyota does not see the logic in parting with that investment except in difficult situations.
Read MoreThe power of a large expert network is the ability to spot trends across the industry, impacting brands and suppliers of all sizes and segments. And the collective of practitioners at Zefyr Consulting have distilled those learnings into 4 key trends for 2024 - and how your company can leverage those insights in the new year. From consumer sentiment to margins to political change... what does our team of experts see on the horizon for the industry?
Read MoreBrands are going into the Nearshoring conversation with a set of expectations that may not be realistic or fully informed. Surely when the big footwear and apparel brands ventured into China and Vietnam in the 1980s, they had more of a Pioneering Spirit. They knew there would be hardships and obstacles to overcome, but they were hellbent on achieving success because they knew it was the right thing to do at the time. When facing these sorts of obstacles today, it feels like brands are saying, “It can’t be done until something changes,” without knowing that THEY are the change that needs to push forward.
Read MoreIn today's fashion landscape, consumers demand transparency, and government regulations reinforce it. 📜 To thrive, apparel and footwear brands must adapt. Here are four essential strategies, inspired by Zefyr's expertise.
Read MoreWhile an optimized supply chain involves many more components than cost, it is a great starting point for a supply chain review. Supply chain expenses can be a very large component of your final product cost. Given that fact, it is surprising how few companies actually look at the supply chain as a key competitive advantage and spend time and effort to regularly review and improve on the network.
Read MoreTraceability is about managing risk and providing evidence for every Apparel & Footwear supply chain, but does your company have a robust strategy in place?
Hear from four experts across supply chain, consumer, regulatory, and technology about what you need to know for your traceability strategy.
Read MoreWhen you’re building a brand, you’re determining what you sell and which vendors you can partner with based on financing or cash. You sell what you buy. But once you have a portfolio of products and a suite of factory and material partners, you’re going to face challenges to continue growing sustainably without proper planning fundamentals.
Read MoreTraceability is the ability to see a product’s journey from the finished product all the way back to the raw material, and all the processing and transportation in between. Transparency is what you choose to disclose to the public or to your stakeholders. Read more about the elements that should be a part of your traceability initiative and how Zefyr can help through our latest service offering.
Read MoreThe global COVID pandemic has stressed economies and supply chains in ways that haven’t been experienced in decades, if ever. The result has been difficult for many to understand and manage, as evidenced by the overwhelming inventory situations that the US and other nations continue to work through in early 2023.
Read MoreThe pandemic has continued to affect every part of the #supplychain in 2022 for Apparel and Footwear. As we close out the year and look forward to 2023, we’ve collected the insights from our Zefyr Consulting leadership team. We asked everyone for a key takeaway from 2022 and one key consideration for 2023.
Read MoreThree shifts in the footwear materials industry from the 2022 NW Materials Show.
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