A firm believer of innovation, US based American & Efird (A&E) develops and manufactures sewing threads and industrial yarns that have a global appeal. With a history going back to 120 years, A&E is among the few companies that still maintain production in the US with five units in the country, mostly dedicated to the non-apparel business like automotives, mattress, beddings, and other home product categories. In all, A&E has 31 manufacturing centres and 76 distribution points across 41 countries. On home ground at the recently held Texprocess Americas in Atlanta, Mark Hatton, Director Marketing and Sales Administration and Phil Freese, Director Global Retail Solutions shared with Team StitchWorld the strategy behind a successful global operation.
As a global leader in its core business A&E places firm belief on the old adage of “Think global and act local” and to ensure that this diverse, yet convergent approach to business is successful, the company empowers its country-wise management with ample decision making authority. “I think having local people to make the fundamental decisions to run their businesses smoothly is vital to a global operation,” says Freese. The logic is simple, if the infrastructure exists and the product manufactured is on global benchmarks, then those managing locally can get an edge by addressing the local demands directly and also arranging for material they may need, swiftly and smoothly.
The company wants to take the expertise that they have in the US to different countries. “We are trying to identify the needs of various regions, and merge our expertise with it accordingly. For example, there is a big growth in Bangladesh in footwear, and we want to participate in that market, and we also have products to service that market,” says Hatton.
Constantly looking to capture bigger market share in different countries/regions, Mark emphasizes on the significance of extensive brand promotion, especially in the South East Asian market which still holds extensive potential. “For A&E, the biggest challenge is to promote our brand. People should know why they should buy A&E and where can they buy it,” reason Mark.
On a consolidated basis, Asia accounts for around 60-75% of A&E and while Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh are already developed markets for the brand, countries like Vietnam and Cambodia are very much on company’s radar. The company has taken its journey ahead by acquiring Gütermann, Europe, highly regarded brand name. The management is very upbeat to expand strength in the industrial and consumer sewing thread markets, and better fulfil customer’s global requirements. Equally relevant is the increasing business coming from the automotive sector, along with other markets like interior, appliqué business and also leather goods.
Among the products on display, Aneflex is developed specially to deliver highly elastic seams, without compromising seam strength or sewing performance and Anesoft is designed specially to improve the softness of seams in multiple applications including activewear, yogawear, swimwear, intimate apparel, and other garments where seam softness is critical.
