Competitive strategies: the Brazilian textile and garment industries

Summary form only given. Due to the reduction in the values of the production, and the consequent reduction in profit margins, the textile and garment chain has been going through an industrial relocation process. The main reasons for this relocation are the fiscal incentives offered by other states (tax discounts) and the lower wages of those areas. The Sao Paulo state, a traditional driver of this chain has been losing its relative importance in the Brazilian scenario. This article presents the result of the diagnosis performed on the textile and garment chain, carried out between May and September 1997, showing ways for the textile and garment chain of the Sao Paulo state in the context of the current scenario. This work has been developed in two steps, i.e. (a) secondary data collection, and (b) exploratory study. Companies in this industry have been adopting different competitive strategies in order to face the scenario outlined in the last years. Two major competitive approaches have been detected; the first one is the modernization and core competencies strategies, and the second one the design approach.