• 50 percent of U.S.-based importers have moved some of their manufacturing outside of China
• 34.2 percent are considering moving some manufacturing outside of China in 2012
• Countries where manufacturing is moving to include: Vietnam (33.3 percent); the U.S. (27.8 percent), Pakistan (22.2 percent) and Bangladesh (16.7 percent)

 Click here to read the full results from CBC’s survey and click here to read Women’s Wear Daily’s take on the results. If you have any questions please reach out to me directly or to a CBC account manager.

 Thank you,

 atananbaum@capitalbusinesscredit.com

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With the release of February retail numbers that were the strongest they’ve been in months, it appears the retail industry can look forward to some much needed growth.

For the first time since Capital Business Credit launched its quarterly client survey in early 2011, manufacturers and importers of retail merchandise indicated a level of optimism for the 2012 Spring and Summer retail seasons.

Some key highlights from the survey include:

• 43.2 % of respondents say that the 2012 spring season will be stronger than 2011
• 40 % believe that the 2012 summer season will surpass last year’s sales
• 40 % of respondents indicated that retailers ordered more merchandise for the spring season compared to last year
• An overwhelming 78.3 % cited that they are receiving re-orders for spring merchandise

Click here to read the full results from CBC’s Global Retail Manufacturers and Importers Survey.

Retail numbers for the month of January were released yesterday. Here is an excerpt from an article I wrote for Apparel Magazine discussing the numbers.

While retail sales rose less than expected in January, up only 0.4 percent (including auto sales), I have moved from “cautiously optimistic” to “conditionally optimistic” with respect to retail sales in 2012. As long as consumer confidence continues to rise and unemployment continues to decline, 2012 will see healthier gains than the prior two years.

It’s important to remember when looking at January sales numbers that this is the month where retailers typically clean up and clean out leftover holiday inventory and begin preparations for Spring. January numbers may not be indicative of the growth the industry will experience during 2012, as retailers are still dealing with the excess baggage from the less than stellar holiday season.

Read more at: http://apparel.edgl.com/news/Is-It-Time-for-Retailers-to-Throw-Caution-to-the-Wind-78645.aspx?googleid=78645

]]> http://capitalbusinesscredit.com/blog/is-it-time-for-retailers-to-throw-caution-to-the-wind/feed/ 0 http://capitalbusinesscredit.com/blog/gloria-lance-credit-line/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gloria-lance-credit-line http://capitalbusinesscredit.com/blog/gloria-lance-credit-line/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:13:22 +0000 Capital Business Credit http://capitalbusinesscredit.com/?p=1892 Gloria Lance, Inc. is a California-based women’s clothing manufacturer, whose clothing is sold in retail outlets throughout the United States. In business for almost 30 years, Gloria Lance has operated in both good and bad markets.  For many years, the … Continue reading →]]>

Gloria Lance, Inc. is a California-based women’s clothing manufacturer, whose clothing is sold in retail outlets throughout the United States.

In business for almost 30 years, Gloria Lance has operated in both good and bad markets.  For many years, the company relied on a large factor to provide them working capital, but when the company hit a few bumps in the road due to the lagging economy, their long term partner decided that Gloria Lance was no longer worth the risk.

“When our long-time factor severed ties with the Company, we knew it was time to find a company who would truly take the time to understand our business, get to know our management team and look at Gloria Lance as more than just numbers on a spreadsheet,” said, Michael Kazden, Chief Financial Officer of Gloria Lance.

In April 2011, Gloria Lance sought assistance from Capital Business Credit (CBC). Very quickly, CBC recognized the company’s potential and provided them a $4 million revolving credit line. With the CBC credit facility, not only is the Company operating at a profit, but its growth trajectory shows signs that it may nearly double annual revenues over the next few years.

Recently, I attended the Commercial Finance Association’s (CFA) Asset Based Capital Conference and Turnaround Management Association’s (TMA) Distressed Investing Conference in Las Vegas.

Overall the collective mood continued to be cautious at the events. Here is my take on both events:

CFA Asset Based Capital Conference

2011 was a good year for asset-based lenders who work with large cap companies, as many sought to refinance using ABL facilities. Many think that ABL volume would not be as strong in the New Year, as most of the companies who were going to refinance did so in 2011. However, I believe asset-based loans will see some action in 2012 from private equity firms who are going to get off the sidelines and start to make acquisitions. It’s my opinion that ABL will play a significant role in these types of deals.

There wasn’t a large amount of action in the mid-to-small cap space with respect to ABL in 2011. This wasn’t necessarily because the need didn’t exist, rather, there were not enough lenders to take on these types of deals. Federal regulators are still pressuring big banks to remove this type of debt from their balance sheets. In turn, banks are reticent to lend to small businesses. I don’t see this changing anytime soon which presents huge opportunities for non-bank lenders like CBC.

TMA Distressed Investing Conference

It appeared to me that there was a lot of ‘wishful thinking’ taking place at TMA conference. Many expect an uptick in business as large banks start to deleverage, severing ties with small, struggling companies that have relied on them. Many are under the impression that these small companies will want to sell themselves in 2012, however, I believe that these companies will try to hold on for another year or two and try to increase their valuations so when they do sell, they aren’t taking such a large hit. These businesses are gong to try to invest and grow until their business and the markets are in a more healthy position. While this might not be a great thing for distressed equity investors, there are opportunities for asset-based lenders.

Prior to joining CBC, Teresa was the Vice President of developing new businesses as well as Account Executive responsible for monitoring client portfolios at various factors and a bank.  She also has experiences as an operations manager for an importing company and domestic distribution.

Teresa is a member of Asian Business Association.  She is also active in her community as she serves as a Board of Director for the Cerritos Chinese School.  Teresa holds a Master of Business Administration from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and a BS in Operations Management.

Dan has 25 years experience in commercial finance & factoring with large US Banks; First Union, Bank of Boston, SunTrust Bank.

Dan is a graduate of the Univ. of Richmond ( A.H. Robbins School of Business)