Traditions

By Anne L. DeCicco cae cmp ecam
aldecicco@aol.com

I was raised in a Scottish Presbyterian family (don't be fooled by my last name!) where traditions were strong. My mother's family can trace its ancestors back to before their emigration to the United States largely through one tradition -- two family histories, one from each side of my mother's family; one printed, one handwritten. The handwritten family tree is, by tradition, held and updated by the eldest female in what would be my generation of the family.

Both family histories tell stories through the names, marriages, new babies, dates, and more. The printed history of the Mitchell side relates the wonderful story of how the youngest member of one of the larger family units to emigrate to the United States got left behind on the dock and the boat had to return for her! It is wonderful fun to revisit family names and see how first names reappear throughout the generations. The Robertson side can trace its history back to Robert the Bruce. My older children have actually stood on the ramparts of his castle, Urquhart Castle, on the edge of Loch Ness in Scotland.

Next week, two families come together with their respective traditions as our children get married. The ceremony, the types of gifts each family gives, the involvement of family members in the service, the emphasis of the family rather than outsiders in the celebration, and more, are each full of history and tradition, and it is fun to watch as this snapshot in our families' respective, yet now joined, lives is taken.

Family histories also tell the story of change. Traditions may continue from generation to generation, but the families themselves have changed over the years. The same can be said about this industry. The emphasis is on travel goods (traditionally known as "luggage"), but travel goods today is so much more. And, where and how travel goods are produced has really changed!

When I became a part of this industry, it was as the executive of an association that represented "luggage and leather goods manufacturers." Even then in 1996, the name Luggage and Leather Goods Manufacturers of America did not accurately reflect its membership. Although technically importers could not join LLGMA, about 60% of the members were actually doing some overseas production. The Association's long-standing tradition of domestic production being a criteria for membership disappeared as the times changed and soon both importers and the remaining American producers both enjoyed LLGMA membership. As you well know, times continued to change and now retailers have joined the domestic producers and importers at the table as equal members of the Travel Goods Association (TGA).

The orderly growth policy, initially put in place in 1984, generally called for quotas to be put in place when imports grew faster than domestic production. Given the nature of the Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA) which was the means by which the U.S. implemented quotas, LLGMA's policy proved too broad and unworkable. Some years later, a more detailed formula was adopted which called for quotas when, (A) total imports of textile travel goods grew faster than domestic production; and (B) imports from a specific country grew faster than the overall import growth. Because the policy did not apply to non-textile products, and because it was relatively easy to move production from one country to another, quotas proved ineffective in affecting the shift from primarily domestic to primarily offshore production.

The Association's "family history" continues to grow; for the old-timers and new members, there are many industry stories to add to the industry's lore. But the biggest story has been the move away from domestic production to overseas production and imports. Customers who claim that "Made in the USA" is important to their purchasing decisions, in fact, speak more honestly with their wallets: price is more important to most than where it was made. This industry's products are now almost entirely made off-shore, not in the United States. This industry, like almost all others, exists in a global marketplace and needs to change some of its traditions to compete.

One historical change that TGA had to recently make was to step away from its protectionist trade policies to a new Free Trade Agreement Policy. The members of both the International Trade Committee and the TGA Board of Directors felt that the new policy would better serve the industry-at-large, even at the risk of angering some members for this break from tradition.

I encourage you to read the article about TGA's new trade policies and think about the policies' implications for your business. Bottom line, the International Trade Committee and the TGA Board voted "yes" to these new policies because they believe that the new policies will best protect the old traditions of the industry -- delivering the highest quality product at the best price to the consumer.