Odlo says it plans to transfer an increasing share of its production capacities from Asia to Europe. Last year, the company produced more than 6 million items, more than 75 percent of them in Europe, the rest in Asia. Thomas Spiess, chief of Odlo's supply chain management, notes that sourcing in China has become increasingly difficult, not only due to the stronger expenses in personnel, but also because of the increasing domestic demand for apparel in China, which reduces the capacities originally designed for exports to Europe and elsewhere. As a consequence, foreign brands are struggling. Odlo intends to shift even a larger share of its production volume to Europe. The Swiss are currently busy enlarging their production capacities at their own factories in Portugal and Romania. In spite of higher costs in the Far East and the shifting of production to Europe, Odlo says that it will manage all that without a general increase in prices for retailers for the upcoming order season. In addition, Odlo is working on the enlargement of its international distribution center in Brüggen, Germany.
