Trade optimistic for next season

SANDY PARKER REPORT, VOL. 31, ISSUE 8, APR. 9, 2007
The following extract is reproduced with permission from Sandy Parker Reports, Weekly International Fur News. Sandy Parker has been covering the fur industry for more than four decades. For most of that time he has published a weekly newsletter, detailing results of international pelt auctions, wholesale price trends, business developments and movements in the trade, as well as economic and political activities that may impact on it.
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International Fur News
with Sandy Parker
Trade optimistic for next season
A LITTLE PAST THE MIDPOINT OF THIS YEAR’S AUCTIONS AND FUR FAIRS finds the international trade looking ahead optimistically to the 2007-2008 retail season despite the bumps in the road over the past few months. Notwithstanding the disappointments of the past retail season and opening wholesale orders, as well as the downward correction of mink prices, the forward prospects are considered bright primarily due to fur’s continued strong position in the overall fashion picture, which was reaffirmed by the latest couture and ready-to-wear presentations. As strong as fur’s fashion appeal may be, however, it wasn’t able to offset the effects of a mild winter, particularly in the key months of December and January.
But many in the trade are finding that the clouds have revealed a silver lining and that the road ahead now appears to be a little smoother. The sharp reduction in mink prices now is being viewed as a positive development that can reverse whatever shrinking effect on the consumer market may have been caused by the steep price increases in the past three years.
CANADA HAS LAUNCHED A COUNTER-OFFENSIVE ON TWO FRONTS against animal protectionist organizations in North America and Europe who seek to halt its annual seal hunt. An 11-member delegation of government and aboriginal officials met with officials of the European Union and members of the European Parliament on the first leg of a visit to various cities to convince critics of the hunt’s humaneness and the seal population’s sustainability and to ward off bans on the imports of seal products.
At the same time, in Ottawa, the Seals and Sealing Network staged two counter-demonstrations against protesters of the hunt. For the first time, Newfoundlanders, Inuit and Quebecois joined to celebrate their respect for seals, which are the basis for their livelihoods and the foundation of their heritage and culture.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Trade Optimistic for Next Season
Lower Price Structure Seen Boon
Late Sales Reduce Inventories
March Retail Termed Decent
Canada Counters Anti-Seal Drives
For extracts from back issues of Sandy Parker Reports see News Index. Subscribers can access an archive of complete issues at www.sandyparker.com.
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