New-York tribune., 1919-04-27
British Merchants
Show Interest in
American Goods
Hosiery, Embroidery and
Silk Fabrics Among The
Things Found Saleable in
the English Market

tache at the American Embassy at rnn
don recently made first hand ;nor;.-
to find out what the opportunit;s. -.
for American manufacturers to s.n
drygoods and other lines Of m.ro,.
disc in the United Kingdom. Th;. :"
vestigation, he explains, was promr,.,
by letter received from the mana...
of one of the largest drygoods es,ss
lishments in England, in which AZ.
writer said: N" 'ne
Il believe that conditions vera peysr
so favorable as now for American
manuiacturers to market finished msr
chandlSe IN Great Britain. From manr
samples that / have seen of msroha haay
disc of certain kinds, productive c"aa.
in America must now be approy;~,at; avss
very closely to those that obtain in ,hs
Unfed Kingdom. 1t looks as thnnml ,nt
these conditions we're going to cont;ass.u
Tor some time. They provide for NV
American manufacturer an. .opportun;.,,
such as he has never had befora "
sell drygoods in the United Kinsdc,,S ~ y
Mr. Kennedy, IN report to the Ds.
partment of Commerce, gives the e.,
lowing survey of conditions ss ~, y.
found them: u"
"An examination of the oficia, %.
tatlcs of Great Britain shows ths,
cotton manufactures of a total vs,"a ass
OF over $5i0o0,00 were imnorted S"s sV
ing l9tS, Of which the largest itsms
were piece goods, hosiery and emh,oi
derry. BY 1913 the total imnorts -
cotton goods had fallen to si50o0 oOS
one-thitd of which consisted of eot,0n
hosiery. British manufacturers Inv"
recently asked for import restriet,ors
on cotton hosiery hesause of the rrss' ,,ssS
stfidca that have been made in ,Ss
united States and Japan during tho
war. Although II will probably he I'M.
possible TO import articles Of this
character so long as the import re'
Strlctions remain, IL is evident tk,,
American manufacturers are able %
compete on fairly even terms in tbe
United Kingdom. and certainly in out
side markets.
silk Goods Wanted
Upon making direct inquiries OF
large purchasers of dry goods il VIVA
found that the British market wouls
be interested in buying American cot.
ton hosiery and cotton underwear u,
all descriptions, provided free impor.
tation of these lines were permitted
vi course, it must be consid .red tha,
cotton underwear is not used TO any
great extent in the United Kingdom
since woollen underwear is general,
worn the year round. There is. how.
ever. a tendency toward more pur.
chasing OF cotton underwear durne
the summer months, and there I'm
doubtedly will be growing market
mere Is also a certain market here
Tor cotton fabric gloves.
"A large drygoods house said thai
the big market for American goods /,
concerned with silk. silk and cotton,
ARTIFICIAL silk. and artificial silk and
cotton stockings. which goods arc not
in Great Britain TO ans
great extent. The chief source of sup.
ply before The war wne Germany. fM
demand Is said 10 be far greater taar
tho supply. Merchandise is scarce
and prices nre high. This game hous,
hnid that there was big demand in
6roht Britain for mems heavy cotton
pants and yeais, with a atocklnettc ~.
terror and neccy inside. II was sue
acsted That the quantity production
DicYailing in the United States would
cnhbl" American manufacturers TO sue.
ccssfully meet price competition in the.
United Kingdom.
Leather Glove Shortage
>. There is at present a shortag. Of
lIght and medium weight leather
gloves OF all kinds in the British mar
ket, and it is said that American man
uiacturcrs might find it of adyantag.
TO- investigate the possibilities Of e..
biishing some of their lines in th,v
market. Another line in which there
might be some business is washable
KID gloves, 80 largely used And made
IN America, which are almost unknown
IN the United Kingdom and which, it is
'Hought. would command a ready sale,
AS regards women's waists there
would be an opportunity only in lines
%hlch are made in large quantities.
we're 1t not for the import restrictions
IL Is probable that "A cons derable bust
ness could be done in waists of this
,haiacter. The same is true of women's
neckwear, which line is said to be much
better developed in the United States
than IN Great Britain. Novelties at
attractive prices would be welcome.
1T appears to be the opinion that
needlework. The traced work. which
is such feature in America, is almost
unknown IN Great Britain. The en-
oroldery outfit that is. piece Of CON-
menced work with sufficient silk or cot
ton to finish it's rarely seen in de-
pal>Sent stores here.
here appears to be divided opinion
on the possibility of selling American
in t-.tx 'ha
OF one of the largest department stores
in London said that he did not think
mat there would be much of a demand
fer millinery from the United States
because styles would be taken from
France, as formerly. He called IN his
buycr. however. who dis,
agreed with him, saying that she would
be very glad TO look al lines Of Amer
IAN hats and thought they would sell
There Is certain market N me
United Kingdom for Yankee notions
greeting cards and similar
articles could be sold to certain de-
gree.
"Gcncrally speaking it ia not easy 70
Introduce special American lines IN
The British market. Buyers for the ple
louscs are said TO have been rather
'keptical in the past. Tho inquiries on
which this report is based have nere'.
'arily been limited TO small NUMBER
IF the more important firms. The M
PRESTON gained has been that at pres,
mt department stores are interested. "
ooking at American merchandise wltn
he idea that the economic changes
brought about by the war may ha'r har
given America special opportunity.
Until import restrictions are re-
moved the consensus of opinion among
10Th English merchants and represen'
atives of American firms in Lonaon'
dr. Kennel states, is that no marke.
worth the name will be developer