Samenvatting

The in-depth assessment of the situation of the European textile and clothing sector is composed by six independent reports with a close focus on key aspects useful to understand the dynamics and the development of the textile and clothing industry, drivers of change – most notably the impact of the financial crisis – and identification of policy responses and best practices. This has been done in six specific tasks leading to the six reports:
Task 1 Survey on the situation of the EU textile and clothing sector
Task 2 Report on research and development
Task 3 Report on SME situation
Task 4 Report on restructuring
Task 5 Report on training and Education
Task 6 Report on innovation practices
The overall objective of the study in Task 3 is the “assessment of main difficulties faced by T/C SMEs in 5 regions of the EU and prospects to overcome these difficulties”.
- to assess the general problems that SMEs are pre-facing because of “all-encompassing” phenomena such as globalization and the financial/economic crisis (2008-2010). This part of the study shall highlight the general context that all SMEs have to cope wit
- to identify paradigmatic situations or cases (in terms of regions/clusters and SMEs) that, for their clarity, or special conditions, may highlight new developments and/or unprecedented business conditions for SMEs. This part will provide inputs for designing support initiatives targeting specific problems in order to understand how SMEs:
- see the competitive context
- overcome constraints
- reposition the firm by learning or (dis)investing
- are hampered in their change by institutional factors.