Peru as the next sourcing-hub of high quality alpaca knitwear to supply the European market

The aim of this research concentrates in determining whether if Peru could become the next global sourcing-hub for high qualitative alpaca knitwear. The alpaca yarn has been used historically in Peruvian textile tradition, from the Inca civilization up to modern times. Today, Andean communities along the Peruvian territory have inherited this craftsmanship and techniques through generations.

Nonetheless, it takes more than high-quality yarn and ancestral weaving techniques to structure a supply chain capable of fulfilling the demands of highly competitive fashion markets such as the ones established in Europe. In order to position a country as a sourcing-hub for high-qualitative knitwear, there is a series of aspects that need to be taked into account. Not only the country exporting organization and production capacity, but also the delivery times, high quality-standards and an overall understanding of markets in perfect competition.

This research contains interviews with professionals from the fashion luxury industry in Europe, an official representative of the Commercial Offices of Peru in France, European luxury consumers, and a focus group with European fashion consumers non-involved in the fashion industry. Additionally, a visit to Prèmiere Vision was held on September 2018, in order to scan the presence of Peruvian alpaca brands and their performance. The quantative data was collected through exportation charts of Peruvian alpaca brands provided by ADEX, the official Peruvian exportation Association, and reports on the advantages of using the alpaca fabric provided by Incalpaca, one of the key players regarding alpaca garments, alpaca yarn treatment and sourcing in Peru.