Sourcing vs. Importing – Comparative Analysis Based on the Canadian Knitting Yarn Industry

This paper explores the problem of choice between importing or sourcing based on the examples from the knitting yarn industry. Despite not being the one of the biggest or one of the most robust markets in the developed world yarn market has very interesting qualities, which may be useful for researching the stated problem. It has a large number of brands and the large number of products available for sales and distribution. At the same time this market has very limited number of sources both natural and handmade, which can be used for yarn production. Based on the examples from yarn industry the paper draws conclusions on whether sourcing or importing of the product is a viable option. It discusses in depth various options available to the importers of the yarns and shows when and where one of the options is preferred over the others