Tommy hilfiger, the well known designer and marketer of casual fashion, recentlty sold its global sourcing group to li and fung , a buying agency for consumer goods with its headquaters in hong kong . at the time of the slae , tommy hilfinger sourced principally from hong kong , taiwan , india, bangladesh, sri lanka , tunisia , the united states and honduras. The transfer of tommy hifigers sourcing operations to li and fung was intended to capture significant synergies with the existing network of li and fung, which was well entrenched in china , specifically with 19 offices on the mainland alone . Additionally, the purchase by li and fung will strengthen its portfolio of sourcing business and ultimately provide leverage to work with other brands. this transaction should be viewed as a very significant decision by tommy hilfiger to opt for an outsourced solution to its strategic sourcing needs. in the words of the ceo of the tommy hilfinger group, our own operated buying offices have contributed tremendously to the development of our business to date , but we believe that to take things forward we can benefit tremendously from the integration of these offices within the grater network of li and fung ,with over 70 offices in over 40 countries and territories, including as many as 19 offices in china alone .

questions

1. What reasons do you think led tommy hilfiger to consider this unique approach to transfer its sourcing operations to li and fung ?

2. If you were a supply chain excutive at tommy hilfiger, What steps or approaches would you consider taking to make sure you did not lose lose control over the inbound logistics portion of your overall supply chain?

3. If you were an executive at li and fung , what future strategic business decisions and directions do you think would be appropriate to consider both for tommy hilfinger and for other clients?