M&S’ yearly group revenue fell three per cent. Pre-tax profit dropped 9.9 per cent. Post-tax profit was up 28.2 per cent. Customer response was very strong with its new denim launch producing an initial 20 per cent sales uplift and sales of women’s jeggings up 30 per cent. M&S improved its clothing e-market share by 0.3 percentage points. But creating a new range architecture in a business with weak processes, a slow supply chain and where buyers are building their confidence proved challenging. Many popular lines sold out prematurely because of the failure to increase the depth of buy and the slowness of the stock flow. The range was too wide splintering its buying scale and making shops challenging to navigate.

Despite teething problems, the company expects to deliver a more marked reduction in options and range duplication, with a substantial improvement in size ratios, a further focus on style and fashion and additional investment in value. This will be reinforced by the update of the sub brand strategy, including the relaunch of the Per Una range. This new approach will also come along with a revamp of its stores for a more contemporary in-store environment. A renewal brand format and modernisation will be piloted in the year ahead.

The standalone revenue of Kitex Garments grew 12.38 per cent in 2018-19. PAT for the whole year grew 16.32 per cent. By 2025, the target is to attain a total revenue of Rs 2165 crores from Kitex Garments and Rs 1000 crores from Kitex Children’s Wear.

Kitex has been a leading supplier of infant wear to global brands and retail giants such as Walmart, Target, Amazon, Carter’s, Gerber, Oshkosh, Buy Buy Baby, Sam’s club etc. The company aims to increase its manufacturing capacity to 22 lakh pieces a day by 2025. Besides, a new fleet of baby products, socks, diapers, baby wet wipes, are being planned to be manufactured at the Kitex factory at Kochi, eyeing the global market. Established in 1992, Kitex is the world’s third largest manufacturer of children’s apparel. It manufactures clothing for infants up to 24 months, primarily targeting the US market. Six lakh pieces of infant apparel are manufactured at Kitex a day. Almost 90 per cent of the export is to the US and the rest to European countries. Having an integrated and traceable value chain which meets global standards at various stages of the product supply chain is the key differentiator at Kitex.

Africa is the new frontier for luxury fashion. There has been a marked improvement in economic growth in Africa since the turn of the century, driven forward by an improvement in the business environment and investment climate. As a result, a number of industries have thrived, one of them being the fashion sector, in particular, the luxury end.

African luxury brands are catching the eye of international consumers. Maxhosa by Laduma is making waves with luxury knitwear. African creators, designers, entrepreneurs and innovators are beginning to take advantage of the new access to international markets whether through e-commerce or social shopping or international travel. They are beginning to gain a footprint in the international market. A Luxury Connect Africa conference pulled together some of the biggest names in the African fashion industry and luxury sector. The event featured panel discussions, a meticulously curated three-day B2B trade exhibition and a tasteful mixer of industry stakeholders. Eight of Africa’s most prestigious brands exhibited their products and shared their extraordinary journeys, across the range of African luxury.

But this is just the beginning. Though African luxury is on the move, brands lack the fundamental business acumen and the necessary mentorship and leadership to position themselves properly.

A delegation of business executives representing 30 Indian companies led by the chairman of the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council met their Vietnamese counterparts at the Buyer-Seller meet held in HCM City recently. The event, aimed to promote silk exports from India, will enhancing connection between businesses of the two sides in the sector.

Visitors included companies producing silk, fabrics, ready-made garments, silk scarves, stoles, shawls evening wear etc. Though trade relations between Việt Nam and India in the garment and textile sector have increased significantly, they are still modest compared to the potential of the two countries. Vietnamese garment and textile companies aim to establish stronger co-operation with Indian counterparts.

Within just 24 hours of its online booking opening, India ITME 2020 received tremendous response with over 15,000 sq meters of its area already booked & 100 percent payments received from participants. The 11th edition of the ITME Series shall be spread across 235,000 sq m area with over 1,800 companies participating and over 150,000 visitors expected. The exhibition will be held from December 10-15, 2020 at IEML, Greater Noida.

Industry stalwarts such as LMW, LCC, Alidhra, Kirloskar Toyota, Voltas, Toyota Industries, Picanol, Talleres Ratera, Balkan Tekstil Makina along with many Domestic & International exhibitors from Italy, Turkey, China, Japan, Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Taiwan, South Korea have already ensured their presence in this mega textile technology and engineering exhibition.

CGS will acquire the business of Visual Next. The acquisition will further the complementary strengths of Visual Next and CGS. They are teaming up to deliver complete solutions that manage all channels of apparel, fashion and consumer lifestyle businesses. The comprehensive digital supply chain management capabilities of CGS’ Blue Cherry Enterprise Suite combined with Visual Next will deliver the end-to-end, concept-to-consumer solutions companies in these industries need to remain competitive. The fashion community will benefit from enhanced PLM, Integrated Finance and Integrated POS offerings that allow them to better manage the entire product lifecycle and deliver enhanced customer experiences. The combined organization will expand the geographical market, while also benefitting customers with improved customer support and increased investment in the product platform.

CGS is a provider of business applications for the apparel and retail industries. Based in the US, CGS has offices across North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Blue Cherry is a unified platform that provides supply chain visibility with the latest digital technologies. Visual Next is a provider of end-to-end software for apparel, footwear, uniform and fashion accessory companies. The company empowers customers worldwide with the tools to reach their next milestones and achieve sustainable growth by removing the element of uncertainty in a shifting market.

Denim Premiere Vision will be held in Italy from May 28 to 29, 2019. This international denim show will disclose hottest fashion directions and newest eco-responsible innovations from global denim players for fall/winter 2020-21. The aim is to create a business opportunity where exhibitors can sell and increase their revenues. The event will host 93 exhibitors from 16 countries. It will also host a series of events, talks, seminars and workshops focused on upcoming seasonal trends, eco-responsibility and key aspects of digital innovation. Premiere Vision Marketplace is the show’s own e-commerce platform. It will offer insiders the opportunity to check new seasonal trends, see collections and purchase fabrics even if the physical show has closed. As part of the fashion trend area, a new immersive forum will be exclusively dedicated to eco-responsible denims and fabrics.

A vast program of seminars will characterise the two days of the show. The first one, as usual, will present seminars on trend information. The second day will host conferences dedicated to responsible denim. Alessio Berto, founder of the Tailor Pattern Support consultancy studio, will disclose his secrets for creating a perfect pair of jeans. Other workshops will focus on eco-friendly dyeing sessions.

The turnover of Italian fashion industry rose 2.8 per cent in 2018. Including textiles, leather and shoes, sales were up 2.3 per cent year on year. Exports continue to gain in importance for the sector. Exports accounted for over 75 per cent of sales. Apparel is the most important segment, accounting for 40.5 per cent of total revenues, followed by leather wear (20.9 per cent) and eyewear (16.2 per cent). The fastest growing segment is jewelry, with an annual average growth rate of 13.3 per cent. Italy’s fashion industry has grown by three per cent on an average every year in the last decade. Its annual revenues account for around four per cent of Italy’s gross domestic output. But the fashion industry’s revenues increased by just 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2019, held back by trade tensions between the United States and China.

Fifteen out of the 43 European fashion giants are Italian. Luxottica and Prada stand out in particular, ranking seventh and fourteenth respectively in European rankings by total sales. The distance between the top 15 and the rest of the pack is narrowing, leading to a roughly equal distribution between leaders and followers in terms of net profits.

Over 280 exhibitors are showcasing their textile technologies at the 20th ZheJiang International Trade Fair For Textile and Garment Industry (ZhejiangTex 2019) being held at Yiwu International Expo Centre, Zhejiang, China.

The show, under the theme of “Smart Textile and Garment Technology - Smart Life Style”, is showcasing innovative textile machinery and top-notch manufacturing technologies. There are three thematic zones featured in ZhejiangTex 2019 this year: knitting and hosiery machinery, sewing and automatic garment machinery and digital printing technology & application.

This year Chemtax will introduce its green zero emission system in ZhejiangTex 2019. Chemtax provides a range of manufacturing solutions for producing green textile with the themes such as zero release, ERP + intelligent production and anhydrous textile dyeing.

Walmart Inc, Target Corp and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc will face a lawsuit for selling linen falsely labeled “100 per cent Egyptian Cotton” or “100 per cent Long-Staple Egyptian cotton” despite being suspicious of their origin. A recent decision by US District Judge Vincent Briccetti in White Plains, New York, addressed claims that consumers nationwide overpaid for mislabeled cotton produced by an Indian textile company, Welspun India.

In a 39-page decision, Briccetti said consumers may pursue breach of warranty and negligent misrepresentation claims against the retailers and a U.S. unit of Welspun, and fraud claims against the Welspun unit. He dismissed fraud claims against the retailers because there was no “strong inference of fraudulent intent.”

According to the complaint, the retailers sold Welspun’s “Egyptian” cotton well into 2016 even though Target and Bed Bath & Beyond had known for several months, and Walmart had known as early as 2008, that the cotton was mislabeled. The cotton was sold under the Fieldcrest, Royal Velvet, Better Homes and Gardens, Canopy, Crowning Touch and Perfect Touch brands