The Seoul city government has signed a MoU with the official trade fair of Paris Fashion Week, Tranoi to help South Korean designers expand to the European fashion market. The MoU will focus nurturing of global fashion brands and developing the fashion industry. The two sides will support the European expansion of promising Korean fashion brands through various channels, including fashion shows.

During the last Tranoi trade fair, Seoul operated a special booth featuring Seoul Fashion Week, held earlier this month, the Paris Fashion Week witnessed participation by Korean designer brands. The MoU will boost Korean fashion industry's overseas expansion and lay out a basis for overseas exchanges and cooperation for Korean fashion designers, in Paris.

China's sportswear market is evolving with Chinese consumers starting to embrace domestic rival brands such as Anta and Li Ning. As per a Global Times report, in recent months, several domestic companies witnessed rapid market growth, while overseas brands' revenues stagnated. According to financial data published the US sportswear giant Nike, the company's revenues in China dropped by 5 per cent Y-o-Y to $2.16 billion.

The company said its business performance in the Greater China region this past quarter is in line with expectations, and that performance might get better in the next quarter. German sportswear brand Adidas also registered 24 per cent Y-o-Y decline in Q4 revenue ending December 31 in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and the island of Taiwan.

In contrast to the business bottleneck faced by the overseas brands, domestic sportswear companies are experiencing a boom. Chinese sports and fashion brand Li Ning saw profits in 2021 surge by 136 per cent to reach 4 billion yuan ($629 million), while its revenues increased by 56 per cent to hit 22.57 billion yuan in 2021. Revenues of another domestic sportswear brand Anta surged 52.5 per cent to reach 24 billion yuan in 2021, while gross profit in the region surged 78.1 per cent on a yearly basis.

Global luxury fashion group, Lanvin Group and Primavera Capital Acquisition Corp have entered into a definitive business combination agreement to list Lanvin Group on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "LANV". The collaboration will enable Lanvin Group to benefit from Primavera's extensive networks and insights in the consumer sector. It will strengthen the group’s balance sheet, to create long-term sustainable value across its portfolio and to catalyze growth with further acquisitions.

Joann Cheng, Chairman and CEO of Lanvin roup, says, through this collaboration, the group plans to accelerate the growth of its portfolio via both organic development and disciplined acquisitions. It aims to build a global portfolio of iconic luxury fashion brands that appeal to a broad customer base. The group will not only enable these brands to flourish in their home countries, but also in Asia and North America, the largest luxury markets in the world.

Max Chen, Chairman, CEO & CFO of PCAC, and Partner of Primavera, adds, the collaboration will focus on developing Lanvin Group's global platform and driving growth across its brand portfolio.

Bhilwara-based textile company Swaraj Suiting has launched a Rs 10.68 crore IPO to fund the expansion plans of its production facility at Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh and general corporate purposes. The company aims to expand operations in terms of backward and forward integration. It also aims to set up a denim fabrics plant at of 21.75 million cubic metre at Neemuch. The company shall purchase equipment for denim fabric processing, which shall enable the company to process approximately 15 million meters of denim fabric per annum.

The project is proposed to be situated at Jhanjarwada Industrial Area in Neemuch being developed by MP Industrial Development Corporation (MPIDC). Incorporated by Mohammed Sabir Khan in 2003, Swaraj Suiting has a weaving unit at Bhilwara (Rajasthan) and is engaged in manufacturing of cotton and synthetic fabric. It has a production capacity of around 1.50 million metres of fabric per month.

India’s cotton yarn exports surged 96.92 per cent Y-o-Y to $493.30 million in January 2022. Despite domestic outrages, India’s revenue from cotton yarn exports grew 79.64 per cent to d $4.69 billion in January 2022. Export revenues from Bangladesh and Turkey surged to $220.45 million and $32 million respectively.

Country wise cotton yarn exports to Bangladesh grew by a whopping 338.36 per cent in January ’22; exports to Turkey went up 1,503 per cent from $2 million a year ago. Exports to Portugal grew 324.86 per cent to $25.78 million during January ’22. Meanwhile India’s exports to China declined 59.24 per cent during the month to $23.65 million, as against $58 million in the same month of 2021.

H&M has added third party brands to its e-commerce sites in Germany and Sweden on a trial basis. As per a Retail Wire report, the third-party brands added by H&M on these sites include &Other Stories, Arket, Monki and Weekday. H&M is also listing non-related brands like Crocs, Fila, Lee and Wrangler on these sites. It currently has 13 women’s and 15 men’s labels on the German and Swedish sites.

H&M offers online shopping in 54 countries, and nearly one-third of the company’s total sales are conducted through its sites. Last year, the company reported a 2.8 per cent increase in gross margin to 52.8 percent for last year from 50.0 in 2020. The new addition puts H&M in the company of other large retailers Amazon, Target, Walmart that are doing the same. That list will soon include Macy’s which plans to launch its own curated marketplace in the second half of 2022.

As a part of the Jeans Redesign Project, Wrangler has launched its first denim collection made with 100 per cent organic cotton. The collection features a biodegradable patch, raw copper shanks and buttons without any chemical finishing, and stitched bar tacks to replace metal rivets, which make the garments easier to recycle. It aligns with the brand’s own target to source 100 per cent sustainably-grown cotton by 2025.

The Spring/Summer 2022, collection features the classic Greensboro fit in natural indigo for men. For women, it offers three jeans fits – the straight-leg Wild West and wide-leg Worldwide styles, both in a darker wash, and the Barrel fit in a mid-blue wash. A set of guidelines aiming to change the way jeans are designed and made, The Jeans Redesign Project was launched by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation n 2019. The project uses the principles of a circular economy to encourage the denim industry to create long-lasting, recyclable jeans.

Under its WeCare Wrangler platform, Wrangler has launched the Indigood initiative that aims to reduce water usage by more than 90 per cent during fabric production. Wrangler also aims to achieve 100 per cent renewable energy and preferred chemistry by 2025, and reduce water consumer to 50 per cent by 2030.

Kering has appointed GianfilippoTesta as CEO of Alexander McQueen, effective May, 2022. He will report to François-Henri Pinault.

He succeeds Emmanuel Gintzburger, who has decided to leave the Group to pursue new professional challenges outside Kering.

GianfilippoTesta is an Italian national with a long track record in the luxury industry in Europe and Asia. He started his career at TAG Heuer in 2002 and went on to hold a range of roles at LVMH, specifically atFendi in Italy, Japan and Hong Kong. He joined Kering in 2016 as Gucci President Greater China and since 2019, he has been President of EMEA and VP Global Retail at Gucci.

As CEO of Alexander McQueen, GianfilippoTesta’s mission will aim at accelerating the expansion of the British luxury House to tap its full potential. A global Luxury group, Kering manages the development of a series of renowned Houses in Fashion, Leather Goods and Jewelry: Gucci, Saint Laurent, BottegaVeneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo, Qeelin, as well as Kering Eyewear.

Orders from global brands Mango, Zara and H&M for garment makers n Tiruppur and Noida have declined by 25 per cent due to suspension of operations in Russia. Zara-owner Inditex has closed 502 shops in Russia besides stopping online sales a fortnight ago. H&M has also suspended operations in Russia, while Mango has also temporarily closed its 120 shops in Russia.

This has led to a 15 per cent decline in fresh orders, says Lalit Thukral, President, Noida Apparel Export Cluster. The apparel export cluster houses 3,000 units, with an annual turnover of nearly Rs 30,000 crore. Raja Shanmugam, President, Tirupur Exporters' Association adds, fresh orders from brands like Zara, Mango, H&M have dropped 25 per cent since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Shipments through the Black Sea have also come to a grinding halt and exporters are now sending garments by air. This has shot up air freight rates upto Rs 500 per kg from Rs 150 per kg.

Exporters are worried about Q1 of FY23 as they do not know how long the war will continue and how the world will react to it, adds Shanmugam. In current fiscal, Tirupur exporters expect to exports garments worth Rs 3,000 crore while they have set a target of Rs 40,000 crore in FY23.

The third quarter revenues of global sportswear giant Nike Inc surged to $11 billion as footfalls at the US firm’s stores returned to normal levels. As per Fashion Network, Nike’s net income during the quarter ending February 28 declined 4 per cent to $1.4 billion, while diluted earnings per share were $0.87. Quarterly revenues increased 5 per cent to $10.9 billion compared to previous year and up 8 per cent on a currency-neutral basis. Direct sales surged by 15 per cent to $4.6 billion on a reported basis and by 17 per cent on a currency-neutral basis.

The brand’s wholesale revenues declined 1 per cent on a reported basis while they increased by 1 per cent on a currency-neutral basis. The brand’s growth in EMEA and APLA was offset by declines in North America and Greater China. Nike’s digital sales increased by 22 percent on a currency-neutral basis, led by 33 per cent growth in North America, EMEA and APLA, offsetting declines in Greater China.

Revenues surged 8 per cent on a currency-neutral basis to $10.3 billion led by 13 per cent growth in EMEA. Revenues for Converse increased by 2 per cent to $567 million, led by strong performance in North America and Europe, partially offset by declines in Asia. The brand’s profits were hindered by expense incurred in creating demand, Its total expenses surged by 20 per cent to $854 million, Most of these were spent in brand campaigns and continued investments in digital marketing to support digital demand. Nike’s operating overhead expenses also increased 115 to $2.6 billion, primarily due to strategic technology investments and wage-related expenses.