India’s leather and footwear exports are expected to cross Rs 44,800 crore in 2022-23 as demand from the US and new markets such as Middle East, Africa and Latin America will increase, says Sanjay Leekha, Chairman, Council of Leather Exports (CLE). The recent FTA between India and UAE would also push India’s exports besides creating new employment opportunities in the sector, he adds. During the fiscal April-January, India’s leather and leather products exports rose 33 per cent to $3.6 billion. They are expected to cross $6 billion in 2022-23, adds Leekha.

The leather and leather goods industry is upbeat about the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as it has acquired a healthy orderbook. Leekha believes, the industry can achieve a total turnover of $30 billion in the next five years including an export turnover of $10 billion. It will also create employment for 15 lakh more people, he adds.

The industry is also urging the government to extend the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) to the sector. It has been granted the extension of the Indian Footwear and Leather Development Program with an approved financial outlay of Rs 1,700 crore.

Fashion brands across the United Kingdom are increasing prices of their Autumn/Winter collections by around 20 per cent, signaling the persistence of inflationary pressures in the country. As per a Business Matters report, prices of Diesel D-Luster jeans are expected to rise by 20 per cent from £110 to £130. Similarly, the price of a pair of Tommy Hilfiger’s “iconic” trainers is expected to rise from £85 to £100 for its autumn-winter collection.

Brands including Ralph Lauren and Coach also plan to raise footwear prices by 10-12 per cent. The retail price of a pair of Lacoste Powercourt trainers is expected to rise to £90 from £75. The prices are increasing due to unprecedented costs pressures on brands. Brands’ costs are rising due to an eightfold increase in shipping costs, a near doubling of cotton prices and increases to the minimum wage in China.

Imports have become expensive too as European clothing suppliers now have to pay duties to export clothes sourced from Asia to the UK. Last month the rising price of clothing and footwear led to inflation hitting a 30-year high of 5.5 per cent in January. The Bank of England expects inflation to peak at more than seven per cent in April, when household energy bills are due to shoot up by 54 per cent.

The Bangladesh Commerce Ministry has urged the National Board of Revenue to fix Tk3 as a uniform VAT rate on sales of 1 kg of yarn made from artificial and man-made fiber. Currently, the revenue board collects Tk3 in VAT on sales of 1kg cotton yarns and Tk6 for non-cotton yarns. Uniform VAT rate on all types of yarn will encourage local millers to produce more non-cotton yarns, say local textile millers. This will boost investment and employment in the sector, they add.

At present, local textile mills have to pay VAT on domestic sales of yarns. Earlier, the VAT on non-cotton yarns increased to Tk6 per kg. Md Khorshed Alam, Chairman, Little Star Spinning Mills, opines, the reduction in VAT on synthetic fibre-made yarns will help reduce prices of such fabrics in the local market.

Monsoor Ahmed, CEO, BTMA adds, garments made from synthetic yarns are mostly bought by consumers having limited income. Increasing demand is likely to encourage local entrepreneurs to set up factories for manufacturing non-cotton apparel items. A report by the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission states, Bangladesh needs to reduce dependence on cotton as fabrics made from artificial fibre-made yarns are cheaper, more fashionable, more varied and more durable than fabrics produced from any other yarns. It urges the government to reduce VAT on sale of yarns made from artificial and manmade fibres to Tk3 per kg,

The global readymade garments market is expected to grow at annual rate of 8.8 per cent to reach $1,268.3 billion by 2027, says a report by the Allied Market Research.

As per a Textile Focus report, China will the demand and production of readymade clothes during the projection period of 2021-2027. The value of e-commerce will increase by a significant CAGR from 2021 to 2027. The others category will grow at faster rate than the formal wear category during the projection period. The formal wear category is projected to grow at 9.1 per cent CAGR during period.

The market for woven garments market is expected to grow at a 9.1 per cent CAGR during then projected period. However, the growth will be surpassed by the nonwoven segment that will grow by 9.6 per cent. The adult category will grow by 9.1 per cent CAGR throughout the projection period while the youngsters segment will grow at 9.4 per cent CAGR during the projected period. The supermarket/hypermarket category is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.0 percent while e-commerce is predicted to increase at a faster rate.

The current D2C market in India is being driven by Gen Next enterpreneurs who are inspiring traditional conglomerates with their New Age approach. Tata and Reliance have already announced plans to launch super apps while the Aditya Birla Group has decided to increase focus on the D2C and e-commerce space.

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) recently announced plans to set up a new subsidiary for building a portfolio of New Age, digital brands (D2C) across fashion, beauty and allied lifestyle segments. To be known as the House of Brands, the initiative will help it align itself with evolving markets, says an Inc4 report. ABFRL will join startups such as Globalbees, Mensa Brands, Thrasio, Good Glamm Grup, GOAT Brand Labs to build a new brand portfolio, says Ashish Dikshit, Managing Director, ABFRL. 

New Age consumers in focus

Many of these brands may not be able to expand their operations in digital space. Yet, they can leverage ABFRL’s tradition, experience and network by acquiring a plethora of brands like the company. Most of these brands are launching products targeting a specific set of consumers. They aim to tap evolving group of New Age consumers by growing their digital operations over the next five to seven years. They also plan to help ABFRL grow its brand portfolio by investing in other selective brands, adds Dikhshit. 

The House of Brands business of  Aditya Birla Fashion subsidiary will initially include 8 to 10 brands acquired through own capital. These small companies will have the required potential to become large brands over the next 5-10 years.

E-commerce majors take to D2C

With an expected market size of $100 million by 2026, D2C brands are expected to be the biggest drivers of retail market. In 2021, these brands clinched around 174 deals to raise $1.81 billion capital. This not only resulted in the creation of thousands of new brands but also gave enablers and digital sellers new growth opportunities by launching new disruptive models such as ecommerce roll-ups, houses of brands, etc. 

The first D2C Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) brand was acquired by US-based Thrasio. The concept was later popularized by other models set up by Nykaa, GlobalBees, Mesa Brands, etc. In 2022, Mensa Brands acquired Florona, an aromatherapy D2C, Estalon, a Kolkata-based leather brand and TrustBasket, a gardening startup. Now, the D2C space is being coveted by even e-commerce majors like Flipkart which has launched the Flipkart Boost program for these brands. Last January, Amazon India also introduced the Amazon Global Selling Propel (AGSP) Accelerator with around 10 startups. 

Best products at affordable rates

Through its D2C foray, Aditya Birla Fashion aims to become not just a marketplace or a platform for brands but also facilitate brand-building and provide consumers with best products at affordable prices. An expert in building brands, it plans to focus on building distinguished brands for consumers, adds Dikshit. ABFRL also plans to scale up existing brands with the help of Rs 1,500 crore investments made by Flipkart last year. Other plans include tapping emerging high-growth categories such as innerwear, athleisure, casual wear and ethnic wear.

The brands recently acquired by ABRFL for its D2C foray have already raised investments worth millions form VCs. The company plans to use these funds for expansion over the next 12-18 months. It will raise external funds once it manages to scale up its D2C operations. 

As reiterated at the recent EU-Africa Business Summit, the textile industry is the second most globalized sector of the European economy. Supported by a dramatic increase in medical textiles imports in 2020, Europe’s textile imports touched new heights at €115 billion. The region imports 22 billion pieces of textile and garment products every year.

Growing demand for technical textiles

However, the region is also experiencing more completion from other importers. To deal with competitive pressures, Europe needs to step up investments in good quality and innovative products made in a sustainable manner. The region is expected to increasingly focus on products with good quality comfort and design. It is also expected to witness increased demand for technical textiles for more durability and improved performance.

To increase the region’s share in global textile industry, Euratex needs to strengthen relations with neighbouring North African countries and Turkey. This will provide more nearshoring opportunities. The industry can also benefit from the trade and investment opportunities offered by the African continent to create a stable and transparent environment.

Optimize relations with UK and Switzerland

Euratex also needs to optimize relations with the UK and Switzerland. This can be done by ratifying the Mercosur FTA and a mutual recognition of standards with the US and setting of global environmental and social rules. The industry also needs to sign new FTAs with India to obtain full and fair access to domestic market.

Explore Indian market

The Indian market can be explored in collaboration with European textile and apparel companies who need protection from unfair competition. For this, Euratex would need to survey the market more effectively. General Dirk Vantyghem, Director, Euratex believes, the industry would need to embrace a more global outlook. Aiming to achieve a favorable environment within the EU for making clothing and textile products, Euratex also collaborates with EU institutions and other European and international stakeholders to develop an ambitious industrial policy. Other areas of focus include research, innovation, skill development, free and fair trade and sustainable supply chains.

Vandewielenv and Savio India have finalized the merging process, creating a global network for their customers. The two companies will operate under the new name of Vandewiele-Savio India Private Limited.

Vanderweilebuilds carpet looms, velvet looms, jacquard machines and integrate innovative textile systems for flooring qualities, home linen, fashion fabrics and technical textiles. Sharing inspiration and expertise with its customers worldwide, the company shapes the textile industry of the future. Its Research and Development department and test-engineers are continuously developing new applications. The innovative breakthroughs of Vandewiele give a boost to the textile industry.

Over its 110+ years history, Savio acted as technological leader and most innovative player in attractive niches of the textile value chain. Savio leverages on the best value-for-money proposition in the industry. It has a consolidated presence in all relevant geographies with a local-for-local approach, allowing Savio to promptly address market demand and requirements. Savio is specialized in the textile machinery sector for the yarn finishing segment being the leading supplier of winding and twisting machines with manufacturing plants in Italy, China and India.

The merger of the Group activities has resulted in a wide range of synergies in the service, care solutions and developments, with benefits for the customers. Vandewiele-Savio India is ready to provide the region with high class textile machines with cost effectiveness and the best support.

Thailand’s garment exports increased by 28,8 million baht in the first 11 months of 2021, As per a Textile Focus report, the country sold 64.8 billion baht ($1.95 billion) in garments and 188.6 billion baht ($5.67 billion) in textiles during the time, according to the Thai Garment Manufacturers Association.

Thailand’s garment and textile exports were strongly impacted in 2020, according to the US Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service. Around 3,000 firms scrambled to sew face masks and PPE suits to survive. Renewing demand from other apparel-producing nations, on the other hand, allowed these factories to reopen at full capacity. India,

Vietnam, and Indonesia drove demand for textile items from the nation, with businesses in Europe and the United States also boosting their orders for products created from recycled fibers, organic cotton, and environmentally friendly materials. These companies are now short of up to 50,000 workers and rely on overtime labor, which might result in a return of migrant workers to Thailand in search of work now that the sector has recovered.

The Indian apparel industry believes, the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will boost apparel exports as well as employment generation.

NarendraGoenka, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) said that it will further strengthen India’s dominant position in the UAE. It will result in a 5 per cent drop in import duty on Indian apparels. This will further strengthen the dominant position of Indian apparels in the UAE,

The key factors that would determine the extent of benefit from CEPA are the import demand of specific RMG products in UAE, production strength/export capability of Indian companies in these products and acceptance of Indian products into UAE, he added.

India’s apparel exports to the UAE also cater to the apparel needs of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the UK. The UAE is a large retail market with players across the value chain including big western fashion chains, wholesale buyers from North Africa and the Middle East, he added further.

Milanese contemporary fashion event, White-Sign of The Times, will hold its 20th edition physically from February 24-27, 2022. As per a Spin Off report, the event will be held on 18,000 sq. mt. area at Superstudio Più and Ex Ansaldo in addition to two brand-new destinations: MUDEC and Padiglione Visconti, in the Tortona Fashion District. On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, the show will organize an exhibition dedicated to the salient moments in the history of the Salon. An integral part of the show, the project Sustainable Milano will focus on sustainability and technological innovation.

WSM-White Sustainable Milano will showcase the best of complex supply chain of sustainable fashion and the latest technological revolutions capable of reducing environmental impact of the entire sector in this long value chain. It will showcase artistic displays and multimedia content of British designers (including Stella McCartney, Ahluwalia, Anya Hindmarch, Burberry, Christopher Raeburn, Helen Kirkum) that have already participated in November at Cop26 in Glasgow.

The show will also host a project created together with 032c, a Berlin-based studio. They will present a creative expo-installation designed to express the spirit of our times and the evolution of costume through seven cutting-edge, established brands – Acne Studios, SR STUDIO LA. CA., Le Cavalier, Entire Studios, 44 Label Group, Kasia Kurchaska and Phipps International – presented in collaboration with Dimore Studio.

Also focusing on sustainability, there will also be Changing Room, the installation created by Michelangelo Pistoletto's B.E.S.T. Città dell'Arte with CRTLZAK. Ten new generation brands selected by the British Fashion Council, will participate in London Showroom for this edition, too. They belong to the London fashion community and they are Carlota Barrera, Chet Lo, Eftychia, Feben, Jordanluca, Labrum Londoin, Robyn Lynch, Roker, S.S. Daley, Yuhan Wang.