European fashion brand Mango plans to open to four new stores in Washington DC in 2024. 

These stores will be located in Tysons Corner Center, Pentagon City Mall, Westfield Montgomery in Bethesda, and at 950 F St., Washington, DC. Besides, the brand will also open another store in the King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania.  

Spread across 4,300 sq ft, the Tysons Corner Center store will sell the brand’s womenswear range.  All of these four stores will be based on the brand’s new concept called, ‘New Med’ that reflects a Mediterranean home with its soft shades and neutral hues combined with traditional, handcrafted, sustainable, and natural materials, such as ceramic, tuff, wood, marble, esparto grass and leather. 

Barcelona-based fast fashion brand Mango forayed into the US market in 2006. The brand has stores across New York, Florida, Georgia and California. As a part of its larger US expansion plan, it plans to set up more stores in Washington DC and Pennsylvania. 

Rakesh Mehra, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Textile industry (CITI), has urged the government to introduce financial support measures to elevate the stress on working capital in India’s spinning segment. Mehra also urged for prevention of job losses in the sector, sustaining market share, and achieving envisaged export targets.

India’s spinning segment has been hit by the prolonged Ukraine-Russia conflict, the recent Israel-Hamas war, an 11 per cent import duty on cotton and issues related to Quality Control Orders on man-made fibers. 

Capacity utilisation in the segment has dropped by almost 70 per cent, adds Mehra. 

The government should extend the one-year moratorium for repayment of the principal amount, and convert three-year loans under Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) into six-year term loans, he adds further.

Until now, the textile industry has received funds worth Rs 16,920 crore under the ECLGS. These constitute approximately 6 per cent of the total disbursement of Rs 2.82 lakh crore.

However, the 50 per cent decline in cotton yarn exports, has caused a severe crisis in the spinning segment with cotton textile exports dropping by 23 per cent and total textile and clothing products exports dropping by 18 per cent during FY2022-23, notes Mehra.

With a representation of over 272 companies, Pakistan is set to be fourth largest exhibiting country at Heimtextil Frankfurt 2024.

Around 58 Pakistani companies are slated to exhibit at the event under the auspices of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan. These companies will showcase an eclectic mix of products ranging from luxurious bed linens to kitchen textiles and towels. Some of the prominent Pakistani companies scheduled to attend the trade show include Sadaqat Ltd, Lucky Textile Mills, Alkaram Textile Mills, and Orients Textile Mills.

An ultimate destination for the industry’s demand for interior textiles, design and trends, Heimtextil Frankfurt serves as the launchpad for the forthcoming season. It also serves as a platform to provide valuable insights to attendees. In 2023, the exhibition was attended by a diverse mix of visitors, with exhibitors form Pakistan making a notable presence at the show. 

A company known to make people visible with ANSI safety workwear, Reflective Apparel has launched a new activewear range called Wildspark. 

Introducing a new standard in pedestrian safety, the Wildspark range is embedded with reflective patterns that highlight these garments on hit by a lightsource, such as headlights. The garment’s fabric has in-built reflectivity which maxiimises its visitors, enabling drivers to identify the wearer. 

As per Becky Keith, Vice President-Design and Strategic Accounts, Reflective Apparel,  running shirts made from WildSpark reflective fabrics eliminate the need for clunky reflective vests and uncomfortable safety armbands. This allows runners to streamline their workout clothes. Unlike traditional activewear, WildSpark reflective fabrics have all-over reflectivity printed on their entire surface. 

The hi-performance reflective running shirts are comfortable enough to wear for the entire day and also during nighttime. 

Founded in 1989, Reflective Apparel manufactures a complete line of ANSI 107-2020 reflective clothing and CSA compliant garments. The company is a leader in the manufacture of high visibility apparel. Through its Wildspark Reflective Running Shirts range, the company brings the idea of safety-first to performance comfort apparel. 

Supported by TexBrasil, around 16 Brazilian companies will attend the upcoming edition of Premiere Vision Paris scheduled to be held from February 06-08, 2024 in France. 

The brands to participate in the trade fair include Atelier Lucas Vilar, Brand Textil, Ecosimple, Estudio Rocha, Finileather Innovativ, Ludoco Estampas, Motecc, Nina Galle, Nomad Studio, Nova Kaeru, Oficina Caramelo, Savyon, Stampa Studio, Studio Icetain and Studio Paraizo..

The brand Oficina Caramelo will present a collection of drawings and prints in different techniques, with reference to plastic arts such as oil painting, cyanotypes and photographic prints, says Rosana, Owner. 

Held twice a year, Premiere Vision Paris serves the textile, designs, leather, yarn, accessories, smart creation and private label industries. In the February 2023 edition of the exhibition, Brazilian brands generated business worth $353,550 along with 401 new commercial contacts. 

The next edition of Yarn Expo Shenzhen is scheduled to be held from June 05-07, 2024 at Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center in the Shezhen city of the Futian District. 

Home to more than 2,500 apparel brands, Shenzen is the focal point of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) textile production hub.

The show will be held concurrently with three other textile trade fairs including Intertextile Shenzhen Apparel. It is expected to attract more than 22,000 visitors received at the fairs’ previous editions. 

The global yarn textile market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.1 per cent from 2023 – 2028, and reach 18.5 billion by 2028-end. The growth will be driven by factors such as growing populations and increasing urbanisation, and bodes well for both yarn-producing strongholds and exhibitors at the upcoming Yarn Expo Shenzhen.

Amy Yuan, Marketing Manager, Bettertex, says, “The expo will help leverage export business as the GBA has strong connections with both the domestic as well as international markets. In line with growing consumer demand, companies have been developing more functional and sustainable products, she adds.

Japan’s fast fashion brand Uniqlo recently set up a secondhand pop-up store in Tokyo. The10-day pop-up in the Harajuku district sells secondhand clothes at one-third of their original price.

Alongside Fast Retailing-owned Uniqlo, garment specialist 2nd Street has expanded to 800 stores across Japan.

Drive by the popular Japanese platform Mercri, online fashion sales in Japan have also grown by one third in value terms. 

According to the Ministry of the Environment, Japan reuses or recycles 34 per cent of discarded clothing. 

Japan’s secondhand segment represents less than 6 per cent of the $75 billion market, as per an analysis by Japan Consuming, a market research firm. 

One of the world’s renowned sports apparel brands, Puma has opened its latest 

store at the City Walk location, one of Dubai’s prime retail destinations.

Spread across 432.75 sq m, the store is Puma’s brand’s fourth retail venture in the UAE this year and will house some of the sports giant’s most sought-after product lines.

The City Walk store will also focus on the‘ Field of Play’ concept, the first of its kind globally for PUMA. It will feature clean, open lines throughout to showcase PUMA’s signature trends and technologies in footwear, apparel, and accessories across performance, lifestyle, team sport, motorsport, basketball and kids categories.

Taner Seyis, General Manager, Puma Middle East, comments, “This expansion is a part of the brand’s strategy to meet local consumers’ demands in prime areas of the city, following its plans to double PUMA’s retail footprint in the Emirates in 2024.”

Trương Văn Cẩm, Vice President, Việt Nam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), says, alongwith the international market, the Viet Nam textile and garment industry must also focus on the domestic market to help boost its capacity to about $7 billion next year. 

Van Cam adds, the textile and garment industry in Viet Nam is one of its key export industries and creates many jobs for workers. In 2022, the industry’s export turnover reached more than $44 billion

However, the industry faces several challenges in the domestic market, notes Cam. One of these is the rise in fake, counterfeit and smuggled goods in the market whose labels are changed to deceive consumers, he adds. 

According to the Le Viet Nga, Deputy Director-Domestic Market Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, domestically manufactured goods are also challenged by imported products being openly sold in the domestic market after the implementation of new-generation free trade agreements such as CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership), EVFTA (Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement).

The expansion of foreign retail chains, both directly and online, also adds to the woes of Vietnam’s domestic textile and garment industry. It enlarges the proportion of imported goods in the distribution systems, adds a representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Norlanka Manufacturing, a subsidiary of PDS Ltd is acquiring a 26 per cent stake in Nobleswear, a Sri Lanka-based specialised manufacturer of children’s wear products, offering finished product solutions to top global apparel brands. 

This move expands PDS’ manufacturing footprint in key locations, emphasising its commitment to innovation, collaboration, and excellence in the global fashion industry. It also strengthens the company’s foothold in the children’s wear segment besides expanding its comprehensive fashion solutions portfolio.

A trusted partner for top apparel brands, Nobleswear delivers innovative, sustainable, trendy and high-quality children’s wear products. The company’s topline more than doubled to Rs 38 crore in FY23, with a bottom line profit of 8 per cent. 

The partnership merges Norlanka’s manufacturing capabilities with PDS’ global network to deliver unparalleled value to customers and drive growth in the highly competitive fashion industry. It also aims to focus on the well-being of employees, local communities, and the environment.