Texcare organized by Messe Frankfurt will be held in Paris, France on November 25 to 27, 2023.

Texcare is held every four years and offers manufacturers of laundry and dry cleaning technology to meet with textile care companies. The focus is on innovations in the industry and on networking and exchanges with business partners.

The event will bring together all the professionals of the textile care industry: on the one hand the suppliers of machines, products, and services and on the other hand customers such as dry cleaners, laundries, textile rental and cleaning, textile services, on-demand services, hospitals, health and social institutions, hotels and restaurants, caretakers, communities etc.

During the three days of the exhibition, there will also be a program of conferences, round tables and workshops focusing on the latest news, innovations and challenges facing the profession. Technology suppliers use Texcare to launch their innovations, which they often develop just in time for the fair. The frequency of the fair therefore also goes hand in hand with the innovation cycle of the manufacturers. The appeal of Texcare for visitors and exhibitors alike lies in the bundling of innovations in one place, real machines and intensive exchanges with business partners. The product range extends from laundry and dry-cleaning technology, detergents and cleaning agents, linen and work wear to IT and logistics.

Retailers are continuing to deal with volatility after undergoing an immense amount of change in a condensed time frame. So says Deloitte.

Only a third of retail executives are very confident about maintaining or improving profit margins in 2023. Nearly all executives expect inflation to pressure profit margins. Sixty percent of respondents shared predictions for inflation to raise operating costs. And while it has become the norm to pass higher prices on to consumers, many questioned how long the trend will be able to continue, noting hard times for consumers.

Nearly all of the respondents anticipate consumption in 2023 to diminish because of rising financial concerns. At the same time, retail theft is expected to rise, posing a threat to retailers. This changing consumer will be a key challenge in 2023.

Two-thirds of executives expect price to be more important than brand or retailer loyalty and 90 percent say consumers will expect seamless shopping experiences across all channels. Since consumers expect the best price in the most convenient way possible, retailers have offered many services, including same-day delivery and curbside pickup, to guarantee an excellent customer journey — but meeting consumers wherever they have been costly. With this fulfillment acquisition costs have increased by more than 60 percent between 2013 and 2018.

Europe’s secondhand apparel market is growing at eight per cent a year.

Vintage and secondhand clothing play an important part in fashion sustainability. Although Russia and Eastern Europe are known for their secondhand stores and markets, buying secondhand garments was considered a sign of poverty in the Soviet Union. For the newer generations, things are shifting.

The secondhand market is in high demand; with pre-owned apparel accounting for 25 per cent of the normal secondhand customer’s wardrobe.

The fear of a recession may cause a reversal in the profitability trend, just as the cost-of-living problem may encourage individuals to transform their clothes into an additional source of revenue. In addition, significant progress has been made in privacy and product-authentication standards, making it simpler and safer for individuals to market their items online.

Secondhand fashion also caters to the demand for exclusivity among customers. It has numerous celebrity admirers, including Zendaya, who has frequently appeared on the red carpet wearing vintage clothing. Lorde and Rihanna, both singers, are admirers of the secondhand trend. All of these variables will continue to influence the industry during the forecast period.

Businesses that enter the resale market may assist to ease consumers’ concern about counterfeiting.

Pitti Uomo was held in Italy, January 10 to 13, 2023. This edition featured 789 exhibitors compared to nearly 1,200 in 2019, but the mood was still optimistic.

This men’s wear show remains the benchmark for trade shows thanks to its striving for excellence, the selection it offers to buyers, and the balance it strikes between established labels and new names. This is the only trade show that was held again as soon as the pandemic ended, first online, then physically.

Russian and Chinese visitors were still missing, but there was a strong buyer presence from Europe, Southeast Asia and the US. Italy remains one of Europe’s leading fashion countries.

Italian men’swear revenues in 2022 were up 20 per cent over 2021 and also higher than the revenue generated in 2019. Growth was fostered by average price increases, but also and primarily by exports, which recorded double-digit increases across the board, even if there remain issues with Russia and China.

Between January 2022 and September 2022, Italian ready-to-wear sales to the US jumped by 70 per cent, those to South Korea by 40 per cent, to France and Austria by 31 per cent, to Spain by 29 per cent and to Germany by 24 per cent.

Hanes Brands has been recognized with an A score by CDP across key areas of environmental impact.

Hanes Brands, known for transparency, best practices and coordinated action on climate change issues and water security, has 2030 goals to reduce water use by 25 per cent in its own operations and by 2025 to align wastewater with Zero Discharge with Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) wastewater standards.

The company’s brands, including Hanes, Champion and Bonds, stem from operations that are unique in the apparel industry. The company owns a significant majority of its manufacturing and supply chain operations, creating direct oversight of sustainability practices. Consumers around the world know its iconic brands for comfort, quality, and style, and they trust its responsible and sustainable supply chain.

This achievement is the result of the company’s worldwide associates who work tirelessly to achieve ambitious sustainability goals. The company has a longstanding commitment to leadership in sustainable business practices. CDP’s annual environmental disclosure and scoring process is widely recognized as the gold standard of corporate environmental transparency.

More than 18,000 companies were assessed over eleven categories including risk assessment and opportunities, targets and goals, governance, strategy and mitigation efforts, and response performance. The process measures overall progress toward environmental stewardship, comprehensive disclosure, awareness, management, and finally leadership level.

Fabric trade show Munich Fabric Start and denim trade show BlueZone will be held in Germany, January 24 to 26, 2023.

Munich Fabric Start will have 900 international exhibitors on a total area of around 42,500 square meters. Blue Zone will feature around 100 international brands. Visitors can expect a wide range of the latest trends, fabrics, accessories and denim highlights from around 900 international exhibitors, an exciting event program with top-class expert panels, keynotes and trend lectures as well as numerous networking opportunities. From digital colour apps, digital twins and virtual models to 3D simulation and virtual dressing rooms, the world of digital fashion will not only be discussed in numerous lectures but also brought to life. Experts will be looking at virtual fashion from a different angle and providing insights into the latest state of the art. A trend presentation will shed light on how viral TikTok trends are reshaping denim merchandising. Sustainability is a major theme of the event. Fashion Revolution will give an overview of where the world's biggest fashion brands and retailers stand in terms of transparency. There will be a critical discussion on whether the circular economy is really the solution for everything or just a placebo.

Bangladesh's apparel exports to the European Union during the first six months of the current fiscal year 2022-23 increased by 16 per cent compared to the same period of fiscal year 2021-22.

Apparel exports to Spain and France grew by 17 per cent and 33 per cent during the first six months of the current fiscal year. Exports to Germany grew by three per cent. Exports to the United States grew by one per cent. At the same time, exports to the United Kingdom and Canada grew by 11 per cent and 28 per cent respectively. On the other hand, Bangladesh’s exports to Poland declined by 18 per cent.

Apart from traditional markets, Bangladesh’s apparel exports to non-traditional markets grew by 32 percent in the same six month period. Among non-traditional markets, the country’s exports to Japan grew by 42 per cent. Bangladesh’s exports to India increased by 50 per cent.

In 2022 Bangladesh’s readymade garment exports grew by 27 per cent compared to 2021.

But Bangladesh garment manufacturers and exporters feel these statistics indicate a further possible decline in growth rate in the coming months amid the global fear of an economic recession aggravated by the Russia-Ukraine war.

LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault has reshuffled top management at his luxury goods empire, tightening his family’s grip with the appointment of his daughter Delphine to lead Christian Dior and naming a new boss for Louis Vuitton.

Pietro Beccari, who has been the head of Dior since 2018, is moving to replace long-time Louis Vuitton CEO Michael Burke. Antoine Arnault, Bernard Arnault's eldest son, was recently appointed to head the family holding company, replacing veteran executive Sidney Toledano.

Delphine and Antoine, 45, are children from their father's first marriage. Alexandre Arnault, 30, is an executive at Tiffany, while Frederic Arnault, 28, is CEO of another group brand, TAG Heuer. The youngest child, Jean Arnault, 24, heads marketing and product development for Louis Vuitton's watches division.

As part of the management changes, the company is also folding Tiffany into the watches and jewellery division, under management of Stephane Bianchi. Shares in LVMH, Europe's most valuable company, rose as much as two per cent to hit new highs.

Delphine Arnault, 47, has worked at Louis Vuitton for the past decade alongside Burke and previously spent a dozen years at Dior.Burke, who is Bernard Arnault's longest-serving lieutenant and has also been chairman of the jewelry arm Tiffany, will continue to work.

Cambodia’s exports of garments, footwear and travel (GFT) goods grew by around 15 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year.

The GFT sector is the largest export earner for the country, accounting for 56 percent of the total exports last year. Among GFT goods, exports of footwear grew by 24 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year, while non-knitted apparel articles went up by 21 percent, travel goods by 17 percent and knitted apparel articles by nine percent.

But Cambodian exporters don’t expect orders to revive until mid-2023 as retailers in Europe and the US have just too much stock from unsold goods of the previous seasons. Moreover, the Ukraine war and inflation have pushed global garment demand down.

The continued progress of the GFT sector was crucial for Cambodia during the Covid pandemic. The sector accounted for 11 percent of the economy and contributed around 50 percent of Cambodia’s real GDP growth in 2021. This indicated that the GFT sector had been functioning relatively well throughout the Covid pandemic while other sectors such as tourism suffered greater setbacks.

GFT exports have averaged over 70 percent of Cambodia’s total merchandise exports over the past decade and more.

A Taiwanese apparel manufacturer is setting up a factory in Bangladesh.

Makalot will invest around $17 million to set up a factory over 10,119 sqmts of space, where around 1,500 employment opportunities will be created. The company that produces sportswear, ready to wear garments, sleepwear, leisure clothing and outdoor garments will set up two more factories in Bangladesh if this current endeavour is successful.

The company has factories in China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam. Bangladesh is the sixth country where it is setting up a factory.

A number of Taiwanese companies are considering relocating their businesses from Vietnam. Their eyes are now on Bangladesh. Several companies in Taiwan are exploring the potential of investment in readymade garments and leather goods sectors and are planning to make big investments. Bangladesh has been able to create a healthy investment-friendly environment.

Currently, online services to investors are ensured by setting up a one stop service centre. Bangladesh is a populated country, so the workforce is available, which is a challenge for many other countries. Also readymade garment accessories are more affordable in Bangladesh compared to other countries. Other helpful factors are increased port facilities, developed communication systems and the availability of a young workforce.