Driven by the pandemic, consumers’ preference for comfortable loungewear is likely to sustain in future, reveals a research conducted by Naia™ from Eastman. As per a Textile World report, around 78 per cent women in the US and Europe opt for comfort as top priority when selecting loungewear. Around 74 per cent respondents said, they preferred to dress casually at home while 66 per cent said they are now choosing to dress more casually outside home.

Consumers are also looking for more comfortable fabrics and versatile loungewear, the report states. Around 61 per cent women said, they preferred investing in more casual clothing, with 44 per cent reducing the amount of formal clothing in their wardrobes. They also prefer more sustainable loungewear with new and different fibers and would like brands to offer more options.

The study also highlighted a gap in satisfaction amongst consumers who wanted better loungewear comfort, fit, quality, drape and durability. Eastman aims to fill this gap by collaborating with brands t and help them enhance the consumer shopping journey.

The 8th International Polyester Conference, Indian Polyester-2022 Hybrid Conference aims to promote the Indian Polyester, textile and PET industry to the international forum by bringing the major industries in the upstream sector of the polyester chains on the same platform. As per a Textile Value Chain report, the conference aims to promote healthy discussions and interactions amongst the end- to-end chain of the polyester industry to enhance the competiveness of the industry on the international arena. Organized by Elite Conferences on March 23 at Hotel ITC Maratha, Mumbai, the conference will be an exclusive forum for interaction among the polyester fraternity in India and their global counterparts.

It will provide an excellent opportunity for business networking and interaction amongst the industry players with talks from the key note speakers, knowledge sharing and some more constructive networking opportunities for participants. Hemant Sharma, Sector Head-Polyester, Reliance Industries will deliver the keynote address discussing the opportunities in the Indian Polyester industry.

The conference will also discuss and develop strategies to boost garment exports in India, the downstream development of the Indian polyester industry besides focusing on the emerging technical textiles developments through panel discussions amongst the consultants, industry leaders and technology providers.

Vietnam is likely to see a rise of new international fashion, lifestyle, accessories, and sportswear brands in 2022. The country will see expansion of multi-brand stores as they are popular with consumers due to the diverse range of goods and affordable prices they offer. Well-known brands, like Uniqlo and Con Cung continue to launch new stores in Vietnam despite two years filled with uncertainty and lockdowns. And as An Tu Thi Hong, Director, Commercial Leasing, Savills points out retailers plan to expand stores and reinforce the importance of physical stores in their business plans, says.

Rent in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) grew around 0.5 per cent to 13 per cent between 2019 and 2021. Landlords in HCMC did not continue supportive policies like direct discounts in the last quarter. As such, the average rent reached VND 1,150,000 month to month, a 2 per cent increase compared to the previous quarter, reveals Hong in Vietnam's Q4 2021 market report.

He further adds demand for properties in central business district or close to popular destinations will rise as they are reputable, desirable sites with a loyal customer base. Many Vietnam brands plan to launch once international flights reopen in 2022, This will drive retail leasing in the country adds Tran Pham Phuong Quyen, retail leasing manager of Savills HCMC.

Levi Strauss & Co’s revenues from the denim segment surged by 29 per cent to $5.8 billion in 2021, informs Chip Berg, CEO. As per a Sourcing Journal report, the San Francisco company overcame supply chain problems, steep logistics costs and labor shortages to beat its internal recovery projections last year. Levi’s adjusted gross margins improved 57.9 per cent during the year while Adjusted EBIT margins increased from $181million to $713 million.

With $737 million in operating cash flow generated during 2021, Levi’s continues to invest in technology and infrastructure. It also invested in the Los Angeles-based activewear brand Beyond Yoga. Doubling down on sustainable messaging, Levi’s launched an advertising campaign around the concept of “Buy Better, Wear longer,” and elevated its secondhand offering to attract consumers interest in planet-friendlier purchasing.

Levi’s digital channels generated 60 per cent more revenue than 2019 on stronger e-commerce investments and an uptick in online shopping. In 2021, online sales accounted for 22 per cent of total company revenues, compared with 14 per cent before Covid. Levi’s shoppers embraced omnihannel services merging digital touchpoints with store-based interactions. The company last year opened 92 smaller format stores with services like mobile checkout and curbside pickup.

The volume and value of Japan's textile and apparel imports increased month-on-month and year-on-year in January. As per a CCF Group report, Japan's textile imports increased 18.1 per cent to 336.79billion yen from the same period last year. Of this, imports from China increased by 19.9 per cent to 201.43billion yen from the same period last year.

Japan's main sales discount season spans the months of November and December. The Black Friday and Christmas are the two main discount events for the country. The Japanese celebrate New Year on January 1 which lasts for two weeks. After the peak consumption season in the fourth quarter, Japanese merchants often replenish their stocks in January. Hence, imports of textiles and apparels increase during the month compared with December. The growth of Japan's textile and apparel imports from China was greater than that of total imports during Janaury. The growth rate of imports value was higher than that of imports volume, reflecting the increase in unit prices and the impact of inflation.

China is the largest exporter of textile and apparel to Japan with an overwhelming share of 50 per cent-60 per cent.

India’s cotton textile exports are expected to cross $15 billion this financial year, says the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil). India exported cotton textile products -- made-ups including home textiles, fabrics and yarns – worth $13.95 billion between April 2021 and February 2022. This was above the $12.5 billion target set by the government. Export of cotton textile products to countries such as Egypt, the US, Bangladesh, Vietnam and China exceeded the target by 102 per cent in 11 months, says the Texprocil report.

Manoj Patodia, Chairman, Texprocil says several factors contributed to export growth: pent-up demand, ban on Xinjiang cotton, extension of the RoSCTL scheme for made-ups and garments for three years till March 31, 2024 and coverage of the entire value chain under the RODTEP scheme.

As the industry moved forward, it expected global demand to continue. Extension of the Interest Equalisation Scheme, signing of the Indo-UAE free trade pact and fast-tracking of such agreements with the UK and Australia would boost cotton textile exports, he pointed out.

However, there are supply-chain constraints and for the industry to remain competitive, the government should remove customs duty on raw cotton and include made-ups in the scheme for duty-free imports of specified items that was introduced in the Union Budget, he added.

In February 2022, Vietnamese cotton imports declined by 7.1 per cent month-on-month and 19.3 per cent year-on-year, and Vietnamese yarn imports dropped by 13.6 per cent month-on-month and 20.9 per cent year-on-year. Vietnamese textiles and apparel exports moved up by 13 per cent year-on-year but declined by 42.4 per cent month-on-month.

Vietnamese cotton imports in February reached 118,600 tonne, declining by 19.3 per cent over the same period last year and 17.1 per cent from the previous month. Brazil was the main source of Vietnam's cotton imports, with 36,602tonne of imports, accounting for 30.9 per cent of the total imports, followed by US and India, accounting for 23 per cent and 18.5 per cent, respectively.

Vietnam imported 80,600tonne of yarns during February, a 20.9 per cent year-on-year decline and 13.6 per cent month-on-month decline respectively. By country, its yarn imports in Feb were mostly originated from China, China Taiwan and Indonesia.

Vietnamese textiles and apparel exports in February reached $2.058billion, a 13 per cent year-on-year increase but a 42.4 per cent month-on-month decline.

Pakistan’s textile exports surged by 26 per cent to hit a record high of $12.6 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year 2021-22.

Data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) shows, in rupee terms, Pakistan’s textile exports witnessed an increase of 33 per cent to Rs2.15 trillion during the first eight months of fiscal year 2022.

During the first eight months of fiscal year 2022, knitwear exports increased by 34 per cent on a year-on-year basis to $3.3 billion followed by ready-made garments which were up 25 per cent to $2.5 billion and bedwear recording a growth of 20 per cent to $2.2 billion.

On a monthly basis, Pakistan textile exports grew by 8 per cent on a month-on-month basis in February. In addition, knitwear and ready-made garments exports grew by 7 per cent each to $414 million and $354 million, respectively.

Compared with last year, Pakistan textile exports surged byb36 per cent on a year-on-year and up 50 per cent on a year-on-year basis in rupee terms in February 2022, led by significant growth witnessed in value-added segments, largely in knitwear, up 42 per cent and ready-made up 49 per cent amidst volumetric growth.

Basic textile exports increased 35 per cent on a year-on-year basis to $369 million where major contribution comes from cotton cloth, up 56 per cent to $233 million.

Prashant Jhaveri has been appointed as the new CEO of Flipkart’s healthcare business Flipkart Health+, as the e-commerce company scales up numerous areas of its operations this year.

Earlier employed as the Chief Business Officer at Apollo Health and Lifestyle, Javeri has worked with numerous healthcare businesses. He has also worked as CEO of MediBuddy and was chief business officer at Medi Assist Group.

Jhaveri’s vast experience in the sector will be great asset in the journety to build Flipkart Health + as India’s premier tech-enabled healthcare platform, says Ajay Veer Yadav, Senior Vice President.

Flipkart launched Flipkart Health+ in November 2021. The Walmart-owned business has spent approximately between spent $400 million and $500 million on mergers and acquisitions in the past year and a half.

The new initiative will aim to provide Indian users access to quality and affordable healthcare. For this, it plans to start with e-pharmacy first, meaning Flipkart Health+ will let users purchase pharmaceuticals through its online portal and correspondingly deliver them to the consumers' homes.

Neela Hosne Ara, Chairman, Crony Group, has been named as the new director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

Rubana, chairperson of Mohammadi Group, on 15 February resigned as a BGMEA director following her appointment as vice-chancellor of the Asian University for Women.

Later on 1 March, the BGMEA board decided to fill the position with a female director and chose Neela who had secured the next highest number of votes among women candidates in the biennial election of the trade body for 2021-2023.

Traditionally, apparel exporters contest the BGMEA biennial election in two panels – Sammilita Parishad and Forum.

In the last election, Sammilita Parishad led by Faruque Hassan secured 24 posts of directors while the other panel, Forum, won 11 posts.