As per a Textile Beacon report, India’s cotton yarn exports declined 7.5 per cent in volume to 87 million kg and 7 per cent in value to Rs 1,755 crore during the first eight months of 2020-21. Compared to exports during the same period of 2019-20, volume increased 8 per cent while value realization in rupee terms increased slightly, implying worsening of the rupee value against the dollar.

Shipment of cotton yarns to 70 countries in November increased 2 cents to $2.74 a kg, from previous month and 1 cent from a year ago. Export to China managed to remain just above November 2019 levels, while that to Bangladesh declined by 32 per cent. Exports to Peru and Vietnam almost doubled their imports of Indian cotton yarn while Portugal reduced them by 15 per cent. Shipment of spun yarns totaled 110 million kg worth Rs 2,160 crore in November.

Shipments declined 6 per cent than November 2019 in terms of volume and 7 per cent down in terms of their value in dollars. China once again was the largest importer in spun yarns with its import value increasing by 6 per cent, followed by Bangladesh. Together, these two markets accounted for about 41 per cent to total yarn shipment during the month.

VF Corporation has completed its previously announced acquisition of Supreme®, a privately-owned global streetwear brand, for an aggregate base purchase price of $2.1 billion subject to customary adjustments for cash, indebtedness, working capital and transaction expenses.

As a result of the transaction, Supreme® has become a wholly owned subsidiary of VF Corporation. The acquisition of the Supreme® brand accelerates VF’s consumer-minded, retail-centric, hyper-digital business model transformation and builds on a long-standing relationship between Supreme® and VF, with theSupreme® brand being a regular collaborator with VF’s Vans®, The North Face® and Timberland® brands. Supreme® is expected to be modestly accretive to VF’s revenue and adjusted earnings per share in fiscal 2021.

The Supreme® brand is expected to contribute at least $500 million of revenue and $0.20 of adjusted EPS in fiscal 2022.

As per OTEXA, PPE imports by the US surged by 311.60 per cent during January-October ’20 period in value terms.

Total PPE imports by the country valued $16.58 billion in January-October ’20 as against $ 4.03 billion in the same period of 2019, reports Apparel Resources.

The rise in PPE imports is attributed to ongoing pandemic, which has caused massive disruption not just in the country’s healthcare sector but also across industries.

Of total import values, nonwoven disposable apparels – designed for use in hospitals, clinics, labs or contaminated areas – contributed $3.88 billion under 6210105000, noting 484 per cent yearly growth.

The import value of nonwoven disposable apparels remains the highest standalone value amongst total 23 HS Codes under which USA imported PPE products this year.

The import of face masks, which clubs 5 HS Codes 6307909845, 6307909850, 6307909870, 6307909875, 6307909891, valued US $ 7.41 billion in the said period. OTEXA shows no data for corresponding period of 2019 for face mask imports.

As far as import of plastic/rubber gloves (a combination of 7 HS Codes – 3926201010, 3926201020, 4015110110, 4015110150, 4015190510, 4015190550, 4015191010) is concerned, it valued US $ 4.47 billion and upped by 70.61 per cent.

Home textiles company Welspun India’s Q2 FY 21 income grew 8.5 per cent to Rs 19,926 million as compared to RS 18,371 million in the same quarter previous fiscal. The company’s EBITDA remained stagnant at Rs 4,048 million. The company fully recovered from lockdown’s impact and plants worked at full capacities. In home products portfolio volume of bath linen and bed linen segments grew 13 per cent each YoY.

Predominantly a B2B textile home products’ supplier to global retailers, Welspun is also evolving into B2C home textile player with direct connection to end consumer. Besides, encouraging growth in its own global and domestic brands, the company expects its licensed brand and e-com businesses to cross $100 million, each, over the next 2 to 3 years of time.

The company is currently upgrading its systems, tools, processes, and up-skilling people while establishing 'digital as the new norm' in our organization, said BK Goenka, Chairman.

Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi and Etro are planning to stage live runway shows to showcase their new menswear collections next month during a mostly digital Milan Fashion Week. Many top brands have decided to showcase their combined menswear and women’s wear collections during the February shows normally dedicated to women’s wear. In all, 37 brands will participate in January, just five with live shows. K-way and Solid Homme will make their Milan runway debuts, rounding out the live participants.

Men's previews will be the third mixed digital-physical fashion week organized by the Italian National Fashion Chamber. The Milan Fashion Week in September 2020 was also a phygital affair. The hybrid live-virtual included videos like Moschino’s marionette fashion show, created with the help of Jim Henson Studios, and featured models wearing tiny Moschino creations.

Top fashion houses including Fendi, Dolce&Gabbana, Max Mara, Salvatore Ferragamo and Valentino kept a physical presence at the September show, despite the absence of editors and buyers from major markets like the United States and Asia.

Raja M Shanmugham, President, Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA) has requested Southern India Mills’ Association, Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association and Indian Texpreneurs Federation to advise their members to supply yarn without stoppage. As per a CAI report, TEA members have seen an increase in cotton yarn prices in the past two months. The reason for the increase is the spiralling cotton prices and considering this, TEA members have also been purchasing yarn despite incurring the loses in the already committed orders. The garment sector operates on a wafer thin margin and in such a crisis situation, stopping of yarn supply may leave the sector in quagmire, said Shanmugham.

The mills’ decision will also impact the garment exports and cause more job loses. Moreover, foreign buyers will cancel not just current but also future orders, he added. If foreign buyers leave our country, it would be difficult to bring them back at a time when we are in a disadvantageous position in the competitiveness front, thanks to absence of a level playing field, added Shanmugham. He therefore, urged mills to continue supplying yarn to the industry and help all sectors of the all the textile industry grow.

With Pakistan’s textile sector expanding production capacity to meet demand from foreign buyers, textile companies have received export orders for the next six months. As per Adil Bashir, Chairman, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Pakistan’s textile sector is currently in the mode of rapid expansion to cater with increased orders and demands. The sector accounts for more than 60 percent of total $6 billion export orders fetched from abroad during the five months of the current fiscal year, said the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

Textile companies are making capital investments to increase production of fabrics with demand from value-added sector on a strong recovery path compared to stagnation couple of months back due to economic shutdown. The growth was despite the global economic slowdown caused by the pandemic-related lockdown and waning consumer demand. However, the government’s decision to keep businesses open is leading to benefits of orders diverted from closed economies, while US-China rift is also diverting orders to Pakistan.

APTMA also appreciated the much-improved gas supply and pressures of gas and re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) to the export sector units in December. While the government decided to curtail gas quota for RLNG-based power plants to 240 million metric cubic feet per day (mmcfd) from 350 mmcfd, export-oriented and consumer sectors have been put on the priority list.

An affiliate of Sycamore Partners, Premium Apparel recently bought brands like Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lou & Grey, and Lane Bryant from the Ascena Retail Group and some of its subsidiaries. Each of these is are well-known brands with passionate associates and loyal customers. They have significant potential and can offer new and relevant experiences for customers, said Stefan Kaluzny, Managing Director, Sycamore Partners.

Premium Apparel plans to retain a substantial portion of retail stores, associates, and corporate operations affiliated with these brands. It will work with the brands’ associates to continue delivering great products and memorable experiences to their customers, while positioning each for long-term success.

Premium Apparel will acquire the brand assets for a purchase price of $540 million, on a cash-free and debt-free basis, subject to certain adjustments, and the assumption of certain liabilities. The transaction is expected to be completed by mid-December.

A Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC, believes, after the continuous fall in export for five months, the Indian apparel sector is on a path to V-shaped recovery. The sector witnessed a positive shift in September-October; exports rose 10.22 per cent in September this year to $1,190 million, from $1,079 million a year ago. Similarly, it rose by 6.3 per cent in October 2020 to $1,177 million from $1,107 million a year ago. The recovery from the huge fall of April this year to a 10 per cent rise in September corroborates the industry’s belief in the sector positive future growth, said Sakthivel.

COVID-19 led to a 20 per cent decline in national apparel exports while exports from Noida declined by 32 per cent. As per Lalit Thukral, President, Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC), apparel exports between January and November this year declined by Rs 8,000 crore from the corresponding period last year. There was severe impact on the order position of exporters, global apparel consumption, working capital, raw material and pending refunds. Apparel exports from Noida declined to Rs 17,000 crore between January and November this year, as compared to Rs 25,000 crore last year for the same span of time, he added.

Thukral further says overseas buyers and buying houses either canceled or postponed confirmed orders indefinitely right from the first day of lockdown in India. Though the situation improved to a large extent after the union textile minister’s appeal to do “commerce with compassion”, the fresh lockdown in the UK and other European countries once again worsened the situation for exporters, he added.

Expected to be legalized in 2021, the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), promises export opportunities to the European market for Vietnamese garment-textile and footwear enterprises. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s goods currently accounts for just 1 per cent of the UK's annual import turnover of nearly $700 billion. UKVFTA will offer Vietnamese enterprises more advantages to bring goods to the market, especially when the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will no longer be applicable to the UK after the Brexit.

The UKVFTA is expected to fuel the growth of Vietnam’s textile and garment industries by 6 and 14 per cent by 2030. It will create a firmer foundation for the garment-textile sector, says Vu Duc Giang, Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). The industry will be able to diversify raw material supplies via importing from Japan and the Republic of Korea for export to the UK and the EU with preferential tax rates, he elaborated, adding that it is a strength that many ASEAN member countries do not have.

Nguyen Khanh Ngoc, Deputy Head-European - American Market Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, said, UKVFTA will help Vietnam gain better competitiveness compared to competitors from China, India, and ASEAN. Tran Tuan Anh, Minister of Industry and Trade and Liz Truss, UK Secretary of State for International Trade signed the agreed minutes on the conclusion of negotiations over the UKVFTA on December 11. Ninety-nine per cent tariffs on goods traded between Vietnam and the UK will be cut at the end of the tariff elimination enabling Vietnam to save about £114 million on exports to the UK, while UK will save around £36 million.