Primark’s owner Associated British Foods trade in Q4 exceeded expectations. In the latest four-week UK market data for sales in all channels, Primark achieved its highest-ever value and volume shares for this time of year.

Its cumulative sales since reopening to the year-end are expected to be £2 billion and Primark’s own adjusted operating profit on an IFRS16 basis for the year, before exceptional items, is now expected to be at least at the top end of the previously advised £300 million-£350 million range.

The company also said the average basket size was initially significantly higher, reflecting some pent-up demand. And while this outperformance has reduced in recent weeks, it remains higher than a year ago. Primark has managed to avoid an excessive level of markdowns too.

Sales in retail parks are higher than a year ago. Shopping centre and regional high street stores are broadly in line with last year. But large destination city centre stores, which are heavily reliant on tourism and commuters, have seen a significant decline in footfall. Its 16 largest destination city centre stores contributed 13 per cent of total sales pre-COVID and only 8 per cent of sales after reopening.

Meanwhile sales in Europe are expected to be 17 per cent lower on a like-for-like basis, reflecting increased public health restrictions, particularly in Spain and Portugal. Again, the city centre impact is key and excluding its 11 destination city centre stores, like-for-like sales are down 13 per cent. Sales in the US are expected to be 9 per cent lower on a like-for-like basis but are actually 2 per cent ahead excluding its Boston store.

In its latest report, Forum for the Future calls on the fashion world to collectively explore the huge untapped potential of manufacturers’ innovation capacity to speed up sector’s circular transformation. Titled ‘Making the leap to circular fashion’ the report prepared in collaboration with leading fashion manufacturers like Cobalt Fashion, Ramatex Group and Yee Chain International distinctly states, through their ability to make sourcing and supply chain decisions, mass apparel and footwear makers can shape the fashion sector up and down the supply chain.

The report explains how a collective circular future for fashion can be built. Brands and retailers across the globe have been urged to not only study points of interaction with supply chain partners that inhibit collaboration, but also engage these partners at the stages of problem scoping and ideation. According to the report, manufacturers too need to build capacity within their organization to engage with circularity. It advises manufacturers to move from ‘market taker’ approach to ‘market maker approach.

Similarly, research and innovation ecosystems need to take initiatives to bolster local networks while staying globally connected. Supporting stakeholders like investors and financiers need to create enabling condition. The report’s insights have been drawn from ‘Circular Leap Asia’ (CLA). Funded by Laudes Foundation, CLA is a program focused on empowering Asian fashion manufacturers to lead the adoption and scaling of circular solutions.

Production and orders of garment and apparel exporters in Gautam Budh Nagar, Noida have declined over 40 per cent. Also, many of their overseas clients have filed for bankruptcy, thereby putting at risk the payment of collective outstanding dues of over Rs 250 crore.

Lalit Thukral, Chairman-Northern Region, AEPC says, after COVID-19 outbreak, overseas buyers are bargaining with Indian exporters to either take shipments back or sell to them at half price. He said, loopholes in India’s export policy are being exploited as the government has not yet made any policy to safeguard exporters. Although the government had set up Export Credit and Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC), to mitigate the risk of non-payment to exporters, a majority of exporters remain uncovered by ECGC insurance.

At present, ECGC offers a package for banks at 0.07 per cent of the credit amount, for packing credit taken by an exporter. This can only protect the banks in case the exporter files for bankruptcy. It needs to design a similar policy for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to protect exporters in case of non-payments, said Thukral.

Apparel exporter Manoj Sahu urged the government to extend the ECGC coverage to pre-shipments as well. He also urged ECGC to increase its insurance cap to 90 per cent of total outstanding. A Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC, wrote to the secretaries of ministry of textiles and ministry of commerce, regarding non-realization of export proceeds due to buyers declaring bankruptcy and cancellation of export orders. According to him, this has led to a major concern, as exporters have already claimed for duty drawback and rebate of state and central taxes and levies (RoSCTL), for the shipped goods.

Fitch Solutions’ latest report says, Egypt is best-placed to grow apparel production in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as the country has the largest regional working-age population. The report says, Egypt is likely to make significant gains in mid-range apparel manufacturing due to its favorable demographics and relatively low labor costs. The country has implemented key reforms in recent years. These include adopting new investment and bankruptcy laws, liberalizing its currency, and adding momentum to growth prospects.

Egypt also has base labor costs that are comparable to its Asian competitors. Besides, the North African country is geographically close to Europe, and has preferential market access to the US and EU. This could outweigh the country’s relatively high labor taxes and social insurance costs. Infrastructure investment and structural reforms aimed to improve the operating environment further raise Egypt’s competitiveness, says the report. Egypt has high labor availability, medium apparel manufacturing expertise, many trade agreements, and a medium transport network.

That said, the Egyptian mid-range manufacturing sector is still relatively underdeveloped. Electrical and mechanical machinery, alongside vehicles, account for less than a tenth of the country’s total exports.

Bangladesh's merchandise export earnings increased by 4.32 per cent year-on-year to $2.96 billion in August following a rise in demand with reopening of retail stores in the EU and US. BGMEA attributed this hike to the release of goods in June and July, which were stuck in warehouses because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Garment shipments from Bangladesh began to rebound in July, when international retailers and brands started returning to the country with new work orders besides also accepting previously cancelled ones.

However, export receipts in August were 11.72 per cent lower than the monthly target of $3.36 billion, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau. Moreover, garment shipments decreased by 0.06 per cent year-on-year to $5.71 billion between July and August even though overall export earnings grew 2.17 per cent year-on-year to $6.87 billion at the same time. Of the total garment export, $3.11 billion came from knitwear and $2.59 billion from woven. During July-August period, knitwear exports surged by 6.64 per cent while woven fell by 7.06 per cent, according to the data.

Meanwhile, total export earnings in July grew by 0.59 per cent year-on-year to $3.91 billion, which was also 13.39 per cent higher than the monthly target of $3.44 billion.

The sector is expected to recover in line with the rise in export orders as Bangladesh is very strong in the production of medium and basic garment items

To compensate for a drop in export orders due to COVID-19, Vietnam’s local textile and garment businesses are striving to seize opportunities brought about by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), says the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association. Vietnam exported textiles and garments worth $19.2 billion during the first eight months of the year, registering a year-on-year decline of 11.6 per cent. The number of export orders in the HCM city dropped approximately 25 per cent in April, and over 30 per cent in May, with predictions of continued dip during the second half of the year, says the HCM City Association of Garment Textile Embroidery and Knitting.

The complicated nature of COVID-19 pandemic has exerted a range of negative impacts on the sector’s export markets, with global purchasing power in general plummeting, while a series of well-known fashion brands such as Brook Brother, New York & Co, and JCPenny have declared bankruptcy. Currently, local textile and apparel firms need to reach a total of $7 billion in export orders to achieve the export turnover target of last year, with the EVFTA offering the best opportunity for local firms to fulfill their goals.

To take full advantage of the trade pact, local businesses must take into consideration key factors such as prices, fast delivery, and tax incentives presented by the EVFTA in order to compete with strong rivals from Bangladesh and Turkey, says the association With regard to rapid delivery requirements, aside from improving logistic capacity, there should be improvements in simplifying administrative procedures and reducing the clearance time faced by export businesses.

Moreover, the domestic textile and garment sector must be proactive to use import materials from countries that have signed FTAs with the nation and the EU, therefore making use of preferential tariffs due to flexible rules of origin stated within the EVFTA.

The industry should also shift to supply high-tech garment and textile products, including protective clothing, sports, and medical equipment.

The European Commission has come up with an Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials. The plan aims to develop resilient value chains for EU industrial ecosystems; reduce dependency on primary critical raw materials through circular use of re-sources, sustainable products and innovation; strengthen domestic sourcing of raw materials in the EU; diversify sourcing from third countries and remove distortions to international trade, fully respecting the EU’s international obligations.

To achieve these objectives, the Commission outlines 10 concrete actions. First, it plans to establish a European Raw Materials Alliance to focus on the most pressing needs, increase EU resilience in the rare earth and magnet value chains. The Commission plans to collaborate with member states and regions to identify mining and processing projects that can be operational by 2025. Its special focus will be on coal-mining regions and other regions in transition, with special attention to expertise and skills relevant for mining, extraction and processing of raw materials.

The plans is to promote the use of earth-observation program Copernicus to improve resource exploration, operations and post-closure environmental management. It will also develop sustainable financing criteria for the mining and extractive sectors by the end of 2021. It will map the potential of secondary critical raw materials from EU stocks and wastes to identify viable recovery projects by 2022.

The Commission will develop strategic international partnerships to secure the supply of critical raw materials not found in Europe. Pilot partnerships with Canada, interested countries in Africa and the EU’s neighborhood will start as of 2021. In these and other factors of international cooperation, the Commission will promote sustainable and responsible mining practices and transparency.

Emporio Armani will hold its spring/summer 2021 show, dubbed “Building Dialogues,” digitally as a special video airing on September 24 on a dedicated mini site, Emporioarmani-buildingdialogues.com, on the brand’s social networks and on Italy’s Camera della Moda’s platform.

In the video, filmed at the company headquarters on, the Emporio Armani collection will be worn by models as well as young actors, singers, dancers and figures from industries connected to the brand’s community, but no additional details were provided at press time. The coed Giorgio Armani spring show, dubbed “Timeless Thoughts,” will be broadcast for the first time on television, airing on September 26, on prime time on Italy’s La7 channel, as well as on Armani.com, on the brand’s social networks and on the Italian Chamber of Fashion’s platform.

Milan Fashion Week, dedicated to both women’s and men’s collections, is slated to run Sept. 22 to 28, blending digital events with around 28 physical shows.

Apparel imports by the US fell by 32 percent to $6 billion in value terms in July compared to a year earlier, according to the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA). Companies imported 30.68 percent less apparel in the first seven months of the year–a period that began with the still-raging US China trade war, Chinese New Year factory closing and the global coronavirus pandemic–for a value of $33.88 billion compared to $48.87 billion for the same period in 2019, according to OTEXA.

The greatest impact has been on China, which posted a 49.34 percent year-to-date decline through July to retain its position as the top supplier with $7.35 billion worth of goods imported. In July, 50 percent less apparel, or $1.58 billion worth, was imported to the U.S. from China compared to a year earlier.

Apparel imports from Vietnam declined by 11.06 percent for the seven-month period to $6.94 billion and were down 11 percent in July compared to a year earlier to $1.29 billion. However, Vietnam did post a 2.9 percent volume increase to 393.29 million square meter equivalents (SME).

Bangladesh didn’t fare much better, with year-to-date imports down 18.54 percent to $2.91 billion and year-over-year shipments off 11 percent to $436.34 million.

Cambodia was the only country among the top 10 suppliers to register increases in year-to-date and year-over-year imports to the U.S. For the year through July, imports from Cambodia rose 6.13 percent to $1.54 billion and were up 19.2 percent in the month compared to a year earlier to $292.67 million.

Apparel imports from Ethiopia rose 24.1 percent to $20.4 million and shipments from Myanmar increased 9.8 percent to $29.89 million.

A new report released today by international environmental organization Stand.earth provides brands with an extensive guide to tackle climate pollution in the supply chain. The report, titled Fashion forward: A roadmap to fossil-free fashion, outlines the steps the industry must take to get a handle on its rapidly growing carbon footprint, through a combination of renewable energy, better materials, and greener shipping.

The report details the dramatic addition of new coal power plants that are being planned in Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, and Turkey — all major supply chain countries for the fashion industry — as well as the connection between the rapid increase in the use of polyester fabric and the explosion of fracking in the U.S.

For fashion brands looking to eliminate fossil fuels from the supply chain and get a handle on their rapidly growing climate pollution, the report gives several recommendations like eliminating coal and transition to a renewable-powered supply chain by 2030; forming partnerships with suppliers to embrace sharing capital costs; and advocating with suppliers to block new investment in coal and demand clean energy policies to green electric grids and transportation infrastructure.

Brands must commit to sourcing lower carbon and longer lasting materials, while also steadily phasing out fossil fuel-based plastic fabrics like polyester. They must reduce the climate impacts of how clothing is shipped around the world by supporting short-term solutions like slowing ships and eliminating dirty fuels, while also advocating for a long-term decarbonization strategy by the end of the decade.