Sports apparel has gained a lot of traction in Bangladesh with increased health awareness and fitness activities among consumers. Growing demand for trendy and fashionable sports apparel both among adults and kids is expected to drive future growth of the sportswear market in Bangladesh. Leading sportswear brands in the country are developing suitable and comfortable products like jersey, trouser, sneakers, sweatshirts, jacket, coat, hoodie, jogger, shorts, sports bra, leggings, etc. Shoppers’ demand for eco-friendly options is driving Nike, Adidas to use recycled leather, plastic, and plant-derived materials in making sportswear items. Bangladesh also outsources sports attire. The country has been selling good quality sports apparels at cheap rates to global buyers for the last 30 years.

Grabbing a slice of the pie

Besides jersey, Bangladesh supplies several types of high-end functional sports and activewear for different renowned football, cricket, badminton, golf clubs in the USA, EU and other countries. As per BGMEA, the country exported about $100 million worth of goods for the 2018 World Cup football. Recently, Mondol Group exported 20,000 pieces of jerseys for a Hummel buyer. The group is currently negotiating for 1.5 lakh sports item order worth at $1 million for Tottenham supporters, said Mahadi Hasan, Assistant Merchandise Manager, Alim Knit BD (Mondol Group).

Similarly, the Envoy Group has invested Tk 500 crore in Gazipur on 50 bighas of land to produce specialized garment items, including sportswear, wind jackets, swimwear. DBL Group, Youngone Group, Viyellatex Group, Epyllion Group, Windy Group, AJI Group, Mondol Group and hundreds of millers in the country are vying to grab a share in the country’s sportswear market. In 2019, leading German sportswear brand Puma entered Bangladesh in collaboration with the DBL Group. Sportswear brand Decathlon has also set up an outlet in Dhaka. To increase incomes of local citizens, Bangladesh industry experts are encouraging more foreign brands to open outlets in the country

Addressing the shortcomings

Advanced technology and relevant technical skills make Bangladesh a leading sportswear market. However, the country needs to improve its product innovation and design. Also, it has huge textile mills for manufacturing different types of woven and knit fabrics. However, they lag due to insufficient synthetic thread supply. As BTMA reveals, Bangladesh has 425 spinning mills but only 5-6 of its spinners can produce synthetic yarn. Hence, the country is forced to import synthetic yarns and fabrics, especially from China.

To reduce import-dependence, Bangladesh needs to set up more manmade yarns and fabric mills by using existing set up of the latest machines and manpower with proper training. Even though Bangladesh is the second-largest garment exporter, it has little presence in global sportswear market. On the other hand, China and Vietnam continue to dominate the market. The Bangladesh government needs to take up a project to build a specialized sportswear making zone in the country.

The UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT) has been asked to represent the industry on the new trade advisory group (TAG) to the Department for International Trade (DIT) for British Manufacturing and Consumer Goods. UKFT will provide knowledge and insight of the needs of the UK fashion and textile industry to inform the UK negotiating position.

This assumes significance as UK's trade talks with countries including Japan, the US, Australia and New Zealand are likely to intensify in the coming days. Separately, UKFT is also representing the industry to the group negotiating with the EU. This will bring business closer to the negotiating table and help secure the best possible deals that deliver jobs and growth across Britain. UKFT’s talks with Japan, the US, Australia and New Zealand are entering their crucial latter stages. Hence, it needs to step up engagement with vital industries to utilise their technical and strategic expertise.

UKFT is preparing its own updated guidance for members on trading with Europe after the end of the transition period, covering changes to tariffs, import and export documentation, labelling and more.

The Taiwan Excellence Functional Fabric Online Press Conference showcased the latest technologies in functional fibers and eco-friendly solutions. Hosted by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the event featured presentations from five of Taiwan’s leading functional fabrics companies – including Singtex Industrial Co, Sun Own Industrial Co (ATUNAS), Asiatic Fiber Corporation, Toung Loong Textile MFG and BenQ Materials Corporation.

The winners of the Taiwan Excellence Award demonstrates excellence in R&D, design, quality, and marketing. The symbol of Taiwan Excellence was established in 1992 by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Taiwan Excellence Selection was launched the following year. The selection is based on the specific criteria of R&D, quality, design, and marketing. Products that have been selected for the Taiwan Excellence Awards serve as exemplars of domestic industries and are promoted by the government in the international market in an effort to shape the creative image of Taiwanese businesses. This year marks the 28th selection, making the Taiwan Excellence symbol a prestigious distinction for enterprises in Taiwan to strive for and be recognized by, as it is highly thought of around the world.

Retail-led mixed-use assets developer and operator The Phoenix Mills plans to acquire at least three malls in the next 9-12 months including a large Greenfield project in Kolkata, discussions for which had already started prior to the pandemic. Last week, the company raised Rs 1,100 crore through a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) taking its cash position to Rs 1,920 crore.

These acquisitions--both new or brownfield projects--are expected to be in the range of 7 lakh to 1.2 million sq ft each and will be driven by the company’s stated strategy to emerge as a dominant consumption center in the market.

Currently, the company has a total 7 million sq ft gross leasable area across 9 operational malls in 6 cities including Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Chennai. Except Chennai, all other malls of the company have started operations post lifting of lockdown by various state governments. In addition to this, around 5 million sq ft gross leasable area is under development that will take its portfolio to 12 million sq ft by 2023-24.

Known for its large format retail malls, Phoenix Mills is looking at markets including Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Gurgaon for these acquisitions apart from a few micro markets in Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Bengaluru.

Orta has designed its Here4Good collection with an interactive, collaborative “kit” packed with the information and tools to interact with ORTA’s eco-innovation advancements and “built to last” vision.

Designed to engage Orta’s denim brand partners with the eco-smart concepts, the kit is digitally integrated for a seamless online and offline experience that delivers a heightened sense of touch—emotional, social and physical—in today’s extraordinary business climate and contactless social interactions. The kit also introduces ORTA’s new members-only website, where partners can access inspirational trends, innovation insights, environmental impact assessment and high-definition visual assets for the Here4Good collection.

The kit is created in a modular form consisting of six different boxes, one for each concept: Immortalist (with resilient tech and durability); Gen H (with eco-goodness of hemp); Stretch Spectrum (extreme performance); Blu Narratives (renewed modernity of Orta’s vintage); Bio Awake (next evolution of biodesign); and the overall Here4Good narrative.

Itematech is exhibiting at CINTE Techtextil China from September 02-04 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, Shanghai. Itematech is the brand-new technical division exclusively dedicated to producing weaving machines for the benefit of technical fabrics weavers launched in 2019 by Itema, the Italian leading global provider of advanced weaving solutions, including best-in-class weaving machines, spare parts and integrated services.

During CINTE Techtextil, the Itematech team will concentrate in showcasing the company’s strong offering for technical fabrics weavers. Itema says it is uniquely positioned to offer technical textile manufacturers the top three weft insertion technologies – positive and negative rapier, airjet and projectile, in what is the most comprehensive portfolio on the market today for technical applications.

Apparel retailer Gap reported a surprise 13 per cent rise in quarterly comparable sales as consumers stuck at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic bought more of its Old Navy and Athleta clothing online.

Its same-store sales rose by 13 per cent, compared with analysts’ forecast of a 20.97 per cent fall, according to IBES data from Refinitiv - Gap Inc. People working or studying from home have been stocking up on comfortable “stay at home” clothes including fleece and activewear, boosting demand for the company’s budget-friendly Old Navy brand, athleisure label Athleta as well as Gap clothing.

The San Francisco-based retailer oubled its e-commerce business for the quarter ended Aug. 1, with about 50 per cent online penetration, and added about 3.5 million new customers.

While the company expects demand for the two brands to fuel sales, it plans to close over 225 unprofitable Gap and Banana Republic stores globally as a part of its restructuring plan.

The back-to-school season, one of the busiest periods for the company, could extend longer and Gap is ready with the “right assortment” for kids whether they are learning at home or in a classroom.

Ongoing travel restrictions around the globe have led the organizers of denim trade show Kingpins to cancel its 2020 China City Tour show in Guangzhou and Hangzhou. The show was originally slated to be held from September 2 to 4, 2020. Other than for the cancelled Kingpins Amsterdam and New York editions earlier this year no other Kingpins24 digital event has been planned for the Chinese market this time.

The Chinese market is interesting to Kingpins and the global denim market. However, the organizers don’t have the technology or capacity to produce a digital event for China just yet, said Vivian Wang, Managing Director and Head -Global Sales. The organizer is exploring the same not just for China but also for the whole word.

As per latest released statistics from Japan’s Ministry of Finance, the country’s textile and apparel (T&A) exports declined by 13 per cent on Y-o-Y basis to $3.29 billion during the January-June’20 (H1) period. Textile exports declined to $3.05 billion while apparel products declined by 8 per cent to $229.80 million. Of all textile products, the export of textile fibers declined 5 per cent to $400.60 million. On the other hand, exports of rayon staple fibers surged significantly by 123 per cent to $96.29 million. Export of polyester staple fiber decreased by 13 per cent to $18.30 million and that of acrylic staple fiber declined by 23 per cent to $203.40 million

The value of Japan’s yarn exports also dropped 19 per cent to $386.39 million. Of this, the value of Rayon filament yarn dropped by 28 per cent to $54.74 million while that of nylon filament yarn declined by 32 per cent to $62.62 million and polyester filament yarn export declined by 14 per cent to $42 million.

Furthermore, Japan’s fabric exports also dropped by 23 per cent to $1.05 billion. Of this, exports of nonwoven and coated fabrics plunged by 4 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively, to $361.64 million and $179.60 million.

On the contrary, the volume of nonwoven fabric exports increased by 16 per cent on Y-o-Y basis in H1 ’20.

French government’s ban on resumption of events of more than 5,000 people until after October 31 has led to Première Vision shifting its physical show scheduled from September 14-15 to a digital platform. It will now hold Première Vision Paris – The Digital Show on the Première Vision Marketplace website from September 15-16, 2020. The Digital Show will feature 1,588 e-shops, over 20,000 listed products and 8 product universes including fabrics, leather, accessories, yarns, denim, smart creation, designs and manufacturing. An additional feature on the Marketplace will be ‘The Futures of Fashion.’ a program of 20 digital events that will analyze and decode both the season and the industry’s coming challenges with fashion seminars, conferences and webinars.

Première Vision will reopen the season of physical fashion trade fairs with Made in France Première Vision, a show dedicated to French manufacturing, which will be held at the Carreau du Temple from September 01-02, presenting some 100 exhibitors.