For the second quarter VF Corporation’s revenue fell four per cent. Gross margin was 51 per cent, down 230 basis points. Adjusted gross margin was 51per cent, down 240 basis points. Operating margin was down 2,040 basis points. Adjusted operating margin was down 440 basis points. Earnings per share was down 126 per cent. Adjusted EPS was down 34 per cent.

VF’s balanced performance in the second quarter demonstrates the resiliency of its brand portfolio against a more disrupted global marketplace. The company is actively addressing the near-term challenges at Vans, the ongoing Covid-related disruption in China, and the broader macro-economic and geopolitical headwinds, which have created tremendous uncertainty for all businesses and consumers.

In the near term, in the light of the challenging environment, it is acting proactively to generate increased revenue through the balance of the year while protecting profitability by tightly controlling all non-strategic spend.VF has modified its business practices in certain locations, including the temporary closing of offices and retail stores, and is working with its suppliers to minimize disruption and is employing expedited freight strategically as needed.

Founded in 1899, VF Corporation is one of the world’s largest apparel, footwear and accessories companies connecting people to the lifestyles, activities and experiences they cherish most through a family of iconic outdoor, active and workwear brands including Vans, The North Face, Timberland and Dickies.

Denim Premiere Vision will be held in Italy, November 23 to 24, 2022.This year's edition will also mark the fifteenth anniversary of the event.

Nearly 70 international suppliers are scheduled to exhibit at the edition. More than 40 fabric suppliers and 15 manufacturers will be present, as well as accessory and supply specialists, yarn and fiber producers, and other service providers.The fair will feature a high number of non-European suppliers, around 40 in total, coming from Turkey, Morocco and Tunisia, as well as from China, Pakistan, Japan, India, Bangladesh and South Korea.European production will be represented by Italian, Spanish and French companies.

Denim Fashion District will showcase a dozen clothing and accessory brands presenting a preview of their spring/summer 2023 designs, created in partnership with the show's exhibitors. The two-day event will be accompanied by conferences and speeches. In addition to exhibitor pitches and panel discussions, professionals will have the chance to attend several seminars on the subject of denim trends for the spring/summer 2024 season. Among the activities proposed, an exhibition by Cotone Organico Sicilia will promote Sicilian cotton, while the WP Lavoris in Corso group will exhibit a selection of pieces from its archives.

International Sourcing Expo will be held in Australia, November 15 to 17, 2022.

The premise of the expo is sourcing from offshore.The event is aimed at helping businesses and industries reinvigorate their global sourcing activities and build sustainable alliances with production partners. The premise is to bring companies together for commerce, connection and education.

The expo is for anyone looking to improve or diversify their supply chain and product offering, compare production capability and costs, produce their own label or start a new sourcing business.Businesses can connect on an international scale and in a dynamic trade show environment rich with sourcing opportunities and potential production partners, as well as education and industry insights.

Thousands of apparel, textile and footwear industry leaders from Australia and the Asia Pacific will converge for the event. The event will be relevant more than ever before to businesses who seek to source and cooperate internationally.

There will be a significant Indian presence at the expo, including a large contingent represented by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), Apparel Export Promotion Council(AEPC), Handloom Export Promotion Council in apparel and textiles, and the Council for Leather Exports India in the co-located Footwear and Leather Show.India’s new Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement with Australia has worked in its favour as Indian textile exports to Australia are excluded from duties.

Italian spinner Marchi and Fildi has launched a new range of metalloplastic yarns. Gleaming Reflex is the innovative range of colored, reflective yarns for technical, safety and stretch uses.

In addition to uses in the worlds of fashion and furnishings, for fancy yarns, decoration and accessories, an important application for the Gleaming collection is in the sector of technical clothing with high-visibility features. The new range of reflective yarns is able to reflect light and ensure good visibility for people wearing them in low-light situations. The innovative reflective yarns in white, black, and light and dark multicolours offer new possibilities for tapes, external labels and accessories; technical fabrics for work clothing with specific safety standards; uniforms, sports clothing and accessories; hosiery, gloves, bibs and hats for night use, for winter clothing and for northern markets.

Gleaming yarns are available in various thicknesses, widths and types in both metallised and transparent versions. The Reflex stretch yarn also finds application in flat bed or circular knitting and sewing. Its particular composition makes it softer and more versatile in comparison to traditional reflectives.

Marchi and Fildi’s offer for the fashion world includes yarns for flat bed and circular knitting, weaving and hosiery. The distinctive element of the collection is represented by the focus on sustainability.

India is turning into an export hub especially of services. The export-to-GDP ratio has risen fast since the early 1990s and now stands broadly at par with China.

The large share of services in total exports however stands out: while India has performed very well in exporting IT services, exports of goods have lagged behind. The performance of services exports has been stellar. India’s share of world services trade more than quadrupled from 0.5 per cent in 1995 to 3.5 per cent in 2018. India has become a major exporter of business services, notably in the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sector.

Medical and wellness tourism is also performing well, with patients seeking high-quality medical treatment at competitive prices in some Indian hospitals.Exports of goods have displayed mixed results. India has gained market shares for some skill- and capital-intensive goods, including pharmaceuticals and refined oil.

However, performance in exporting textiles, leather and agricultural products has been disappointing. India’s trade prospects are bright as it has specialised in sectors which will likely be in high demand in the future (e.g. ICT services, pharmaceuticals and medical devices) and in fast growing destinations (with a large share of its exports to emerging market economies).

The European Unionwill review GSP Plus status for Pakistan in December 2023.

More conventions pertaining to labour and human rights will be added. The EU has appreciated the performance of Pakistan’s garment manufacturers but has underscored the need for product diversity and more value addition to exploit the full potential of market access given under the GSP Plus regime.

The EU is supporting Pakistan’s small and medium enterprises in economic growth, technical education, skill development and also advising Pakistan on technical and vocational education and skilling women in the workforce. The EU is opening new markets for Pakistan’s small and medium enterprises within the European bloc.

The EU is the biggest market for Pakistan’s goods and accounts for about one-third of all exports from the country.GSP Plus has increased EU-Pakistan trade, which increased by 78 per cent in 2021 as compared to the year earlier. So GSP Plus has been very beneficial for Pakistan’s economy. It provides duty-free access to the huge EU market for textile and apparel and also provides an incentive structure to undertake reforms in the industry and country.

Trade with EU is of critical importance to Pakistan’s economic and social stability as well as prosperity.

India’s major growth of textiles is expected to come from manmade fiber industry.

Once a stage is reached where the entire demand is fulfilled by domestic supply, raw material can be made available to lakhs of weavers involved in the polyester value chain, thereby leading to enhanced production of finished goods, enabling realization of the export targets.

Expansion of production capacity of key raw materials for manufacturing of polyester viz Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) and Monoethylene Glycol (MEG) is essential for increased production of the downstream industry. As of now additional capacities of PTA are being set up and lakhs of looms are also being installed by the downstream industry which is still fragmented.

During 2021-22 India’s exports of manmade fibers and manmade fiber blended textiles rose 46 per cent compared to the previous year. Exports of manmade fiber have grown 82 per cent, those of manmade fiber yarns 72 per cent, manmade fiber fabrics 30 per cent and manmade fiber made-ups 28 per cent. However, the share of the value-added segments like fabrics and made-ups in total exports has gone down from 63 per cent to 56 per cent.

In the current financial year exports have been slightly stressed in the first quarter. However, an encouraging turnaround was seen from August 2022 exports.

During the second quarter Gokaldas Exports witnessed a 60 percent jump in net profit. The company’s revenue for the quarter rose by 29 percent despite a seasonally weak quarter and a challenging global macro-economic environment.

The company will continue to focus on optimal resource utilization and drive operational excellence in the coming quarters. Gokaldas Exports was founded in 1985 and runs over 23 garment production factories. It is the largest manufacturer and exporter of apparels in India with an annual turnover of over US$200 million. Gokaldas Exports’ revenue has grown by 15 per cent over the last five years.

The customer base has widened, footprint in the US, its key market, has expanded along with anaugmented share in outerwear (high-value business). The company is well poised to benefit from multiple industry tailwinds, which include the continuing shift of global sourcing away from China,supplier consolidation towards efficient and well-capitalised players, supply-side instabilities in countries like China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, a strengthening dollar, the announcement of production linked incentive, and the signing of free trade agreements with key markets.

However, the Delta wave in the first quarter, the Omicron wave in the early fourth quarter and logistics disruptions throughout the year were testing times.

Karl Mayer is organising a symposium on additive manufacturing in Germany, November 17, 2022.

The event will showcase innovative production methods along with their applications in research and industry from various different perspectives. Additive manufacturing enables completely new product solutions in many sectors, including the textile industry. The combination of 3D printing technology and textiles in particular is opening up previously unknown opportunities, including the ability to create both individual looks as well as specific functionalities.

There will be a broad exchange of information between designers, technology experts and product developers alike.Symposium guests can look forward to a very special innovation in the form of a technological solution for combining textile manufacturing with 3D printing in the roll-to-roll process.In addition to the live demonstration of the inline 3D printer, guests can have a guided tour of Karl Mayer and exclusive technical lectures, including presentations by 3D printer manufacturers and companies that already work with additive manufacturing processes. The presentations involve the latest developments in FDM, dispenser, SLA, TFP, and inline processes and materials, as well as applications for auxetic textiles, privacy cover and fashion.

3D printing allows a complete rethink on textile product design. Mass-produced articles complete with 3D-printed branding and functional elements are already firmly established in the world of sportswear.

China is further witnessing sports and luxury fashion categories becoming more intertwined as the categories react to rising consumer trends of mixing work and play.

More luxury brands are jumping into sports fashion for two key reasons. First is the rising income and influence, but also it has to do with the development of sports infrastructure in the country, enabling people to schedule sports in their everyday life. Convenience is a key motivator for the need to mix sports and fashion.

People in major cities in China are starting to wear sports apparel to work so they can immediately participate in sports from work. The pandemic has had a key influence on the sports apparel industry. Covid drove separation but on the other hand it emphasised the importance of health, and in turn drove fitness classes online so one could train at home. Digital technology has enabled interaction with friends who may not be able to get together in person. Despite the rise of more sophisticated local brands who can sometimes react quicker to upcoming consumer trends, the market is still open for niche brands but they need to be very cautious.As sports continues to diversify, there will always be new and innovative ways for niche brands to come into China.