A group of American apparel companies recently urged US Trade Representative\ Robert Lighthizer, to extend the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act beyond September 30 According to Lighthizer, this will benefit both Haiti and the United States.

The Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act provides duty-free and quota-free access for apparel made in eligible countries, as long as the fabrics are made and cut in the United States. It builds on a larger trade preference program, the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, which has been in place since 1983 and has no expiration date

The Carribean Basin Trade Partnership Act operates in concert with the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act and the Haiti Economic Lift Program Act American textiles manufactured as part of this program helped increase US exports to Haiti to about $6 billion cumulatively from 2014 through 2018.

These acts have also supported many jobs for American workers, incentivized private sector-led economic development in the region, including investment in the Haitian economy that has helped to reduce extreme poverty, and advanced other important US foreign policy goals.

Colorado-based footwear company Crocs, Inc appointed Michelle Poole its new president. Crocs’ EVP and chief product merchandising officer since April 2020, Crocs, Poole has also served as senior vice president and chief product and merchandising officer from 2014. She has over three decades of industry experience which includes stints in marketing, merchandising and product management at brands including Sperry Top-Spider, Timberland, Kangol, Converse, MTV Europe and Pepe Jeans.

On the eve of its participation in CI King & Associates' 18th Annual Best Ideas Conference on September 16, Crocs announced a 10 per cent revenue growth forecast in third quarter and predicted continued growth in business in the coming months. This upbeat outlook is a result of the exceptional consumer demand and strong sell through, experienced by the company which indicates its strong recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

As per ICRA report, US’ restrictions on textile imports from Xinjiang, China will prove beneficial for Indian textile exporters. Citing concerns over illegal or forced labor, US banned import of certain products originating from the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in China. Besides other product categories, including hair products and computer parts, the ban also includes restrictions on some entities from the region involved in manufacturing apparels and producing and processing cotton.

China is the leading apparel exporter, accounting for more than 35 per cent of global trade. Over three-fourths of China's cotton originates from the Xinjiang region, any extension of the ban to a wider base in China could trigger a material shift in global apparel trade in coming years, said Jayant Roy, Senior Vice President and Group Head, ICRA Ratings

There have already been reports of several international buyers planning to diversify their sourcing base across countries, the report opined. Some of the major Indian apparel exporters have either already started receiving increased orders or are negotiating with large international buyers.

Kingpins Transformers ED, a student- and consumer-facing denim education series, will present its third edition virtually via Zoom on October 14 to 16 reports Sportswear International. The digital event will be held in collaboration with Ravensbourne University London. The three day event will focus on topics such as supply chain, sustainability and design. To be hosted by denim expert Mohsin Sajid, the event will host speakers and panelists including Alberto DeConti, Rudolf Group; Jason Denham, Denham; Ebru Ozaydin, Artistic Milliners; Alberto Candiani, Candiani Denim; Sue Barrett, Denim Forum; Amy Leverton, Denim Dudes, etc.

The event will also accommodate US students. It will aim to give students a clear understanding of the opportunities and challenges in the denim industry and prepare them for a future in the fashion industry.

The response to the past Transformers ED events has been overwhelming with students from 30 universities, and fashion programs across Europe receiving an in-depth knowledge about the denim supply chain, says Andrew Olah, Founder, Transformers Foundation and Kingpins Show.

The organizers of Denimandjeans Virtual Show have announced the dates for the second edition of virtual show. It will be held on October 14-15, 2020 with the theme of ‘Cloud Sourcing’. The show will be launched with new features, and be more user-friendly. It would focus on the US, South American and EU customers though it would also cover US time zone with European customers getting over 8 hours of visit time to the show as show would run for a longer time.

Denimsandjeans has been always known for new initiatives in the interest of the denim industry, shows in different countries, exclusive denim data reports and the digital sourcing platform De-Brands – an online B2B marketplace. Virtual show’s first edition had 43 global denim companies including Arvind, Artistic Milliners, Raymond, Kilim Denim, Garmon, Jeanologia, Tonello, Officina+39, LNJ , Artistic Garment, Wiser Globe/Wash, Deridesen, Artistic Fabric Mills, Blue Diamond, Prosperity, etc.

The first edition ran for two days covering Asia and Europe mainly. It was attended by over 600 representatives from the 368 brand/retailing companies including Levi’s, PVH, Bestseller, 7 For all Mankind, Arvind Brands, Asmara, Esprit, VFC, Kontoor Brands and more.

H&M is upbeat about future growth as it received a positive feedback to latest collections and recovery has been better than expected. Full-price sales, combined with strong cost control, enabled the company to turn to profit in the third quarter with profit before tax reaching SEK2 billion.

H&M’s sales decline in Q3 narrowed to 16 per cent. In Swedish currency, the brand’s sales declined 19 per cent to SEK50.870 billion. The brand closed around 900 of its 5,000 stores at the beginning of the pandemic. Though many of these stores have reopened, around 200 were still shut by quarter-end.

Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish multinational clothing-retail company known for its fast-fashion clothing for men, women, teenagers and children. As of November 2019, H&M operates in 74 countries with over 5,000 stores under the various company brands, with 126,000 full-time equivalent positions. It is the second-largest global clothing retailer. The company has a significant online presence, with online shopping available in 33 countries.

Athleisure shopping for pregnant women is a complicated exercise as it involves searching online discussion forums for recommendations and testing several products. And pointed out in ‘The Next Big Activewear Opportunity’ in the Business of Fashion, though reputed brands have been serving this segment for years, they have begun to recognize its value only now. For instance, even though Nike has been developing its maternity activewear range since 2017, the brand is yet to release its collection in the market.

Nike’s collection includes four products: a nursing sports bra made with sweat-wicking material that includes a panel for a nursing pump; wide-band leggings; a split-hem jacket for moms-to-be to wear throughout their pregnancy; and a scoop style tank top. The collection is likely to encourage Nike’s competitors Lululemon and Adidas to foray into the maternity athleisure segment and launch new collections.

Since the start of this year, the number of maternity activewear styles available online in the US has increased 58 per cent compared to five years ago, says retail market intelligence company Edited. Much of this growth has been fuelled by the growing demand for leggings and nursing bras.

The time and money factor

Despite this, maternity activewear remains a relatively untapped market, says Kayla Marchi, Market Analyst, Edited. Marchi says, maternity styles constitute about half a per cent of the total activewear market in the US with many brands focusing exclusively on maternity activewear. On the other hand, non-maternity fashion retailers like D+K, an Australian activewear brand, as well as Gap and Old Navy also offer maternity activewear.

One reason for fewer players in maternity activewear space is the time and investment needed to design maternity activewear — given the importance of functionality and comfort. Tracy Monford, Founder, Cake, a maternity brand specializing in nursing bras and pregnancy leggings, says research and development cycle for maternity athlesiure is longer and more expensive.

Encourages brand loyalty amongst consumers

Nike had to test 70 materials under extreme stretching conditions and apply data from over 150,000 body scans of women’s bodies throughout pregnancy before finalizing its offerings in maternity athleisure. The brand’s maternity athleisure was first launched at its flagship store Broadway in Manhattan.

Though offering a quality dedicated maternity activewear range is full of challenges it would ultimately help brands strengthen their relationship with consumers. It allows them to reach new customers besides building brand loyalty among existing customers, says Ayako Homma, Fashion Consultant, Euromonitor International.

L Brands, Inc has partnered with Next PLC to acquire its Victoria’s Secret business in the United Kingdom and Ireland

This newly formed JV will operate all Victoria’s Secret stores in the U.K. and Ireland, subject to agreeing to terms with landlords. The UK digital (online) business will be merged into the JV in Spring 2021. Under the terms of the agreement, Next PLC will own 51 percent of the JV, while Victoria’s Secret will own 49 percent.

L Brands, Inc is an American fashion retailer based in Columbus, Ohio. Its flagship brands include Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. L Brands posted $12.914 billion in revenue in 2019, and was listed as 248 on the 2020 Fortune 500 list of largest United States companies by revenue.

In February 2020, L Brands announced the planned sale of its Victoria Secret division to Sycamore Partners, private equity firm. Under the agreement, Sycamore Partners would gain a 55 per cent controlling stake in Victoria's Secret while L Brands would keep a 45 per cent stake, leaving Bath & Body Works to become L Brand's sole business.

According to an India-Ratings report, the face-off between the US and China will benefit India’s textile exports in 2HFY21. The agency expects the Indian players to increase their already strong market share in terry towels and bed linens, led by supply chain diversification away from China.

Even though the domestic demand is moderate, Indian textile companies have significantly increased their plant capacity use in August 2020, after the lockdown was gradually lifted in the country, says the report.

The agency expects textile players to record 15-35 per cent year on year (yoy) decline in their top line and 20-50 per cent yoy drop in operating profits over FY21. The prices of textile products have recovered broadly in August 2020 from the lows of April-May 2020. The prices of international cotton (US) are recovering steadily month on month — in August 2020 it witnessed 4 per cent rise, after dipping in April 2020.

Indian cotton prices increased about 5 per cent month on month in August last week, following a partial correction in the international prices over July 2020.

Messe Frankfurt North America is introducing a Pop-Up Sourcing Showcase at its New York Textile shows. The organizer is introducing Texworld New York City and Apparel Sourcing New York City editions of its popular events. These virtual events will take place January 12-14, 2021, along with the Pop-Up Sourcing Showcase at the Javits Center to collectively create the largest sourcing event of the season.

The Pop-up Sourcing Showcase” will be dedicated area on the show floor that will feature a unique display of the highest quality fabrics and garments provided by mills from around the globe who cannot be present at the event. Suppliers will submit the best of their collections to be curated by New York-based trend agency, The Doneger Group. The “Pop-up Sourcing Showcase” will be streamlined and integrated with the Virtual Platform giving visitors a unique and interactive sourcing experience.