Next, the UK-based clothing retailer, has finalized an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Reiss Group, a high-end fashion chain. The deal is worth £128 million ($162 million) and will see Next increase its ownership in Reiss from 51% to 72%.

The Reiss family will retain a 22% stake in the company, while the management team will hold the remaining 6%. The deal is expected to close in mid-October, subject to regulatory approvals.

Next has been steadily expanding its portfolio in recent years, acquiring other well-known brands such as Cath Kidston, Joules, and Made.com. The acquisition of Reiss is a strategic move for Next, as it will give the company a stronger foothold in the high-end fashion market.

Reiss has been performing well in recent years, with sales increasing by 26% in the 12 months leading up to the end of January. The company's online operations are managed through Next's Total Platform business, which also extends warehousing and distribution services to Reiss. This has helped Reiss to expand its international presence.

The acquisition of Reiss is a positive development for both companies. Next will gain a strong foothold in the high-end fashion market, while Reiss will benefit from Next's expertise in retail and e-commerce. The deal is also expected to create synergies between the two companies, which could lead to further growth in the future.

Last week, The Gap Inc. released its fiscal results for Q2 2023 ending in June. The lifestyle conglomerate ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.4 billion, an increase of 91 per cent over previous year. A dive into details of fiscal performance shows in most segments, decrease is the common word, however slight that may be. 

A look at Q2 results showed net cash from operating activities was $528 million, year-to-date; net cash from operating activities less purchases of property and equipment, stood at $329 million. Also at the end of June, the ending inventory of $2.23 billion was down 29 per cent compared to last year. The year-to-date capital expenditures were $199 million. The corporation paid its second quarter dividend of $0.15 per share. Additionally, the board of directors agreed the paid dividend in the third quarter would be the same as the second quarter. It must be noted that the company’s annual yield in 2022 was 5.8 per cent. 

GAP, the all-American clothing brand founded by Donald and Doris Fischer in San Francisco in 1969 is a symbol of American informal urban wear worldwide. The Gap Inc. is its formal name and under it are equally famous American high street fashion brands: GAP, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta.

Not so positive quarter

In Q2, Net sales saw a decrease of 8 per cent compared to last year at $3.55 billion while end of March 2023, the first quarter net sales was down by only 1 per cent. This downslide includes the 2 per cent point decrease in GAP’s China sales and a 1 per cent point decrease due to foreign exchange challenges. 

Comparable sales, also referred to as same store sales was down by 6 per cent, a further decline of 3 per cent compared to the first quarter of the year that ended in March. The report states online sales went down by 11 per cent this quarter compared to last year and contributed one-third of total net sales. Store sales decreased 7 per cent compared to last year. The company ended the quarter with 3,456 store locations in over 40 countries, of which 2,592 were company operated. 

In March 2023, The Gap Inc. had confirmed the closure of around 350 US stores by the end of 2023 and to date and it has officially closed 120 Banana Republic and 175 GAP stores across the country. A leading US-based reputed business journal had pointed out in May 2023 a general downturn of purchases from The Gap Inc’s lower end consumers worldwide was a key factor and the company despite management change at the beginning of 2023 has not been able to cater to this customer segment to drive sales. Additionally, all four brands under The Gap Inc., seem to suffer from poor choices in merchandising and procurement. The saving grace so far has been women’s wear for The Gap Inc. brands. 

Indeed, for the last two decades, the American clothing giant has tried hard just one thing as its panacea for everything – change in senior management. Did it work? Not really as all four brands are steadily losing the “all wholesome American” appeal for newer generations and instead of changing its positioning, its product portfolio and aligning with pop culture, yet another CEO, Richard Dickson is ready to play. Brand relevance doesn’t seem a priority. 

Dr. Gohar Ejaz, the Caretaker Federal Minister for Commerce, Industries, and Production, set an ambitious target of $25 billion in textile exports for this fiscal year, a notable increase from the $16 billion goal of the previous year. 

He also pledged to swiftly revive dormant industries within a month. During a meeting with the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association, he assured that closed industries would reopen by September 30. 

Dr. Ejaz expressed optimism in surpassing the $16 billion benchmark, emphasizing systematic solutions to challenges hindering industry operations. He committed to engaging with stakeholders, even visiting their premises if needed, to rejuvenate the industrial landscape. 

He requested a comprehensive list of dormant industries and assured the resolution of pending financial matters from governmental departments like the Federal Board of Revenue and customs. Furthermore, he invited associations and businessmen to collaborate for effective problem-solving, highlighting his commitment to resolving issues related to gas, electricity, energy, and fund disbursement. Dr. Ejaz's dedication aims to foster a thriving business environment.

New applications are being welcomed until October 31st for MMF apparel, MMF fabrics, and technical textiles products. 

The Ministry of Textiles has opted to prolong the application deadline for the PLI scheme dedicated to Textiles, specifically targeting MMF Apparel, MMF Fabrics, and technical textile products, by an additional 2 months, concluding on October 31st, 2023. 

This decision was prompted by appeals from various industry stakeholders. Initially, the Ministry had announced the reopening of the PLI Portal until August 31st, 2023, to accommodate new applications from companies interested in participating in the scheme.

The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) is hosting its 81st Plenary Meeting in Mumbai, India from December 2-5, 2023. The theme of the meeting is "Cotton Value Chain: Local Innovations for Global Prosperity."

The meeting is expected to draw about 500 senior government officials, researchers, and private-sector professionals from all sectors of the global cotton and textile value chains. Expert speakers will share their insights on the industry's greatest challenges and opportunities, including:

• Technologies to increase production

• Private sector recommendations for traceability policy

• Facilitating R&D investment

• Climate-smart production innovations

• Industry 4.0 for Textiles

The meeting is a unique opportunity for governments and other partners to gain a better understanding of the most pressing issues facing the cotton and textile industry. It is also an opportunity to develop global initiatives to support cotton value chains, address outstanding issues, and agree on global strategies to advance the interests of all stakeholders.

The 2023 AATCC Technical Committee on Research (TCR) Service Award is proudly presented to Jeffrey D. Krauss in recognition of his exceptional role in advancing AATCC's endeavors. 

Krauss, Research Operations Manager at Zeis Textile Extension within North Carolina State University's Wilson College of Textiles, receives this honor for his invaluable support in developing AATCC control fabrics. His expertise and hands-on involvement have significantly elevated the quality and consistency of AATCC products, notably fabrics for UV calibration, chlorine colorfastness, and ozone colorfastness. 

Since joining AATCC in 1999, Krauss has been a dedicated advocate for its methods, products, and activities. His contributions extend beyond his role, as he introduces students, faculty, and clients to the Association's mission. 

Krauss's dedication reflects in his active participation in AATCC conferences, including the upcoming AATCC Textile Discovery Summit from September 12-14, where he will be honored with the award. Established in 2008, the Technical Committee on Research Service Award celebrates individuals who have significantly contributed to AATCC through technical excellence. Jeffrey D. Krauss's continuous commitment exemplifies the award's ideals. 

The recognition includes a plaque and an honorarium, to be presented during the Textile Discovery Summit Awards Luncheon on September 14, 2023, at the Hyatt Regency in Greenville, South Carolina. 

LINEAPELLE to host talks on sustainable fashion.

This is the world's most important trade fair for global fashion, luxury, and design manufacturing.

This is a new event organized by LINEAPELLE in collaboration with SPIN360 to explore sustainable fashion solutions.

Sustainable fashion solutions: This refers to ways to make the fashion industry more sustainable, such as using recycled materials, reducing water consumption, and minimizing waste.

Apparel Group and Steve Madden Celebrate Grand Opening in Riyadh Park

Apparel Group, the renowned retail powerhouse, proudly announces the grand opening of Steve Madden’s 10th store in Saudi Arabia. Located in Riyadh Park, this latest expansion brings the brand’s strong GCC presence to 29 stores.

The store’s inauguration on August 25th was marked with anticipation. The first 100 fashion enthusiasts who visited the store on the launch date were delighted to receive an exclusive Steve Madden gift.

Steve Madden and Apparel Group Celebrate Milestone with Influencer Event

On August 26th, Riyadh Park’s Steve Madden location transformed into an epicenter of style and allure. The pinnacle of the evening was the ceremonial ribbon-cutting, a symbolic gesture that united the brand’s visionary team with the esteemed leadership of Apparel Group and Riyadh Park Management.

Following the official inauguration, an official influencer event was held graced by top-tier influencers and media personalities. The guests enjoyed the latest tunes played by the DJ, setting the perfect backdrop for a night of fashion, fun, and networking.

Western fast fashion buyers had a profitable run with Pakistan as a readymade garment manufacturing hub for exports. A buoyant industry, availability of locally grown cotton and of course cheap labour was just the successful mix that Pakistan offered. And for Pakistani garment exporters and their worldwide buyers it was a win-win situation. On the domestic front, social media drove the requirement for fast and disposable fashion to heights like never before and local producers for domestic consumption and the fashion retail sector were in a happy place. 

However, the country started paying the price as the production of fast fashion devoured its already scarce water resources a result of non-structured federal plan despite an abundance of rivers. Today, vast tracks of water bodies that could have been a useful source of drinking water for cities lie polluted with chemicals that are the effluence from the nation’s textile industry as well as synthetic microfibers that are a common waste from polyester, the cheap synthetic fabric that is a staple in fast fashion. 

Pakistan’s textiles exports downward trend

Meanwhile Pakistan’s textile exports have been falling constantly. There are varied reasons some very Pakistan-specific negatively affecting exports competitiveness and these include: a massive rise in energy prices, growing working capital cost and supply-side bottlenecks. Buyers are also reluctant to offer business to Pakistan due to the country’s woefully fluid macroeconomic position.

As per central banks’ payment data based on export receipts in FY22, compared to Pakistan, Bangladesh’s textile exports (net of textile imports) were not much higher with net textile exports at $15.7 billion and for Pakistan the number was $12.7 billion. Similarly, textile imports to exports ratio was 39 per cent in Bangladesh versus 31 per cent in Pakistan in FY22. Thus, Pakistan has a higher conversion of imports to exports in value terms.

However, in gross valuation, Bangladesh’s textile exports were higher at $32.7 billion compared to Pakistan’s $18.3 billion. As per Bangladesh’s Export Promotion Bureau’s statistics, textile exports were $46.7 billion compared to $19.3 billion for Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Moreover, in FY23 - especially in the last six months Pakistan’s textile exports are down 15 per cent to $16.5 billion – the deceleration is higher lately.

Sustainability issues plague textile sector 

According to a report by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) this year, more than 80 per cent of Pakistanis face “severe water scarcity” for at least one month each year. The report stated Pakistan ranks 14 out of 17 countries designated as “extremely high water-risk” nations. Faisalabad, acknowledged as the nation’s fast-fashion hub with large number of factories illustrates the life threat fast fashion can pose on the city’s residence. Untreated wastewater from Faisalabad's hundreds of factories is polluting the water that is piped directly into people's homes. The result is a high mortality rate in children and a health crisis that is only getting worse as the city expands its garment manufacturing capabilities. 

The Pakistan Accord of 2022, a local version of the International Safety Accord, formerly known as the Bangladesh Accord, unfortunately has not engaged in the drinking water crisis caused by the toxic effluence from garment manufacturing countries like in Faisalabad. 

Government intervention

For the last few years, Pakistani politics has set in motion a chain of events that escalated to absolute chaos and governments in resident were busy staving off being kicked out or busy trying to garner financial resources from keeping it going into an economic bankruptcy. This scenario left no breathing space for the government to look into analyzing the way fast fashion was contributing to polluting water, air, chocking landfills with waste and exploiting basic rights of the sector’s workers. Not surprisingly, very little by the way of researched data is available from governmental sources for experts to be able to weigh in on the percentage fast fashion is contributing to environmental pollution in Pakistan and bring the sector to task. 

Embracing sustainability way forward

For a start, the country’s manufacturers who target the export sector don’t have a choice, particularly if they are engaged with the EU – since 75.2 per cent of all Pakistani exports to the EU are textiles and apparel, the number is significant and getting disqualified as EU vendors will be akin to a death blow. According to All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, its private members have taken the lead towards establishing their sector as Net Zero in Pakistan. The alliance is on its way of setting out the plan and structure by which Pakistan’s private sector may hasten its transition to sustainability and accomplish this net zero objective. 

Asian readymade garment manufacturers have a solid reason to be stressed as the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles is being put forward with renewed vigor and commitment. The strategy in itself is renewing standards in the production and consumption of textiles as well as protecting the rights of vulnerable workers in Asia and other developing continents, home to significant number of RMG factories specifically for exports. The strategy is crucial for Asian manufacturers as 70 per cent of textile exports are to the EU.

Need for complete compliance

Asian garment manufacturers may have a little breathing time as the new EU framework for textiles has crafted a master plan that serves as a guide book and is non-binding for the moment. First proposed in May 2022, the framework came into effect in June 2023. According to EU Member of Parliament, Pernille Weiss, the framework addresses production and consumption of textiles, while recognizing the importance of the textiles sector. It implements the commitments of the European Green Deal, the Circular Economy Action Plan and the European industrial strategy. 

The new framework envisages, 2030 is the end goal for all vendors supplying to the EU are fully compliant of the framework’s set standards to be able to sell their products to the EU. Textiles, garments, mattresses, car upholstery and home furnishing, etc, coming in to the EU, irrespective of origin have to meet the EU standards at each step of manufacturing process.  From wastage of all resources in production process to labour rights throughout the entire stream, the keyword to be allowed to do business is compliance. The framework also disqualifies entities that will destroy unsold or returned inventory. 

Non-binding only up to 2030

Meanwhile, as a voice of Europe’s retail entity, H&M, considered Europe’s largest fashion retailers has proven its commitment to sustainable and circular fashion by welcoming the new framework. H&M is in agreement with the EU’s policy makers that it is time to change how fashion is produced and consumed. H&M standing in full support in itself is a bell that should ring out loud and clear across Asia. According MEP Weiss, the strategy might remain non-binding for now, but the law-making processes will gather much more momentum after the EU Parliament elections in the summer of 2024. It is expected that steps taken will undergo a reset and current directives updated whilst regulations are refined so all work in unison to meet the objectives set by the framework. Additional laws pertaining to sustainability, circularity and human rights are expected to be added to the framework. 

Asia gearing up to meet expectations 

As 2030 is just seven years away, Asian manufacturers have been busy innovating and using technology to put into action all compliance points. H&M has knee-deep sourcing from Asia and feels the critical need for collaboration between brands buying from Asian manufacturers and the manufacturers themselves. As Naren Goenka, Chairman, India’s Apparel Export Promotion Council points out, if Asian manufacturers want to continue being the single largest group supplying to the EU they should realize that all, action plans for compliance starts here and now. 

India has been making large strides like growing organic cotton, moving away from synthetic chemicals and pesticides in cotton farms and around 15,000 organic cotton farmers in Maharashtra have bought into this. Similarly, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Bangladesh are positive as manufacturers there have thrown themselves into bringing about change in their production process. From 50 per cent less water consumption to producing textiles that don’t shed micro-fibers, all stops are being pulled out across Asia.