Omnichannel platform for retail brands, the Reliance-backed Fynd has collaborated with Magicpin, the platform for access to local retail, connecting offline retailers with online consumers.

The partnership will enable Fynd's clients to experience faster hyperlocal deliveries, reach an extended customer base, and enhance their revenues. With this integration, magicpin now becomes the first player to enable hyperlocal deliveries in the fashion category.

Magicpin uses technology to enable the discovery of local places, shops and products for consumers across categories such as food, grocery, pharma and fashion. In 2020, magicpin started its home delivery business, delivering products from local stores. magicpin currently has more than 6M+ monthly active users and 200,000+ paying merchants.

The integration offers an abundant pool of opportunities to Magicpin, like accessing Fynd's enriched brand portfolio and strengthening its omnichannel strategy.

Despite satisfactory Q1 results, H&M plans to close 240 stores globally in the year ahead. However, the brand also plans to open 95 new stores, so the net loss of shops overall will be 145.

Besides existing markets, the group will also foray into new established markets. It recently had to shutter 185 of its stores temporarily due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

As per Fashion Network, Russia had been H&M’s sixth-largest market and represented 4 per cent of its sales. The closures already crimped sales in Q1 and Q2 doesn’t look like being any better.

Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) is a Swedish multinational clothing company headquartered in Stockholm. Its focus is 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.

Mounting dues of $634 million compelled it to take over debt-laden Future Retail’s stores, says Reliance Retail, India’s top retailer.

Through this takeover, the company aims to dominate the $900-billion retail sector that set off a bitter dispute in which India's Supreme Court will decide whether Reliance or Amazon.com Inc gets to scoop up Future's assets.

Over months, Reliance has taken over the leases of more than 900 of Future's 1,500 stores, while still allowing the company to run them.

As Future proved unable to pay outstanding dues and losses in its retail operations swelled, Reliance decided to exercise its legal right to take over the stores, the letter added.

Earlier, the company had proposed a $3.4-billion deal to buy Future's retail, wholesale and logistics operations, as well as some other businesses.

But following Reliance's abrupt takeover of its stores, Future sought several assurances in a March 2 letter, asking if Reliance would stick to the deal without changing its value or terms.

Apparel manufacturer Gokuldas Exports aims to diversify customer base to offset rising fabric prices due to an increase in cotton prices.

According to Sivaramkrishnan Ganapathi, Managing Director says, fabric prices have increased by15 percent as compared to last year. The company passes 50 percent of the cost inflation to its customers, he adds.

The company has mutually arranged a tripartite between its customers, fabric suppliers and itself. It passes through about 50 percent of the fabric price rise but the remaining 50 per cent continues to impact margins due to a rise in cotton prices, Ganapathi adds.

The company also foresees a slowdown in the European economy resulting in higher gas prices, oil prices, etc. This may lead to a softening in demand, he adds. A listed public company incorporated on 01 March, 2004. Gokaldas Exports is a public limited company located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The company manufactures and sells a range of garments including jackets, shirts, suits, etc.

Gokaldas Exports’ operating revenues range is over Rs 500 crore for the financial year ending on March 31, 2021. It's EBITDA has increased by 49.21 per cent over the previous year.

The German factory of C&A has launched its first jeans collection. Named Forever Denim, the “Made in Europe” collection features three jeans styles apiece for men and for women made with local organic cotton, Tencel and renewable energy. As per a Sourcing Journal report, the range consists of a women’s high-rise straight leg jean in light and dark wash variations, as well as a high-rise flare jean in a light wash. The men’s line features a straight leg jean in medium and dark washes and a tapered jean in a dark wash.

All styles retail for €59 ($65) and are available now in stores and online. Women’s denim is offered in European sizes 36-46, which equates to American sizes 6-16, while men’s denim is offered in waist sizes 30-40 and inseams 32-34.

The carbon-neutral factory opened in the fall of 2021 with automated processes throughout the jeans laundry and sewing stages of production. C&A worked with the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, the Textile Academy NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia), RWTH Aachen University and various startups to develop the facility and onboard 100 staff members. It aims to initially produce 400,000 jeans per year and eventually double its capacity to 800,000 jeans per year.

The FIT Lab within the factory allows for constant progress that has already resulted in the development of robotics process automation, an energy management system and new methods of recycling waste. Traditional sewing lines were also replaced with automated machinery that collaborates with workers for more efficient production.

Delayed shipments, non-availability of containers, high cotton and polyester prices and refusal of foreign buyers to increase prices are causing a severe financial crunch for the textile sector.

As per a report by The News, exporters are facing delays in shipments due to the unavailability of containers. Around 15-40 of containers are currently stuck at ports. This has led to the expiration of letter of credits to exporters.

The rates of all manmade fibres have increased in line with cotton prices. Cost of production has increased much beyond expectation, says an exporters. The shipping cost of a container from Lahore to Karachi has increased from Rs50,000 to Rs80,000. The cost of raw materials and accessories has increased by 30-80 per cent.

Foreign buyers however were not ready to raise prices. Exporters were executing orders confirmed three months back at loss or thin margins, he adds.

In all, Brazilian 23 brands participated in Coterie, Magic and Curve making $1,122,000.00 in sales during the event, in addition to prospecting $3,629,000.00 for the next 12 months.

The Brazilian delegation at Coterie featured the brands Barbara Bela, Maria Pavan, Nay Sunsetwear, Paola Bernardi, OisSeleme, Vero Senso Cruise, EneidaGimenes, Seroyr Lavish Sabine Arias, GissaBicalho, Serpui, Lavish, Sabine Arias, GissaBicalho, and AndrezaChagas from Fashion Label Brasil and Melissa, Paula Ferber, Schutz, and Paula Torres, from Brazilian Footwear, etc.

Debuting at the event, Plié celebrated positive results, highlighted the United States as a target market in its internationalization and relied on the trade show to get to know potential customers better. The trade show allowed the company to get to know the American market better, to analyze similar products, as well as to get in touch with several regional buyers”, adds Samuel Vogue, National Sales Manager.

Besides launching spring/summer 2022 collection ‘Bageecha’ in store, Pakistan-based women’s premium ready-to-wear brand Generation has opened its first store in Hyderabad.

As per Fashion Network, located in Hyderabad’s Qasimabad district, the bright retail space houses the brand’s array of ethnic and traditional wear. The store features natural wooden accents and a wide selection of Generation’s signature kurtas and sets.

The brand’s new collection Bagheecha is its first zero-waste collection. Generation used the 'Pojagi' traditional Korean patchwork technique to rework surplus fabric from creating the collection’s garments into accessories so nothing was wasted.

Generation describes itself as Pakistan’s oldest premium ready-to-wear brand. The label also recently collaborated with arts organisation the Daachi Foundation to hold an Arts and Crafts Exhibition in Lahore in Pakistan from March 26 to 27 at the city’s Expo Centre to celebrate traditional craft traditions.

Offering unique technology for digital dyeing of textile thread on-demand for more sustainable and creative embroideries, Coloreel has sold five single-head machines to new distribution partner in India, ApsomInfotex (“Apsom”).

As per a Textile World report, the deal initiates Coloreel’s foray into the Indian industrial embroidery market. Apsom is the market leader in the Digital Inkjet Print Market in India for textile and industrial applications with more than 25 years of experience from operating in India. The partnership with Apsom provides the brand great reach into the Indian embroidery and digital print market, says Sven Öquist, Vice President-Sales, Coloreel Group AB comments:

AnirudhDadu, Business Development Manager, Apsomadds, in a traditional industry like textiles its very rare to see such a game-changing innovation. We are very excited to have the opportunity to distribute Coloreel in India being amongst the world’s biggest apparel and textile producing markets.

Transforming climate from foe to friend can be a golden opportunity for the fashion industry, say Julie Roche, Chief Financial Officer, Burberry.

As per the National News Report, Roche says, luxury brands can be in the vanguard of this transformation as their products are durable and supply chains are very well established".

To achieve this, the industry needs to set aside traditional rivalries and commercial instincts must be set aside, she adds.

According to Roche, Burberry aims to be a sustainable fashion bellwether and climate positive by 2040, making it the first luxury brand to set this goal.

Its really important just to start the measurement process, she said.

For Burberry, most improvements need to be made is in the 'scope 3' category, which accounts for more than 90 per cent of its emissions, Roche opines, the brand needs to firmly focus on sustainability,

She also scotches the notion that the interests of the environment and those of the economy are mutually incompatible. Making more thoughtful purchases can actually save customers money, she adds.