Omni-channel eyewear retailer Lenskart plans to open more than 300 new stores as state-wide lockdowns are relaxed, taking the total to over 1,000 stores. The company has over 750 stores in total and more than 720 are in India.

Prior to the pandemic, Lenskart would see around 60-65 per cent of sales from online. Due to the nature of the business, consumers end up visiting stores quite often.

The online channel had seen a significant shift due to the second COVID-19 wave and that it had strengthened the Ghaziabad-based startup’s market share in the organized retail space. Most of these stores will be in India while it will also expand into the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Lenskart is on track to record net profits for the first time in the ongoing financial year despite the second wave's impact from March to May. The company recorded revenue of around Rs 1,000 crore in FY20 without turning in a profit The company has also set up a 'Lenskart Vision Fund' with a corpus of around $20 million which will invest in startups in the area of eye testing technologies, omni-channel technology solutions across in-store automation, logistics, supply chain, merchandising, marketing, and deep tech solutions for eyewear, retail and ecommerce.

As per a recent survey by The NPD Group, around 41 per cent consumers discover fashion brands and retailers through Facebook, 35 per cent discover through Instagram and 21 per cent discover through 21 per cent. Around 51 per cent consumers said, they were most inspired by the content on Facebook and Instagram while buying fashion products.

In a recent thought leadership survey done in conjunction with partner CivicScience, when NPD asked consumers if they made any unplanned purchases of clothing, footwear, or accessories while scrolling through social media, younger consumers said they were more inclined to buy on impulse. In fact, one in three consumers between the ages of 13 and 24 had some sort of purchase interaction when it came to fashion and social media. Twelve percent said they made an unplanned purchase, 17 per cent said they were not opposed to it in the future, while only 6 per cent said they would not purchase fashion products via social media sites again.

Pakistan-based Azgard-9 has launched a new garment that produces oxygen besides offering sustainable and antibacterial properties.

The denim company collaborated with the London-based Post Carbon Lab, a design research studio focused on sustainability to develop a poncho that imitates a plant’s ability to photosynthesize and release oxygen into the environment.

The prototype can show fashion houses and retailers that concepts we once associated with sci-fi are available to us right here right now and can help us rethink the future, in a demonstration of possibilities that Azgrd-9’s technology might add to these brands. C.O2.A.T is also imbued with characteristics that give us a glimpse of how truly great the future of fashion might look like: photosynthesis, anti-bacterial, anti-odor, anti-viric, breathable, water-resistant, repellent.

The move is part of the brand's 'Future Before Fashion' initiative to encourage future-focused solutions that have considerably low impact on the environment and are totally sustainable.

COVID-19 exacerbated the issue of forced labor afflicting the garment industry for ages. The pandemic deteriorated living and working conditions of garment workers, putting them at higher risk of forced labor, says a new report by University of Sheffield. The report 'The Unequal Impacts of COVID-19 on Global Garment Supply Chains' states, garment workers in Ethiopia, Honduras, India, and Myanmar were the most affected as they either lost their jobs or were forced to work at reduced pay.

Failed commitments

Most garment companies did not to live up to their commitments of good practice during the pandemic, the report states. They also did not source sustainable goods from manufacturers with fair working conditions, pay and no use of exploitation. Their actions highlight not just their faulty business models but also inefficient government regulations to protect workers.

Though some companies honored their commitments during the pandemic, these mostly included responsibilities towards factory owners or business partners. Most brands failed to recognize their social responsibilities towards workers, says Professor Genevieve LeBaron, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Sheffield. They cancelled millions of pounds of orders at the beginning of the pandemic, forcing manufacturers in Ethiopia to lay off staff, adds LeBaron. Workers who retained their jobs experienced worsening working conditions and pay, he adds further.

Regulate supply chains and retailers

To protest against this unethical conduct by brands, manufacturers plan to initiate legal action against companies that cancelled orders worth millions of pounds during the pandemic. The Sheffield report urges governments to step their regulation of these supply chains and retailers. It also requests governments to address the social challenges created by the pandemic.

The report further says, governments should ban the sale of below-cost price and forced labor made goods. This will prevent companies from forcing suppliers to use unfair labor practices, and compel retailers to be transparent about their operations. It will also help consumers make more sustainable and ethical shopping choices. Jakub Sobik, Communications Director, Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (the Modern Slavery PEC), affirms, the industry and the government need to protect garment workers by ensuring fair treatment. They also need to applaud companies that confirm to fair business practices, the report sums up.

Sales of Japanese sports apparel and footwear maker Asics in Q1 FY21 increased by 24.8 per cent sales to ¥106.5 billion (Japanese yen) compared to ¥85.3 billion in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. The company’s profit for the quarter increased to ¥10.5 billion. Its gross profit during the quarter increased to ¥53.2 billion while selling, general and administrative expenses declined to ¥38.6 billion (¥41.0 billion).

Sales in the performance running category grew by 43.5 per cent to ¥54.4 billion while sales of core performance sports grew by 18.3 per cent to ¥13.5 billion. Moreover, sports style cateogory's sales during Q1 FY21 increased by 20.2 per cent to ¥8.8 billion and apparel and equipment sales increased by 2.4 per cent to ¥8.7 billion (¥8.5 billion).

Sales across all regions improved except South East and South Asia. Its sales in Japan increased to ¥30.5 billion, North America sales increased to ¥18.8 billion while sales in Europe rose to ¥31.1 billion.

As per a new report by the Boston Consulting Group and Altagamma Foundation, the global luxury market is gradually recovering and should return to pre-pandemic levels by next year

Titled, The True-Luxury Global Consumer Insight, the report says, the future looks bright for the sector even though only the upper end of the luxury consumer pyramid saw an increase in consumption during the pandemic.

BCG surveyed 12,000 luxury consumers and found that much of the spending growth is being driven by younger consumers in the Millennial and Gen Z age groups with these consumers set to account for 60 per cent of the luxury segment’s total by 2025.

BCG said consumers are increasingly embracing the possibility of renting luxury items, with as many as 18 per cent of consumers on average testing this possibility over the last year. More and more consumers are selling their pre-owned luxury items too, especially among the young, and 44 per cent of Gen Z and 37 per cent of Millennials have done this in the past year

As per the report, apart from Chinese consumers spending more of their money in their own country, their tastes seem to be diverging from those of Western consumers There’s an increasing trend towards luxury virtualization. BCG said gaming is one key area and among the 39 per cent of consumers who are aware of virtual online games that involve a luxury brand, 55 per cent of them said they’ve bought in-game items. Importantly too, 86 per cent of those people said they’ve then purchased the corresponding physical version.

In its recent years, Abercrombie & Fitch has moved away from image-conscious marketing to making operational changes.

As per Scott Lipesky, CFO, the company has focused on running the business with less square footage and less inventory. The company has been able to absorb some of the inflationary pressures large due in part to its store optimization initatives, which cut $115 million—or 20 percent—in occupancy costs last year. A&F’s has been moving away from traditional flagship locations, and instead focusing on smaller format locations.

A&F plans on reinvesting those occupancy savings in fulfillment as it reconsiders its store fleet going forward. In total, the retailer has approximately 250 leases expiring at the end of 2021, representing nearly one-third of its store fleet.

Though the company had a bit of a pause on store remodeling plans during COVID-19, it’s now waiting to see how mall traffic plays out as shoppers return to normalcy.

Although the number of stores the retailer will operate beyond 2021 is uncertain, expansion into Europe is a top priority. The retailer is closely eyeing opportunities across the continent, establishing a London team 18 months ago to get closer to the customer.

A&F also plans to make new investment in the remainder of the year, including building out its data and analytics practice and furthering the Gilly Hicks intimates apparel brand. It recently launched Social Tourist, which was co-created with TikTok stars Charli and Dixie D’Amelio.

Vietnam-based denim manufacturer Saitex has unveiled the final exterior design of its upcoming mill, scheduled to open in August 2021. The mill has been designed by Saitex in cooperation with the ACSC. It is spread over 100,000 sq. mt. a the Nhon Trach Industrial Zone in Vietnam.

The mill has been built with sustainable materials to achieve LEED gold certification. It provides natural ventilation for production, office, and communal spaces. Additionally, custom water filtration and recycling system has been set-up to enable the mill to operate without the use of freshwater achieving a closed-loop and a system to collect the rainwater for flushing factory toilets, irrigation, and firefighting.

The Vietnam mill also has 15,000 solar panels with 3-4 MW capacity and 40 per cent of the steam is generated with industrial sludge. It is the world’s first-and-only denim factory that is bluesign approved, Fair Trade, and LEED-certified.

In its 2021 Resale Report, ThredUp projects the $36 billion secondhand market will double in the next five years, reaching $77 billion. The study, which surveyed 3,500 American adults between March and April 2021, found 36.2 million customers sold pre-owned apparel online for the first time in 2020. More 118.8 million customers plan to sell pre-owned clothes over the course of the year.

As per a Fashion Law report, online thrifting became a new pandemic habit in 2020 as consumers not only sold off apparel online but also 33 million of them bought secondhand apparels online for the first time in 2020. Resale company, ThredUp expects consumption of secondhand apparel will increase as more first-time buyers plan to increase their spending on secondhand in the next five years.

ThredUp points out, as of 2020 secondhand apparel was already growing faster in terms of amassing market share than its fast fashion counterparts. The segment is slated to grow to 18 per cent by 2030, double of fast fashion market. Meanwhile, off-price retailers such as Marshalls and TJ Maxx are expected to take 19 per cent of the apparel market by 2030 while subscription apparel services, direct-to-consumer brands, and Amazon’s fashion division are also expected to advance over that same period of time.

As per the ThredUp report, Gen-Z consumers are 165 per cent more likely than their Baby Boomer counterparts to consider resale value of clothing before buying it They are also 83 per cent more likely to view apparel ownership as temporary, thus, subject to multiple ownership turnovers in furtherance of the larger sharing economy.

The report states that over the next 5 years, consumers are slated to prioritize secondhand apparel over new clothing. Around 42 percent of consumers plan to spend more on secondhand clothing versus the 26 percent that plan to spend more on new ‘sustainable’ wares, as well as those marketed as ‘inclusive’ and ‘transparent,’ which is 40 percent fewer than 2019. The company proposes removing sales tax for consumers or providing tax credit on secondhand purchases, giving tax deductions for brands with certified resale programs, requiring clothing to be discarded responsibly by consumers, and requiring retailers to reuse returns.

Appreciating the Textile Ministry’s decision to launch a third party study to investigate cartelization in the yarn sector, A Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC said, the move will set an example for a data driven management of the supply chain imbalances.

Sakthivel, assured the ministry that AEPC will fully cooperate with the third-party study on spike in cotton yarn prices. He said, the study will help curb steep increase and unpredictability in availability of cotton and yarn which is hampering the apparel industry’s order book planning and overall competitiveness of the entire value chain. It will also help in saving the livelihood of a lot of workers in the power loom sector and apparel industry, he added.

Earlier, Smriti Irani, Textiles Minister, announced that the Ministry along with the textile Commissioner's office aims to undertake a third-party study into sudden spikes in cotton yarn prices that are affecting the prospects across the value chain of Indian textiles.