The Vietnamese textile and apparel industry plans to focus on sportswear and yarn in future as demand for masks and PPE is likely to shrink rapidly, says Le Tien Troung, General Director, Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group. Many textile and footwear enterprises plan to find new markets post COVID-19. For such companies, sportswear is the most lucrative avenue as awareness of physical fitness grew during the pandemic. Euromonitor International estimates demand for sportswear to have declined by just 8 per cent in 2020, the lowest in an industry which saw an overall decline of 16 per cent.

The compounded annual growth rate for the sportswear market in the last five years was 6.5 per cent, 1.5 times the industry average, and it is expected to be worth $479 billion globally by 2025. One of the most successful Vietnamese businesses in 2020, The Thanh Cong Textile Garment Investment Trading JSC has stopped taking orders for medical protective gear and antibacterial masks and is focusing on traditional products such as T-shirts and sportswear.

Many businesses have bagged orders until April end, mainly for sportswear, says Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association. The Ky Yarn Joint Stock Company also plans focus on yarn with high quality and competitive, said Dang Trieu Hao, General Director.

Three months after exiting bankruptcy, Tailored Brands has closed a $75 million investment. The specialty menswear retailer received financing including $50 million of mandatorily convertible notes and $25 million in additional senior secured debt from a group of existing shareholders and lenders.

The transaction will provide additional liquidity for the company to meet the evolving needs of customers following the pandemic. Tailored Brands has been experiencing solid momentum across all brands and aims to enhance its omni-channel experience by launching Men’s Wearhouse Next-Gen stores, and evolving its merchandise assortment.

The Texas-based retailer is struggling with a shift to online shopping before the pandemic, cutting off its staff by 20 percent and shutting of 500 stores. The parent company of Men’s Wearhouse, Jos.A Bank and Moores men’s stores in the US and Canada filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August, and emerged from it in November.

The emergence of the new online-offline retail model is expected to add 12 million new jobs besides boosting exports to $125 million, says a new Nasscom-Technopak report. The report titled, 'Retail 4.0: India story - Unlocking Value through Online and Offline Collaborations', state the Indian retail sector has successfully navigated the COVID-19 crisis by accelerating digital adoption and shifting to online operations. The market is likely to reach up-to $1.5 trillion by financial year 2030 and add more than 25 million new jobs by financial year 2030, the report said.

Of this, the 'Offline+Online' model will account for 50 per cent of total retail employment addition - almost 12 million, enable $125 billion worth of exports and account for 37 per cent of total retail tax contribution amounting to approximately $8 billion incremental GST contribution by 2030, it added.

The increasing use of data-driven advanced analytics, and prediction technology to tailor customer-centric product/service offerings and digitization of oint-of-sale (PoS), in-store operations, and inventory tracking will create enormous potential in terms of job growth, exports, and an inclusive retail ecosystem with great participation of MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog added.

The government is in process of formulating the National Retail Trade Policy which will not only create a conducive environment for retail trade but also simplify its growth policies, he added. Debjani Ghosh, President, Nasscom said, to enable new retail models to bring incremental economic contribution, job growth, and exports, a greater collaboration among retail stakeholders, policymakers, and supporting sectors for tech-awareness is needed.

Reviving its global ambitions post pandemic, M&S is launching online stores in 46 new international markets. The brand plans to launch stores in countries like Nepal, Bolivia and Uzbekistan to boost its Clothing & Home operations. The clothing retailer’s international sales rose 75 per cent in the first half of the year due to the pandemic. The company aims to explore underlying demand in these markets without making any significant upfront investment and fulfilling orders via its existing distribution network.

While M&S expanded outside its core UK market but has also closed stores as sales failed to meet expectations. Operating profit in the international division has fallen to a little over £110 million at the last count, although its revenue increased to around £1 billion.

As per Steve Rowe, CEO, the company has been transforming its international ops to a franchise and joint-venture model and is also localizing ranges and developing online.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, CHIC Shanghai 2021 has been postponed to March 17-19, 2021. The event will be held at the National Exhibition & Convention Center parallel to Intertextile Shanghai, Yarn Expo and PH Value. Around 95,000 trade visitors including relevant online sales platforms are expected to attend the event.

Focusing on "CHIC Garden" theme, the fair will be transformed into an inspiring garden paradise with the help of garden design experts. The fair will include 10 shows namely: CHIC Men´s, CHIC Women´s, CHIC Impulses (designer), CHIC-YOUNG BLOOD (streetwear), CHIC KIDZ (kidswear), CHIC Accessories, Shoes and Bags, CHIC Tailoring, CHIC Winter´s (Fur & Leatherwear, CHIC Sourcing – Superior Factory/Denim, CHIC Sourcing – Future Link (innovations for fashion and retail), etc.

To be co-organized with IMG, the CHIC Wonderland will display special collections of sneakers that were designed in collaboration with contemporary artists. A special professional forum for the shoes industry will be held by CHIC and FN (Footwear News) and give important industry insights into important hot topics such as design, sports, entertainments, and sustainability. Furthermore, CHIC X FNAA awards will be held on site.

International participation at the fair will be reduced to companies that can participate on-site with local partners due to their already established infrastructure, such as Calpierre, Duedi, Rossonapoli from Italy in CHIC Tailoring and, LangerChen from Germany in CHIC Women´s, Mannylonq from Korea in CHIC Young Blood etc.

CHIC will connect visitors and exhibitors through the CHIC APP. Representatives of all relevant distribution channels from multi brand shops to boutiques, ecommerce platforms, department stores: Wanda Plaza, Wangfujing Department Stores, LiQun Shopping Center, JD.com, amazon, TMall, you .163.com, xiaomi.com, etc will participate in the event. CHIC events CHIC TALK and CHIC SHOWS will also take place both offline and online. All seminars, workshops and shows are organized as hybrid events. The designers' show "Reach & Touch" will present well-known brands like Hua Mu Shen, Jie Mo Yuan Chuang, Si Chou Hua Yuan, Yvonne Choi, Dumpty as well as QZ SHEN, the young streetwear label from Beijing. In addition, the men's fashion label HLA and the Hong Trade Development Council will be present at the CHIC shows CHIC schedule.

The pandemic compelled brands and retailers to launch many new categories, says a survey by Glossy and Modern Retail. The survey says 98 brand and retailer employees, 57.3 per cent of respondents said their employers launched new categories over the last year. Around 49.4 per cent respondents said their employers upgraded to an e-commerce platform while 27 per cent reported employers abandoning retail leases or locations and 19.1 per cent said their employers on-boarded a new 3 PL or logistic provider.

In the last 12 months, retailers launched many new categories in fashion and beauty segment such as Solid & Striped launched activewear and cosmetics brand Morphe forayed into skincare. Kohl’s launched an activewear line, which it expects will contribute 30 per cent to the company’s revenue in the next few years. DTC players like La Ligne and large textile manufacturers like Chargeurs forayed into facemasks.

Growth in these categories is likely get a boost with an increase in e-commerce and advertising spend over the next six months, as 67.3 per cent of them plan to increase investments in e-commerce while 61.2 per cent plan to boost advertising spends.

Bangladesh Garment Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGAPMEA), a platform of backward linkage industries crucial for the apparel industry, urged the government to reduce source tax to 25 per cent and corporate tax to 12 per cent in next fiscal. Currently, apparel accessories makers in the country have to pay 0.5 per cent source tax and 32.5 per cent corporate tax.

As per Abdul Kader Khan, President, BGAPMEA, the pandemic has severely impacted the country's apparel sector and as a backward linkage industry, the accessories industry has also suffered. The industry suffers from fund scarcity in running factories. Moreover, it did not get the desired funds from the government's stimulus package offered for the apparel sector to pay workers' wages, Khan said.

Since the last national budget, garment exporters enjoy 12 per cent corporate tax, which is 10 per cent for apparel manufacturers with certified green factories. But the accessories exporters have to pay 32.5 per cent corporate tax. As per BGAPMEA data, there are more than 1,700 small and medium accessories and packaging makers, who are capable of providing 95 per cent of the demand for accessories products to the country’s $28 billion apparel industry and other export-oriented packing industries, including frozen foods and pharmaceuticals.

The political standoff between India and Pakistan is causing India a loss of around 15 lakh bales of cotton exports. India discontinued the Most Favored Nation status granted to Pakistan after the Pulwama attack in 2019, resulting in 11 per cent duty being imposed on Pakistan’s cotton imports from India.

Fall in Indian cotton prices to benefit Pakistan

Currently, cotton prices in Pakistan are going through the roof. As per Hindu Business Line, raw cotton (kapas) costs Rs 5,560 per maund in Pakistan, the highest in 11 years. Meanwhile production for the current marketing year (August 2020-July 2021) has declined by 24 per cent to 60.19 lakh bales (of 170 kg), says an USDA report. Farmers have reduced cotton cultivation by 10 per cent, while the crop has also been hit by a heavy monsoon and severe pest infestation.

Global cotton prices have also increased sharply since June last year to Rs 50,050 per candy of 356 kg now. Since the beginning of this year, cotton prices have increased by over 11 per cent in the global market. On the other hand, prices of Shankar-6 cotton, India’s major export crop have fallen below Rs 47,000 a candy. Pakistan can benefit from this fall by acquiring cotton at competitive prices and saving freight charges by transporting the required cotton by trucks or shipping it from one of the western ports.

However, February 2019 Pulwama blast has halted trade between India and Pakistan. In retaliation to India withdrawing its Most Favored Nation status, Pakistan discontinued imports from India. PK Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has urged Pakistan to withdraw this duty on cotton.

Ample stocks available for exports

CCI currently has 65 lakh bales of cotton stock with it. It is also well-placed to meet export demand as it carries record cotton stocks from last year. Cotton Association of India (CAI) also has carryover stocks of 125 lakh bales. Hence, ample cotton is available with India for exports. However, no one from the Pakistan government or trade has yet approached it for supplying cotton to Pakistan, said Atul Ganatra, President, CAI.

Besides cotton, India can also supply cotton yarn to Pakistan. Its garment manufacturers have been urging the government to allow import of cotton yarn from India. Value-added textile manufacturers have also demanded permission to import cotton yarn from India as the currently available cotton yarn is not of good quality and is expensive. However, the spinning mills have opposed this move as they believe it would prove disastrous for the domestic spinning sector.

Year 2020 was defined by growing demand for comfort fashion. Data from Edited estimates sleepwear sellouts to have increased by 46 per cent Y-o-Y in Q4 FY2020. The latest Technavio report expects demand for sleep and loungewear to continue growing at 9 per cent CAGR by 2024 globally.

Studies suggest consumers preferred sleepwear made from modal fabrics by mid and mature labels in soft shades with grey tones. Slogans, plaids and Disney licensing were the most popular prints especially in matching mini-me sets. Gowns with fuzzy textures in pink and grey tones also dominated demand while the celestial patterns were seen across various retailers’ Instagram feeds.

Brands line up new collections

Fast fashion retailer Zara launched its new spring collection featuring a blue striped PJ set and 100 per cent cotton separates, while RIXO’s debut collection comprised pajamas made from silk cotton in the label’s signature playful prints. Fitness brand Athleta launched a sleepwear range comprising pajamas, sleep bras and rompers while cult label Ganni partnered with luxury retailer Browns on an exclusive pajama set complete with ruffle sleeves and an embroidered logo. Many fast-fashion brands increased their sleepwear offerings during the year with The Style’s range growing notably from just 0.2 per cent to 5.4 per cent.

Fabric and design trends

Sleepwear in satin gained popularity as it offered the comfort of silk at an affordable price. Popular brands Nasty Gal and I Saw It Fist launched multi-piece satin sets with matching sleep masks, scrunchies and travel bags. For fall 2020, retailers used ribbing to update categories such as basics and knitwear. The trend continued with nightwear during spring 2021. Pink was the most popular color during the year with pink arrivals outpacing neutrals.

Newly launched at Lulu’s and Boux Avenue, bralette sets are perfect for occasions like the Valentine’s Day. Their lace trims add a touch of femininity to sleepwear. Boohoo uses the eyelash lace while others opt for elastane blends. One of the popular retailers of eco-friendly sleepwear, Esprit incorporates 100 per cent organic cotton and LENZING™ ECOVERO™ into its garments.

John Lewis & Partners offers online consultation on topics such as choosing the right mattress, bedding, technology and general sleep wellness while the newly launched app Wave offers real-time sleep sessions every 30 minutes.

Evoking childhood memories with styling cues

Sleepwear trends emerging from most recent collections include pastels, candy stripes, oversized button-up sets and vintage-inspired nightdresses. Silk and satin have emerged as the most important fabrics as is evident from the recent Pinterest searches and new season arrivals. In future sleepwear is likely to incorporate feminine details and colors with matching headscarves, sleep masks or slippers. To tap into this trend, brands need to emphasize on the fit and feel of their garments by focusing on the fabric quality and technology. They also need to evoke customers’ childhood memories by using styling cues like pairing sleepwear with high heels and statement jewelry.

Bangladesh is finally moving from being a least developing nation to a developing nation as per United Nations’ Committee for Development Policy (CDP). And as per a Daily Star report, this recommendation will be endorsed by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in June this year with the final approval from the UN General Assembly in September. For this recommendation, CDP considered three eligibility criteria including: per capita income, human assets, and economic and environmental vulnerability. Bangladesh met all these requirements in the second triennial review itself with the RMG industry largely contributing to its success.

The robust growth of RMG industry is attributed to its status as a Least Developing Country (LDC). As a LDC, Bangladesh enjoys duty-free market access to the European Union (EU)—under the EU's Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP).

LDC graduation to end GSP status

However, its graduation to a developing country will now take away this benefit from Bangladesh. To continue enjoying duty-free market access to the EU, it will now have to attain the GSP Plus status. For this, Bangladesh will have to boost exports of its products qualifying for GSP status, besides ensuring that its three-year average exports of these products do not exceed 6.5 per cent of their total import by the EU. However, apparel imports from Bangladesh accounts for about 9 per cent of EU’s total apparel imports from the world.

Bangladesh therefore, needs to convince EU to increase this threshold to 12-13 per cent by adopting apparel diplomacy. The CDP has also recommended the country be granted five years to transit from being a LDC to a developing nation. During these five years Bangladesh needs to continue apparel diplomacy to confirm the GSP Plus status for post-LDC period.

Apparel diplomacy for fruitful collaborations

The changing global apparel scenario demands a close collaboration between Bangladesh industry and its government. The country needs to form a joint taskforce with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) to perform the required apparel diplomacy for attaining GSP Plus.

Bangladesh also needs to move away from its traditional US and EU markets to explore new ones like Japan, South Korea, Russia, Latin American countries, China and India. It can no longer depend on favorable or subsidized trading terms. To survive amongst the fittest, the Bangladesh government and trade bodies need to pursue an active apparel diplomacy that will enable them to form productive partnerships with their largest trading partners.