Trident, in its board meeting has unveiled its 'VISION 2025' aimed towards unlocking long-term sustainable value for shareholders. The company plans to achieve revenue of Rs 25,000 crore by 2025 with 12 per cent bottom line. They also plan to make Trident a national brand and digital Trident bBy completing the journey of Industry 4.0.

'VISION 2025' will accelerate the growth momentum thereby placing the company in an upward trajectory thus adding value and growth for its shareholders and business associates. The board has authorized its strategy committee to examine various rapid-growth strategies to derive growth in-line with VISION 2025. The strategy committee shall explore various options like unlocking value for the shareholders, capital allocation strategies to improve return ratios expansion of existing businesses and diversification into new businesses through organic and inorganic growth. The committee shall look into creation of focused business groups to generate synergies and explore business alliances. Optimization of leveraging capacity to create value for shareholders and penetration into new markets, product development, E-commerce and brand building is also an area of focus for the committee.

Fashion retailer Superdry has posted results detailing the impact of the pandemic on its first half performance and the build-up to Christmas, but said progress was being made on its brand reset and its influencer-led digital marketing strategy.

In the 26-week period, revenue declined 23.4 per cent to £282.7 million which Superdry said reflected Covid-19 effects, with 23 per cent owned store trading days lost due to lockdown restrictions and the continued impact of social distancing on footfall even when open.

However, the group's ecommerce performance was up 49.8 per cent year on year and partially offset lost store sales, which were down 44.8 per cent, as consumers moved online. The business made an underlying loss before tax of £10.6m, widened from £2.3m in the equivalent 2019 period, driven by the trading disruption.

Despite the difficult financial performance, Superdry stated that the momentum of its brand reset continued, with its Autumn/Winter 20 (AW20) range fully launched across all channels, with key marketing campaigns said to be driving record levels of engagement.

Sustainability is also increasingly embedded in the brand with 38 per cent of A/W20 revenues from organic cotton, recyclable and low-impact material product, and all of AW20 padded outerwear jackets using recycled materials.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded West Africa Trade & Investment Hub (Trade Hub) will partner with Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) to establish a model factory with Ethical Apparel Africa and Maagrace Garment in Ghana

This factory will advance the goals of the Prosper Africa initiative, with increased apparel production primarily satisfying the demand for uniforms for healthcare workers in the United States due to COVID-19.

Ethical Apparel Africa will receive a $1.35-million grant underpinning an equity investment in Maagrace’sKoforidua factory. Co-funded by USAID/Ghana and USAID/West Africa, this partnership will expand Ghana’s apparel manufacturing industry by providing modern equipment and technical expertise to Maagrace.

Once its model factory is fully operational with new equipment and more efficient processes, Ethical Apparel Africa will export $19 million over the next three years, with at least 80 per cent of exports targeting the US market duty-free under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

The partnership will also focus on placing women in supervisory roles to change gender norms in the garment industry and ensure that over 50 percent of factory middle managers are women.

Arcadia, the group behind Topshop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins, is set to close another 31 shops after falling into administration. The stores, including 21 Outfit shops, will not reopen once lockdown is lifted, resulting in 700 job cuts.

Deloitte, appointed to run Arcadia group, are seeking buyers for some or all of group stores. Arcadia had about 444 UK stores when it went into administration, putting about 13,000 jobs at risk. The retail giant, which also owns Miss Selfridge and Wallis, saw sales slump during the Coronavirus amid temporary store closures.

Despite that, experts expect the group to be broken up, with bidders taking different parts of the business, and brands potentially hived off. The deadline for bids passed recently, with retail chains such as Next and Frasers Group reportedly in the running to buy some parts of the group out of administration.

The Outfit chain is made up largely of out-of-town shops selling a mix of products from the group's other brands under one roof, so may not have drawn interest from bidders. Although some bidders including Australian collective City Chic and Next have shown interest, they prefer to buy only a fragment of the brand resulting in more losses and job cuts.

Arcadia was once a darling of the High Street, but long before coronavirus, Sir Philip's brands were struggling against newer, online-only fashion retailers. Boohoo, for example, has also been reported as having an interest in acquiring Arcadia brands.

In 2020, it bought the online businesses of Oasis and Warehouse, adding to Karen Millen and Coast, which it acquired in 2019.

Mike Ashley-led Frasers has increased stake in German luxury fashion house Hugo Boss to 15.2 per cent through stocks and derivatives, part of Ashley's on-going drive to take the British sportswear retailer upmarket. Frasers, is raising stake for the second time increasing it to 10.1 per cent in late June after disclosing an initial 5.1 per cent holding earlier that month. The company said it now held 3.6 million shares of common stock, representing 5.1 per cent of Hugo Boss's total share capital. It also has 3.4 million shares via contracts for difference and 3.7 million shares via the sale of put options, which together represent 10.1 per cent of the Frankfurt-listed company's share capital.

Frasers said its maximum aggregate exposure relating to stake change was about €275 million after taking into account the premium it will receive under the put options. In mid-2020 the number was €204 million. This investment reflects Frasers Group's growing relationship with Hugo Boss and belief in Hugo Boss's long-term future. Frasers Group intends to be a supportive stakeholder and create value in the interests of both Frasers Group's and Hugo Boss' shareholders.

Karl Mayer has launched the 4D-KNIT generation of warp knitted fabrics. The new type of fabrics opens up previously unknown possibilities in design and product development. Karl Mayer is a textile machinery company that offers solutions for the fields of warp knitting and flat knitting, technical textiles, warp preparation for weaving and digitalisation.

The fabrics’ striking features are distinctive relief-like surface designs; the machine is based on using the double bar Raschel technique. An RDPJ 6/2 EL with a clever guide bar arrangement and technical configuration is used to produce these eye-catching articles. The double needle bar Raschel machine does not produce a classic spacer textile with monofilaments for spacing, but the space between the cover surfaces is filled with a bulked yarn. In addition, differently shrinking yarns are processed in intelligent combinations on the front and rear side of the warp knitted textiles and different lapping techniques are used.

During the finishing process, this leads to high-low effects with differentiated markedness. Voluminous fabrics with small and flat reliefs or deep and bulky shapes with various motifs are created. Strict geometric arrangements with high-low effects are just as possible as expansive plastic wavy arrangements, sparkling fruit looks or complex imaginative designs with different height profiles. Even hole patterns can be seamlessly and freely placed incorporated into the textiles. Functional clothing and shoes in particular provide breathability and a stylish look with the mesh parts. Additional colour and shape effects can be achieved when using suitable yarns.

Apparel and textiles manufacturers of six Asian countries, including Bangladesh, have come together for an initiative to push for better global buyers’ purchasing practices. The nine member associations from six countries have: China National Textile And Apparel Council (CNTAC), Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA), Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA), Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA), Towel Manufacturers Association of Pakistan (TMA), Vietnam Textile and Garment Association (VITAS), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC).

The textiles and garment industry is characterised by power imbalance between the brands and buyers on the one end and the textile and garment producers on the other and this had increased amid the pandemic. They wanted to come together as associations and manufacturers in Asia, to agree on common positions regarding payment and delivery terms so that they have a stronger voice in individual and in collective discussions with brands and buyers on improving purchasing practices.

The platform hops the common position would be powerful as the countries represent over 60 per cent of all global apparel exports by manufacturers. Until March 2021, the platform would work in five working groups — defining the ‘red lines’, requests and recommendations on topics such as payment and delivery practices, planning and information exchange and third-party negotiations. Based on the output of the working groups, the second phase of the initiative would drive the roll-out in the industry.

The continued and massive decline in the output of cotton crop is posing serious threat to Pakistan’s textile exports. Pakistan was the fourth largest producer of cotton in the world however cotton production in the country has declined to its lowest level mainly due to inconsistent policies.

Cotton cultivation area has recorded over 33 per cent drop during the last few years and the crop has come down to its lowest level in the last three decades, reaching 0.5 million bales from 1.5 million cotton bales, according to data from Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA).

Currently over 60 per cent ginning industry is closed due to lower cotton production. The massive decline in production is a complete failure of government policies and lack of concentration to the cotton crop. If the government does not take serious steps for increase in cotton crop, Pakistan will be completely deprived of cotton cultivation and accordingly textile exports.

According to PCGA the government should formulate a special policy to modernize the cotton industry. In addition, new verities of cotton should be introduced to get more crop yield. PCGA also urged for facilities like textile sector and concessional power tariff for ginning factories. It said that due to the low level of cotton production, a total some 8 billion would be imported to meet the domestic industry demand and it will cost 3 billion dollar foreign exchange. India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Sudan and other countries have surpassed Pakistan by supporting and modernizing their cotton industry, while Pakistan is still relying on old technology.

Abit (Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association) announced the numbers for the Brazilian textile industry in 2020, in addition to the sector recovery projections for 2021. With the pandemic, production was affected and many companies started producing masks and other PPE to avoid stopping in the period. The sector closed 2020 with an estimated 1.87 million tons of manufactured products by 2021, this figure is expected to increase to 2.09 million tons and 5.81 billion pieces. The figures are similar to those presented in 2019, when the country produced 2.05 million tons and 5.94 billion pieces.

In the annual revenue, it is estimated R$ 55.3 million in textile manufactured and R$ 152.1 billion in clothing products, which will represent, respectively, increases of 10.5% and 24% compared to the figures recorded in 2020. The association says, although the numbers seem high, in fact the comparison is on a low basis. This is because the sector had been trying to recover since 2010 and in 2019 it was regaining a more solid growth, but was hit by the pandemic, being one of the most affected.

Another highlight is the number of jobs, which after a significant drop in 2020, will grow again in 2021. The expectation is of 25 thousand new jobs, around 65% of the volume reduced last year. The association also points out that this growth will be gradual.

Even with the challenges of the year, the textile and apparel sector can contribute to the pandemic by making masks for sale and donation. The number of the produced item jumped from 6.5 million to 140 million in four months, with around 140 companies converting their production to this demand.

The first fully digital edition of Colombiatex de Las Américas, the largest event of the textile sector in Latin America, took off on a positive note. It hosted 21 Brazil participates, supported by Texbrasil (The Internationalization Program of the Brazilian Textile and Fashion Industry) – the result of a partnership between Abit (Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association) and Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency).

The 33rd edition event is fully digital where brands have the possibility to exhibit their launches and innovations and negotiate with people interested in their products. According to the event’s organization, more than 2000 qualified buyers, from Colombia and all over the world, are participating.

To support the brands Brazilian companies at Texbrasil will perform several digital actions. In line with the theme of the edition, which will highlight innovation and sustainability in 2021, the program has developed an exclusive e-book with content presented by the companies.

Year 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of Texbrasil’s participation at the event, confirming the commercial importance between Brazil and Colombia and the success of their partnership. In 2020, the 44 companies that participated in the physical edition made $8.96 million in business and prospected another $62.84 in sales.