An affiliate of Sycamore Partners, Premium Apparel recently bought brands like Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lou & Grey, and Lane Bryant from the Ascena Retail Group and some of its subsidiaries. Each of these is are well-known brands with passionate associates and loyal customers. They have significant potential and can offer new and relevant experiences for customers, said Stefan Kaluzny, Managing Director, Sycamore Partners.

Premium Apparel plans to retain a substantial portion of retail stores, associates, and corporate operations affiliated with these brands. It will work with the brands’ associates to continue delivering great products and memorable experiences to their customers, while positioning each for long-term success.

Premium Apparel will acquire the brand assets for a purchase price of $540 million, on a cash-free and debt-free basis, subject to certain adjustments, and the assumption of certain liabilities. The transaction is expected to be completed by mid-December.

A Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC, believes, after the continuous fall in export for five months, the Indian apparel sector is on a path to V-shaped recovery. The sector witnessed a positive shift in September-October; exports rose 10.22 per cent in September this year to $1,190 million, from $1,079 million a year ago. Similarly, it rose by 6.3 per cent in October 2020 to $1,177 million from $1,107 million a year ago. The recovery from the huge fall of April this year to a 10 per cent rise in September corroborates the industry’s belief in the sector positive future growth, said Sakthivel.

COVID-19 led to a 20 per cent decline in national apparel exports while exports from Noida declined by 32 per cent. As per Lalit Thukral, President, Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC), apparel exports between January and November this year declined by Rs 8,000 crore from the corresponding period last year. There was severe impact on the order position of exporters, global apparel consumption, working capital, raw material and pending refunds. Apparel exports from Noida declined to Rs 17,000 crore between January and November this year, as compared to Rs 25,000 crore last year for the same span of time, he added.

Thukral further says overseas buyers and buying houses either canceled or postponed confirmed orders indefinitely right from the first day of lockdown in India. Though the situation improved to a large extent after the union textile minister’s appeal to do “commerce with compassion”, the fresh lockdown in the UK and other European countries once again worsened the situation for exporters, he added.

Expected to be legalized in 2021, the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), promises export opportunities to the European market for Vietnamese garment-textile and footwear enterprises. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s goods currently accounts for just 1 per cent of the UK's annual import turnover of nearly $700 billion. UKVFTA will offer Vietnamese enterprises more advantages to bring goods to the market, especially when the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will no longer be applicable to the UK after the Brexit.

The UKVFTA is expected to fuel the growth of Vietnam’s textile and garment industries by 6 and 14 per cent by 2030. It will create a firmer foundation for the garment-textile sector, says Vu Duc Giang, Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). The industry will be able to diversify raw material supplies via importing from Japan and the Republic of Korea for export to the UK and the EU with preferential tax rates, he elaborated, adding that it is a strength that many ASEAN member countries do not have.

Nguyen Khanh Ngoc, Deputy Head-European - American Market Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, said, UKVFTA will help Vietnam gain better competitiveness compared to competitors from China, India, and ASEAN. Tran Tuan Anh, Minister of Industry and Trade and Liz Truss, UK Secretary of State for International Trade signed the agreed minutes on the conclusion of negotiations over the UKVFTA on December 11. Ninety-nine per cent tariffs on goods traded between Vietnam and the UK will be cut at the end of the tariff elimination enabling Vietnam to save about £114 million on exports to the UK, while UK will save around £36 million.

The pandemic has hit Bangladeshi clothing suppliers hard as British fashion retailers cancelled orders worth $3.7 billion. BGMEA figures suggest, around 1,931 global fashion brands cancelled their orders during the period as non-essential stores were forced to close in March. The value of the canceled orders from fashion retailers totaled about $984 million, says the BGMEA report. Many of these retailers had just then taken their spring and summer collection deliveries.

Data from Traidcraft Exchange shows, prominent UK suppliers like Primark, Mothercare and Debenhams, canceled $1 billion orders by June. In comparison, US retailers canceled orders worth $500 million while German, Swedish, Dutch, French and Spanish retailers canceled $100 million orders each. As per a Times report, brands like Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Inditex and H&M have committed to pay in full for orders completed and in production. Primark, meanwhile has committed to pay for all outstanding orders. Traidcraft said retailers had demanded suppliers delay their shipments until the next season. That would make the companies incur extra warehouse costs, says the report.

The pandemic forced many businesses to shift toward a B2C or a direct-to-consumer (D2C) model. According to Steve Dentorn, CEO, Ware2Go, the shutting down of stores during the initial part of the pandemic made it necessary for clients using distribution channels to find new ways to get their materials out.

The pandemic has exposed extreme fragility of the fashion industry. However, it has also sharpened focus on negligent supply chains and business operations, some glaring facts should concern global citizens, says a report by Quint. To bring the industry out of the COVID-19 mess, the International Labor Organization has introduced a non-binding ‘COVID-19 Action Plan’ for the garment industry. The plan emphasizes on open communication with suppliers, support for factories and payment for finished and partially-finished goods.

It is common for garment factories to make their workers work overtime and deny even a minute’s relief from work. Research by Indonesia’s Sedane Labor Resource Centre shows, garment factory workers are being forced to produce 80 to 90 pieces every 23 minutes. A report by the Thomson Reuters Foundation also indicates, Indian female factory workers are being given unmarked pills to help with period.

New initiatives to promote stronger supply chains

Concerned over abysmal working conditions, fashion advocates have launched the #WhoMadeMyClothes initiative to promote a stronger fashion supply chain. Industry leaders such as Giorgio Armani and Ellen MacArthur have also voiced their support for slow fashion. Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched the Make Fashion Circular initiative that is being upheld by brands such as GAP, Burberry, H&M, Nike, and Stella McCartney. The initiative promotes clothes recycling and use of renewable clothing materials.

One of the world’s most commonly worn garments, cotton T-shirts require around 3,250 liter water for one single piece, which according to the World Wildlife Fund, is equal to three years of drinking water. On the other hand, a leather shoe requires four times the amount of water required by a cotton T-shirt while a pair of jeans requires 3 times.

Call for consumer participation

As per the Quint report, consumers can help fashion industry to slow down its activities by investing in good quality clothes and preserving them for a longer period. This will help the industry reduce garment’s water footprint by around 10 per cent.

Consumers can also reduce water pollution by buying only certified organic cotton clothes or those made using waterless dyeing techniques and low-impact dyes. Additionally, they can use eco-friendly clothing materials such as bamboo or hemp to help save 50 per cent of water usage.

Beyond extending an identity, the pandemic offers the industry an opportunity to streamline its current practices and promote sustainable supply chains. To triple its current bottom line, the industry needs to invest in creating a sustainable fashion future.

A new video footage released by the Guardian accuses fast fashion brand Boohoo of selling clothes made by two Pakistan factories accused of labor exploitation.

Long hours and no pay

Workers in these factories are paid much less than the legal minimum wage of Rs 17,500 in Pakistan currency for unskilled labor. They also face safety issues like motorbikes being parked indoors next to flammable materials and being made to work for 24-hours shifts. Though Boohoo claims, a third-party audit by AH Fashion on November 2 has cleared the factory of all allegation, workers allege being paid far less than the legal minimum wage and not receiving any payslip to record their income. Workers at the Madina Gloves factory also allege being made to work for 24 hours at a stretch before major deadlines. They also report Boohoo is not providing them proper accommodation.

Safety concerns at factories

The video footage shows piles of fabric stacked up near a boiler and motorbikes parked next to cardboard boxes. Workers at the AH Fashion factories are shown working in a under construction factory with scaffolding hanging and piles of bricks. Both the factories denied these allegations claiming they pay their workers according to local labor laws. Preston-based intermediary JD Fashion has also declined supplying goods to Boohoo as has Madina.

Auditors also raised concerns over safety issues in both factories. One of the auditors refused the video footage as conclusive evidence. However, another advised Boohoo to pull out of the factory immediately.

The video report also accuses Boohoo’s Leicester suppliers of making their workers work in cramped conditions during the first COVID-19 lockdown and paying them much below the prescribed minimum wage. Boohoo accepted the recommendations of a report from Allison Levitt QC suggesting it would take a similar approach in Faisalabad. It’s AH Fashion factory was audited by the SMETA [Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit] audit in November 2020, and hence the brand is extremely concerned about these allegations.

To verify these allegations, Boohoo has deployed independent compliance and auditing specialists Bureau Veritas in Faisalabad and instructed them to immediately investigate these claims. The brand has refused to be associated with suppliers who do not treat their workers with respect.

Spanish fashion retailer Mango is all set to enhance its bricks-and-mortar presence in the US.

As per Apparel Resources, the clothing retail giant plans to roll out 3 stores in the first quarter of next year.

Notably, the new stores will be opened in 3 major US shopping centres that are run by the renowned Simon Property Group.

The Spanish retailer strategically picked the three locations – Menlo Park Mall, Edison, New Jersey; Dadeland Mall, Kendall, Florida and Roosevelt Field, Garden City, New York – to expand its ‘Mediterranean’ label to US consumers.

The retailer has been continuously putting efforts to improve its brand recognition in the US through digital and wholesale network and now the focus is on enhancing the presence of its physical stores.

Zachary Beloff, National Director of Business Development, Simon, said that Mango is a world famous brand and has a strong bricks-and-mortar future in the US.

Adeeb Iqbal, Vice Chairman, PRGMEA has urged the government to also abolish duties on the import of fabrics as well as the denim fabric in line with the import relaxation provided on import of cotton yarn, as value-added garment sector is facing severe shortage of basic raw material of fabrics, which may lead to a drastic decline in value-added textile export.

Iqbal said that the garment industry has received a huge number of export orders, however, exporters are unable to finalize them due to unavailability of fabric, especially the denim fabric in the country.

Iqbal said the removal Regulatory Duty on import of cotton yarn will accelerate the country’s textile exports. He called for steps for the removal of hurdles hindering exports of garment sector. According to him, non-availability of latest fabric locally hinders product development by the garment sector for export market, adding that foreign buyers were demanding new garments on G3, G4 and technical fabric raw material which are neither available nor produced by Pakistani weavers.

Business-to-customer shopping fair Fashionista will hold eight shopping fairs in Tier II cities such as Raipur, Bilaspur, Gondia, Nagpur, Akola, and Amravati in January and in Lucknow and Kanpur in February, 2021.

As per Fashion Network, these fashion shopping fairs will help the event introduce branded fashion to non-metro cities. Fashionista will begin 2021 with a shopping event in Raipur from January 12 to 14 at the Grand Imperia featuring womenswear, accessories, jewellery, and lifestyle goods.

From January 16 to 17, Fashionista will take place at Bilaspur’s Courtyard Marriott. Then, from January 19 to 20, it will at Gondia’s Grand Sita hotel.

From January 22 to 24, Fashionista will bring its brand selection to Nagpur’s Centre Point then from January 26 to 27, it will take place at Akola’s Shagun. To finish up the month, the event will take place from January 28 to 29 at Amravati’s Grand Mehfil.

In the next month, Fashionista will take place at Lucknow’s Clarks Avadh from February 5 to 7. Finally, from February 9 to 11, it will take place at Kanpur’s Royal Cliff.

UKFT has signed a FTA with the EU, biggest market of the UK fashion and textiles industry. The FTA will enable UK to supply £7.4 billion worth of fashion and textiles to the EU every year besides helping it create thousands of jobs and hundreds of companies.

UKFT has urged the UK government to help the sector meet its current challenges and invest in its long term future. As per Nigel Lugg, Chairman, UKFT will be work with its members to help the industry maintain and grow its exports to the EU and the rest of the world.

The UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT) is the most inclusive network for fashion and textile companies in the UK. The association brings together designers, manufacturers, suppliers, agents and retailers to promote their businesses and the industry, both in the UK and throughout the world.