First Japanese company to join The Fashion Pact, Asics will continue to promote sustainability in all areas of business. Asics has been focusing on climate change and last year announced its commitment to set science-based emissions reduction targets to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, towards a net-zero future by 2050. Currently, Asics aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at business locations by 38 per cent, and by 55 per cent per product along the supply chain by 2030.

Demonstrating its commitment to ensuring the fashion sector is on the path to a sustainable future, Asics is also a signatory of the UNFCCC Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action and a founding member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.

Asics has also received an “A-" score for latest response to the CDP’s annual Climate Change questionnaire for its actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and effectively address climate change. The performance scoring by CDP—a not-for-profit organisation that collects environmental data and runs a global disclosure system—is one of the most trusted standards among institutional investors, 515 of whom endorsed the assessment this year. Asics is one of the first sporting goods manufacturer in the world to receive the “A-" score.

Fashion Pact is a global coalition of companies in the fashion and textile industries which have all committed to a common core of key environmental goals in three areas: mitigating climate change, restoring biodiversity and protecting the oceans.

The pact was created and presented to heads of state during the G7 summit in Biarritz in 2019. Initially, thirty-two signatories across luxury, retail, fashion, sports and lifestyle joined this new industry coalition and committed to collectively spearhead transformation in their respective industries.

German sportswear maker Adidias AG plans to sell its brand Reebok, which it bought 15 years ago to take on archrival Nike on its home turf. As per Colin Wong, Portfolio Manager, Mawer Investment Management, this might be an attractive target for the firm to break into the US market. Some of the potential options before Adidas include pinning Reebok off as a stand-alone public company, or selling the brand to private equity, another major sports retailer or a multi-brand player like VF Corp.

Reebok’s net sales fell 7 per cent in the third quarter of 2020 to €403 million after falling as much as 44 per cent in the preceding quarter. In 2019, Adidas wrote down Reebok’s book value by nearly half, compared with 2018, to €842 million. The brand recently collaborated with celebrities like Cardi B and focused on women’s apparel, which put it in a better place, said Jessica Ramirez, retail analyst at Jane Hali & Associates.

Adidas expects its overall sales to drop in the last three months of the year as the reimposition of lockdowns in Europe would likely offset a return to growth in China and strong demand for running gear and products designed by singer Beyonce.

Dirk Van Den Berghe has quit as the CEO of Walmat-Asia, and is also likely to resign from Flipkart’s board of members. Having joined Walmart in 2014 as CEO of the Canada region, Berghe also served as the chief executive of Walmart China. His stint as CEO of Asia included overseeing the company’s growth in India, China and Japan besides focusing on global sourcing.

He also led the Walmart’s $16 billion investment in Flipkart in 2018, which gave it a 77 per cent stake in the homegrown etailer. Earlier this month, Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal was named as a board member of PhonePe, after the digital payments company was spun off from its parent e-commerce firm. PhonePe cofounders Sameer Nigam and Rahul Chari were also named as board members. Bansal remains a member on the Flipkart's board and is also a shareholder.

Though COVID-19 has led to a surge in fashion ecommerce activities, few segments continue to rely on physical shopping experiences, luxury fashion being one of them. As Euromonitor International notes, global luxury fashion sales are set to decline 22 per cent by 2020-end as stores remain closed and consumers are devoid of personalized shopping experiences. The pandemic has also hit consumer confidence badly. Though high net worth individuals may not be feeling as squeezed as those in the lower-income categories, they too have curtailed spending on discretionary items. This has caused a massive shock to the luxury fashion industry across the globe.

Luxury fashion sales to decline

Since long, the personal luxury goods industry has heavily dependent on physical store experiences for consumers. However, the pandemic has accelerated the industry’s digital transformation and forced brands to shift their marketing budgets to digital platforms and social media. Closure of physical stores is expected to hit designer fashion sales harder than sales of lower-priced fashion items. As the Euromonitor report states, sales of designer clothing and footwear are predicted to decline 22 per cent in 2020, compared to 16 per cent for non-designer fashion and 20 per cent for personal accessories.

However, designer fashion category is also expected rebound faster than other categories. As more consumers return to stores, sales in this category may surge across all major FMCG markets.

Omnichannel retail to boost consumer connect

E-commerce sales of apparel, footwear and personal accessories across both designer and affordable categories are expected to surge to 28 per cent, 20 per cent and 16 per cent respectively in 2020. The most rapid increase will be witnessed in South Korea, where e-sales will surge to 36 per cent of total sales by 2020-end. This will be followed by China, which too will witness a rapid surge in both physical and online sales.

COVID-19 has encouraged brands to explore the complete potential of omnichannel retail. Though it has spurred online sales from 12 per cent in 2019 to 20 per cent in 2020, there has been a reinforcement of the importance of physical stores, especially for personal luxury goods sale. Hence, it has become important for luxury brands and retailers to establish a connection with customers and build brand loyalty amongst them.

As per Chris Wilcox, Executive Director, National Council of Wool Selling Brokers of Australia, current wool price levels will support demand for Australian wool by garment markers, weavers and knitters. Wilcox said prices of cotton and synthetic fibers have risen by more than wool in the past few months, competitiveness of Australian wool has improved significantly.

The ratio of (Australian wool price benchmark) Eastern Market Indicator to cotton price has fallen from an all-time peak of 7.92 in February 2019 to 6.32 in February 2020 and is currently sitting at 4.88, he said further adding, the ratio of EMI against synthetic fiber prices has also fallen from an all-time peak of 7.25 in February 2019 to 6.08 in February 2020 and currently sits at 4.66. For cotton, both current price ratio and the average since January 2020 are well below the levels seen through 2010s, he said.

However, the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data on Australian wool exports in October showed the volume of exports to all destinations was down 2 percent. The volume of exports to China was higher compared to October 2019 although its value declined by 20 per cent. Similarly exports to Korea rose 43 per cent in volume while those to UK by 81 per cent. On the other hand, volume of Australia’s exports slumped by 54 per cent while their value declined by 72 per cent.

Bangladesh plans to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to enjoy greater market access in the bloc after graduating from the least developed country grouping.The FTA will offer Bangladesh three benefits including a big market to improve its performance and safeguard the duty privilege after graduation. It would also prevent Bangladesh from signing any bilateral agreement with other members of the bloc.

Currently, Bangladesh is at the final stages of negotiations with Indonesia for a FTA for duty privileges on select goods traded between the two countries. However, the negotiation is now facing a stalemate since Indonesia disagrees with some terms, particularly in regards to some major export items such as garments, under the proposed FTA. Bangladesh has been a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum since 2006, which would be an advantage for the country during negotiations

The ASEAN has become a vital market for Bangladesh due to its immense size. The region has a huge consumer base of 642 million people and a burgeoning middle-class with newfound spending capabilities.

By 2030, the ASEAN region will be the fourth-largest economy in the world. Its GDP increased from $2,373 billion in 2007 to $4,034 billion in 2016, according to a study titled 'Bangladesh A story of a Phoenix.'

The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy has signed many trade important documents, including an exchange letter with the Government of Vietnam on cumulating of origin of textile materials between the two countries in the EU- Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). As per EVFTA's commitments, to enjoy reduced import tariffs, exporters need to ensure strict compliance to origin requirements of their products. Accordingly, the material fabric used to make clothes must be woven in Vietnam or other EU member countries. However, most textile and apparel materials in Vietnam are currently imported from non-EVFTA member sources.

Therefore, Vietnam has urged EU to include a provision allowing Vietnamese enterprises to add the content of origin of material textiles imported from South Korea- the country that has signed an FTA with the EU - into the garment products produced in Vietnam to enjoy preferential import tariffs when exporting to the EU.

As per Myanmar’s commerce ministry, the county’s garment exports have dropped by half in two months due to a slump in demand in the European market. The ministry revealed, Myanmar’s export of cut-make-pack (CMP) garments were valued at $214 million in October and November in fiscal 2020-2021 compared to $450 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

However, the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association expects garment business to recover after the COVID-19 vaccine succeeds in Europe. The country’s manufacturing sector is primarily concentrated in garment and textiles produced on the cutting, making, and packing basis, and it contributes to the country’s GDP to a certain extent.

Its CMP garment sector which contributes to 30 per cent of Myanmar’s export sector is bracing for downward trend owing to cancel of order from the European countries and suspension of the trade by western countries amid the pandemic.

A new report from Spanish investment firm Comprar Acciones, expects the global activewear market to remain resistant to the economic impact of COVID-19 and reach $353.5 billion in 2020. The firm also expects market to grow at a 3.7 per cent CAGR over the next six years, reaching $439.17 billion by 2026. It further predicts athlesiure sales to account for 31 per cent of apparel revenues in the US in December.

Comprar Acciones also highlights 75 per cent growth in Nike’s online sales during the fourth quarter ending June this year and 82 per cent in the first quarter that ended in August. According to the company, this surge in e-commerce helped offset significant declines in its brick-and-mortar sales during the fourth quarter. There has been 93 per cent increase in e-commerce sales of Adidas in the third quarter and the 66 per cent increase in Puma’s digital sales year to date. The firm reinforces the important role played by the athleisure segment during the pandemic.

NPD predicts athleisure items like sweatpants and sweatshirts will account for 31 per cent of total apparel spending in the US during the 2020 holiday season. It had a 26 per cent share in the 2019 holiday season, the company adds. For example, Gap-owned women’s workout clothes brand Athleta, posted a 35 per cent increase in net sales in the third quarter, while another of its brand Old Navy registered a 55 per cent rise in activewear sales. Abercrombie & Fitch’s women’s loungewear brand, Gilly Hicks posted a double-digit increase in sales in the most recent quarter, thanks to a 100 per cent rise in its online sales.

A Euromonitor and Coresight study cited by Comprar Acciones expects the US athleisure market to decline by 9.2 per cent to reach $105.1 billion in sales in 2020. However, the sector is expected to rebound in 2021, when sales could grow by 7.9 per cent.

Denmark’s fur exporters are reeling under the government’s decisions to kill 17 million farmed mink after COVID-19 outbreak at hundreds of farms led to the discovery of a new strain of Coronavirus in the mammals. As per the International Fur Federation, the government’s decision has caused a 30 per cent rise in mink pelts prices, of which Denmark was the top exporter. Now, exporters are looking to Finland, which will soon offer one million mink and 250,000 fox pelts for sale in Korea, China, the United States and elsewhere. The pelts will be sold at the Auction house Saga Furs from December15.

The sales program will offer mink fur from both Europe and North America, such as ‘Pearl Velvet’ and ‘Silverblue Velvet’ mink, in addition to ‘Silver Fox’, “White Finnraccoon” and Russian sable. Saga Furs expects 100 per cent sales compared to the 55 per cent take-up so far in 2020 as a result of the Coronavirus crisis. Fur demand has been falling since the 1950s, except for a rise between 2000 and 2013 when it was popular on fashion runways and Chinese appetite for luxury pelts boomed, Lise Skov, an academic who researched the Danish fur industry, said.

A typical mink pelt sold for more than $90 at auction in 2013, while last year skins fetched around $30. This was despite a fall in global production to just under 60 million pelts last year, from more than 80 million in 2014.