Being on hold for two years, the retail sector in India is bouncing back with strong ROIs, says a new report by Anarock. Around 31 new malls will come up by 2023-end, inviting massive footfalls and generating jobs. The study states, shopping malls will house around 76 per cent more retail spaces this year as compared to the previous year. Around 15 new malls are scheduled to open by the end of this year, while 16 others would be operational by the end of 2023. This would create a huge opportunity for developers and investors besides boosting employment in various regions.

Malls emerge new investment destinations

The upcoming malls are scheduled to open in 12 Tier I, II and III cities including Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Baroda, Badaun, Indore, Nagpur and Udaipur. As per Amit Jain, Director, Mahagun Group, malls have emerged the ideal investment destinations. Rising consumer demands are boosting footfalls, creating a new demand for commercial spaces. This is benefitting CRE to a great level, adds Jain.

Ajendra Singh, VP-Sales & Marketing, Spectrum Metro, notes, commercial real estate is witnessing immense development in Tier I cities. Favorable returns are attracting retailers to invest in such projects, he adds. The prominent positioning of these projects also plays an important role in attracting developers to plan more such developments, Singh observes.

Research show, new malls being constructed on approximately 10.15 million sq. ft. area in Tier I, II and III cities are likely be to operational by 2022-end. Of the 31 malls expected to open this year, four malls will be located in Chennai, covering approximately 2.55 million sq. ft. area.

Dushyant Singh, Director, Orion One 32 opines, the strong positioning of commercial real estate post COVID, is likely to boost jobs on a massive scale. The moving of developers to Tier II and III cities with high-scale projects will boost the region’s economy thereby creating new employment opportunities, affirms Renu Singh, President - Sales & Marketing, Spaze Group.

To be held from September 21-24 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC) in Ho Chi Minh City, the 20th Vietnam Int'l Textile & Garment Industry Exhibition (VTG 2022) will attract over 200 brands from 14 countries across the world.

The event is held in both in-person and virtual forms by Yorkers Trade and Marketing Service Co. Ltd., in coordination with a number of domestic and foreign trade promotion units.

According to Judy Wang, President, Yorkers Trade and Marketing Service, the event will provide an ideal platform for Vietnamese textile and garment manufacturers to gain access to advanced technologies and the latest market information, and connect with leading enterprises globally.

The exhibition will also include a series of seminars during which speakers will share expertise related to the field.

Statistics from the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association (VITAS) show, Vietnam’s textile and garment exports grew by 17.7 per cent Y-o-Y to $22.3 billion from January-June.

The value of textile and apparel imports by the US increased by 28.1 per cent Y-o-Y to $11.45 billion in June this year. The volume of these imports surged by 18.2 per cent Y-o-Y to 10.65 billion sq m. The value of US apparel imports rose by 40.3 per cent Y-o-Y during the month to $8.64 billion while the volume of these imports rose by 18.9 per cent Y-o-Y to 2.76 billion sq m.

The volume of US’ textile and apparel imports from China declined by 11 per cent Y-o-Y to 3.25 billion sq m in June 2022. The value of these imports surged by 15.8 per cent Y-o-Y to $2.95billion. The value of US’ apparel imports from China in rose by 32.9 per cent Y-o-Y to $1.98 billion while the imports volume surged by 12.5 per cent Y-o-Y to 1.04 billion sq m. Compared with 2019, the total imports value from China decreased by 11.5 per cent, and the reduce rate saw a seasonal decrease.

In July 2022, Vietnam’s cotton imports dropped by 25 per cent Y-o-Y to 104,900 tons but increased by 12 per cent M-o-M. The US was the main source of Vietnam's cotton imports, accounting for 54 per cent to 56,448 tons. Imports from Australia and Brazil reached 26,026 tons and 7,390 tons, accounting for 25 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.

Vietnamese yarn imports surged by 0.29 per cent Y-o-Y but declined by 0.04 per cent M-o-M in July. Vietnam imported 91,300tons of yarns, up 0.3 per cent Y-o-Y during the month. By country, its yarn imports mostly originated from China, China Taiwan and South Korea. Of the total, 55,692tons of yarns were from China, 13,527tons were from China Taiwan, and 7,004tons were from South Korea, accounting for 61 per cent, 15 per cent and 6 per cent respectively. Vietnam’s yarn exports dropped by 37 per cent Y-o-Y and 16 per cent M-o-M, respectively.

Vietnamese fabrics imports decreased 6.7 per cent Y-o-Y and 11.9 per cent month-on-month. Vietnamese textiles and apparel exports surged by 18 per cent Y-o-Y and 2.7 per cent M-o-M.

Provisional data from the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) shows, Sri Lanka’s apparel exports grew by 22.64 per cent to $522.14 million in July this year. Cumulative exports between January and July increased by 20.4 per cent to $ 3.3 billion from the corresponding period of last year and $ 3.07 billion in pre-COVID 2019.

In July, Sri Lanka’s apparel exports to the US grew by 17 per cent Y-o-Y to $ 213.6 million. Exports to the EU grew by 32.3 per cent to $154.29 million and to the UK by 29.3 per cent to $ 75 million.

In the first seven months of 2022, exports to the US grew by 27 per cent to $ 1.4 billion, to the EU by 14.5 per cent to $ 963 million and to the UK by 18 per cent to $ 455.4 million. Exports to other markets grew by 16.6 per cent to $ 484.50 million.

Despite resilient performance so far in 2022, industry sources fear prospects for the remainder of the year will remain challenging. This is due to rising inflation in the EU and the US and existing inventory in the latter. Energy crisis ahead of the upcoming winter is also a factor that points to depressed market sentiments.

North Carolina educational institutions are collaborating with a key Honduran University to educate and train thousands of students for the next generation textile workforce to meet a rising tide of nearshoring and onshoring in Honduras, Central America and the United States.

The groundbreaking initiative will launch a series of educational workforce development programs, ranging from training and certificate programs to undergraduate and graduate degrees, in textile-related areas of study.

The partnership comes at a defining moment for the US, Honduras and Central America, which are seeing historical levels of investment in textile and apparel production stemming from a global supply chain crisis that has driven a significant shift in sourcing out of Asia to the U.S. and the region. Nearly $1 billion of historic textile and apparel investment is anticipated in the US and Central America this year alone. And this partnership also creates an educational pathway to economic opportunity in Honduras and the region that not only creates a skilled and resilient workforce but can also help to address the root causes of irregular migration.

South Korea-based chemical company Hyosung TNC plans to commercialize the world’s first bio-based spandex. Known as ‘Creora bio-based’, the spandex was derived using a natural material extracted from corn instead of coal, and obtained a global eco-friendly certification.

The ‘Creora bio-based’ spandex uses a corn-derived substance that obtained an eco-friendly certificate from the US Department of Agriculture, replacing a part of coal-extracted raw materials. The corn-derived substance has long been used for general fibres, wrapping papers, cosmetics, and liquid detergents, but not for high-functional textiles, such as spandex, as it is impossible to deliver unique elasticity and resilience due to technological limitations.

Hyosung TNC will initially start production of the bio-based spandex at its production bases in South Korea including facilities in Gumi, and then increase its production through global production bases, such as those in Vietnam.

In addition, it aims to continuously increase the use of natural raw materials for its products through collaboration with global fashion brands.

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands in the fashion and accessories segment have shown maximum growth in the last two years, as per a report by Apparel Resources.

The fashion and accessories’ segment grew by 89.5 per cent Y-o-Y in FY’22 on brand websites compared with 52.2 per cent growth the year before.

The health and pharmaceutical segment reported order volume growth of 84.8 per cent on brand websites, alongside its muted growth of 9.2 per cent on marketplaces.

This leads to a strong growth of brand websites as consumers prefer to order directly from the brand.

The FMCG and agriculture segment witnessed a Y-o-Y growth of 67.7 per cent on brand websites in FY ’22, while marketplaces grew by 50.6 per cent.

The report further said brands across segments are building a strong online presence with focus on selling directly to consumers, and companies have realised it is important to invest in strong brand website operations to develop a connection with consumers.

A delegation of Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) has requested Finance Minister Miftah Ismail to lift the ban on import of textile machinery and equipment to increase the production capacity of the region and incre

Restrictions imposed by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) are impacting the hosiery exports from the country, according to WealthPK Report.

The SBP has imposed sanctions to strengthen the national economy to reduce the import bill and reduce the gap between the country’s exports and imports. ase exports.

The Foreign Exchange Operations Department (FEOD) of SBP has banned the import of all types of industrial machinery. Prior permission is required for import of such machinery and other related items. The restrictions have hit the industry as it regularly imports textile machinery and equipment.

Exporters of hosiery products said that they were inconvenienced a lot by taking prior permission for import of machinery as they failed to fulfill their commitments with respect to export orders on time.

Mian Kashif Zia, President, PHMA says, exports act as a lifeline to earn valuable foreign exchange, especially in the current scenario as Pakistan was facing unprecedented challenges and had a massive deficit of $17.4 billion. He urged the government to resolve the issues by easing the restrictions imposed on the import of machinery.

Chennai-based menswear and boyswear clothing firm Indian Terrain Fashion (ITFL) plans to double the number of its exclusive stores to 400 by FY ’25.

Charath Narsimhan, Managing Director and CEO, the brand plans to increase the number of EBOs to 400, most of which will be in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.”

Around 60 per cent of the new stores would be franchise-owned while the rest will be company-owned, he adds. The company also aims to explore the possibility of entering girl’s clothing segment.

During FY ’22, ITFL had posted revenues of Rs. 336 crore against Rs 213 crore in the previous fiscal year and now aims to clock a turnover of Rs. 500 crore by 2025.

Vidyuth Venkatesh Rajagopal JMD, ITFL, says, this would achieved by rapidly expanding the reach of boyswear segment, brand building and brand positioning with new apparel offerings, increasing footprint across small towns, cities and geographies in India and enhancing and improving retail and online presence, amongst others.