Once renowned as ‘category killers’, fashion retailers Gap and Benetton now face an uncertain future with Gap closing all its stores across the UK and Ireland, and Benetton no longer being in demand. However, the brands continue to inspire fashion lovers across the world with their rich history wrote Thomas R Bukley in the article ‘How clothing giant Gap and Benetton once ruled the fashion street’ first published in The Conversation.

Founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher, Gap, from its inception, focused on its target consumer group. The brand aimed to attract college students and the counterculture generation, and opened its first store near the San Francisco State University. Gap initially sold records to attract customers. These were priced moderately and had enough potential to lure customers. The brand is credited with changing the way Americans shopped and dressed. It was instrumental in leading their change from denims to khakis and T-shirts. By redesigning stores, Gap focused on offering a few products at affordable prices at convenient locations. It also adopted new technologies to control inventory which enabled to satisfy customer demand.

Meanwhile Benetton opened multiple stores in local markets during the 1970. This helped the brand generate high sales volume, and manage distribution network more efficiently.

Bright colors, tight inventory keys to Benetton’s success

Bukley explains, a key quality that sets Benetton apart from competitors is its bright color palatte. The brand dyes garment at the last minute which helps it to be flexible and make alterations as per demand. Also, Benetton uses a sophisticated mechanism to control inventory and organize suppliers’ network. Most of the brand’s suppliers are located in Northeast Italy which enables it to efficiently plan supplies besides designing and manufacturing clothes as per demand.

Other retailers also tried to emulate Gap’s and Benetton’s strategies. For instance, run by Amancio Ortega, a Spanish clothing manufacturer opened its first Zara store in 1975. It focused on satisfying changing customer demand at speed.

Laying future foundation

Opportunities for retailers to increase Asia sourcing surged with accelerated adoption of new technologies. This also led to the formation of buyer-driven global value chains in the clothing industry. The pioneers of this change were Gap and Benetton who through their focus on convenience and change laid the foundation of future industry. Since then, the power of these two brands has diminished. However, their business approach continues to remain influential.

With rising environmental awareness and e-commerce acceleration, the business acumen of these two companies continues to inspire future generation brands.

Largely used in smart textile applications such as sensors, heating textiles and electrostatic discharge clothing, conductive textiles are seeing higher demand with the spread of COVID-19. These textiles basically comprise fabrics woven with metal or carbon that are mostly used in the fitness apparel and healthcare industry.

As per a Textile Focus report, the main purpose of conductive textiles is to shield objects, including humans, against electromagnetic interference. These textiles are made using conductive yarn or coatings. The market for these textiles is expected to witness robust growth from its 2017 valuation of 1.7 billion over the 2017-2022 forecast periods.

Healthcare, military to drive demand

The key factor driving demand for conductive textiles is the rising demand for clothes with sensory biomarkers. Demand for clothes fitted with sensors is rising amongst consumers seeking a physically active life. These clothes are made with conductive textiles to monitor the user’s heart rate, body temperature, etc.

Another sector contributing to the rising demand for global conductive textiles market is the defense sector. Electronic sensors made with conductive textiles are being used in modern military outfits to gain tactical advantage over enemies. Many countries are incorporating these technologies to increase their military capabilities.

North America to lead growth till 2022

Future market for conductive textiles is likely to be dominated by North America which has a steady presence of several innovators in the electronics and semiconductor industry. The North American market for conductive textiles is likely to grow at a 5.5 per cent CAGR between 2017 and 2022. The Europe and Asia Pacific Japan markets are also likely to witness a steady demand for conductive textiles for modernization of their military services.

The others segment is likely to remain the leading contributor to the conductive textiles market through the 2017-2022 forecast period. The segment will account for 25.7 per cent of total conductive textiles market by 2022. Its absolute growth in valuation is expected remain highest over the 2017-2022 forecast period. Future conductive textiles market is likely to be dominated by leading innovators like Bekaert Inc, Seiren Co, Toray Industries, Laird Plc, and Parker Chomerics. The market is likely to see many new innovations leading to increased demand from various application sectors.

SmartX Europe has completed three funding calls aimed at textile start-ups and small businesses (SMEs) in the European Union and affiliated countries.

The program aims to build a strong sustainable community to foster interaction and collaboration within the European smart textile industry. It is operated by a consortium of 13 partners across Europe from various industries, including textile manufacturing technology, microelectronics, data processing, and IoT.

25 innovative projects from a total of 50 European SMEs, selected by a committee of external experts from the textile and electronic industries, will receive funding in the amount of 60,000 euro per project and one year of free expert coaching. The remarkable support capacity of 2.4 million euro comes from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, under grant agreement No. 824825. The main goal of the ambitious 3-year programme that began in 2019 is to accelerate the development of promising prototypes and their successful introduction to end markets.

The SmartX platform features a virtual showcase room where you can read about the funded projects and their goals, see where they are in the development process, and connect with the start-ups and SMEs who are developing them. The projects are grouped into four categories of health, industrial, protection and sport.

ThimoSchwenzfeier, Show Director, Neonyt, has quit Messe Frankfurt to pursue new professional challenges.

He will be succeeded by Bettina Bär, who has worked in various positions for Messe Frankfurt in the field of consumer goods trade fairs since 2012 and was most recently Show Director of Tendence. Among other things, Bär was jointly responsible for the Ethical Style Guide, whereby sustainable exhibitors at Tendence were separately identified and communicated according to jury decision

As far as Frankfurt Fashion Week is concerned, whose first edition in July 2021 was held in digital form at the FFW Studio due to the pandemic, Dr. Hendrik Müller-Giegler has been responsible as Director Frankfurt Fashion Week since June 2021. He took over this position from RicardaQuehl, who is currently on maternity leave. Müller-Giegler, who has management positions and international marketing expertise in the media and entertainment industry, joined Messe Frankfurt in 2018 as Director Marketing Communications in the Entertainment, Media & Creative Industries business segment.

Also playing a key role in the development of Frankfurt Fashion Week is Claudia Franz, who has extensive experience in the international fashion and textile industry and joined Messe Frankfurt in 2019 as Director Brand Management Interior & Contract Textiles and Apparel Fabrics & Fashion. She is currently supporting the product launch of the new Quality Mainstream fashion fair Val:ue as well as the pre-stage area Apparel Sourcing in Fashion for Frankfurt Fashion Week.

Madeira is showcasing its commitment to the environment with the launch of Madeira Green and the introduction of two new sustainable threads.

The new label Madeira Green gathers the efforts made by the company with the aim of making the entire embroidery value chain more sustainable.

Madeira Green is the response to a growing demand for eco-friendly products. By introducing two new premium embroidery threads into the portfolio, Madeira underlines its commitment to support resource-saving textile manufacturing.

Available since summer 2021, Polyneon Green and Sensa Green are ideal for use in projects requiring any standard 40 weight thread. Created using processes designed to reduce energy input and water usage, minimise waste and recycle or biodegrade wherever possible, they are the first in a line of truly eco-friendly products with more currently in development.

Made of 100 per cent Tencel Lyocell fibres, Sensa Green is the first Lyocell embroidery thread available in 144 beautiful shades.

Tirupur’s apparel manufacturing company ITCRmg is investing $35 million in Togo. The investment is expected to generate $40 million worth of export value on an annual basis and 2,000 direct jobs.

A new company ‘Togo Clothing Company’ (TCC) has been formed for this and the plan is to set up 750 flat knitting machines in the Adetikope Industrial Platform (PIA) in Togo. It will be a world-class knit garment.

This new facility will lay a special emphasis on women empowerment. Technical training, skill development and streamlining the local supply chain, resulting in increased margins and reduced carbon footprint as part of our sustainability initiative, would be the immediate highlights of the project.

TCC will be a part of PIA’s state-of-the-art sustainable textile park, which will provide services along the cotton value chain from traceable cotton supply, renewable energy (including solar panels) and best in class logistic infrastructure.

The construction of the factory will start in November 2021 and is expected to be operational in May 2022.

US’ imports of athletic footwear decreased by -28.2 per cent y-o-y to 201 million pairs in 2020, falling for the second consecutive year after four years of growth. In value terms, athletic footwear imports declined remarkably from $4.3 billion in 2019 to $3.2 billion last year. Index Box reports, US’ imports of athletic footwear increased from $531 million to $3.2 billion in the past decade. US mainly imported footwear from Vietnam, China and Indonesia, accounting for 94 per cent of American imports. In value terms, Indonesia recorded the highest growth rate of exports to the US among the largest suppliers.

In volume terms, US’ athletic footwear imports increased from 39 million pairs in 2010 to 201 million pairs in 2020. The nation’s overseas athletic footwear suppliers included Vietnam, China and Indonesia, which together accounted for 94 per cent of total imports. These countries were followed by Cambodia, which accounted for a further 4.4 per cent.

In value terms, Vietnam was the largest supplier, comprising 58 per cent of total imports. The second position was occupied by China with a 25 per cent share of the total imports, followed by Indonesia, with a 13 per cent share.

The 72nd issue of the Performance Apparel Market report from Textile Intelligence predicts, chemical protective clothing market will grow at a CAGR of 9.1 per cent from 2021-26. This forecast is based partly on expectations of rapid industrialization in many parts of the world and partly on expectations of significant growth in the number of life-threatening incidents involving hazardous materials, including chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear (CBRN) emergencies, outbreaks of disease and industrial accidents.

Another major factor driving the strong forecast is continuing pandemic and increased pressure on employers to provide suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) to workers. Transportation of hazardous materials is also boosting the growth of this market. In the US alone, there were 71 injuries and deaths as a result of the transportation of hazardous materials in 2020.

H&M Group was chosen one of the 40 global leading companies across the world by the United Nations Global Compact Platform. As per a Textile Today report, through its participation in UN Global Compact action platforms, H&M Group will work with other businesses, Global Compact local networks, leading experts, civil society, governments and UN partners, to solve complex and interconnected issues and innovate around the sustainable development goals.

The group has been a signatory of the UN Global Compact since 2001. The strategic policy initiative aids businesses committed to aligning their operations and strategies with 10 universally accepted principles concerning human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Panelists explore how social dialogue can be deployed to shore up resilience to future crises and what possible measures can be explored to ensure that global supply chains help drive development and contribute to decent work.

Premium denim ingredient brand Isko™ has introduced R-Two™50+.range of fabrics for creating stunning, high-quality denims that are less harmful to the natural world. The R-Two™50+ denim fabric reduces carbon emissions by as much as 45 per cent and water usage by as much as 65 per cent. It uses an exclusive yarn spinning technology, patented by Isko to reduce reliance on natural resources.

The technology makes the fabrics beautiful, stronger and more durable. They have excellent shape recovery, a soft cotton hand feel and dry up to 20 per cent more quickly. R-Two50+ fabrics have Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certification, which provides standardized verification for recycled materials. They aim to lead the way in best practices, increasing transparency and responsibility, empowering the entire supply chain, and helping brands to meet their low-impact targets.

Isko is also the first in the fashion market to achieve an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) scoring, which measures companies’ sustainability and societal impact.