Gallery Fashion & Shoes is likely to be held from January 30– February 01, 2021. If the organizer is hold a physical event, individual agents will use the the Showroom Concept at the Areal Böhler for pre-arranged appointments. These will take place in self-contained spaces (without other people passing through) and only by prior individual arrangement by the agent.

For Gallery Fashion & Shoes, Igedo Company will also launchg a new and accompanying hybrid version with the same look and feel as Gallery that will go on beyond the event itself. The exhibitor area offers flexible options that enable exhibitors to personalise the 3D tradeshow booths with their brand logo, product presentations, image brochures and presentation films as well as graphic tools for displaying business-related facts and figures. Virtual appointments with professional visitors can be arranged via an integrated calendar function or through their “regular presence at the booth during usual business hours” via a sales rep avatar using text or video chat. If it is not possible for Düsseldorf’s order events to be held in physical form at the end of January 2021, Gallery Fashion & Shoes will be digital-only.

The 2021 edition of the Sri Lanka Design Festival, an annual event to showcase fashion, design technology, knowledge sharing, art and creativity will be held virtually. Under the theme ‘impACT’, the upcoming festival will showcase fashion and design initiatives that motivate the industry to act now and create a positive impact whilst bringing in much-needed new exports through design driven innovation, the organizers said.

The three-full day festival will include over 40 different segments with designers, design led industries, craft and the SME sector makers, artists, young entrepreneurs, speakers, celebrities and like-minded enthusiasts.

The event was initiated by Colombo-based Academy of Design (AOD) in 2009, to promote the concept of ‘designed and made in Sri Lanka fashion showcases, design exhibitions, forums and workshops that focus on product innovation, sustainable design, art and creative industries. It showcases to a global audience through various collaborations and international partnerships.

Nike recorded a 9 per cent increase in Q2 revenues for fiscal 2021 that ended November 30. The company’s revenues jumped to $11.2 billion by November 30, as against the corresponding period last year. Most of this growth was led by 24 per cent boost in its China sales. Through the pandemic, Nike was forced to close some of its retail stores, put strict safety guidelines in place for the one that remain open and even for some, cut back on normal operating hours. However, the brand cashed in on backing its digital marketing tenfold in an effort to help drives keep sales afloat.

An American multinational corporation Nike is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of $37.4 billion in its fiscal year 2020. As of 2020, it employed 76,700 people worldwide. In 2020 the brand alone was valued in excess of $32 billion, making it the most valuable brand among sports businesses.

British fashion retailer Next plans to jointly bid with American investment firm Davidson Kampner to acquire the recently collapsed Arcadia Group. As per reports, owner of Topman and Topshop brands, the Arcadia Group collapsed last month thereby putting 13,000 jobs at risk. The acquisition will be funded primarily by Davidson Kempner who will also own majority stake. Meanwhile, several retail groups have shown interest in the Arcadia Group, which also include the likes of Boohoo and Frasers Group.

The Arcadia group was established in 1910 by Lithuanian émigré Montague Burton as an eponymous menswear business. Business moved to women’s wear in 1946, with the acquisition of the Peter Robinson chain. It launched the brand Topshop in the mid-1960s while Topman was launched in 1970. The Burton Group demerged in 1997, giving rise to Arcadia, which then acquired Wallis, Miss Selfridge and Outfit.

In 2002 Arcadia Group became part of Taveta Investments, owned by Sir Philip Green and his family. Since then we’ve expanded our digital business rapidly and seen huge international growth, opening branches in New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles as well as a large number of franchises.

Mango plans to open four new stores in the US in the first half of 2021. Of these, two stores will be located in New Jersey, one in New York City and another in Florida. Mango launched US operations in 2006. In recent years, the brand has upped its efforts to strengthen its position in the country. Among its milestones in the country include renovation of SoHo, New York store, in 2017, and the deal stuck with Macy’s in 2019 to broaden the label's e-tail footprint in the country. The agreement also included the opening of three concessions within the department store chain’s New York branches.

Besides these initiatives, Mango also sponsored the MET Gala in 2019. It collaborated with globally recognized US influencers like Leandra Medine, with whom it launched a capsule collection last year. Founded in 1984 in Barcelona, Mango is one of world's leading fashion groups. It has a presence in over 110 countries and, in the 2019 financial year, it recorded sales for €2.374 billion.

Christian Straubhaar be the Senior Vice President Sales at Rieter Machines & Systems in Winterthur from January 2021. He will succeed Reto Thom who will retire.

A Masters in engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology n Zurich, Straubhaar has over 20 years of experience in the textile industry. He was the Group Sales & Marketing Director at Itema for the world-wide sales of machines and spare parts. Prior to this, he held various positions in operations and as Business Unit Head in Itema and other global textile companies.

Straubhaar has a solid track record in identifying new market potentials and growing the business for the company. He also has a longstanding experience in selling to both large and small customers and developing key accounts within India.

Reto Thom successfully led the sales department at Rieter Machines & Systems for many years and made an enormous contribution to the success of the company.

The first edition of the Fashionomics Africa competition would be an excellent opportunity for the African Development Bank to showcase the creativity of African fashion designers striving for a more circular fashion industry. As per the Kohan Textile Journal, African Development Bank hosted Fashionomics Africa webinar on December 10 alongwith the HEVA Fund. The webinar was attended by 150 fashion entrepreneurs and focused on finance. It discussed the challenges faced by fashion entrepreneurs, especially women and youth, in Africa’s creative industries.

Participants were also presented with opportunities to access finance from investment funds including the Alithea IDF Fund, for which the African Development Bank is an anchor investor; the Women’s Investment Club (WIC) Capital; the African Export-Import Bank; the State Bank of Mauritius; Thundafund and Senegalese clothing brand, Sarayaa.

Vanessa Moungar, Bank Director, Gender, Women and Civil Society, said the ongoing pandemic has prompted adaptations and innovations to keep Africa’s $31 billion fashion industry thriving. According to her the crisis provides an opportunity to set up targeted support mechanisms and develop new and innovative financial tools for the textile, apparel and accessories industry that will not only help the entrepreneurs make it through, but set the basis for them to grow their businesses going forward.

Evelyne Dioh Simpa, Managing Director, WIC Capital, emphasized on the importance of developing financial products and capacity building tailored to fashion entrepreneurs.

As per a Business World report, the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expedite the free trade agreement (FTA) with UK during forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC says, India’s apparel export industry is falling behind competitors like Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Pakistan due to a duty disadvantage of 9.6 per cent in exporting to the United Kingdom.

The UK imported apparels worth $24.9 billion in 2019. Of this, its imports from Bangladesh were worth $3.6 billion while that from India were worth $1.4 billion. This in spite of the fact that India has a complete value chain from fiber and yarn to fabrics and apparels whereas Bangladesh has to import raw materials. He urged the government to address this duty disadvantage urgently to help India double its apparel exports in two years.

A hike in prices of rayon yarn has led to the closure of 30,000 powerlooms across Erode in Tamil Nadu. Renowned for its textile production, Erode has over 50,000 power looms, of which at Kalingarayanpalayam, Veerappanchatram, Asokapuram and some other places, 30,000 power looms produce 24,000 metres of rayon cloth a day. As per Sureshj, President, Erode Powerloom Cloth Producers Association, the cost of 120 gm and 150-gm rayon yarn used for the production of the rayon cloth has been increased by Rs 26 for a cone as a result of which the cost of production has been increased by more than 20 per cent.

Hence, the association decided to stop down the shutters of 30,000 power looms in the district for seven days from December 21 to December 27. This closure is likely to affect 6.80-crore meters of rayon cloth production and about Rs 40 crore worth of trade.

2020 will be remembered as a year that not only changed the global geopolitical map but also as a year that saw China’s dominance over world trade. As per a SRTEPC report, in recent years, the US and Europe saw a massive rise in imports from China. However, COVID-19 and China’s role in its global spread has forced these countries to rethink their policies and reduce dependence on China. This is particularly true for industries with security implications like finished engineering goods.

The US and its allies are now looking for new trade partners whom they can trust. The Trump administration could not earn the trust of Europeans due to the failed Trans-Atlantic Partnership deal. However, President-elect Joe Biden has been more transparent in his foreign policies, and is a strong believer in the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Under his leadership, the Europeans are distancing themselves from China’s geopolitical ambitions as seen by some recent moves of Europe’s big wigs France and Germany.

Ban on technology imports from China

On July 8, 2019, the European Union along with 22 other countries sponsored a resolution in the UN Human Rights Council to condemn China’s mass detention of Uighur Muslims, in Xinjiang Province. Now, the Union has initiated a move to impose targeted sanctions on China including a ban on import of technology from the country. In particular, the US plans to end its collaboration in telecommunications with China. This would seriously hamper China’s global ambitions in telecommunications.

The Biden Administration is likely to continue the policies followed by Trump government with regards to China. However, it will be more consistent in their implementation than the previous administration. The military influence exerted by the US in the Arab and Islamic world will be carefully and gradually withdrawn.

An eye on China-Pakistan ties

The Biden government will also continue to support Israel, and end sanctions imposed on Iran. It will also keep a check on increasing Chinese investments in China and Pakistan.

How much will the ongoing US-China feud benefit India, remains to be seen. As seen from the recent Joint Air Exercises carried by Pakistan and China, the Indian Ocean region is becoming the epicenter of power struggle between these three countries. Meanwhile, China’s armed forces have engaged in a military confrontation with India in Ladakh. They deployed 120 warships of various countries across the Indian Ocean Region. It is now time for India to collaborate with partners and allies to counter the growing Chinese threat.