As per a CNBC report, money spending by teens on food, concerts and events has hit a two-decade low since the COVID-19 outbreak. Piper Sandler’s 40th biannual ‘Taking Stock with Teens’ report also says, this year, teen spending has dropped by 9 per cent year over year to $2,150.

The Piper Sandler report surveyed 9,800 consumers with an average age just under 16 from 48 states, with an average household income of $67,500. According to this report, a teen has spent only $507 on apparels per year since the outbreak. Females have been spending $160 more on clothes than males, the survey said.

Handbag spending reaches all-time low

Spending on handbags by teens too reached an all-time low to $87. In this category, LVMH’s Louis Vuitton surpassed Michael Kors as the top handbag brand. Teenagers spending on purses and clutch bags had peaked in 2006. However, popularity of this category has been fading since then.

In apparels, Nike retained top spot followed by American Eagle and Adidas. Athletic apparel maker Lululemon climbed upto the sixth position from its seventh position in the previous year. While fast-fashion chain H&M moved up the list, L Brand’s Victoria’s Secret dropped from its thirteenth position to No. 22 while Forever 21 also dropped on the list.

Secondhand clothes gain momentum

Demand for secondhand clothes gained momentum as around 46 per cent teenagers purchased secondhand clothes from resale platforms like Poshmark and The RealReal. Around 58 per cent teenagers also reported selling their clothes on a second-hand marketplace. Ranking on the thirteenth position, thrift/ consignment stores emerged as teens’ favorite brand or retailer during the fall. Teenagers also spent around 6 per cent less on footwear. On average, men spent about $50 more on shoes than females.

Amazon rules as consumers shun physical stores

E-commerce giant Amazon emerged as teens’ favorite website during the pandemic. Around 54 per cent teenagers named Amazon as their favorite shopping destination, up from 52 per cent a year earlier. Ninety per cent teenagers reported shopping online during the period.

Safety remained the main concern of shoppers as only 33 per cent of teens reported shopping at department stores and specialty retail stores. This led to many of these department store chains including J.C. Penney, Stage Stores and Neiman Marcus filing for bankruptcy protection during the pandemic.

According to the survey, men spent 21 per cent of their money on food, followed by video games and clothing. On the other hand, females spent a majority or almost 27 per cent of their money to clothing followed by food and personal care.

As the global health crisis has put either themselves or their parents out of work, 48 per cent of teenagers reported a pessimistic outlook for the economy compared to 32 per cent a year.

Levi Strauss, which belongs to the Zacks Retail - Apparel and Shoes industry, posted revenues of $1.06 billion for the quarter ended August 2020, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 38.63 per cent. This compares to year-ago revenues of $1.45 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Levi Strauss was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock.

The Texworld New York s being designed with a heightened focus on regional buyers from the tri-state area, which is currently exempt from New York’s quarantine requirements. Buyers are welcome from other locations for the January edition, but they will need to adhere to restrictions in place at the time of the show.

As a solution for mills that cannot travel to New York, Texworld is debuting a new Pop-Up Sourcing Showcase concept that will enable them to ship product for display at the Javits Center. This area of the show floor will be curated by New York-based trend agency The Doneger Group. Attendees will have guided access to on-site textile experts as they explore the fabrics. All of the products will include QR codes, which buyers can scan to easily connect with mills via the show’s virtual platform. Using personal devices or show-provided tablets and computers, attendees can chat live with suppliers in the networking lounge or set up an online meeting.

Building on the successful digital Texworld USA event held in July, the January edition of Texworld NYC will also have a virtual platform for companies that cannot attend the physical show. Participants can take advantage of artificial intelligence-powered networking and chat via text or video with contacts.

The show will take a multichannel approach to its education platform, with some sessions held solely online or in person. Texworld’s core educational content, including the Lenzing Seminar Series, Textile Talks and the Texworld Trend, will also be recorded and accessible to the virtual audience.

Texworld NYC’s localization move is aimed at navigating Covid-era restrictions, but this also comes as companies are ramping up their domestic sourcing. In a McKinsey survey conducted with Sourcing Journal earlier this year, 46 percent of fashion sourcing executives said they expect the nearshoring trend to rise.

The US recently issued a Withhold Release Order on cotton and apparel imports from specific producers in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) which may escalate global trade tensions.

The US imported $7.35 billion of apparel products from China during January-July 2020, while China exported around 20 per cent of its overall apparel exports to the US in first quarter of this fiscal, said an India Ratings and Research report.

On the other hand, China depends on the US for raw cotton. China may retaliate by cutting down on cotton procurement from the US, leading to favourable supplies from Brazil and India, both of which are likely to have high inventories. While demand from the US could impact the overall cotton demand in China, the value-addition could gradually move out of China to other geographies.

Indian yarn companies’ dependence on China had reduced to about 20 per cent in the June quarter due to growing competition from Vietnam and Pakistan. India Ratings and Research believes Pakistan and Brazil have a pole position compared with India due to their preferential status. India’s cotton yarn exports declined 28 per cent y-o-y in FY20 to ₹19,600 crore due to a 53 per cent fall in demand from China.

Moreover, severing of ties by global retail brands such as H&M and Lacoste with China on account of labour issues, along with the ongoing US-China trade war, have benefited Indian ready-made garments exporters in the form of additional orders. The agency believes that the vacuum space created would be a positive for Indian garment exporters and help them tide over the impact of pandemic. Furthermore, the home textile segment has reported increased inquiries from the US for sourcing diversification.

The government has extended Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) scheme upto March 2021. The move will bring positive sentiments among garment and made-ups exporters, who were reeling under cash crunch, said analysts. The RoSCTL scheme has been the backbone of policy support for the industry and will surely restore not just the competitiveness of the industry, but also positive sentiments for achieving higher export targets. The scheme rebates embedded taxes including central excise duty on fuel used in transportation, embedded CGST paid on inputs, purchases from unregistered dealers, inputs for transport sector and embedded CGST and compensation cess on coal used in the production of electricity.

According to the government, the move will bring positive sentiments among garment and made-ups exporters, who were reeling under cash crunch, said analysts. This scheme has been the backbone of policy support for the industry and will surely restore not just the competitiveness of the industry, but also positive sentiments for achieving higher export targets.

As per reports Clean Clothes Campaign network has started a campaign urging brands to take responsibility for their workers who make clothes and ensure that they are paid for their work. The Clean Clothes Campaign urged apparel brands and retailers to commit to a wage assurance: a public commitment to ensure that the workers in their supply chains are paid what they are owed and to enter into negotiations to establish a fund that will make sure workers can no longer be left jobless without their legally owed severance. It launched the Pay your Workers campaign which focuses on H&M, Primark, and Nike - three of the brands that most frequently appeared in reports from workers about worker rights violations during the pandemic

This campaign targets some of the wealthiest apparel supply chains in the world. These brands have made profits for decades on the basis of poverty wages and outsourced responsibility without contributing to any form of social protection in garment producing countries. The campaign aims to reclaim funds for the workers, by convincing brands to take responsibility for the people who enabled great profits through their underpaid labor.

Indonesia’s Safeguards Committee’s has launched a probe to ascertain how apparels from Bangladesh negatively affected exports to the Southeast Asian country. The committee initiated the investigation following an application from the Indonesia Textile Association.

The next round of negotiations is scheduled to be held in October 21-22. The two countries are scheduled to hold meeting on the rules of origin issue for the PTA. The latest development may affect negotiation process as well as Bangladesh’s export to the country if Indonesia finally imposes any safeguard duty after the investigation is completed.

Evaluating the application of the association, Indonesia in its notification said that there was sufficient evidence to justify the initiation of a safeguard investigation. The products that fall under the investigation include overcoats, suits, shirts, blouses, T-shirts, singlets and other vests, jerseys, pullovers, cardigans, babies’ garments and clothing accessories, other made up clothing or parts of garments, jackets, blazers, trousers and some other items.

As pr A Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC, the government's decision to remove export curbs on N-95 masks will open up global markets for Indian players engaged in the sector. It will increase India's exports by Rs 1,000 crore annually. The country will be able to bag export orders worth crore of rupees. Annual export of all PPE kits including N-95 masks could reach around Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 4,000 crore.

The government removed export curbs on N-95 masks, which are in demand due to COVID-19 pandemic, with a view to promoting outbound shipments of the product. This will open up the global market for all items under PPE which has a total global market of more than $60 billion over the next five years, Sakthivel said. He further added this will strengthen domestic PPE manufacturers to compete at the international level. The industry is producing more than 50 lakh N-95 and 2/3 ply masks on a daily basis.

Ever since it pulled out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, India has been pushing for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The agreement would help India boost relations with EAEU members besides helping it counter China’s growing influence in the region. India is been supported by Russia in this initiative, reports Statecraft.

A Russia-led free-trade bloc boasting a population of 180 million and a GDP of $1.9 trillion, EAEU boasts of Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan as its member countries with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan also planning to enter the union.

India aims to build ties with Central Asian countries through the Connect Central Asia Policy to provide them with infrastructural support for setting up universities, hospitals, and telemedicine and IT centers; entering joint commercial ventures; and improving connectivity to facilitate joint scientific research, trade, and security partnerships. India aims to support projects on its non-disputed territories, like the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project, the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), and the Chabahar Port project.

India aims to particularly form strategic partnerships with Russia and Kazakhstan. It has already built close ties with Russia in the fields of science and technology and now aims to strengthen ties in defense and nuclear energy. India has also signed treaties for strategic and military corporation with Kazakhstan and has military and educational interests in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Capturing entire Eurasia

To capture all of Eurasia, India needs to extend its influence to all of Eurasia, including the CIS countries by signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EAEU. Latest data from Indian Directorate General of Foreign Trade reveals, until now, India has exported goods worth $1,539,617 million to five EAEU member states while it has imported goods worth approximately $5.759 million. Since the formation of EAEU, India’s exports of non-basmati rice and oilseeds to Russia have increased multifold times and it has lately started exporting egg powder also.

CIS countries also eye an FTA with Indian pharma and textile companies. Such an FTA or CEPA would make Indian textiles more competitive besides enhancing its corporation in the fields of mining equipment and vehicles. In December last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to outsource the construction of one of Russia's most advanced helicopters to India. This would speed up Russia’s and Eurasia’s supply of defense capabilities to India.

Countering the Chinese threat

One of the reasons, India pulled out of the RCEP was its skepticism over China’s role in the agreement. Indian companies feared that China might thwart Indian businesses by flooding the market with cheap Chinese goods. However, these traders do not expect the EAEU to disrupt the presence of Indian manufacturers in the domestic market.

Though China has emerged as a geopolitical force in the EAEU region, India’s presence would blunt its future expansion. India’s corporation with the EAEU can strengthen its involvement in Eurasia and improve economy, thus weakening the Chinese influence

Both as textile powerhouses, Pakistan and China are cooperating each other to increase business in the textile sector, said some traders who have had years of business dealings with Pakistan.

Pakistani-made coarse yarn delivers good value for money as its advantage in cotton fiber overcomes the weakness of coarse yarn production in China’s cotton mill, said Ke Jiangwei, General Manager of Xiamen Naseem Trade Co., a Pakistani company registered in China, which has imported yarn from Pakistan for many years.

Zheng Peipei, General Manager of Haian Jinhong Chemical Fiber Co says Pakistani buyers mainly purchase yarn, nylon, and polyester. Specifically, high-count yarns are used for making fabrics and socks; fishing lines are exported to Karachi for fishing nets; skeins are dyed and made into sewing threads before being sold to local factories for making shoes, bags, and suitcases.