In Q2 FY 2021-22, listed textile manufacturers in Bangladesh logged a staggering 152 per cent higher profits year-on-year. Analysts attribute this to higher yarn prices, unexpended stocks of cotton, higher exports and devaluation of the local currency against the dollar. Total profits of the 44 companies rose to Tk 250 crore during the quarter from Tk 99 crore in the same period of the previous year.

Exports of the garments sector rose after the pandemic with all related sectors showing growth in their profits, says Shah Alam Miah, Company Secretary, Matin Spinning Mills. In 2021 calendar year, Bangladesh imported 8.5 million bales of cotton, spending more than $3 billion. One bale equals 480 pounds or 218 kg. Around Tk 600 crore was invested in the spinning sector to set up 26 new mills last year, according to Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA).

Among the 44 textile and garment companies, 25 saw higher profits in the last quarter. Five returned to profits from loss and 14 logged lower profits, the data shows.

Leaders of Bangladesh's apparel industry, believe, the new bill passed by New York may raise the cost of their business which needs to be compensated by fair prices. A major destination of global fashions, New York has introduced a bill that aims to make apparel retailers and makers disclose detailed information on environmental and social practices, including workers' wage and carbon emissions, at all levels of the global supply chain – from raw material sourcing to finished products.

Titled, ‘Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, the bill would require suppliers to the US fashion industry to disclose the source of their products. The bill compel suppliers to resort to responsible sourcing , says Rubana Huq, Former President, BGMEA. They would have change their product type, amend pricing structure and adopt sustainable business practices, she adds.

Faruque Hassan, President, BGMEA, the bill will increase the cost of business for exporters. Dr MA Razzaque, Chairman, Research and Policy Integration for Development,, adds the new law will not create problems for countries that have good documentation systems in the supply chain. According to The New York Times report, companies would be given 12 months to comply with the mapping directive, and if they are found to be in violation of the law, they would be fined up to 2 per cent of their annual revenues.

Noting a 24 per cent jump in its Q3 sales, Michael Kors owner Capri Holdings has raised its full-year outlook, extending a string of strong performances from luxury goods companies as demand for high fashion soars. The company now forecasts fiscal 2022 revenue to grow to $5.56 billion, compared to its prior estimate of about $5.4 billion. It lifted its full-year profit per share forecast to $6, from its prior estimate of about $5.30 per share.

In the third quarter ended December 25, Capri Holdings’ total revenue rose to $1.61 billion on account of higher prices and fewer promotions. The higher prices also helped expand the company's profit margins amid soaring shipping and manufacturing expenses. Capri also projects fiscal 2023 revenue to reach about $6.1 billion, above analysts’ estimates of $5.97 billion. The global fashion luxury group, consisting of iconic brands is an industry leader in design, style and craftsmanship. Its brands cover the full spectrum of fashion luxury categories including women’s and men’s accessories, footwear and apparel as well as wearable technology, watches, jewelry, eyewear and a full line of fragrance products.

The company aims to continue to extend the global reach of our brands while ensuring that they maintain their independence and exclusive DNA.

Dhiraj R Shah, Chairman, SRTEPC, has welcomed the Union Budget 2022-2023 as a growth-oriented and futuristic one. It focuses on four important pillars of the Indian economy: manufacturing productivity, financing investments, climate action and PM Gati Shakti Plan. Shah says, the allocation of Rs 105 crore for FY23 towards the Raw Material Supply Scheme and the duty-free availability of trimmings, embellishments, labels, etc will boost export of value-added items like made-ups, etc.

The imposition of 7.5 per cent import duty on knitting and weaving machines will encourage the textile engineering segment to manufacture more state-of-the art textile machineries within the country in line with the ‘Make in India,’ AtmanirbharBhart, initiatives of the government, he adds. The review of customs exemptions and tariff simplification for certain items including fabrics will simplify customs rates and tariff structure particular for sectors like chemicals, textiles and metals, and minimise disputes, he adds. Shah also welcomes the rationalization of customs duty including the ad valorem tax and specific duty as being helpful to the industry in the long term.

Welcoming the Union Budget 2022-2023, T Rajkumar, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) says, it aims at inclusive growth for new India and will help spur GDP growth to 9.2 per cent, highest among all large economies. T Rajkumar also hailed the 8.1 per cent increase in Budget allocation for textile sector to Rs 12,382.14 crore and the allocation for procurement of cotton has been increased by 9.5 per cent to Rs.9,243.09.

He also appreciated the increase in allocation for ‘Textile Cluster Development Scheme’ by 73.4 per cent to about Rs.478.83 crore in 2022-23. He reiterated the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme and PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Scheme too saw an allocation of Rs 15 crore each for 2022-23. The government has allocated Rs 105 crore for 2022-23 towards “Raw Material Supply Scheme” which has already been approved for implementation during the period 2021-22 to 2025-26.

Welcoming the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, T Rajkumar said, the scheme encompasses the seven engines for economic transformation, seamless multimodal connectivity and logistics efficiency. He also appreciated the steps taken for the extension of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) up to March 2023.

Driven by a soaring demand for secondhand luxury goods, the resale market reached a value of $37.45 billion by the end of 2021, say analysts at Bain & Co, a management consulting firm. Analysts also attribute the growth in secondary luxury market with a rise in supply from an expanding area of players in the segment. The resale market offers brands and investors an opportunity to extend the lifetime of their products and reinfornce their commitment to sustainability, says Claudia D’Arpizio and Federica Levato, Analysts, Bain & Co.

Access to entry level buyers

Secondhand sales also offer brands an additional distribution channel, says a report by The Fashion Law. It enables brands to access entry-level luxury spenders as well as buyers of low-priced and licensed products. Luxury consumers also benefit from the network-based nature of luxury retail and its capacity to give brands a richer, data-led understanding of young consumers’ behavior. Resale brands like Alexander McQueen have partnered secondhand luxury marketplace Vestiare Collective for its ‘Brand Approved’ program. Gucci, meanwhile launched the Vault initiative to curate and offer up a selection of pre-owned items.

Concerns driving brands to resale

Though many luxe brands are looking at resale, the sector still faces many issues, say Bain analyst. These include: getting a suitable value for products; dealing with operational complexities like authentication; start-up stock and margins; introducing a successful branding strategy; widening customer base and ensuring correct pricing of resold products. These are some of the concerns driving brands to the resale market.

Few brands are also partnering pre-owned market players. For instance, Kering and shareholder Groupe Artemis have invested in resale companies like Vestiaire, Grailed, and GOAT; Chanel acquired Farfetch, which has a resale arm and venture of its own.

Rising 65 per cent from 2017, the luxury resale market has reached over €30 billion. Addressing the above issues can help brands sustain this growth momentum and outpace demand for new products in the luxury segment, adds the report.

In an unusual trend, US textile and apparel imports surged almost 31.1 per cent in November 2021. Most of this growth could be attributed to strong demand and holiday season. It could also be a result of the combined effects of price inflation and late arrival of goods due to shipping crisis, says a CCF Group report. The import volume of US textiles and apparels surged 32.6 per cent year-on-year to 9.05 bn sq. mt during the month. Compared to November 2019 also, growth volume was much larger while value was lower.

While the import volume of US textiles and apparels surged 31.9 per cent to 85.34 billion meters from January to November 2021 their value growth was relatively lower at 15.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.

China’s shipments to the US decline

A silver lining amongst dark clouds proved to be US’ declining imports from China. Compared to 2019, US’ imports from China decreased 15.9 per cent during period. This also led to a decline in the unit price of US textile and apparel from China. Till 2018, US’ imports of textile and apparel increased steadily. However, the Sino-US trade war in 2018 slowed imports, with shipments from China declining sharply. In H1, 2020, imports shrank sharply due to the pandemic though they recovered gradually in the second half.

In 2021, Covid led disruptions and shipping crises made US’ textile and apparel imports volatile. Imports rebounded during the first half of the year due to a rising demand while their growth rate declined in the second half.

Rising labor costs impacts China’s export share

China continued to be an important sourcing destination for US companies in 2021. Sino-US trade war increased the cost of textile and apparel trade between China and the US. Yet, clothing brands continued to opt for China due to its stability. However, in 2022, labor costs are rising, compelling brands to move their sourcing bases to other Asian countries. This is causing a gradual decline in China's market share from nearly half before 2018 to slightly above 40 per cent. On the other hand, the market share of India, Turkey and even the EU (27) countries are increasing significantly this year.

China’s textile and apparel exports are also affected by the ban on Xinjiang cotton by the US. The finalization of the RCEP in 2022 may prove give slight respite for China’s textile and apparel exports in 2022. However, domestic mills continue to face challenges.

Sanjay Garg, President, NITMA has approved the Union Budget 2022-23 saying the Finance Minister has taken some prudent initiatives for MSMEs and India Inc for start-ups. The tax concession period has been extended by one more year, which is a positive move. Likewise, a 15 per cent tax has been decided for the newly incorporated manufacturing unit. The period of incorporation has been increased by one more year to 31-3-2024. This will further boost manufacturing activities. He was of the view that the PLI in 14 Sectors to create 50 lakh new jobs and additional production of Rs 30 lakh Cr.

Garg stated that the proposal to reduce surcharge on cooperative societies to 7 per cent from 12 per cent for income between Rs.1 cr to Rs.10 cr is a welcome step. He reiterated that incentives for startups period of incorporation extended by a year to 2023 to avail of tax benefits and for corporate extension also granted for new companies to set up manufacturing facilities to 2024 from earlier 2023 will help the new start ups on the way. Besides Section 115BAB the date of setting up business increased by one year to 2024 is indeed help to the industry.

Garg also appreciated that PM Gatishakti driven by 7 engines as proposed by Finance Minister will give boost to the infrastructural development and will pull forward the economy and will lead to more jobs and opportunities for the youth. He also thanked the Government for taking several steps to ease the compliance burden on honest taxpayers.

MAS Holdings has reaffirmed its status as a leader in innovation in apparel and one of the region’s most innovative companies by securing the prestigious Clarivate South and Southeast Asia Innovation Award 2021, in the ‘Corporations’ category.

MAS is the only apparel company in the region and the only Sri Lankan organization to be recognized at the awards ceremony in 2021. This marks the second consecutive victory for the company at the Clarivate awards.

Every year, Clarivaterecognises the most innovative companies in the region. The evaluation, performed using proprietary Clarivate data and tools, is strictly driven by metrics for both patent volume (number of patents published) and patent quality (grant success rate, extent of globalisation and citations). The criteria used to select the top innovators in the region closely mirrors that of the annual Top 100 Global Innovators™, which identifies organisations at the pinnacle of the global innovation landscape.

MAS, through its innovation arm, Twinery, has achieved substantial progress in cutting-edge innovation and research in the recent past. The company was among the pioneers in the apparel industry to revolutionise wearable technology by significantly improving the user experience of wearing clothing infused with such technology. The company has also developed highly advanced ‘FemTech’ products, which focus on female health and hygiene, providing proprietary tech solutions for pain points women face during all key biological phases of their lives.

World’s leading industrial thread company, Coats, is calling for industry brands, manufacturers and recyclers to collaborate with it on a new circularity concept that makes end of life garment recycling easier and cost effective.

Coats is launching EcoCycle, a range of water dissolvable threads to facilitate the disassembly of garments. Coats is now looking to scale up its circular solution through collaboration at the garment design stage. As more industry players take responsibility for the whole of the life cycle of their products it is vital they build in the right threads and applications from the very start of the creative process.

Following centuries of designing and manufacturing threads to hold garments together, Coats has revolutionised an element of its core product offering with the development of EcoCycle. The new thread retains its durability during the life of the garment but when washed in an industrial machine at 95 degrees Celsius, seams sewn with EcoCycle dissolve. This enables the garment to be easily and quickly disassembled by simply pulling it apart so the non-textile and textile components can be sorted for recycling.