Two major surveys by leading event organizer Messe Frankfurt shows, around 97 per cent of companies plan to continue participating in physical trade fairs post pandemic. The surveys polled 59,000 companies in autumn 2020 and spring 2021, reports Apparel Insider.

Though companies approved of the additional digital benefits offered by hybrid trade fair formats during the pandemic, the overwhelming finding of the surveys indicated, people prefer in-person trade fairs.

Wolfgang Marzin, President and CEO, Messe Frankfurt, said, only 3 per cent of respondents wanted to see events move entirely online. In fact, 67 per cent customers would like events to take place solely in person, with another 30 percent expressing a preference for hybrid formats. In total, 97 per cent of customers remain convinced that in-person events are an essential component of trade fairs.

Over 59,000 companies took part in the survey which included a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research.

Welspun is adding to its capacity in towels, sheets and rugs.

The towel capacity will increase by seven per cent. Sheets will increase by 20 per cent and rugs by 80 per cent. In this quarter, textile is expected to have a ten per cent contribution to growth, flooring 50 per cent and advanced textile 25 per cent. Welspun India generates free cash flows quarter-on-quarter and with a healthy bottom line looks at funding its own projects through internal accruals. For one Welspun will do more integration.

Welspun India has its own industrial park, which is located near its factory. That helps Welspun in having just in time inventory for its trims, packaging and other things and also reduces the carbon footprint. Globally Welspun’s warehouses have a complete integration in the US. Currently, the group has three warehouses from where work like pick and pack, B2C and the pallet-in pallet out is performed. Welspun has warehouses in the UK, the Middle East, Germany and India.

Fundamentally, the company does predictive analysis for the customers and works as partners to them. With a 360-degree approach, Welspun works from farm to shelf. It has partnerships with brands like Martha Stewart, Scott Brother, Scott Living. Welspun sees itself as a home solution provider and just not a textile manufacturer.

The L Brands-owned lingerie company Victoria’s Secret has launched a new gym wear collection called ‘On Point.’

Featuring leggings, sports bras, and other active wear, the collection offers three ranges, The first range ‘Sweat’ offers clothes for intense workouts like spinning, running and boxing; The second ‘Live’range offers lighter fabrics made for everyday errands while the third range ‘Flow’ offers clothes for activities like yoga.

The brand has roped in plus-size model PalomaElsesser among others, like New York City Ballet’s Corps de Ballet dancer India Bradley to model for the collection. It continues to revamp after announcing the spinoff of Angels store earlier this year.

Theathleisure and leggings category continues to expand with increased investments by consumers. Activewear buyers are currently spending 11 per cent more per purchase compared to non-activewear buyers, according to data from the NPD Group.

In Q1 FY2021-22 that ended June 30, 2021, Sutlej Textiles and Industries posted a net loss of Rs 20.39 crore as against a net loss of Rs 27.77 crore during Q4 FY2020-21 that ended March 31, 2021.

The company reported total income of Rs.590.51 crore during the FY2021-22 ended June 30, 2021 as compared to Rs.687.88 crore during Q4 FY2020-21 that ended March 31, 2021.

The company reported EPS of Rs.1.24 for the period ended June 30, 2021 as compared to Rs.1.70 for the period ended March 31, 2021. Sutlej Textiles and Industries posted net profit of Rs.20.39 crore for the period ended June 30, 2021 as against net loss of Rs 38.23 crore for the period ended June 30, 2020.

The company reported total income of Rs.590.51 crore during the period ended June 30, 2021 as compared to Rs.197.30 crore during the period ended June 30, 2020.

The company reported EPS of Rs.1.24 for the period ended June 30, 2021 as compared to Rs.(2.33) for the period ended June 30, 2020.

India has been implementing various skill development schemes and programs for the textile sector.

Under the Integrated Skill Development Scheme, a total of 11.14 lakh persons have been trained in various diverse segments of textiles covering textiles and apparel, jute, spinning, weaving, technical textiles, sericulture, handloom and handicrafts, of which 8.43 lakh persons have been employed.

Samarth is an initiative which has the broad objective of skilling youth for gainful and sustainable employment in the textile sector. It aims at training ten lakh people, out of which nine lakhs will be from the organised sector and one lakh will be from the traditional sector. The scheme covers the entire value chain of textiles (except spinning and weaving in the organised sector). The focus will lie on apparel and garmenting, knitting, metal handicrafts, textiles and handlooms, handicrafts and carpets, among others. District-wise tailoring opportunities for women will be identified as part of the outreach for skilling across states. A few courses and modules have been developed under Samarth in the area of garment manufacturing. Women form 75 per cent of the work force in the textile sector. Another objective is to promote skilling and skill upgradation in the traditional sectors of handlooms, handicrafts, sericulture, and jute. It also seeks to enable provision of sustainable livelihood either by wage or self-employment to all sections across the country.

Darshana Jardosh, Union State Minister of Textiles says, India’s export performance is being negatively impacted by high tariffs faced by domestic exporters in the European Union and the UK as compared to zero duty access given by these countries to nations like Bangladesh and Cambodia.

As per a Free Press Journal report, in 2020, India's textiles exports amounted to$29.61 billion, while thoses of Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia aggregated to$37.95 billion, $37.10 billion and $ 7.77 billion, respectively. Textiles exports to China increased to $1.56 billion in 2020-21 as against $ 1.13 billion in 2019-20.

COVID-19 affected all stakeholders in the value chain from farmers to traders/exporters. However, the situation improved with time and production and exports looked up, she added. Due to the nationwide lockdowns imposed by the state governments, production in all National Textile Corporation (NTC) Limited mill units including Minerva mill units were put on hold from March 25, 2020.

Employees were paid salary regularly during this period as per their status by NTC out of its cash reserve. After lifting up of the lockdown and as per availability of raw material, NTC restored operation of 14 mill units from January 2021 onwards, she added.

However, the second COVID-19 pandemic wave once again led to closure of all NTC mills in April 2021. Though some of these operations were restored in July 2021 as per raw material availability, she added.

Out of India’s total cotton exports, 40 per cent is exported to China. Similarly China has a 28 per cent share in India’s yarn exports. In cotton and cotton yarn, Vietnam is the third largest importer for India.

India’s cotton exports may witness a temporary slowdown as the spread of coronavirus is likely to curtail demand for the fiber. Exports of around 2,50,000 cotton bales from India to China, for which deals were signed in January, have been put on hold as concerns over the spread of coronavirus have intensified.

These deals will be settled mutually if the situation is not brought under control soon. In January, Indian exporters signed deals to export 7, 00,000 to 8,00,000 bales of cotton, of which 4,00,000 or 500,000 bales or 60 per cent were meant for China, and the rest for Bangladesh and Vietnam. After the uncertainty in China, cotton exporters in India are anxious to sign up for new consignments with China.

Strong orders from other countries and lower domestic prices have made sales economically viable. Indian cotton is offered at prices lower than crop from west Africa and the US. So finding new buyers won’t be difficult. India’s overall exports might touch five million bales mainly due to strong orders from other importing destinations like Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia.

A news article by Sweden’s local publication, Phnom Penh Post informs, multinational clothing retail company H&M plans to open its first store in Cambodia next year.

The store will be part of H&M’s business expansion in the region, at a time when world economies are starting to emerge from COVID-19 crisis mode with accelerating coronavirus vaccine rollouts.

Ken Loo, Secretary General, Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia says, H&M has been a long-term supporter of Cambodia’s export-oriented garment industry and would continue to be so for many more years to come, as long as the country can maintain and improve its competitiveness.

The store opening signifies strong economic growth with increased domestic consumption by local Cambodians. It would also help improve the state of fashion in the country, particularly for the young generation, he adds.

H&M already has a large presence in the region with 11 stores in Vietnam and 43 in Thailand. The company has been manufacturing its products in Cambodia since the 1990s.

For the first quarter GHCL’s revenue grew on a sequential basis. Revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 854 crore. Ebitda stood at Rs 189 crore and net profit was Rs 101 crore. The home textiles business stood at Rs 327 crore.

GHCL is an Indian group with a footprint in chemicals, textiles and consumer products. It has commenced the new fiscal year on an encouraging note with substantial gains across all its business segments. The group experienced a temporary disruption due to the second wave but is now operating at peak utilisation levels in both spinning and home textiles based on a strong demand scenario and has achieved record profits during the quarter. The aim is to further amplify its leadership position across key product categories to bolster the performance momentum and create enhanced value for stakeholders.

GHCL had launched Cirkularity, a new brand of bedding.The brand platform is inspired by Rekoop, the first bedding solution to use Applied DNA’s Certain T platform and Reliance’s RecronGreenGold fiber for source verification and traceability of recycled polyester across the supply chain.GHCL operates its home textiles facility in Gujarat. Recently, GHCL received consent from secured creditors for the demerger of textiles.

COVID-19 has changed office dress codes forever as tailored suits are a rarity these days. In fact, even before the pandemic, the general trend was towards dressing down. The pandemic further accelerated this trend with Refinery’s business dropping by almost 80 per cent during the period, says As Stanton Ho, Co-founder of menswear establishment Refinery.

Low returns compel store closure

In a report in the South China Morning Post, Sian Powell writes, the decline of tailored suits has compelled Ho and his partners to close their bespoke tailoring store in Hong Kong and shift focus to online business and flagship store in Tsim Sha Tsui. The company generates almost 95 per cent of its business from local market that is currently hit by Hong Kong’s strict border restrictions and its pandemic related rules.

Like Refinery, 200-year-old US company Brooks Brothers was also forced to close last year due to the pandemic. It plans to re-launch with renewed focus on casual and leisurewear including knits this year. Parent company of Men’s Wearhouse and JoS brands, Tailored Brands had to shut 1,400 stores and file for bankruptcy. The company laid-off 1,800 workers.

Similarly Aoyama Trading, Japan’s corporate apparel manufacturer, had to close 130 stores and restructure 400 of them. It also had to layoff hundreds of employees like its contemporaries Konaka and Haruyama Holdings. The government’s drive to promote casual office wear has depressed the demand for tailored suits in Japan.

New office wear trends emerge

Chinos, jeans, shorts and T-shirts have emerged as the new office wear with casualwear increasingly being accepted as official dress code by consumers. Accelerated by the pandemic, this global shift to casual wear has been under way since the last few years. World War I made men’s fashion more practical with knee-length waist coats giving way to short jackets. Standard tailored business suits dominated people’s minds for decades before COVID-19-led disruptions ushered in a new era of relaxed dressing.

Yet, Roshan Melwani, Managing Director, Sam’s Tailor opines, the power and identity provided by a suit cannot be dismissed so easily. Operational since 1956, the establishment has several celebrity clients including the former US president Bill Clinton, politician Sarah Palin, film star Russell Crowe, singer Rod Stewart and former tennis star Boris Becker.

The store has launched a DIY online fitting service for clients unable to attend personal fitting sessions. The service works well for customers as it enables them to return their garments incase of inappropriate fittings. Sam’s Tailor gets six to eight clients enquiries every day. The store is confident of business returning to normal in future.

Easing restrictions to make suits more casual

Dean Cook, Head-Menswear, Browns, also believes, demand for well-made tailored suits and separates will continue to grow even if the demand for formal shirts and ties declines. The brand recently launched a made-to-measure tailoring service in partnership with Ermenegildo Zegna to create more separates. Cooks also predicts a future rise in demand for travel suits and casual suits that can be worn easily. He witnessed this trend particularly at the menswear trade show Pitti. The general trend witnessed during the show was for less structured tailoring, he adds.

The formal suit is here to stay, says Melwani who holds border restrictions rather than changing tastes responsible for the current slump in tailoring. Its demand will resurge as pandemic restrictions ease and life returns to normal.