Garment and furniture exporters in Philippines have urged the government to address the deteriorating shipping and logistics situation in the country.

Robert Young, Trustee, Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) and President, Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines (FOBAP), said the garment industry is incurring millions of dollars in losses due to the supply chain squeeze.

Exporters are facing transport issues, including vessel capacity constraints and surging freight prices, which are leading to cargo delays and revenue setbacks.

This situation is creating production space issues which are creating a domino effect, such as] continuing delays in our shipment. Even if vendors finish production of their orders, if they are not able to move the goods, they don’t get paid, creating a cash flow issue, he added quoting two exporters.

This, along with other issues such as the slow release of permits and import license, rising cost of natural materials, and shortage of raw materials, adds to manufacturing costs and leads to continuing loss of business in favor of Vietnam and Indonesia.

Meanwhile, furniture exporters have asked the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines to help them find slots on vessels and address soaring freight rates.

Sergio Orti-Luis, President, Philexport, urged the government and the private sector to work closely together to effectively address the logistics constraints.

Faruque Hassan, President, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has urged the government to review some of its new budget proposals, including a 10 per cent cash incentive for non-cotton based garment exports.

Hassan said, Bangladesh has a huge opportunity in grabbing the global market for non-cotton based readymade garment (RMG) exports as the demands have been increasing over the years.

He said the world consumption of non-cotton based textile items is 75 per cent and the demand is increasing 3.0-4.0 per cent annually. As per Financial Express, Bangladesh has installed the required machinery for manufacturing non-cotton RMG items while the fabric is also available. The country now needs to be competitive in this segment, Hassan said.

He added that the government’s support to incentivize manmade textile manufacturing and exporting will help increase the industry's competitiveness, which will also help raise the global market share.

He also urged the government to withdraw the 10 per cent tax on cash incentive, increase existing incentive to 5.0 per cent from the existing 4.0 per cent for exports to non-traditional markets and continuation of 0.50 per cent source tax for the next five years.

As per a new book published by Maxine Bedat, around 2.3 million pairs of jeans are sold every year. As per a Planetscope data, this is equal to selling 73 pairs of jeans sold per second, says Bedat in her book titled Unraveled — The Life and Death of a Garment. US leads in the sale of denim jeans with around 450 million pairs sold each year. From the sourcing of raw material to customers’ closets, these jeans travel around 65,000 km and pass through various manufacturing stages across the world. They require around 3,781 liters of water for a single piece equaling to 33.4 kg of carbon emissions, estimates United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Other sources say that up to 10,000 liters of water are used to make a pair of jeans.

According to Ademe, the average lifespan of a pair of jeans is four years, which she says isn’t very much considering the garment’s impact on the planet.

Alex Lamb, Director, Kilgour advises Savile Row tailors to focus on customization and offering efficient services to customers. In a Drapers Online report, Lamb says, though the diaries of these tailors are filling up, they face a tough road ahead. These tailors have maintained existing customer base with the help of technology, and have even managed to win new customers though Zoom and Face Time consultations.

However, they are unable to conduct business with international clients due to lockdowns. Lamb informs, roughly 30 per cent of his brand’s business comes from overseas clients though its primary base is still domestic. He therefore urges the government to lift restrictions on the sector.

The pandemic has accelerated demand for easier-to-care-for clothing and smart, technical products that will continue to grow within the luxury menswear sector. Tailors need to opt for more technically advanced fabrics, be this more active or waterproof cloths, etc adds Lamb.

Bangladesh Textile Mills Association opines current insufficient budgetary measures proposed for the next fiscal might hamper the country’s textile and garment exports. While it hailed other proposals in the budget, BTMA urged the government to reduce source tax to 0.25 per cent, re-fix fabrics tariff value, and 1.0 per cent import duty on all types of spare parts of textile machinery.

Mohammad Ali Khokon, President, BTMA also urged the government to fix VAT on all kinds of yan to Tk 3, withdraw VAT on fabrics made from MMF and allow duty-free import of all types of fibers. Khokon also wants encouragement for product diversification and discouraging large import of artificial yarn. He believes, though the budget priorities RMG exports, it does not encourage entire development of the sector.

Bangladesh Textile Mills Association or BTMA is the national trade body for textile mills, manufacturers, and mills in Bangladesh and is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It carries out research on the Textile Industry in Bangladesh. Tapan Chowdhury, the Chairman of Square Group, is the president of the trade association.

A group of wool producers – The Galway Wool Co-op has sold its entire Galway stock to Donegal Yarn. As per Agriland reports, the Galway is Ireland’s native breed of sheep. From its wool the Irish Aran sweater was created. Donegal Yarn recognized the superior quality of this crisp white wool, its importance and agreed to purchase at a rewarding price this year.

The Galway wool co-op will prepare its first order for 5,000 kg of clean rolled Galway fleece for supply to Donegal Yarn. Every bag and fleece of this wool will be inspected by a group of volunteers to ensure the wool is clean, dry-rolled Galway wool. After inspection, the wool will be weighed and the farmer issued with a voucher. This voucher indicates the weight of the wool and will be exchanged for payment,” says Blatnaid Gallagher of the group.

The group has received funding from Leader and will begin construction of its virtual Galway wool co-op. The Galway wool co-op will seek the support of the Irish consumer in asking for Irish wool instead of imported merino wool in their home interiors and lifestyle products. It will also provide a platform for home interiors, lifestyle designers and makers, to partner with it and showcase the products they have produced from Galway wool.

Bangladesh garment exporters have urged the government to maintain source tax at 0.5 per cent for the next five years. Faruque Hassan, President, BGMEA, warned, changing source tax rate would hamper the countries’ garment sector. He also urged the government to provide a 10 per cent cash incentive on exports of manmade garments. He said, the global fashion industry has been increasingly adopting garments made from manmade fibers due to their eco-friendliness, functionality and durability. However, Bangladesh has not yet warmed up to manmade fiber that make up 78 per cent of global apparel market while cotton made garments occupy the remaining 22 per cent.

Around 74.14 per cent of Bangladesh's garment export earnings still come from cotton made garment items, Hassan added. A nationwide trade organization of garment manufacturers in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association or BGMEA is located in Dhaka and plays a pivotal role in the country's earning sector of foreign trades.

Stefan Larsson, CEO, PVH Corp projects the company to continue to exceed pre-pandemic levels throughout the remainder of 2021. As per Sourcing Journal, the company projects to grow by approximately 26 per cent full year and 23 per cent on a constant currency basis compared to 2020. Despite pandemic-related supply chain issues, the company’s first quarter results exceeded expectation with revenues increasing by 55 per cent to $2.08 during the first quarter compared to $1.35 billion in the prior-year period.

The denim category experienced one of the fastest sell-outs within the Calvin Klein brand, demonstrating its potential as a multi-category lifestyle brand, says Larsson. The brand’s recent collaboration with designer Heron Preston and its new campaign featuring models Ashley Graham and Kaia Gerber, rappers Nas and Lil Uzi Vert, skater Stevie Williams, helped it tap into a younger demographic, adds Larsson. The collaboration also yielded some of the highest average unit retail (AUR) and average order retail the brand has ever seen. Larsson says, Calvin Klein will continue to launch creative collaborations and campaigns to increase its brand’s relevance,

PVH’s other brand Tommy Hilfiger also benefitted from an increased demand for denims. The brand’s revenues increased 63 per cent increase due in part to a spring collaboration with Amsterdam-based streetwear brand Patla, adds Larsson. The brand recently also launched a limited-edition three-part collection of upcycled Tommy Hilfiger and Tommy Jeans products. Part of the Tommy for Life program, the Reloved collection featured previously owned products traded in by consumers. The Refreshed collection offers repaired garments from the store and e-commerce returns. In the Remixed collection, items damaged beyond repair are broken down to the fiber level and reimagined into new garments or used for insulation.

The brand also launched the third installment of Tommy’s Drop Shop co-designed with London-based creative, Stevie Gee, featuring limited-edition hoodies and T-shirts exclusively sold in Europe.

For the second consecutive year, Walmart will close its US stores on the Thanksgiving Day.

As per Economic Times, the nation's largest retailer and biggest private employer ants to give workers time off for all their hard work and dedication to the company. It follows the decision by Target Corp., which announced back in January it would be closing its stores again on the annual late-November turkey feast.

The move shows the lasting effects of the pandemic on the retail industry's strategies, even as the health virus ebbs. For almost a decade, Black Friday store shopping had been kicked off with big crowds on the Thursday of Thanksgiving and expanded into Friday. However, last year, given safety concerns, most stores were closed on Thanks giving.

Walmart, like other stores, successfully pushed more sales online to reduce crowds in its stores. But, even as safety protocols relax, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer apparently believes that not having the Black Friday kickoff on Thanksgiving won't hurt its business.

Given the clout of Walmart and Target, other major retailers will likely follow their lead again this year.

Victoria’s Secret’s landlord has accused the company of prematurely ending itsstay at the Westfield World Trade Center Shopping Center, located in downtown Manhattan, in alleged violation of a lease agreement.

In a complaint filed in late May in New York state court, Westfield made claims for more than $30 million to retailer alleging that it had refused to pay rents and backed out part way through from a 12-year lease that was meant to end in 2029. As per Women’s Wear Daily, the suit seeks more than $4.2 million in unpaid rent and roughly $28 million in damages for the alleged violation of the lease.

The dispute centers on a point of contention facing mall tenants and their landlords around the country as retailers have closed thousands of stores during the pandemic. When major tenants leave a mall during a crisis, what happens to those left behind?

Lease agreements sometimes address these scenarios through what are known as co-tenancy clauses. Such provisions may allow tenants to reduce their rent or leave their premises during their lease term, if they can show other important tenants have already left.

Victoria’s Secret allegedly invoked such co-tenancy failures and sought to terminate its lease. But Westfield argues in its suit that the retailer had not shown evidence for its claim about such co-tenancy issues.