The pandemic gave rise to many new styles of dressing. One such style that emerged was ‘business casual’ which saw employees dressing in pajamas, T-shirts, sweatpants and hoodies for work. Benjamin Scheider, Fashion & Analyst, Euromonitor International expects this relaxed dressing style to continue as employees increasingly adapt to a hybrid work culture. As per Scheider, lines between fashion and activewear will continue to blur as more consumers opt for relaxed athleisure styles over formal or trend driven products.

Comfort focus on drive loungewear market

As per Cotton Incorporated’s ‘Coronavirus Response Consumer Survey’, number of consumers wearing comfortable clothes has increased to 74 per cent from 63 per cent before the pandemic. Almost 47 per cent respondents to the survey named T-shirts as their most worn apparel item during the pandemic, reports Live Mint. This was followed by sweatpants, sweatshirts or joggers, worn by 38 per cent respondents; denim jeans by 34 per cent, leggings, jeggings or yoga pants 29 per cent and athleisure shirts, pants or shorts by 25 per cent of consumers.

Retail market intelligence firm Edited expects this to drive growth in global lounge and sleepwear market. As per the firm, the loungewear market is expected to grow at 9 per cent CAGR to reach $19.5 billion in 2024. Hoodies, tees and co-ord sets will be the items that will be most in demand, says Krista Corrigan, Fashion and Retail Analyst, Edited.

In 2021, demand for women’s sweatpants increased 72 per cent, notes Corrigan. Demand for leggings in ribbed knit, split hem, and seamless styles also rose. In men’s, demand for graphic tees, sweatpants, and hoodies dominated markets

Cotton over other fibers

Around 84 per cent respondents to Cotton Incorporated Coronavirus Response Survey said they opted for comfortable clothes during the pandemic period. Around the same number of respondents opted for cotton clothes over those made from synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon, reveals 2021 Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor™ Survey. Almost 4 out of 5 respondents said cotton is their favorite fiber to wear.

Around 42 per cent respondents said, they would opt for brands using cotton fibers in their T-shirts, denim jeans and casual apparels. Another 39 per cent said, they wouldn’t prefer brands substituting cotton with synthetic fibers in their activewear or formal wear. Majority of shoppers also expressed willingness to pay more to keep cotton garments over those made from other lower-priced manmade fibers.

To explore changing trends, brands need to focus on increasing the comfort quotient in their garments, says Carlo Buzasi, CEO and President, WGSN. They also need to make new connections with consumers to catalyze future growth opportunities.

Authentic Brands Group LLC, the owner of brands such as Brooks Brothers, Juicy Couture and Forever 21, plans to go public this year, reports Bloomsberg Quint.

The New York-based company has held discussions with potential advisers about an initial public offering. It plans to seek a valuation of about $10 billion when it goes public.

Founded and run by Jamie Salter, who hails from Canada, Authentic Brands snapped up a portfolio of more than 30 brands over the years including bankrupt Barneys New York. The company was valued at more than $4 billion in an $875 million investment by BlackRock Inc.’s private equity vehicle in 2019.

Brookfield Property Partners recently swapped its stake in Forever 21 for equity in Authentic Brands. Authentic Brands now owns the retailer with Simon Property Group.

Its latest deal was the acquisition this month of outerwear-maker Eddie Bauer from private equity firm Golden Gate Capital. It made the purchase along with SPARC LLC, its joint venture with Simon, the largest U.S. mall operator.

Authentic Brands is backed by investors including BlackRock Inc., General Atlantic and Leonard Green & Partners. Authentic Brands also owns Nautica, Jones New York and Lucky Brand.

Owned by M/s Stitched Textiles, Barcelona is leading the way for the textile industries.As per Business Standard, the brand aims to establish an empire in the world of textiles and fashion brands by establishing a retail network of franchises and distributors. In all, Barcelona will open 500 stores in the next one year.

Starting in 2015, Barcelona has successfully marked its presence by opening various stores in numerous cities of India like Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Ranchi, Kolhapur, Patna and many more. It now aims to target the Tier-II & Tier-III cities of India, wherein best quality and trendy apparels can be provided to the consumers in the most affordable range.

In the month of March’21, Barcelona opened 10 stores at a go in Rajasthan, despite of the challenging pandemic condition, the brand earmarked its presence even in such difficult times and hence we can surely imagine how skyrocketing the brand will reach once the situation gets aligned.

Zara owner Inditex plans to close its Venzuela stores as deal with Phoenix Worker Trade is being reevaluated. The closure is an effort on part of the company to expand its flagship stores. Inditex plans to close 1,200 stores by 2021-ends

Phoenix World Trade, a company based in Panama and controlled by Venezuelan businessman Camilo Ibrahim, took over operation of Inditex stores in the South American country in 2007. The company is re-evaluating the commercial presence of its franchise brands Zara, Bershka and Pull&Bear in Venezuela, to make it consistent with the new model of integration and digital transformation announced by Inditex.It has so far closed upto 700 stores in Europe as well as 100 in the Americas and 400 elsewhere in the world.

In at least three large Venezuelan malls, the spaces formerly occupied by Zara and Pull & Bear - another Inditex brand - are empty. The company also closed three stores in May.

To recover from the 18 per cent slump and enhance growth, Japan’s fast fashion brand Uniqlo plans to focus equally on e-commerce and physical store sales. The brand’s retail sales in the US fell almost 18 per cent in the year that ended August 2020. To emerge from this, the brand switched to making masks besides launching new products. It also launched a washable, high-performance mask with a built-in non-woven filter. Its business in China improved as economy reopened and coronavirus outbreaks were controlled.

In Q1 FY 2021, Uniqlo International’s operating profit surged by 9.50 per cent to 41.4 billion yen from the same period of FY 2020. Going forward, Uniqlo aims to dominate the Asian market including India, where it had launched its first store in 2019.

The Japanese casualwear manufacturer and retailer operates stores across the US, the UK, Singapore, China, India, Bangladesh, Canada, etc.

COVID has forced International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) to postpone next World Cotton Research Conference to 2022. The conference has now been rescheduled from October 3 to 7, 2022, Egypt. The organizers plan to reconvene and evaluate the situation in March or April next year. They also plan to release research papers in June 2021 as Volume 1 and a new set of Proceedings – Volume 2 — during 2022 WCRC.

Formed in 1939, the ICAC is an association of cotton producing, consuming and trading countries. It acts as a catalyst for change by helping member countries maintain a healthy world cotton economy; provides transparency to the world cotton market by serving as a clearinghouse for technical information on cotton production; and serves as a forum for discussing cotton issues of international significance.

To improve ease of doing business in textile and garment sector, Tanzania’s Ministry of Industry and Trade is consulting stakeholders to review 22 laws and implement regulatory reforms. The Tanzanian government amended two laws in the Finance Act 2020, it its budget 2021-22 speech. It is currently in the process of introducing the Trade Remedies Act 2021 to protect local businesses, control importation of products and market distortion by subsidized products which come to the local market at lower prices.

It also plans to improve the policies and laws to create a conducive business environment. It will cooperate with businesses to create a market for the local products, says Kitila Mkumbo, Minister of Industry and Trade. Tanzania has also scrapped over 232 taxes, fees, levies to reduce the time and costs for securing licenses and permits to do business in the country, Mkumbo adds.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan had urged ministers and government officials to improve the ease of doing business in Tanzania and amend laws that hindered investments.

To strengthen economic cooperation between the two regions, EU and India have agreed to restart the long-halted free trade agreement (FTA). Even since talks were curtailed between the EU bloc and India in 2013, apparel exporters have been urging the government to review India’s trade pacts with the EU. Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) had said India’s apparel exports could double in three years if disadvantages in the trade agreements are eliminated.

The industry body says, India at present has a duty disadvantage of 9.6 per cent in the EU market, when compared with its apparel competitors like Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. EU’s FTA with Vietnam signed last year has also hit India severely. The industry believes that the EU-Vietnam FTA may hurt India’s garment industry as the FTA abolishes 99 per cent of customs duties which would enable Vietnamese services and public procurement markets to EU companies.

The clear tariff differential in the EU market will add to India’s disadvantages in other areas such as logistics costs and further erode the country’s competitiveness vis-à-vis Vietnam, believe some industry experts.

There is an urgent need to have a level playing field in terms of market access and margin of preference in India’s biggest global market and to correct the distortion that the apparel industry has been suffering.

A sharp increase in clothing prices has doubled the rate of inflation in the UK in April 2021. As per the Office of National Statistics (ONS), UK’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose from 0.7 per cent in March to 1.5 per cent in April as clothing and footwear prices rose by 2.4 per cent between March and April 2021. Throughout 2020, clothing and footwear prices followed a different pattern compared to previous years. Clothing prices fell 1.5 per cent in February before rising by 2.4 per cent between March and April 2921. The Retail Sales Index figures by ONS showed a 35.7 per cent year-on-year increase in overall sales in April 2021.

Improved weather during April resulted in greater sales of fashion, particularly in outerwear and knitwear, as the public renewed their wardrobe and made plans to meet friends and family outdoors. Online sales also continued to perform strongly, rewarding those retailers who had invested in their online and delivery operations during the pandemic, said Helen Dickinson, CEO, British Retail Consortium.

However, store footfalls have declined 40 per cent. The end of the full business rates relief in England poses a significant threat to retailers who have spent well over a billion pounds on COVID-secure measures aimed at protecting staff and customers, she added.

Dickinson urged the government to reform the broken business rates system in the ongoing review. This will help the industry to improve digital offering and breath new life into the high streets and town centres, Dickinson added.

Revenue of Korean sportswear manufacturer Fila Holdings grew 25.1 per cent to KRW 988.281 million in first quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to revenue of KRW 789,901 million in the corresponding period of prior fiscal. The company’s net profit rose to KRW 134,201 million from KRW 39,500 million posted in Q1 FY20.

Gross profit for the reported period increased to KRW 498,541 million from KRW 381,699 million in the previous year while operating profit jumped to KRW 183,569 million.

The company’s revenues from Korea during Q1 FY21 increased to KRW 136,163 million from KRW 128,826 million in the previous year while revenues from US surged to KRW 132,284 million from KRW 106,149 million.

Fila Holdings Corp is a sportswear manufacturer that designs shoes and apparel founded by Ettore and Giansevero Fila in 1911 in Biella, Piedmont, Italy through its subsidiary Magnus Holdings Co. Fila Holdings owns a 52 per cent stake in Acushnet Company, Fila Holdings' largest shareholders include Piemonte Co at around 20 per cent, Fila Holdings at 20 per cent, and South Korea's National Pension Service at around 13 per cent.[ Gene Yoon, who owns a 75 per cent stake in Piemonte, serves as the chairman of Fila Holdings.