Markus Bensberg, co-CEO, Birkenstock is quitting the German footwear company, leaving Oliver Reichert as sole CEO, effective immediately.

As per Fashion Netowrk, Bensberg first joined Birkenstock in February 1991,He has served in a range of different roles at the footwear maker over the last three decades, particularly in the areas of sales and product development. The executive has been co-CEO in partnership with Reichert since 2012.

Bensberg’s departure follows on the heels of Franco-American private equity firm L Catterton’s acquisition of a majority stake in Birkenstock in partnership with Bernard Arnault’s holding company, FinancièreAgache, earlier this month. Details of the transaction were not revealed.

According to figures made available by the company, Birkenstock achieved sales of approximately 720 million euros and earnings of around 130 million euros in 2019. Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in the temporary closure of the company’s factories for two months, Birkenstock’s 2020 revenue and profit were roughly in line with those of the prior year.

Kohl's Corp expects net sales in its second quarter to increase in the mid-to-high teens percentage range, compared with its previous forecast for a rise in the mid-teens percentage range.

The company has raised its forecast for 2021 sales and profit as the department store operator bets on a shopping boom after a coronavirus pandemic hit last year.

A surge in online business helped Kohl's and Macy's Inc M.N cushion the hit from the health crisis, even as some of their rivals crumbled, and the chains are now seeing a rebound in demand for non-essential products as vaccinated Americans feel more comfortable to step out and shop.

The mid-priced chain forecast 2021 adjusted earnings to be between $3.80 and $4.20 per share, excluding certain charges, versus a prior range of $2.45 to $2.95.

In the first quarter ended May 1, net sales rose to $3.66 billion from $2.16 billion last year, beating estimates of $3.48 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Kohl's Corp expects net sales in its second quarter to increase in the mid-to-high teens percentage range, compared with its previous forecast for a rise in the mid-teens percentage range.

The company has raised its forecast for 2021 sales and profit as the department store operator bets on a shopping boom after a coronavirus pandemic hit last year.

A surge in online business helped Kohl's and Macy's Inc M.N cushion the hit from the health crisis, even as some of their rivals crumbled, and the chains are now seeing a rebound in demand for non-essential products as vaccinated Americans feel more comfortable to step out and shop.

The mid-priced chain forecast 2021 adjusted earnings to be between $3.80 and $4.20 per share, excluding certain charges, versus a prior range of $2.45 to $2.95.

In the first quarter ended May 1, net sales rose to $3.66 billion from $2.16 billion last year, beating estimates of $3.48 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

A report by consulting firm RedSeerestimates the female innerwear market to become a $12 billion opportunity in the next five years in India.

Titled ‘Female innerwear’s USD $12 billion opportunity’, says, the women’s innerwear market in India is expected to rise by twofold to reach $12 billion by 2025

The report explained that there the growth of the female innerwear market in Tier II+ cities is significant and is estimated to be 1.5x that of the metro cities. In Tier II+ cities, the major growth factors aredigital penetration growth with a projected user base of over 975 million internet users and 800-850 million smartphone users by 2025.

As brands penetrate deeper into smaller cities, there will be overall more awareness about products and offerings, leading to higher growth of these brands in the smaller cities. The brands will see consumers buying economical products but relying on the brand image. This will benefit the brands as they onboard new customers.

The report stated that within the branded segments, there are a few breakout categories that are likely to witness the highest growth, and is estimated to be a $2.5+ billion opportunity by 2025. These include branded mid-premium lingerie, branded athleisure and branded ancillaries (includes swimwear and shapewear).

The reason for this shift towards these categories is that new-age brands have been innovative around product design and have optimised supply chains to bring very high-quality products (comparable to premium brands) at affordable prices.

Women’s apparel, footwear and accessories event Coterie will return to New York as Informa Markets Fashion’s flagship show. As per Apparel News, Coterie New York will be hosted September 19–21 at the Javits Center. Designed to allow attendees access to complete looks, the show will present different product categories together, mixing apparel with footwear and accessories through an approach to showcase cohesiveness among products.

During the event, attendees will find products such as elevated contemporary, vintage, footwear, accessories and beauty. Within Coterie’s Destination area, swimwear and Resort will be featured, while the Edit area will showcase elevated international collections. This edition of Coterie will also feature carefully composed collections including those from underrepresented groups and sustainable brands.

During Coterie New York, attendees will also have opportunities to take in educational programming led by industry professionals and emerging leaders. Additional services will include a retail concierge, exclusive activations, networking events and the show’s digital-showroom platform, which will be available before, during and after Coterie New York.

To combat rising inflation and unemployment levels, Pakistan needs a new long-term textile policy and a continued supply of gas/RLNG, highlights All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA). The association has urged more investments and value addition in the textile sector to help create new jobs, reports Business Recorder.

Focus on value-additions The report says, Gohar Ejaz, Patron-in-Chief, APTMA says, the government needs to focus on value-additions in the textile sector. Textile exports can be the engine to Pakistan’s future growth and help break the chain of debt that it is currently trapped in. In the last nine months of FY21, Pakistan’s textile exports increased 9 per cent, proving their global competitiveness. In current fiscal, Pakistan’s textile exports are expected to cross $16 billion and reach $20 billion next year with huge investments in the sector, Ejaz says.

Explore youth potential

As the largest segment of Pakistan’s population consists of young people, the country needs to exploit its youth potential to steer growth. It needs to create sufficient new jobs to reduce unemployment levels from the current 9.56 per cent. Pakistan’s rate of new job creation needs to match its yearly increases in unemployment, and the only sustainable way this can be achieved is through the private sector, particularly the textile sector.

Pakistan’s textile sector is labor intensive. It can create jobs at every tier of the economy, be it cotton picking, ginning, stitching, designing, or innovating. The government therefore needs to support the development of these industries, Ejaz explains.

Target GDP growth

GDP growth is another way Pakistan can achieve debt sustainability, and raise living standards, opines Ejaz. According to him, Pakistan’s GDP needs to grow at over 8 per cent for at least 30 years. To increase GDP, Pakistan needs to steer more investments in the private sector. The country can rid itself of debt issues only by targeting export-oriented growth as evident from the growth achieved by countries focusing on exports, he adds.

Accounting for over 61 per cent of its total exports, Pakistan’s textile sector is the main pillar of economic growth. The sector offers an opportunity to free itself of debts accumulated from constant chasing of loans and relief packages, Ejaz opines.

To strengthen its economy, Pakistan needs to create a strong export base. Exports can help the country enhance investments and improve all economy dimensions including employment and deficits. The country cannot hope to achieve economic and political independence unless it rids itself of constant loans and aids, he concludes.

Ignoring the disruptions caused by the pandemic, Bangladesh needs to explore new markets and products. As per a Textile Today report, Bangladesh needs to diversify exports to new Asian destinations such as Japan, India and China. These countries have shown a greater resilience to COVD-19 disruptions and maintained their growth levels even during the pandemic.

Zero-duty benefits and strong consumer base spur exports

Till date, Bangladesh has exported garments worth over $1billion to Japan and India. Its exports to China, have also been growing owing to a strong demand for Bangladeshi-made garment items from Chinese people. These three countries have emerged as the main destinations for Bangladesh-made garment items owing their rising income levels and privileges they offer to Bangladesh as a Least Developed Country (LDC).

As an LDC, Bangladesh enjoys zero-duty benefit on its garment exports to all these three countries both for woven and knitwear items. Hence, it has been increasing exports to these countries significantly every year. It needs to continue focusing on emerging markets in the pandemic to maintain profitability. All these three markets have a strong consumer base. Japan’s garment retail market is worth $45billion while India’s market is estimated at $50billion. China’s domestic clothing retail market is expected to be worth $300 billion and Australia’s worth $40billion. Hence, Bangladesh has a great opportunity to increase its share in these markets during COVID-19 times.

Garment exports fall in FY 2019-20

In fiscal 2019-20, Bangladesh registered a 34.86 per cent fall in garment exports over fiscal 2019-20. Garment exports reached $329.96 million against $506.54 million in previous fiscal. Exports to China was $391.01 million and to India worth $0.42 billion, reveals Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) stats.

Though Bangladesh’s exports to India sustained even during the pandemic, growth momentum was slow. In FY 2019-20, Bangladesh’s exports to India declined 15.70 per cent while exports to Japan declined 11.80 per cent to $0.96 billion from $1.09 billion in fiscal 2018-19.

Another market that witnessed a decline in exports from Bangladesh is Australia. In the fiscal 2019-20, Bangladesh’s garment exports to Australia dropped 16.48 per cent to S$0.60 billion from $0.71 billion in the fiscal 2018-19. Garment exports to its three traditional markets also declined in the fiscal 2019-20. Exports to EU declined 18.87 per cent year-on-year to $17.14billion; US exports fell 16.09 per cent to $5.14 billion; and to Canada it fell 25.70 per cent to $0.87 billion.

Production expansion, key to boost exports

Besides emerging markets, Bangladesh needs to focus on product diversification. It needs to expand to manmade fiber garments which are in great demand globally. It also needs to focus on knitwear and produce them in bulk quantities. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), isolation bed sheets, masks and towels’ are some other items Bangladesh needs to focus on.

Faruque Hassan, President, BGMEA, attributes the current growth in Bangladesh’s garment exports to US to reopening of stores and the US’ government stimulus to its citizens. Exports to Asian markets like Japan and China are also expected to rebound soon. However, exports to India may not rebound due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in the country.

Around 66 Italian textile machinery manufacturers will participate in the upcoming ITMA ASIA + CITME 2020, which will take place in Shanghai at the National Exhibition and Convention Center from June 12 to 16, 2021.

Of these, 21 manufacturers will be presenting their technology offerings within National Sector Groups organized by ACIMIT, the Italian Association of Textile Machinery Manufacturers, and the Italian Trade Agency.

With an occupied area of about 3,200 square meters, Italy is among the main exhibiting Countries attending the event, as it has been the case in the previous editions. ITMA ASIA + CITME is, then, a first step towards normality for many companies in the sector, after more than a year in which even the exhibition activity has stopped.

International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) will hold its annual Plenary Meeting from December 06-09, 2021.

For the first time ever, the ICAC will conduct the event virtually due to the continuing uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. While that’s unfortunate, the skills that the Secretariat have been acquiring in 2021 will be maximized in coming years by including a virtual component to all future Plenary Meetings.

Registration for the meeting is free to all. It will focus on the theme‘‘Fortifying the Cotton Supply Chain: New Approaches to New Challenges.’he World Café topic will be ‘Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainability’The Open Technical Session is on ‘Advances and Challenges of Hybrid Cotton Technology’. The meeting will be held on the Interprefy platform to accommodate simultaneous interpretation in English, Spanish, French, Russian and Arabic.

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. The ICAC does not have a role in setting market prices or in intervening in market mechanisms.

Fast fashion business Black Tree plans raise Rs 20 crore in investment in exchange for a 10 per cent stake in the business as it plans to expand offline with a franchise model.

As per Fashion Network, Black Tree plans to open branded stores on a franchise model. The business is offering brand and market analysis support and what it describes as “zero stock risk”. The business is self-funded to date aims to launch its first funding round to facilitate this expansion.

The business recently launched its hyperlocal delivery by courier as it aims to ameliorate its logistics for online shopping. The business aims to further cut down its delivery times to just one hour in some areas, it announced on its website.

The youth-focused brand has a presence in India, China, and Thailand, says Kundan Kumar, Founder and CEO. It aims to tap into the expanding millennial urban consumer market with a focus on value fashion.