Macy’s is reengaging its core customers besides adding new ones in the first quarter.

As per Home Textiles Today, the brand is beneffing from the government’s stimulus package and vaccine rollouts, though the impact varies by market.

The brand’s average spend from the core customer – defined as the credit card loyalty base – has increased by 7 per cent so far this year compared to the same period in 2019.

While the overall number of core customers shopping Macy’s remains lower than it was in 2019, he company has seen a 19 per cent jump in new customers – particularly driven by digital. Retail closures are also providing new customers in select categories at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.

The strong trends in home merchandise are still holding up in the first quarter. That’s especially true in furniture and textiles, while sales are still gaining in housewares, tabletop and home décor.

Macy’s has been reeling in 500,000 to 700,000 new Bronze loyalty card members each month this year and now has 12 million in total, up 20 per cent from the year-end. Some 38 per cent of them are below 40, and their spending is approximately 13 per cent higher than in 2019.

In terms of its physical store footprint, Macy’s Inc. has shuttered 65 stores of the 125 doors slated for closure, with the remainder still scheduled to go dark. Afterward, 85 per cent of its store sales will be generated from A and B malls. Digital sales continue to expand, and the company believes its nameplates can generate $10 billion in annual e-comm sales by 2023.

To make its business model more sustainable, Swedish furniture giant Ikea has partnered with circular denim brand Mud Jeans.

As per Sourcing Journal, both the companies have jointly launched a denim couch cover made from upcycled denim. The cover, specially fitted for the retailer’s popular Klippan sofa, contains 40 percent post-consumer recycled denim (or the equivalent to two pairs of jeans), a classic medium wash and actual jean pockets on the sides.

The couch cover is a limited offering that’s exclusively sold in nine European markets, including the Netherlands, Germany, the U.K., Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Italy.

Since its launch, Mud Jeans has also been on a mission to extend the life of denim. It offers consumers the ability to “rent” jeans and repair them as needed to keep denim from ending up in a landfill. The brand also recently launched a collection of upcycled denim consisting of 60 percent organic cotton and 40 percent recycled denim.

Global jeanswear and casualwear icon, Wrangler has launched the WeCare Wrangler sustainability platform that builds off the brand’s long-standing commitment to protecting the planet.

As per reports, the program unites the brand’s legacy of sustainability with measurable goals designed to bring consumers the apparel they know and love while reducing the brand’s environmental impacts, said the company in a press release. The platform is guided by three key focus areas – planet, product and people. The company is dedicated to challenging itself to leave less of an impact on the planet, constantly thinking how its products are made and what they are made of and treating workers throughout its worldwide supply chain fairly and with respect.

The brand has also launched the new Retro Green Jean assortment made of a variety of natural fibres, recycled hardware and eco-friendly materials. It drives sustainability in the supply chain with strategic alliances that propel apparel development forward. In addition to signing onto the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign guidelines last year, the brand also joined its Make Fashion Circular initiative, which drives collaboration between apparel industry leaders to ensure clothes are made from safe and renewable materials, new business models increase their use, and old clothes are turned into new.

The closure of Primark stores led to 17 per cent drop in revenues of its parent company Associated British Foods in the first half.

As per Fashion Network, the company’s revenues fell to £6.313 billion and adjusted operating profit fell by 46 per cent to £369 million in the 24 weeks to the end of February. Pre-tax profit fell 8 per cent to £275 million.

With Primark having no online operation to fall back on, the closure of it shops has meant the business effectively went into hibernation in multiple markets. But the company remains committed to its business model.

In the past year, Primark has lost £3 billion+ worth of sales and £1 billion+ of profit. It has also seen huge cash outflows with a £650 million outflow in the first half of this year alone”. Over the six-month period, Primark saw 40 per cent revenue decline to £2.232 billion. And it’s adjusted operating profit declined by 90 per cent to £43 million.

It was hit hard by UK and European lockdowns, but there was no point at which all of its shops were shut, unlike in the first wave of lockdowns. The company estimates that H1 ‘lost’ sales of £1.1 billion during closures, and restrictions while they declined by 15 per cent when stores reopened.

Since its launch in October 2019, direct-to-consumer lingerie brand Parade has sold over 1 million pairs of underwear through a guerilla-ish marketing strategy.

Now, it’s entering the lingerie category for which it has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round, led by Maveron Ventures’ Jason Stoffer, that values the company at around $70 million. Other participants in the round include Lerer Hippeau, Greycroft, Cassius, Vice Ventures and Shrug Ventures, as well as several early-stage angel investors.

On Wednesday, the company, which has raised over $20 million to date, will launch its first bralette, a significant step. The style is wireless, but engineered to securely fit cup sizes beyond a D. Cami Teflez, Co-founder, Creative Director and CEO said, wireless bras that fit properly are a frequent request from her customer base, which hit close to 100,000 in the venture’s first year in business, making it one of the fastest-growing product startups of the past decade.

Brands including Zara, Sandro and Maje owner SCMP, Skechers and Uniqlo have accused of allegedly encouraging and profiting from the forced labor of Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

As per Sourcing Journal, a complaint has been filed against these brands by a group of nonprofits and a former Uyghur detainee.

According to Sherpa, the Collectif Ethique sur l’étiquette and the Uyghur Institute of Europe, who are represented by the law firm Bourdon & Associés, the complaint aims to expose the impunity of multinational businesses that subcontract part of their production to the northwestern region or market goods using cotton cultivated there.

As per Sourcing Journal, the complaint is supported by Members of European Parliament Raphaël Glucksmann and Reinhart Butickhofer, along with the World Uyghur Congress, is just the first of a series of filings that the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) will be submitting in other European countries in the coming months, the organizations said.

A December study by the Centre for Global Policy estimates, half a million Uyghurs are forced to pick cotton by hand through a state-sponsored “poverty alleviation” scheme. Other mass labor-transfer programs install Uyghurs from Xinjiang in factory jobs across China, with the purpose of reducing their population density and influencing, and assimilating Uyghur minorities into the dominant Han culture.

Integrated reputation management advisory, 80 dB Communications has been appointed as the PR manager by Dixcy Textiles and Gokaldas Intimatewear. As per News Patrolling reports, 80 dB will manage the overall communications strategy with the aim to raise the corporate profile and awareness about its portfolio of products.

Backed by Advent International, a private equity firm, Dixcy Textiles and Gokaldas Intimatewear is a market leader in innerwear with brands including Dixcy’s – Scott, Josh, Uno and Slimz and Gokaldas’s lingerie brand Enamor. The company believes this partnership will help in meeting its ambitious targets.

Kiran Ray Chaudhary, Co-Founder and Managing Director, 80 dB Communications said, the company looks forward designing and driving memorable, relevant, clear and consistent communications to help meet the brand objectives.

British heritage sports brand Gola and the European division of Global Brands Group have announced a multi-year partnership to launch a new Gola-branded apparel collection, in a deal brokered by IMG, a leader in sports, fashion, events and media. As per Fashion Network, the new men’s and women’s range will offer an authentic look and feel inspired by British Sports Heritage.

The line will include t-shirts, sweatshirts, tracksuits and jackets, and will later be extended to include kids’ apparel, accessories, socks, sleepwear and underwear. It will be available for purchase across Europe and Russia in selected fashion and department stores beginning in February 2022.

Founded in 1905, Gola is an internationally recognised lifestyle brand renowned for its quintessentially British roots, personality and strong sporting heritage. The new apparel collection will celebrate this by merging original Gola styles with contemporary designs and the latest trends.

The Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) initiative plans to collaborate with the African Cotton Foundation (ACF) to promote socially and ecologically sustainable cotton cultivation.

The cooperation is planned to encompass support for training and for other implementation measures conducted by cotton companies in Cotton made in Africa’s project countries. These measures will be co-ordinated by the African Cotton Foundation and implemented by the cotton companies, which cultivate cotton in accordance with Cotton made in Africa’s standards and are subject to independent annual audits. They can now apply to the Aid by Trade Foundation — the parent organisation of CmiA — for co-financing for the implementation of specific activities, especially regarding innovative measures to protect the soil or to promote integrated farming.

As the primary standard for sustainable cotton in Africa, Cotton made in Africa supports more than one million small-scale farmers in ten countries. The goals of both organizations are perfectly complementary. ACF is working to develop a prosperous, modern, and sustainable cotton sector in Africa.

Most Bangladesh's export-oriented readymade garment (RMG) manufacturers kept their factories operational during the lockdown to keep its economy alive. The Bangladesh apparel industry contributes 83 per cent to the country’s total exports. During the first wave of the pandemic in 2020, apparel exports plunged over 25 per cent. Closing factories leads to loss of work orders, crucial to get the economy back on tracks, says Faruque Hasan, President, BGMEA.

The condition of buyers was also not good during the first wave of the pandemic. They either cancelled orders or reduced their sizes. This not only affects the revenue stream, but also puts a negative impact on loan repayments, adds Vidiya Amrit Khan, Director, BGMEA, and Deputy Managing Director, Desh Garments.

Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, Former President, BGMEA and President, Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) says for workers' wellbeing, as well as for the sake of the economy, apparel factories need to remain open. He advised the government to strictly ensure hygiene norms everywhere. The government also needs to monitor adherence to health directives in factories.