According to a 2020 USFIA Fashion Industry Benchmarking study, more US fashion companies have agreed use the US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) for apparel sourcing purposes in 2020 than a year ago. For companies that were already using NAFTA for sourcing, 77.8 percent say they are ready to achieve any USMCA benefits immediately, up more than 31 percent from 2019.

Even for respondents who were not using NAFTA or sourcing from the region, about half of them this year say they may consider North American sourcing in the future and explore the USMCA benefits.

Nevertheless, when asked about the potential impact of USMCA on companies’ apparel sourcing practices, some respondents expressed concerns about the rules of origin changes. These worries seem to concentrate on denim products in particular.

It also remains to be seen whether USMCA will boost ‘Made in the USA’ fibers, yarns, and fabrics by limiting the use of non-USMCA textile inputs. For example, while the new agreement expands the Tariff Preference Level (TPL) for U.S. cotton/man-made fiber apparel exports to Canada (typically with a 100 percent utilization rate), these apparel products are NOT required to use U.S.-made yarns and fabrics.

Myanmar is urging raw material producing factories such as buttons and thread manufacturers to invest in Myanmar, said U Aye Thaung, Chairperson, Shwe Lin Pan Industrial Zone.

Currently, garment manufacturing in Myanmar is carried out in a cut-make-pack style, where fabrics and accessories are imported and then cut, sewn and styled. The finished products are packed for exports to big fashion brands overseas.

Myanmar's garment exports have declined by more than $60 million in fiscal 2019-20 compared to the previous year and will continue to be under pressure in the current fiscal year, said U KhinMaungLwin, Assistant Secretary,Ministry of Commerce.

The sector first started facing difficulties when the supply of Chinese raw materials needed for garment manufacturing began to face disruptions. Meanwhile, order cancellations from major importers like Europe also affected production. That culminated in factory closures, job losses and declines in export revenue.

Around 70 percent of Myanmar-made garments are exported to Europe, while the remaining is sent to Japan, Korea, the US and China.

Since the pandemic started, operations at around 500 garment factories in Myanmar have been seriously affected. Meanwhile, those that reopened are only able to employ a third to half of their workforce due to COVID-19 risks and restrictions, said Thaung.

He added that most factories have not received any new orders in recent months and since the second wave of the virus started in Myanmar in September, the factories which have been permitted to reopen are working on older orders.

The factories that produce shoes and bags are facing the most difficulties, U Aye Thaung said. Things have deteriorated further since the recent lockdown in Yangon, under which all factories were instructed to close for two weeks. Many orders were forfeit during this period.

Visitors browsing Mimaki Europe’s interactive virtual booth at Innovate Textile & Apparel Virtual Trade Show can see the best-selling dye-sublimation printer TS55-1800 and the new hybrid printer TX300P-1800 MkII in action. Both printers offer cost-effective innovative textile technology. Visitors will also be able to take advantage of some special promotions; including a special deal for the TS300P-1800 and a chance to win the Mimaki TS30-1300 entry-level sublimation printer. They will also be able to hold one-on-one discussions on the latest market trends and solutions to meet current demands.

Dye sublimation is a breakout technology in textile printing, allowing high quality, vivid prints on a multitude of fabrics, such as polyester or elastane, all on-demand. Mimaki’s TS55-1800 combines this ground-breaking technology with Mimaki’s renowned expertise and innovation. The printer offers industrial scale production and incorporates Mimaki’s core technologies; such as NCU (Nozzle Check System) and NRS (Nozzle Recovery System), nozzle control and restoration systems; that ensure automatic detection and replacement of clogged nozzles without interrupting production.

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Indonesia is seeing a steep decline in textile exports to Turkey due to the additional duties and the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on global trade.

In the January–August period, Indonesian textile exports to Turkey declined by nearly 50 percent year-on-year (yoy) at $168.9 million, said MarthinKalit, secretary of the foreign trade director general at the Indonesian Trade Ministry

Indonesia’s overall textile exports reached only $7.03 billion over the same period, marking an annual decline of 19.92 percent.

The decline in Indonesia’s textile exports to Turkey come at a time when both countries are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Trade Organization expects global trade to decline by between 13 and 32 percent this year as a result of the pandemic.

To keep its domestic industries afloat amid the economic downturn, Turkey introduced in April additional duties of 4 to 50 percent on textile products imported from countries with which it has no trade agreements. The duties are to remain in place until the end of the year.

Bangladesh’s apparel exporters fear a fresh setback due to the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the western countries and sought support from the government to face the imminent shock.

Exporters said that the export-oriented readymade garment industry was on a recovery track in the last two to three months with a compromised price level but the second wave would slow the export orders as the major markets in EU — France, Germany, Spain and Italy — were going for partial lockdown to contain further outbreak of the virus.

RubanaHuq, President, BGMEA, said that due to the second wave of the pandemic in the western countries, the volume might drop as well, buyers might hold back placing new orders — meaning factories might end up with idle capacity after they had already been in a weak financial position after sustaining price hits. This might give rise to a situation which would be extremely difficult for the industry to cope with, she added.

Due to the worldwide outbreak of the pandemic, the global fashion buyers and retailers started cancelling orders since March this year. Bangladesh faced halt or order cancelation worth more than $3 billion up to May and from June buyers started reviving their cancelled orders.

Country’s apparel exports was back on the positive track with the revived orders, but the second wave will bring further shock, said Mohammad Hatem, First Vice-President, BKMEA

MdFazlulHoque, Managing Director, Plummy Fashions said the country’s readymade garment exporters were running their units on loan and the government would have to continue support to the sector realizing the global situation. According to data from the Export Promotion Bureau, Bangladesh’s apparel exports in financial year 2019-20 declined by 18.12 per cent, or $6.18 billion, to $27.95 billion from $34.13 billion in FY19 as the coronavirus pandemic hit the global business hard

Amazon posted very strong sales during its Prime Day event held in the country in August and its ongoing Diwali sales were also off to a good start.

The US-based online retailer posted a 37 per cent YoY growth in international sales to $25.2 billion in the quarter ended September 30, while profits from the international segment shot up to $407 million.

In comparison, Amazon’s international sales in the third quarter of 2019 stood at $18.3 billion on a loss of $386 million. Olsavsky said high volumes and leverage in markets like the UK and Germany were creating profits in the international segment ahead of schedule.

He added that investment in its international business, including in India, should get back to previous levels once the pandemic subsides.

Its international business has turned profitable only after the Covid-19 pandemic, having made a rare operating profit of $345 million in the second quarter.

Overall, Amazon reported record sales in the three-month period, with revenue growing by 37 per cent to $96.2 billion and profit almost trebling to $6.3 billion, on strong sales, resurgence of digital advertising and robust performance of its cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services.

Avendes Capital, the leading investment banking arm of financial services firm Avedus Group expects, COVID-19 related restrictions will prompt consumers to discover new Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) brands that may collectively achieve $100 billion turnover by 2025. In fact, over 600 DTC brands have entered Indian market since 2016. These include: Lenskart, Zivame, Boat, Wow Skin Sciences, Mamaearth, among others. The sector is likely to witness consolidation in the next three-to-four years with many large consumer goods companies buying D2C brands.

An equal mix of retail channels

Starved for variety, Indian consumers have largely turned to online shopping, says Pankaj Naik, Co-head, Digital and Technology Investment Banking Practice, Avendus Capital. He feels, horizontal and vertical e-commerce players, social media marketing, plug-and-play supply chain and logistics options have created a strong ecosystem for these brands. However, to add more customers, they would have to reach more households and provide an equal mix of online and offline retail channels.

Growing at 4 per cent annually, the Indian e-commerce market is expected to be worth over $200 billion and shift to organized retail in the next five years, says Avendus. The market is currently dominated by unorganized small players. With COVID-19 accelerating the adoption of online shopping, DTC brands in the beauty and personal care category are emerging strong contenders.

Another category where DTC brands can make their presence felt is the foods and beverages category. Leading DTC brands in these categories have witnessed over 100 per cent growth to pre-COVID levels. The pandemic has accelerated sales of DTC brands in India. It has strengthened their entire ecosystem from logistics to warehousing.

Limited scale and false targets pose challenges

However, despite their popularity, DTC brands also face certain challenges. One of them is their limited scale. Indian consumers still prefer offline shopping over online purchases. For such consumers, DTC brands should open physical stores, once they achieve a certain turnover, adds Sreedhar Prasad, Bengaluru-based independent internet business expert.

Moreover, they should target the right group of consumers. With some brands being into nutrition or healthy food products, they cannot depend on earlier target groups which classified consumers on the basis of their age or socio-economic category.

A new Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report says, the next half-decade could see the resale market rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent to 20 per cent. For some strategically placed online resale players, the researchers calculated a potential CAGR of 100 per cent over the next half a decade alone.

BCG surveyed 7,000 consumers across six countries, specifically individuals who are active on Vestiaire Collective – an online fashion resale platform. The aim was to explore a market that is rapidly gaining momentum, positioned on the bright side of the dramatic changes in consumer behavior resulting from Covid-19.

A subdued economy this year has been devastating for the global luxury goods market, as all manner of discretionary spending came to a grinding halt. The good news is that the appetite for luxury has not disappeared – putting secondhand fashion in the spotlight.

The market has already gained some ground across the world – currently valued anywhere between $30 billion and $40 billion. Against this backdrop, considering the fact that resale only represents 2 per cent of the global fashion market at the moment, the only direction seems to be upwards.

Gucci has been crowned the world’s hottest brand according to fashion shopping platform Lyst’s most recent index, dethroning US sportswear giant Nike which topped the list.

The Lyst 2020 named Gucci the planet’s hottest brand in a quarter that saw the luxury Italian label livestream its Epilogue collection in July, with worldwide views exceeding 35 million - its most-watched digital event to date.

Pageviews at the brand soared 52% year-on-year in the quarter. Off-White - which opened new stores in London, Miami and Milan, and whose founder Virgil Abloh launched a 1 million dollar scholarship fund for Black fashion students in the quarter - retained second position on the list, while Nike - which reported an 82 percent jump in digital sales and launched its first dedicated maternity collection - dropped two places to third position.

Lyst creates its indexes by filtering more than eight million items by volume of social media mentions, searches, page views, interactions and sales across thousands of online stores.

Ralph Lauren Corp expects third quarter and full year earnings to be adversely affected by the pandemic. The company missed its revenue targets for the second quarter as fewer customers spent on its high-end apparel and accessories. Ralph Lauren’s net revenue fell by about 30 per cent to $1.19 billion in the quarter ended September 26, missing analysts’ average estimate of $1.21 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

The company continued its expansion journey fast-tracking Connected Retail and its company-wide digital transformation. It also began to simplify its organizational and cost structures to position the company for future growth.

Looking ahead, the company will continue to work proactively to deliver an elevated experience that inspires consumers around the world and creates value for all of our stakeholders. It reported a net loss of $39.1 million, or 53 cents per share, compared with a profit of $182.1 million, or $2.34 per share, a year earlier.