The Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA) reported recently that as most apparel stores were shut down and importers were either canceling or slashing orders due to the economic fallout from COVID-19 and government stay-at-home orders in place at the time, overall apparel imports from the world tumbled by 45 percent in April compared to a year earlier to $3.41 billion.

US apparel imports from China fell by a staggering 46.44 percent year to date through April to $3.89 billion compared to the same period in 2019, according to OTEXA. For the month, imports from China sank 59 percent to a value of $621 million, falling well behind the now top supplier Vietnam. Also impacting China’s status are the effects of the trade and political turmoil with the U.S. that has put a tariff-reducing trade deal in limbo.

Shipments from Vietnam declined b 20 percent in April year over year to $805.35 million. For the first four months of 2020, imports from Vietnam dipped 1.31 percent to $4.19 billion.

Among the Top 10 suppliers, only Bangladesh and Cambodia saw increases for the year to date. Imports from Bangladesh rose by 2.13 percent in the period to $2.08 billion, while shipments from Cambodia were up by 16.92 percent to $946 million.

Among the rest of the top Asian suppliers, India’s imports were down 113.07 percent year to date to $1.36 billion, Indonesia’s fell 8.66 percent to $1.43 billion and Pakistan’s dipped 2.02 percent to $456 million.

Bangladesh’s cotton import from India dipped further last year as locals moved to suppliers from North and West African countries to cut reliance on the neighboring country. In 2019, Bangladesh imported 18 per cent of its cotton from India, reveals data from the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA). However, last year, the country imported 41 per cent of its cotton requirement from East and West African countries.

According to BTMA, the main reason for this is the low quality of Indian cotton. Also, a section of Indian cotton traders doesn't maintain timely shipment and deliver the right quantity as per agreements. Due to this, over $8 billion worth primary textile sector in Bangladesh has to suffer. Such uncertainties emerged several times in the past. BTMA therefore urged India to minimize its contamination problems. Also, since Indian cotton prices are almost similar to other countries, importers are looking for sellers in Western and Eastern African countries.

The UP government recently received a demand for nearly two lakh wrkers — tailors and support staff from Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC).

The demand was made for around 3,000 readymade garment and export units operational at Apparel Park in Noida. After checking the database, the government has been able to locate around 75,000 tailors and support staff and has decided to facilitate training to meet the rest of the demand, sources said.

In the letter, the NAEC chief told the government that around 3,000 readymade garment units employ nearly 10 lakh workers and export Rs 18,000-Rs 20,000 crore readymade garments but added that production stopped completely amid the pandemic and nationwide lockdown. The cluster was now preparing to restart the units, but these are unable to start operations due to lack of manpower.

A new survey by consulting firm McKinsey & Company, in partnership with Italian Fashion Chamber (CNMI) and Pitti Immagine says, the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will leave long-lasting scars in the luxury sector, and recovery will be slower than predicted. The sector will to wait till the second half of 2021 to generate the same levels of shares as recorded in 2019. Global luxury goods sales are expected to drop by €130 to €140 billion in 2020, down from the €390 billion the industry was worth in 2019, and by another €40 to €50 billion in 2021.

Between January 1 and March 18, the fashion and luxury industries lost nearly 30 per cent of its stock market value. The market capitalization of leading fashion and luxury labels plunged with their share prices falling 32 per cent, while those of departments stores lost 50 per cent, and independent labels fared a little better, their share prices losing 26 per cent on aggregate. The survey found that personal luxury goods companies expecting their revenues to decline by 20 per cent - 60 per cent in 2020, while their EBITDA will suffer heavy losses too.

JC Penney is permanently closing 154 stores and will pursue store liquidations, as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring plan. The department store chain had previously planned to close 242 locations, leaving about 600 open. The company expects additional phases of store closing sales tol begin in the coming weeks. It believes that its store optimization strategy is vital to ensuring it emerges from both Chapter 11 and the COVID-19 pandemic as a stronger retailer with greater financial flexibility to allow it to continue serving its loyal customers for decades.

The company had reopened nearly 500 stores since government officials eased COVID-19 restrictions. The 117-year-old department store chain was already facing financial pressure before the COVID-19 crisis hit. In its most recent quarter, same-store sales fell more than expected and its net loss nearly doubled.

As per recent IBES data from Refinitiv, Gap Inc recorded $932 million loss in first quarter as against $2.11 billion loss predicted by analysts. This was mainly because the apparel retailer had to shut stores to curb the spread of COVID-19. The San Francisco-based brand, which operates nearly 2,800 stores in North America, had recorded a profit of $227 million year earlier.

The loss recorded by the brand also included a $484 million writedown on store and operating lease assets and an inventory impairment charge of $235 million. Net sales declined 43 per cent to $2.11 billion from $3.71 billion.

G-III Apparel Group, which reported a 36.1 per cent decline in Q1 sales, has shut down 200 stores as a result of disruption related to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first quarter ended April 30, 2020, the company’s net sales totaled $405.1 million, declining from $633.6 million in the prior-year period. Quarterly net loss was $39.3 million, or $0.82 per share, compared to net income of $12.0 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, in the same period in the previous year.

G-III has taken specific measures to preserve its liquidity during the COVID-19 crisis, including the furloughing of a large portion of the company’s employee base, as well as significant temporary salary reductions for its senior management. G-III has also worked to reduce its inventory exposure. In addition, the group is conducting a comprehensive restructuring of its retail operations, which will involve the permanent closure of all 110 of the company’s Wilsons Leather stores and all 89 of its GH Bass locations.

The group has entered into agreements for the early lease termination of a large majority of these stores. Through these closures, G-III hopes to significantly reduce its retail losses and ultimately make the segment profitable. In the meantime, the company’s wholesale business, which achieved $2.86 billion in annual sales in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2020, will continue to be its “primary growth and profit engine.”

American Eagle Outfitters is receiving more than its share of pent-up demand. The brand’s sales are bouncing back quicker than expected amid the COVID-19 crisis. Its shares, that were initially falling, have shot up by over 15 per cent in trading. As the brand reopened its stores during the coronavirus pandemic, sales are averaging an impressive metric of roughly 95 per cent of their normal levels. The brand has reopened 556 out of its total 1,100 stores. Its strong recovery aligns with its sales bouncing back faster than expected.

American Eagle recently also collaborated with TikTok’s biggest star Charli D’Amelio for a video on its Aerie swim collection, receiving almost 2 billion impressions.

VF has started reopening its outlets, and now plans the mid-calendar year 2020 to reopen all stores globally. VF has since reopened its Asia Pacific retail stores including Mainland China.

VF has also begun a phased reopening of its retail stores in its Europe, Middle East and Africa region and is prepared to embark on a similar approach for North American stores, subject to local government guidance. E-commerce is still in the works.

Net revenues of retailer for the quarter ended March 28 fell 10.8 percent to $2.10 billion frtom $2.36 billion, with the decrease mostly due to lower consumer demand connected with the coronavirus outbreak and temporary store shutdowns as mandated by local authorities.

Gross margin for the period fell 150 basis points to 53.1 percent. That was driven by elevated promotional activity to clear excess inventory, but was partially offset by favorable mix shift toward higher margin businesses.

The organization reported a net loss of $483.8 million, or $1.22 a diluted share, against a year-ago net profit of $128.8 million, or 32 cents. The results of the quarter included a loss from discontinued operations, its workwear business and the spin-off of its jeans business which now operates under the name Kontoor Brands Inc. a year ago. In constant dollars, earnings per share fell 69 percent to 10 cents on an adjusted basis.

The company expects sales from the first quarter of fiscal 2021 to fall significantly more than 50 percent, and to reach $600 million in full-year fiscal 2021 free cash flow.

Spinnova, the sustainable fiber company, has entered long-term collaboration with the global chemicals company Kemira, to develop a highly eco-friendly inherent dyeing method of fiber. 

Inherent dyeing in the Spinnova process means that the cellulosic fibre mass is dyed before extruding into filament. This avoids the excess use of water, energy, heavy metals and other harmful substances that go into dyeing fibre, thread and fabric as subsequent processes.

Spinnova’s sustainable fiber and the possibility of inherently dyeing could be an environmental game changer and could disrupt e.g. the denim dyeing process. The textile dyeing and finishing industry is one of the most chemically intensive industries globally, and one of the worst polluters of fresh water. The traditional textile industry uses thousands of chemicals in various processes of manufacture, including dyeing and printing.

 In addition to being the most sustainable way of dyeing, the fiber maintains this in-built color really well. Spinnova’s innovation originates from the pulp and paper industry, which is also one of the areas of expertise for Kemira and an important focus in the company’s R&D work towards bio-based chemicals.