Banana Republic has launched a new rental platform Style Passport that will also provide the label with a new sales stream. The platform will drive incremental revenue, of the brand and help it to connect with younger shoppers who appreciate great style and want an affordable, sustainable way to try new fashion. With this new service, the brand will gather valuable insights from a highly interactive customer base that can be used to design future product and experiences.

Subscribers to Style Passport will pay a flat monthly fee of $85 and have the option to buy any of the items. The service includes three garments, free priority shipping and laundering services, and unlimited exchanges and returns. Like many apparel retailers that offer such services — including Macy's-owned Bloomingdale's, which this week announced similar plans — Banana Republic has partnered with rental technology platform CaaStle.

In addition to its new rental service, Banana Republic will also offer online purchases and pick up in-store services.

China, the European Union and India were the world’s top three exporters of textiles in 2018 The top three accounted for 66.9 per cent of world textile exports in 2018. The United States was the world’s fourth top textile exporter in 2018. China, the European Union, Bangladesh, and Vietnam were the top four largest apparel exporters. Altogether, these top four accounted for as much as 72.3 per cent of world market shares in 2018.

The European Union, the United States, and China were the top three largest importers of textiles in 2018, accounting for 37.5 per cent of the world’s total textile imports that year. The increasing diversification of textile import markets is associated with the shifting pattern of world apparel manufacturing and exports.

The European Union, the United States, and Japan were the world’s top three importers of apparel in 2018. Altogether, these top three absorbed 61.5 per cent of world apparel in 2018, which, however, was lower than 62.3 per cent in 2017 and a significant drop from 84 per cent back in 2005. It is not that consumers in the EU, the US and Japan are importing less clothing. Instead, several emerging economies, such as China, are becoming fast-growing apparel consumption markets and starting to import more.

Chinese textile products can be dumped in Indonesia and hit domestic textile companies Nevertheless, these companies' credit profiles may stay stable over the next 12 or 18 months, because exports account for a high portion of their total sales, and because they maintain long-standing customer relationships and produce a strong range of value-added products that are not easily replaced by imported products.

The US-China trade dispute could lead to an influx of Chinese yarn, fabric and garments into Indonesia, potentially disrupting the so far stable levels of demand and supply in Indonesia by pushing up supply, which would in turn depress prices and hurt local manufacturers. Tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese textile exports are at 25 per cent versus the ten per cent or 15 per cent that Indonesia has implemented.

Indonesia is aggressively signing trade agreements with various countries, such as the European Free Trade Association, India, Australia, Algeria, and Morocco. The aim is to increase exports to Australia, the EU, Chile, Mozambique, Tunisia, Morocco, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. In the meantime efforts will be made to harmonize tariffs from upstream to downstream and have competitive energy prices. The country’s main destinations for its textile exports are Europe, the United States and Japan.

Gross value addition in the readymade garment sector of Bangladesh was 63.23 per cent in the first half of the current financial year comparatively value addition last financial year was 60.94 per cent.

Value addition is calculated considering the import price of raw materials including cotton, synthetic/viscose fiber, synthetic/mixed yarn, cotton yarn, and textile fabrics and accessories. Import price of raw materials in the July-December period of fiscal ’19 was 36.77 per cent of total export earnings from the readymade sector in the period. Thus raw material prices shared 36.77 per cent of the total value of readymade garment exports. This means local value addition is estimated at 63.23 per cent.

Meanwhile the spinning sector in Bangladesh is in danger of losing its price edge with other yarn and fabric producing countries. When the price of locally produced yarn and fabric increases they will remain unsold and overburden millers who are already operating in losses. This will give a huge blow to the backward linkage industry. When the forward sector starts using imported yarn and fabric, the situation will be much worse as a lump sum will be required for importing yarn and fabric and will shrink hard-earned valuable foreign currency.

Steve Madden has bought Greats. This will combine Greats’ strengths – which include an outstanding brand and stylish, classic designs that appeal to today’s more casual consumer – with Steve Madden’s proven business model, established infrastructure, and global reach.

Steve Madden which opened in 1990 in the US is into fashion footwear and accessories for women, men and children. It also has purses, sunglasses and more. These include daring silhouettes in high heels and purses to trend setting styles in men’s shoes. The brand is inspired by the streets. The pavements are its runway. Steve Madden gets inspired by new trends, rock and roll vibes and a large dose of urban touches. The brand is all about being unique and confident and embraces individuality with daring styles, jaw dropping heels, but always that sassy, sexy touch. Steve Madden has revolutionized the shoe industry, merging years of experience with unique and creative designs.

Greats is a footwear brand specializing in premium sneakers and well-known for its timeless yet aspirational and versatile styles. It has differentiated itself in the sneaker market with stylish, classic, quality designs suitable for office weekdays to adventuresome weekends. Greats is a direct-to-consumer footwear company. This luxury shoe brand manufactures its sneakers, boots and pool slides at the same factories as designer brands, yet for about a third of the price tag.

Indonesia’s textile-garment sector grew 20.71 per cent in the second quarter of 2019 as the country’s industrial sector grew 5.05 per cent. Manufacturing industry was the largest contributor to the national economic growth in the May-June 2019 quarter, contributing 0.74 per cent. The agricultural sector contributed 0.71 per cent, while the trade sector’s and the construction sector’s shares were 0.61 per cent and 0.55 per cent respectively.

The country’s textile and apparel industry is supported by a structure that has been integrated from upstream to downstream, and the products are also known to be of high quality in the international market. With economic growth, and a shift in demand from basic clothing to functional clothing, such as sportswear, the national textile industry is building production capabilities and increasing economies of scale in order to meet the demand in domestic and export markets.

Clothing sales in Jordan dropped 50 per cent during Id this year compared to the same period in 2018. Demand was especially low during June and July. Customs fees and taxes imposed on the sector have reached 47 per cent, causing the kingdom to lose its competitive edge. Other challenges facing the sector include illegal e-commerce and the mail package trade that abuses regulations and allows entry of goods with exemption from customs fees. Anyone with a passport and a national identification number can order up to five packages a month, with exemption from customs. However, people abuse these regulations and use friends’ passports to order goods without having to pay extra customs or taxes and then sell these goods at low prices. This is an illegal form of trade known as mail package trade.

E-commerce allows people to have virtual shops without having to pay operational costs, taxes and other fees and costs as a committed trader would. Random issue of licenses has caused an overflow of shopping malls in areas that are very close to each other. There has been a call for studying commercial locations and putting mechanisms in place that regulate which spaces can be used commercially.

Japan’s denim production hub straddling Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures has launched its own brand called Japan Denim. This initiative has been taken amid dwindling production of domestic denim due to a surge of low-cost fast-fashion clothing and cheap products from overseas, making it increasingly difficult to eke out a profit. There are 18 companies in the hub that have collaborated. These are small and midsize manufacturers that take pride in their sophisticated skills, working behind the scenes to supply high-quality denim to luxury brands. They offer uniquely designed denim products such as a skirt with large pleats in the front and a pair of pants sewn with pearls all over the piece. These companies are confident in their high-quality skills as they also handle denim products for overseas premium brands. But because most of the merchandise are produced under original equipment manufacturing arrangements, they remain in obscurity.

Manufacturers in Japan are trying to establish their own apparel brands across the country but many are struggling having failed to gauge consumer preferences. Japan Denim encourages them to provide designs and eases their fight for survival. Japan Denim also plans to expand sales channels into department stores and overseas markets.

Kenya’s export processing zones help promote and diversify exports by ensuring the country moves from traditional exports to value-added products in various areas. Policies and structures have been put in place that stimulate domestic and foreign investment in export-oriented manufacturing, commercial and service activities. Exports and manufacturing are seen as key stimulators of the country’s economic growth.

The country has more than 72 gazetted zones in 19 counties. The main advantages include a 10-year tax holiday and, thereafter, tax at the rate of 25 per cent, exemption from import duty, exemption of VAT, exemption from withholding tax and single EPZ licences. Other advantages are applications for new investors cleared within 30 days, quick issuance of work permits where required, and availability of land and factory buildings for the zones, which are developed with the requisite infrastructure, enabling investors to easily move in and start operations.

The export processing zones can manufacture a range of products like textiles and apparel, textile accessories, horticulture and floriculture processing, fortified blended foods, relief supplies, pharmaceuticals and pharmaceuticals extraction, manufacture of medical supplies and health supplies, blending and packaging of tea and coffee, meat processing, macadamia nut processing, extraction and packaging of avocado oils and fruit juices.

US cotton exports have fallen from the previous year. Reasons include lower production and trade barriers. Shipments from the US to eight of the top 10 markets fell with China witnessing the largest decline. Indonesia and Thailand helped drag exports to Southeast Asia lower on declining use in both countries. Lower Indonesian yarn exports to China have helped contribute to declining imports.

However, US cotton exports to Vietnam continued another positive year of growth. Foreign direct investment in Vietnam by several East Asian countries boosted cotton imports and consumption to record levels in 2018-19, with further import growth expected in 2019-20. US cotton exports to India also witnessed significant growth in 2018-19 and surpassed the previous years by over two-thirds. South Asia was the only region which expanded imports, with India and Bangladesh driving the bulk of demand.

In 2019-20, US cotton exports are forecast to expand with a rebounding crop that’s estimated to grow by more than a quarter. With larger exports projected, the United States is expected to help meet greater global demand in 2019-20 with Vietnam imports (the top US market) expected to break the previous year’s record. US cotton exports to Vietnam have increased 294 per cent over the last five years.