FW
Tirupur hosted a knit show from August 11 to 13, 2017 which saw the participation of almost 200 exhibitors from the textile and apparel industry. Screen printing, sublimation printing and garment manufacturing machines were the show’s major highlights. Ink manufacturers and traders, and accessories companies were also seen in good numbers at the show.
The main items on exhibit included: yarns, laces, textiles, dyes, embroidery machines, zippers, fabrics, sewing threads, pouches, hangers and laser tools. Office automation systems, gen sets, safety appliances, pantone books, heaters, cyber promotion solutions and many other related items were also exhibited at the show. Buttons, weighing machines, packaging equipments, material testing devices, flock prints, heaters, material handling tools, bamboo, melanges, strapping equipments, fusing devices, rubber patches, holograms, laboratory supplies, oils, lining tables, stain removing equipments and processing machines were also displayed.
Tirupur is the knitwear manufacturing hub of India. The Tirupur textile hub has recorded a rise in revenue of Rs 2,000 crores in the past year. Export revenue in 2016-17 was Rs 26,000 crores against Rs 24,000 crores in 2015-16. The target was Rs 30,000 crores but that could not be achieved because of Brexit and the fall in the euro.
Cotton production in India is likely to increase 3.76 per cent compared to the last year. Better yield is expected even though the area under cultivation has dropped significantly. The cotton marketing year runs from October to September. Production is also expected to increase as there were fewer pest attacks, including white fly in Punjab and Haryana and pink ball worms in Gujarat.
The area under indigenous variety has increased and the acreage under Bt cotton has slightly declined. Meanwhile the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has come up with more native varieties, which are equally good in yield. Once they are commercialised in 2017-18, the area under the indigenous variety will grow even more. Total yield is estimated to grow by almost 20 per cent in 2016-17 from 2015-16. The yield is estimated to be better in almost all cotton producing regions, except Tamil Nadu, where it has declined significantly due to moisture stress.
Total exports are estimated to have declined to 60 lakh bales in 2016-17 from 69.07 lakh bales in 2015-16. Till May, shipment to Bangladesh was 40 per cent of total exports while it has shrunk drastically to Pakistan, which witnessed a bumper crop.
HanesBrands Japan is now working with Polygiene to offer Japan’s consumers in odour-free apparel in its iconic Champion 2017/18 fall-winter athletic wear collection in 70 different products for basketball, golf, training as well as practice wear and socks.
To strengthen the brand’s appeal to consumers who want more comfort and functional wear, Hanesbrands in Japan is introducing Polygiene permanent odor control technology to its 2017/18 Champion athletic wear collection. Champion apparel treated with Polygiene stay fresh and odour free. Sweat itself is odourless but it creates the conditions that bacteria need to multiply on fabrics, and some of those bacteria produce odour, the manufacturer explains. Polygiene stops the growth of odour-causing bacteria on fabrics, making it possible for people to wear Champion clothing longer and wash it less.
As many as 70 different Polygiene-treated products will be featured in the Champion 2017/18 athletic wear collections branded C-ODORLESS by Polygiene. Hanesbrands Japan is also introducing Polygiene odour control technology to Champion practice wear and Champion Block Logo Series, Champion practice wear and Champion socks.
The EU is Sri Lanka’s biggest export destination, absorbing some 36 per cent of total shipments. The EU has reinstated GSP benefits for Lanka. But even then Sri Lanka’s apparel exports to the EU fell 5.8 per cent in the first five months of 2017 compared with the same period in 2016. Production and labor costs in Sri Lanka remain high compared to many of its competitors’. It’s doubtful if the country will be able to meet its goal of doubling exports by 2020.
Wages in Sri Lanka are typically higher than in Bangladesh and Vietnam, making the country better suited to producing high-end garments such as swimwear, trousers and underwear, including lingerie for top brands such as Victoria's Secret. The minimum monthly wage in Sri Lanka is $120 compared with $70 in Bangladesh. Sri Lankan labor laws also limit factory workers to 57.5 hours per week, with fixed weekly holidays. This compares with Bangladesh's working limit of 60 hours and Vietnam's 64 hours.
Sri Lanka needs to do more to catch up with countries such as Bangladesh, which is now the world’s second largest clothing exporter after China. Bangladesh accounts for 6.4 per cent of global clothing exports compared with Sri Lanka’s 1.2 per cent.
Indian textile machinery industry has tremendous growth potential buoyed by growing domestic and global demand. The only need is to identify untapped opportunities. The size of the domestic textile machinery industry is expected to touch Rs 35,000 crores in the next five years from the present Rs 22,000 crores.
Global textile machinery market is witnessing tremendous growth and is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 14.02 per cent till 2018. Major manufacturers are: Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, France and China. One of the major trends in the global textile machinery market is the growing number of technological innovations.
India is a major importer of textiles machinery. Demonetisation affected the entire textile chain. Textile machinery suppliers faced the immediate impact as orders were badly hit for a month. Bigger companies had a lighter impact on the topline as they were already under the organised sector and payments were effected through banks. The most affected was the unorganised sector which took some time to change to digital cash or online transactions. Demand reverted to normal within next the few months with an improvement in liquidity.
The textile sector is one of the largest contributors to India’s exports, accounting for approximately 11 per cent of total outbound shipments.
Exporters from Tirupur will organize a R&D conclave in Coimbatore. Products of R&D associations of India, as well as innovative technology, will be displayed at the upcoming conclave. The event aims at giving commercial value to research-based products of various Indian textile research associations.
The conclave will benefit stakeholders textile industry as well as research associations as they don’t have such a platform yet which can connect them with the industry directly. The R&D conclave is being viewed as a support to Indian research associations as their products will be displayed at the event and hence commercialised. This will attract textile and apparel manufacturers and push them to explore how these products can be promoted in Indian and overseas markets.
Industry and research associations will also get an opportunity to exchange views about their existing and upcoming research projects to make the products more viable from the industry perspective. There are eight such textile research associations: Northern India Textile Research Association, Ghaziabad; The Bombay Textile Research Association, Mumbai; South India Textile Research Association, Coimbatore; Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research Association; Wool Research Association, Mumbai; Indian Jute Industries’ Research Association, Kolkata; Man-Made Textile Research Association, Surat; and Synthetic & Art Silk Mills’ Research Association, Mumbai.
Uniqlo’s entry into India may be delayed by up to two years. The brand was planning to open stores in India in 2018.
Uniqlo, based in Japan, produces a billion units a year. It’s planning to boost production to five billion units. Uniqlo is the third largest company globally on a sectoral basis.
The group is targeting sales worth 50 billion dollars in 2020 and hopes to open a 1000 stores a year. It currently reaches customers through 1427 stores in 16 countries. Its business volume in 2013 was 14 billion dollars while it grows at a rate of 20 per cent on an annual average.
The group has seven brands. The major one is Uniqlo, which accounts for a 30 per cent share in the group. Fast Retailing is the parent company of Uniqlo, Theory, and J Brand.
Uniqlo started as a chain of suburban roadside stores in Japan. In Japan alone the company operates over 840 stores. It has over 400 stores in Greater China (Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan). The company has a relatively small European presence: one in Germany, 10 stores in the UK, 8 stores in France and five stores in Russia.
Uniqlo will make Turkey its production hub for the company’s exports to Europe.
Like Accord and Alliance, garment makers in Bangladesh want to form a factory inspection and remediation agency to strengthen workplace safety in the apparel sector.
The proposed platform will be called Shonman. All decisions would be consensus-based.
New factories registering after December this year would have to pay for their inspections based upon the square footage of their facility.
Arbitrations will be governed by the country's laws and administered by the Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre. Thorough, credible safety inspections of new factories and routine monitoring of old ones shall be carried out by skilled personnel selected by and acting under the direction of the implementation board.
From 2021, Shonman would become fully self-financing.
Garment makers came up with the Shonman proposal soon after Accord, the inspection and remediation platform of more than 200 retailers and brands, mostly European, disclosed plans to extend its stay in Bangladesh for three more years.
Accord is a legally binding platform formed in May 2013 after the Rana Plaza building collapse with a five-year tenure for building inspection and remediation. Its tenure expires in June next year. Garment owners have opposed the extension.
Accord and Alliance, a platform of North American retailers and brands, have been working in Bangladesh to strengthen workplace safety in the garment sector through remediation of fire, electrical and structural loopholes.
A new initiative called Global Luxury Pashmina Dialogue, spearheaded by entrepreneur-cum-pashmina artist Babar Afzal with support from several private luxury brands and the Jammu and Kashmir government, will soon start covering six Indian cities to showcase the lost sheen of the luxurious fabric and to raise funds for the pashmina weaving community of Kashmir.
Pashmina is an extremely fine wool variety harnessed from mountain goats in Kashmir’s Changthang plateau and Malra region. Pashmina goats are also found in parts of Himachal Pradesh, Nepal and northernmost areas of Pakistan.
The series of events in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Udaipur and Kolkata aim to revive the Rs 1,700-crore ( US$ 265 millions) pashmina industry in India and will bring together the largest importers of pashmina — Canada, Germany, Monaco, France and the United Arab Emirates.
Art auctions, exhibition of pashmina products, and exclusive fashion shows will be part of the dialogue that aims to go international later.
Besides antique collection from the Mughal courts, two dozen pashmina artworks, each costing between Rs 20 lakhs and Rs 50 lakhs, will be showcased. Sozni pashmina shawls, which take around six to seven years to be made and cost around Rs 70 lakhs, will be exhibited as well.
India has topped the Global Retail Development Index in 2017, overtaking China.
The retail real estate segment across key cities in India is growing exponentially. While global brands continue to evaluate and consider quality retail developments in the top cities, with growing globalization, smaller cities are also gaining prominence and witnessing traction. The overall market sentiment is positive.
Several hypermarkets too were in expansionary mode, including Big Bazaar, which opened new stores in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. Clothing retailers such as Max and Pantaloons were also active during the period.
Demand for quality retail space will remain strong especially from fast fashion, department stores and sports and leisure. Rentals continue to vary across key high streets in major cities.
During the first six months of the year, 70 new homegrown brands appeared in India. They marked their presence in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR and Bangalore.
Seven new global brands entered the country and investments in the segment by private segment firms or wealth funds touched 200 million dollars. Additionally, several retail developments were completed across select cities resulting in about 1.5 million sq ft of fresh supply entering the market.
During the first half of the year, demand for quality retail space remained robust with a majority of this supply concentrated in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi-NCR.
