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Chinese companies are making acquisitions and spreading out. In 2016, textile producer Shandong Ruyi bought majority stake in SMCP, the French group that owns affordable luxury brands Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot. Shandong has also acquired British trench coat maker Aquascutum and a minority stake in St. John by Fosun.
Chinese fashion and apparel company Shenzhen Ellassay Fashion acquired French brand Iro in March. It has also acquired a majority stake in New York-based Chinese-American designer Vivienne Tam’s brand. The company plans to open the first Vivienne Tam store in mainland China later this year, with more to come in 2018.
Vivienne Tam’s sales are currently concentrated in Japan, where she has over 14 shops, and Hong Kong, as well as the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore. She retains sole ownership of her company outside of China.
Shenzhen Ellassay Fashion also owns the Chinese mid-market brand Ellassay as well as the rights to German women’s wear brand Laurèl and the rights to American apparel brand Ed Hardy. In fiscal 2016, revenue for the group grew 36 per cent while net income grew 24 per cent. These acquisitions surely reflect China is transforming itself from an export-dependent economy to a consumption-driven one.
Iconic American denim brand, Wrangler, has joined the ‘Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture’ group. It’s a multi-stakeholder initiative working to increase supply chain sustainability around natural resources. It focuses on cotton-growing practices that will improve profitability for growers while reducing environmental impact.
Wrangler is the first major apparel brand to join the initiative and follows the brand’s launch last month of a pilot project for sustainable US cotton. The project involves farmers who will work with Wrangler and Soil Health Institute to improve cotton yield, irrigation, energy inputs, greenhouse gas emissions and soil conservation. Nearly 40,000 pounds of cotton from this source will be used to make a special collection of Wrangler denim jeans that will be sold in 2018. The company buys about 50 per cent of its cotton from US growers.
Wrangler’s sustainability work is focused on three areas: land, people and industry. In addition to the cotton pilot project and soil health education, other programs include a commitment to 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2025, zero waste facilities and manufacturing and technology improvements that have saved three billion liters of water over the past decade.
Sourcing at Magic will be held in the US from August 13 to 16, 2017. With over 40 countries participating, Sourcing at Magic offers an incredible source of inspiration, education and resources that keeps the fashion industry moving and drives businesses. The event is the fashion industry’s link to the entire global supply chain.
Over 40 of Vietnam’s best manufacturers and resources will be at the forefront of the show in this edition. Attendees will have the opportunity to see textiles, fibers, and garments from Vietnamese factories. Magic chose Vietnam as the focus country because of the country’s rapid growth in export manufacturing. In addition, Sourcing at Magic will host a Vietnam-focused seminar giving more background and exposure to the country’s capabilities and advancements. Vietnam has become a leading force in the US’ supply chain.
Square One is a new interactive shared space. It will showcase cultural trends and leading innovators behind the trends for Fall/Winter 2018-’19. The space will come to life through experience, live on-site installations, real time art creation and talks by creative trailblazers. Attendees will have the opportunity to see artists physically demonstrate the feel and influence of four cultural trends while engaging everyone in the creative process.
Retail apparel prices in the US decreased for the fourth consecutive month in June, dropping 0.3 per cent relative to the value posted in May. Year-over-year, retail apparel prices were 1.7 per cent lower in June. Seasonally-adjusted prices per square meter of imported cotton-dominant apparel edged slightly higher in June. Over the past 12 months, average sourcing costs have been generally stable. Despite low sourcing costs, import volumes have been declining.
Spending on apparel was 0.2 per cent higher month-over-month and 2.7 per cent higher year-over-year in June. This marked the fourth consecutive month of increased apparel spending, after two consecutive decreases were registered in the first two months of the year.
The US economy expanded at a 2.6 per cent annual rate between April and June. The acceleration in GDP growth in the second quarter was primarily a result of improved inventory investment, stronger consumer spending, and higher federal government spending.
Inventory investment was slightly lower in the second quarter than it was in the first quarter, decreasing from 2.7 per cent to 2.6 per cent. Nonetheless, consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 per cent of GDP, accelerated in the second quarter, improving from 1.9 per cent in the first quarter to 2.8 per cent in the second quarter.
Textile exporters feel with GST the country's exports will become uncompetitive in global markets, therefore want an exemption from the tax. GST has been finalised between 5 and 18 per cent on various products depending on the type, value and services involved in it. Additionally, a five per cent GST is applicable on job work. The foreign trade policy allows fulfillment of export obligations under various schemes through third party exports. Such a provision of getting exports goods without payment of GST from textile manufacturers will lead to ease of doing business and a seamless flow of credits.
Texprocil wants exemption for the textile industry from furnishing bank guarantees while executing B-1 bonds especially for those players who hold a membership with an export promotion council. Bank guarantees increase cost unnecessarily.
The GST levy has been cut from 18 per cent to five per cent. Earlier, the GST for job works related to textile yarns, other than manmade fibers and textile fabrics, was fixed at five per cent while for manmade fibers and yarns and made-ups/garments, the same tax levy stood at 18 per cent. Most manufacturing activities in the textile sector take place through job work and the reduction in the GST rate has come as a huge relief for the sector.
AKM Salim Osman MP, the president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), is going to lead the country’s apex trade body for two years 2017-19, third term in row. BKMEA is one of the most important trade bodies of Bangladesh. The full panel of 27 directors has been elected uncontested. The last BKMEA election was held on August, 2014 which elected current president Osman.
The BKMEA election was scheduled on September 9 but there is no need to take votes because there are no other candidates against the 27th position. As a result, they were elected unopposed. Now it is only a matter of time for the formal announcement on September 9. 2017.
On August 5, 2017, Osman’s panel submitted their nomination to the election commissioner. The president and three vice-president were to be elected on August 25. Now the effective member post has been created in BKMEA. The Election Board was formed to appoint former Vice President Mohammad Ali as Chairman. FBCCI Director Prabir Kumar Saha; NCC Director Rashed Sarwar; Narayanganj Bar Association Chairman Masudur Rauf; Narayanganj Yarn Merchants Association President Liton Saha was the member of Election Appellate Board.
Floods and pests have damaged cotton fields across India. While a substantial cotton area has come under whitefly attack in Punjab and Haryana, pink bollworm has attacked the standing crop in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Floods have wrecked Gujarat. So cotton production in India may fall drastically.
Farmers who shifted from pulses such as pigeon pea and green gram and edible oilseeds to cotton for better realisation would certainly be disappointed with a possible decline in their income this year due to the low cotton output. Whitefly has affected around 15,000 hectares of the cotton crop in Haryana, the state which witnessed a record 25 per cent increase in sowing area till July-end.
Maharashtra has ordered seed firms to pay a compensation of Rs 36,83,000 to farmers in the state. High yielding cotton seeds with Bt technology which are claimed to have protection from bollworm helped farmers increase their income in the initial years of their launch. But the cotton crop in India has nevertheless witnessed sporadic attacks of bollworms in the last few years.
Meanwhile, many hybrid seed companies are studying to introduce seeds which promise to improve crop productivity. Farmers are looking for high yielding seeds.
The Oeko-Tex label on children’s clothing is a guarantee of safety. The label certifies garment will not harm the child or cause injuries or rashes or health problems. It gives an assurance the article has been manufactured under fair working conditions and in an environmentally friendly manner.
‘Made in Green’ by Oeko-Tex offers consumers a degree of transparency. Each label has a unique product code. With this, parents can trace back the production of the respective product with their smart phone directly in the store. A brief scan of the code throws light on the production facility and the country in which the garment was produced. This creates trust and offers customers an additional opportunity to educate themselves about textile products and compare them to one another to make the best decision.
With this label, retail companies, retailers and manufacturers have the opportunity to communicate directly to conscious parents that they are committed to high product safety as well as ecological and social production conditions. The Made In Green label was introduced in 2015.
The Swiss undergarment brand Calida was one of the first companies to start labeling individual products for men and women with this label. To date, 10,000 manufacturers, brands, and retailers in almost 100 countries are working with Oeko-Tex to ensure their products are tested for potentially harmful substances.
Morocco is the seventh biggest exporter of apparel to the EU. Trousers and denim account for the largest export share followed by shirts and dresses. The country has developed a supply chain strategy by which it has separated its capabilities into six focus areas or ecosystems: fast fashion, denim, knit, pre/sports/leisure, Moroccan brands, and leather and shoes. Suppliers in these ecosystems can work together to boost both their own offerings and those of the country.
Each ecosystem also has growth plans and targets. The denim ecosystem expects to create 14,800 new jobs by 2020 as Morocco’s advancements in denim supply grow. Ecosystems are led by leading companies acting as locomotives for their branches and suppliers. The locomotives not only upgrade their own production systems, but also assist small companies within their ecosystem to structure and build up industrial progression and modernity.
The country has played a major role in providing fast fashion for brands like Zara H&M and Burberry. The Moroccan apparel industry and its fast fashion model bring added value to retailers in terms of profitability, attractiveness and brand building. It is well positioned to offer solutions for CM, FOB production, creativity.
Textile machinery manufacturer Lakshmi Machine Works, supplies comprehensive range of spinning systems accompanied by various value-added services. These services are meant mainly to familiarise customers with the systems and help them attain optimum performance output.
Despite the volatile situation in the industry, the company made strong inroads into compact yarn segment in 2016-17 thanks to the stable performance of Lakshmi compact system and acceptance of the performance by top end spinners. Also during 2016-17 it increased market share of cards and successfully launched the new product Card LC636 and Lakshmi Winders.
Lakshmi executed many projects in 2016-17 with project sizes varying from 25,000 to 1,00,000 spindles. The machines supplied to these projects produce a variety of yarns like combed, carded, compact, SIRO and special yarns and have high standards of automation, energy saving features and readiness to meet industry 4.0 standards.
The manufacturer has fared well in global markets in spite of shrinking market size in 2016 and is expected to do better in 2017 considering improvements in market conditions and the launch of new products. LMW has put in place stock and sale business model for spares management which helped in meeting the requirements of customers effectively.
