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The Indonesian Textile Association (API) noted that sales of textile products in the domestic market have been sluggish in the last five years. It, occurred in the second curve in 2017 where there was a 30 percent decrease over the first quarter ago.
Chairman of the Indonesian Textile Association Ade Sudrajat says that, in previous years the demand for textile products increased significantly ahead of Idul Fitri. It can be seen by the visible from the volume of vehicles that go to Tanah Abang wholesale center ahead of Ramadan.
However, according to Ade, since the last few years demand is decreasing. In the second quarter of 2016, where there was a moment of Eid al-Fitr, there was still a 10 percent increase in demand for textile products. However, in the second quarter of 2017, the demand dropped very deeply to 30 percent. The sales of textile products in the domestic market in the first quarter of 2017 recorded a decrease of 3 percent.
Ade predicted the decline was due to an increase in the price of basic electricity tariffs that make people divert their funds for the purpose. Therefore, he hopes the government can provide stimulus to the textile industry by providing certainty about energy prices.
In addition, Ade also hopes the government to fix fiscal policy, especially related to taxation. Because, he views during this time the Director General of Taxes only incentive to seek taxes from the upstream industry, but not to the retail industry.
For the first six months, export turnover of Vietnam’s textiles and garments rose year-on-year by 11.3 per cent. Exports of fibers rose by 27.4 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Export turnovers of textile and garment products to the US, EU and Japan were up nine per cent, eight per cent and 12 per cent respectively. The country’s textile and garment export turnover is estimated to show a year-on-year increase of 10.9 per cent in 2017.
This performance is remarkable considering the unstable economic situation caused by low growth and decline in import growth experienced in major markets such as the US, EU and Japan in the first half of this year.
When compared with major competitors in the field of textiles and garments, including China, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia, Vietnam has the highest growth rate.
But if Vietnam’s competitors devalue their currency to support their export activities, such as in 2016, the country’s textile and garment industry will be being unable to sustain the momentum created in the first half of the year.
Vietnam is one of the five largest textile and garment exporters in the world. However the country is also one of the world’s leading importers of fabrics and materials. The shortage of high-quality materials for production is the biggest barrier to Vietnam’s textile and garment industry, hindering the country from taking advantage of free trade agreements.
"Muslim spending on fashion is expected to touch $488 billion by 2019. Nike, the well-known US sportswear company, recently introduced a sports hijab. The reaction to this was mixed: there are those who are applauding Nike for its inclusiveness of Muslim women who want to cover their hair, and there are those who accuse it of abetting women’s subjugation."
Muslim spending on fashion is expected to touch $488 billion by 2019. Nike, the well-known US sportswear company, recently introduced a sports hijab. The reaction to this was mixed: there are those who are applauding Nike for its inclusiveness of Muslim women who want to cover their hair, and there are those who accuse it of abetting women’s subjugation.
Nike, in fact, is not the first corporate brand to champion the hijab. Muslim women are indifferent to fashion. Nothing could be further from the truth that the research shows that Islamic fashion is a rapidly growing industry. The marketing of Islamic fashionable clothing, however, is older than the sports hijab
Islamic Fashion in general is understood as women wearing modest clothing with long sleeves, descending to the ankle and having a high neckline. The outfits are non-hugging, with some form of head covering that could be draped in a variety of styles. Women who prefer to wear pants combine them with a long sleeved top that covers the buttocks and has a high neckline, along with a head covering.
Islamic Fashion market growing
Today, Muslim fashion is a lucrative global industry with countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey leading the way outside the western countries. In 2010, the Turkish newspaper Milliyet estimated the global Islamic clothing market to be worth around $2.9 billion.
The Global Islamic Economy report for 2014-2015 indicated Muslim consumer spending on clothing and footwear had increased to $266 billion in 2013. This represents a growth of 11.9 per cent of the global spending in a period of three years. The report predicted this market to reach $488 billion by 2019.
Talking about the Islamic brand the growth has had its share of controversies: many designers use the term Islamic for their clothing. Religious conservatives and Muslim scholars have raised questions about what types of apparel would fit that category and whether defining clothing as Islamic was even permitted or lawful by Islamic principles. The purpose of a hijab is to distract and move the gaze away from the body.
However, the Islamic fashion industry has managed to initiate marketing campaigns that capitalise on the very core of Islamic precept. In establishing a nominally Islamic brand, marketers make every effort to align their products with the core value of Islam.
Textile and garment is the biggest employer in Bulgarian manufacturing, employing some 1,00,000 workers. Sub-standard working conditions and low wages are the norm. Workers earn the minimum wage, far less than a living wage, and young people are not motivated to look for a job in the sector. The supply chain needs a well-functioning industrial relations model.
Freedom of association needs to be respected. The objective is to achieve sustainable working conditions and a win-win situation throughout the supply chain. Freely elected trade union representatives and good social dialogue can ensure company sustainability.
Union density in the Bulgarian textile industry is very low and workers are scared to join a union for fear of losing their livelihood. There is a strong need to empower workers and trade unions if a real change is to be seen in the textile and garment sector in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria is Europe's quick response solution. Bulgarian firms are rapidly developing the internal capabilities to manage all aspects of their supply chains to European partners, including sourcing, design, transport/logistics and own branding. These capabilities, combined with Bulgaria's strategically favorable location, make working with Bulgaria a critical and valuable component to a company's strategy.
In short, Bulgaria is Europe's most reliable, capable and cost-effective solution for high quality, small orders that need to be there yesterday.
Athleisure grows, and grows. Brands and supermarkets in the UK are jumping on the athleisure bandwagon as it continues to grow and evolve. Today’s young people are more health and wellness minded than previous generations.
From mums in leggings at the school gate to yogis donning their harem pants at the coffee shop, athleisure has been an inescapable fashion trend in the last couple of years.
Sales of sports clothing by specialists has grown 44 per cent since 2011. About 14 per cent of shoppers bought sportswear from a fashion retailer in 2016.
The athleisure trend has an added bonus for fashion retailers who have long battled unpredictable weather. People buy it regardless of the weather.
The desire to look fashionable while working out first invaded the world of fitness, but active wear has fast become an everyday, must-have, fashion item. Customers wear athleisure and trainers not just to the gym but also out shopping, meeting friends and around town.
There is no sign of athleisure’s appeal waning any time soon but retailers that want to capitalise on the trend need to innovate in terms of design, fabric and even wearable technology to keep up with pacesetters. Newness and product differentiation are critical. People are looking for color and print and differentiation in athleisure. It’s not just about black leggings.
Acanthurus GmbH will soon introduce its innovative nanothermal warming textile technology Nanogy at the Berlin FashionTech exhibition. An innovative warming technology was developed by Chinese market leader j-NOVA for the European market, under the brand name Nanogy.
This will make freezing a thing of the past, explains Carsten Wortmann, founder and CEO of Acanthurus GmbH. The ultra-light, high-tech textiles can be integrated into any garment including that go-to jacket everyone loves to wear on chilly days. All you need is a standard power bank to feel the warmth flow through your body, even on the coldest of days.
The innovative, lightweight technology is completely non-metallic, meaning it emits no radiation. The non-metallic nature of the technology is also said to allow it to be washed at any temperature. The technology is thin and flexible and, as there is no metal included, can be scrunched or crumpled without damaging its function.
According to the manufacturer, Nanogy textile measures an energy conversion rate of over 90 per cent, making it one of the most sustainable and environmentally friendly warming solutions ever developed, the technology is recyclable, so consumers can dispose of it as they would any other garment.
Jeni Odley, Director of Acanthurus GmbH says that the company focuses on providing world class technology and also to improve people’s lives without harming the environment.
As expected for any modern tech company, users can even control the temperature of the textile with a mobile app, making the integration of Nanogy a simplified, one-touch experience.
The Jasper Infotech board has rejected an initial offer, estimated at $800-900 million, for its troubled online marketplace Snapdeal, from rival ecommerce company Flipkart, according to people briefed on the matter. The development comes days after Bengaluru-headquartered Flipkart, the country’s largest online retailer, completed its commercial and legal due diligence of Gurgaon-based Snapdeal, a process that started about eight weeks back.
According to two sources aware of the developments, talks between the parties are expected to continue. It is, however, yet unclear if and when Flipkart will come back with a revised formal offer.
Flipkart, which had an exclusivity period to make a formal offer till July 3, had appointed global professional services firm EY to conduct the due diligence on its behalf, while Snapdeal had hired Deloitte. The Tiger Global-backed domestic online retail giant has been the frontrunner to acquire the Kuna lBahl and Rohit Bansal-founded Snapdeal in a deal anticipated at $700 million-1 billion, and which was being steered by SoftBank, the largest stakeholder in Snapdeal.
While the rejection of its initial offer is not expected to draw curtains over the deal, the delay will further add to SoftBank’s ongoing wait for the transaction to close, given that the Japanese investor has been looking to clean up its largely underperforming portfolio in the country.It is yet unclear if the decision to reject the Flipkart offer was a unanimous one. When contacted by ET, a SoftBank spokesperson declined to comment, while, both, Snapdeal and Flipkart did not respond to emails asking for greater clarity.
An offer has to be first accepted by the Jasper Infotech board, and then shared with its 20-odd investors, who have to sign off on it.
Katie Smith, senior analyst at retail analytics firm Edited, says that the challenge is that brands are either neglecting the male plus demographic altogether or focusing only on certain types of apparel while ignoring others, like activewear and formalwear. While women’s plus-size apparel offerings have grown by 375 percent in the last five years, plus-size menswear has actually shrunk by 54 percent, according to data from Edited.
Kelvin Davis, founder of the plus-size fashion blog Notoriously Dapper, says that to the dearth of brands that sell larger sizes, the retailers that are experimenting with plus-size styles don’t have an adept sense of sizing. A common practice is to conflate “big and tall” with “plus-size,” though Smith says that there is no global data that correlates the two.
As a result, Davis also says that brands like Asos, which launched its first plus-size men’s line in December 2016, tend not to fit his 5-foot-9-inch, 240 pound frame. The problem is these are typically designed with a taller man in mind.
Bruce Sturgell, founder of the plus-size menswear blog Chubstr, says while progress may appear slow, there have still been promising advancements in the past year, including the rise of smaller, lesser-known brands that are breaking into the market.
He further adds that there are a rise of bloggers and influencers advocating for plus-size menswear, societal pressure to adhere to ingrained gender norms is still a significant barrier to advancement in the market. He says it’s less culturally accepted for males to speak out about body positivity than women, which makes it difficult to gain visibility and generate the public demand that helps encourage fashion brands.
The size of India's textile market is expected to touch 250 billion dollars in the next two years from 150 billion dollars now. The domestic market is currently estimated at 110 billion dollars and exports at 40 billion dollars.
In the last two years, a lot of buoyancy has been created in the textile sector. Various schemes have been launched, not only to upgrade technology, but also to extend financial aid to the sector. The capital investment subsidy has been introduced in segments like weaving, garment, technical textile and made up.
Attempts will be made to modernise machines and add state-of-the-art facilities which will help the sector. A Rs 6000 crores special package was announced for the industry last year.
Rebates on state levies have been introduced to encourage exports. There is an additional 10 per cent subsidy for the garment and made-up segments, which means the home textile industry will get an effective 25 per cent capital investment subsidy on the new machines they bring in, leading to efficiency and modernisation of the sector.
Subsidies have proved be very beneficial for the sector and led to an increase in employment and attracted huge investments.
The textile industry needs to utilise the various schemes launched by the government for the benefit of customers.
Australian textile major Woolmark is eyeing an entry into the handloom and weaving clusters of Gujarat and Manipur to increase the import of its premium merino wool into India.
In its efforts to explore other markets for wool, Woolmark has also entered into a collaboration with the Tirupur Exporters Association. As of today, seven companies have begun manufacturing knitwear using wool.
To further boost imports, Woolmark has also announced the second phase of its Grown In Australia, Made In India initiative. The campaign will highlight the farm-to-fashion journey of merino wool from Australia to India. The campaign aims to connect stakeholders, including brands, manufacturers and the government, across the supply chain with consumers joining the journey from this year.
The campaign will be a four-month long project starting from September and ending in December. Through this initiative, the company will bring to light the different stakeholders of its journey– the Kullu weavers of Himachal Pradesh, the wool shawl and knitwear industry and its collaboration with commercial brands who have endorsed merino wool in India.
Merino represents 55,000 wool makers of the island country. While a majority of India's suit and knitwear products already use Australia's premium merino wool, Woolmark anticipates further growth in the domestic market share.
