FW
Cos, the minimalist label aimed at creative professionals owned by H&M, is debuting at at Pitti 94, the latest edition of the world’s most sleekly organized menswear fashion week.
For Pitti, Cos presented inside the rarefied Renaissance cloisters of the Istituto degli Innocenti. The troupe attired in the spare yet chic Cos x Pitti Uomo collection. The main features of this collection included elongated and voluminous cuts finished with displaced buttons and exaggerated lengths and made in mono-colors of gray, navy blue, fine white and putty gray.
Cos plans to open 10 boutiques before the end of the year adding to its current chain of 248 stores worldwide. These include: Basel, Switzerland and Changsha, China which both open this Friday. Also planned for 2018, openings in Hotel Dieu in Lyon, France; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Austin Texas and Los Angeles in the USA; Augsburg, Germany; Lyngby, Denmark; Brisbane, Australia and Bangkok, Thailand.
Bangladesh’s garment shipments to India have more than doubled in the first 11 months of the fiscal year. Between July last year and May this year, $187.37 million worth of woven garment items were shipped to India and $65.70 million worth of knitwear products.
The reason for exponential rise is bulk purchase by western brands with operations in India and Indian clothing chains, which are finding Bangladesh’s garment items more competitively priced for India’s bulging middle-class demographic. Besides Indian retailers like Tata, Reliance and Arvind, western brands like H&M, Zara and Mango are sourcing garments from Bangladesh in bulk. Like in previous years, woven garment shipments outnumbered knitwear as the demand for formal shirts is high in the country packed with office-going executives.
Bangladesh’s garment manufacturers see India as an emerging market. In the next few years, they expect garment exports to India to cross the $1 billion mark. Bangladeshi garment exporters face a 12.5 per cent countervailing duty for shipments to India, although India has duty-free facility on all Bangladeshi products except some alcoholic and beverage items. Overall, Bangladesh exports to India increased 24.67 per cent year on year in the July-May period.
"Production growth in China has been lean due to limited farmland and high labour costs. China has agreed to significantly increase its purchases of the US goods and services, and cotton is one of the top agricultural exports of the US. Production of viscose staple fibre will increase further in 2018, pulling down prices, observes Zhu Beina, President, China Cotton Textile Association. The association anticipates cotton textile sector to be using 4 million ton of viscose fibre by 2019."
Tim Bourgois, head of the cotton platform, Louis Dreyfus Company forecasts by 2019-20, China will become major cotton importer, importing 10 to 15 million bales (2 to 3 million tons) each year. The current volume is around 5 million bales in 2017-18. Once the world’s top cotton importer, China has seen imports shrink from more than 5 million ton in 2011-12 to around 1 million ton in 2017, due to its efforts to reduce stockpiles of the fibre. Bourgois foresees, domestic cotton usage will increase by 1.5 million bales to 41.5 million bales in 2018-19.
Production growth in China has been lean due to limited farmland and high labour costs. China has agreed to significantly increase its purchases of the US goods and services, and cotton is one of the top agricultural exports of the US. Production of viscose staple fibre will increase further in 2018, pulling down prices, observes Zhu Beina, President, China Cotton Textile Association. The association anticipates cotton textile sector to be using 4 million ton of viscose fibre by 2019.
Taking global cues, during the recent China Cotton Industry Development Summit, 1.00 million ton of cotton quotas would be issued recently, and the
quotas will continue to increase in 2019. The sliding-scale duty quotas will be released to textile mills, while for processing trade quotas, mills need to apply for it. Though the specific releasing time has not been said, the news has been bullish for international cotton market, as the global market cannot fulfill the demand of 1.00 million ton.
Evolving supply dynamics
The three largest cotton producers: China, India and the US, estimate cotton output may decrease in 2018-19 season. Supply is likely to be relatively tight in 2018-19 season. International cotton prices are likely to remain high, or even increase, leading to higher international cotton prices than domestic prices. During June and Dec, cotton that will arrive at Chinese ports will be from Australia and West Africa (Jun-Oct), Brazil (Oct-Dec) and Central Asian and India (Nov-Dec). Except Australian and Brazilian cotton, which on arriving period, there may be outstanding orders to be concluded, for Indian, West African and Central Asian cotton, the sources have been signed contracts mostly, let alone the quality sources.
In USDA May supply and demand report, ending stocks outside China in 2017-18 are supposed to rise 1.90 million ton (increasing volumes of US, Indian and Brazilian cotton are 1.00 million ton), but the quality of remnant 2017-18 US and Indian cotton is a challenge. As Indian cotton has no quality advantage compared with China’s Xinjiang cotton, with no obvious price edge, China reduces the imports of Indian cotton. Going by the current market dynamics, while the supply on international market is tight, downstream mills may have no suitable sources to import and cannot use the quotas. Global and Chinese cotton prices are likely to increase.
Made-in-Italy men’s fashion posted a 3.4 per cent revenue growth in 2017, higher than the 2.1 per cent rise initially forecast last January. Total menswear revenue was equivalent to a 17.2 per cent share of Italy’s overall textile/fashion revenue, and a 27.4 per cent one of apparel revenue alone.
Knitwear was up 7.6 per cent and garment manufacturing was up 3.4 per cent. Shirt and leather apparel production were down by more than two per cent and ties fell by 9.5 per cent. Exports accounted for 65.5 per cent of total menswear revenue.
In 2017, Germany surpassed France as the main foreign market for Italian menswear exports, growing 10.1 per cent. Exports to the UK also grew by a healthy 8.3 per cent, making the UK Italy’s second-largest market. France was up 3.8 per cent and Spain 3.9 per cent though the latter slowed down after the 15.4 per cent leap in 2016. Russia was one of the most positive markets for Italian menswear in 2017, with exports growing 19.6 per cent.
Vietnam’s garment and textile exports is likely to reach $200 billion by 2035 fuelled by import tax reduction brought about by free trade agreements, increasing automation in production and favorable world market. Vietnam’s garment sector is likely to rake in $34.5 billion from exports this year. The sector has great potential for development to 2035. However, thorough preparations to meet the target export value is needed. Firstly, the domestic material consumption rate needs to be raised, aiming at 80 per cent of fibres and 60-65 per cent of other materials by 2030-2035.
Vietnam is now less dependent on Chinese materials as domestic materials can meet 40-45 per cent of the sector’s demand. The rest of it is imported from China, Japan, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea and Thailand.
The US has escalated its apparel imports. Marginal rise in unit prices has made the United States spend more on apparel imports from January to April 2018. The US imported 8,531 million square metres of apparel as compared to last year up 1.46 per cent.
The country spent $25.15 billion on imported apparels in the review period which were slightly higher than the previous year. China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and India were the top five apparel exporters to the US during the first 10 months of 2018. Indonesia increased its value share in the US but China lost a significant share in value terms.
India, posted solid growth after its apparel shipment went on negative side in Q1 ’17 by 0.80 per cent. India exported apparels worth $ 1.43 billion in the review period adding another $ 394 million in April from March month. On the other hand Bangladesh, remained positive in its apparel exports to the largest apparel importer in the world. Bangladesh’s apparel shipment value was $1.79 billion as against $1.74 billion.
Italian leader in the production of man-made yarn Fulgar, has been pursuing a wide-ranging green program involving the production process and product offered. The company has developed two sustainable products that are fast becoming best-sellers. These are: Evo, a bio-based yarn made from castor oil; and Q-Nova, a yarn developed exclusively from regenerated raw materials.
Launched five years ago, Q-Nova was the first speciality to be developed by Fulgar. This eco-sustainable yarn makes the company’s production processes more sustainable, leading to lower CO2 emissions and water consumption. Q-Nova is made exclusively from regenerated raw materials through a mechanical process that uses no chemical materials that could compromise the sustainability of the end product. Owing to its environmental sustainability performance, supply chain and zero-kilometre philosophy, Q-Nova has been supported and adopted by many companies, especially in the circular knit, legwear and woven material sector for the clothing, intimate wear and sportswear industry.
These unique features have led Q-Nova to be selected for an extensive range of uses in high-end capsules and collections in the sport-technical field, and as a leading product for many top commercial and research brands in northern Europe, the UK and North America.
Socks manufacturer SNQS, based in Tirupur, plans to expand production capacity. The company has 700 socks making machines, producing 90,000 dozen socks a month. SNQS will add a further 100 machines with an investment of nearly Rs 7 crores. The company uses machines of Italian manufacturer Lonati and is likely to install the same machines in future as well.
The company works with cotton, bamboo, aloe vera yarns and is now trying options in Tencel also. Though these yarns are comparatively expensive, SNQS wants to give something new to the market. Working with prestigious companies like M&S, Max (Landmark Group), Nutmeg etc. the company is also receiving some tag on orders from such exporters that want to give socks along with their core products.
Global socks market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.5 per cent from 2015 to 2023. In a number of developing and less developed countries, such as Asia Pacific, Latin America and Africa, the market features a largely unorganized structure with a number of domestic players that tap growth opportunities through their economical products. Athletic socks are presently the most in-demand varieties of socks. The segment accounted for over one-third of overall sales of socks across the globe in 2014.
Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has hailed the increase in country’s exports of 15.28 per cent year-on-year to $21.34 billion in first 11 months of current fiscal year. PTEA has stressed for fast track implementation of long term growth-led export policies in true spirit to get sustainable growth and shrink the huge trade deficit.
PTEA chairman Mian Shaiq Jawed has praised the upsurge in country’s exports. He says value-added textiles are the main driver of growth in the country’s exports which has risen 8.13 per cent to $11.13 billion in July-April period of FY18. In the first 11 months of current fiscal year, total exports crossed $21 billion and if the trend continues, they would cross $23 billion, which will be the highest level since FY14.
He further said textile exports have taken off as a result of cash incentives under the Prime Minister’s export package. He asked for immediate payment of cash incentives under PM export package to further accelerate the growth in value added textile exports.
Pakistan has extended its export package for three years. This is meant to enhance the country’s export receipts, improve competitiveness in textile and non-textile sectors in a bid to increase the pace of growth in exports in the coming financial years.
To incentivise investment in export-oriented production, the drawback of local taxes and levies scheme has been extended on the same terms and conditions for commercial as for non-commercial exporters. The hope is that the three-year extension in export package for value-added and non-traditional products and markets would provide an incentive to local and foreign stakeholders for investment in export-oriented production capacities.
These components of the export package are expected to provide significant competitiveness benefits to the export sector. The package is in addition to other relief measures announced for the export sector. The package has contributed to a U-turn in exports in fiscal year ’18, which had earlier been declining continuously since fiscal year ’14. Textile producers expect a further hike in exports.
In Budget ’19, packaging material has been included in the sales tax zero-rated regime, which was initially designed for five major export industries--textile, leather, sports goods, surgical goods and carpets.
