FW
Renewed European interest in quality superfine wool and Chinese demand for medium merino lines with lower vegetable matter content pushed prices generally higher this week. This, combined with the strong buyer sentiment, provided perfect conditions for a rising market.
Prices lifted by a solid 10 to 20 cents from the opening hammer, then slowly but noticeably increased as the sale progressed. By the end of the sale, the price increases were generally 30 to 50 cents, pushing the Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) a further 18 cents to close the week at 1506 cents.
Wools broader than 21 micron were most affected by the rising market, so much so that the micron price guide for 22 micron hit a record high. The skirting market experienced rises, but nowhere near the extent of the fleece.
Buyers continued to focus on lots exhibiting excellent length and strength results, trying to find reasonably priced wools in a continually rising market. The crossbred wool market continued its solid run, with most types and descriptions this week generally rising five to ten cents and 28 micron lines enjoying the largest gains.
Of most interest to buyers were sale lots between 19 and 22.5 micron and two to six per cent vegetable matter content.
India’s small, non-integrated manmade fabric manufacturers feel threatened by GST. Under GST, manmade fiber yarn will be taxed at 18 per cent while its end product, fabric, will be taxed at five per cent. Tax differential leaves integrated textile firms which produce yarn and use it to make fabric at an advantage over those which buy yarn to make fabric. Also, cotton made yarn and fabric will attract five per cent duty.
This imbalance is expected to hit small textile companies which buy manmade yarn to weave fabric. In addition, since imported fabric will attract 15 per cent effective duty, cheaper Chinese goods may also pose a serious threat.
GST of 18 per cent on manmade fiber would make the job work segments and their principals uncompetitive against large composite mills. This problem is further accentuated as non-integrated textile players would not get refund of excess GST on input. The levy may result in job losses in the non-integrated segment. Competition from Chinese players would intensify.
Since China provides a rebate of 18 per cent, fabric manufactured there would be 20 per cent cheaper when exported to India even after considering the ten per cent import duty and five per cent GST on import of fabrics. This would result in higher competition for Indian fabric and garment manufacturers.
The EDB organized a seminar on May 29 in association with the export product associations on 'Renewed Opportunities in the EU Market' with the objective of making the Sri Lankan export community aware of the opportunities under the EU GSP+ concessions.
There were over 200 companies representing the following sectors: apparel and textiles, footwear and gaiters, rubber and rubber-based products, fish and seafood, precious stones and jewellery, ceramics, plant and foliage, vegetable and fruits, coconut-based products, tea, spices, electrical machinery and equipment and parts. The programme was a great opportunity for the participant companies to gain the overall knowledge on EU GSP+ concession and to clarify issues related to the concession and EU region in their effort to penetrate in the EU market.
India has imposed anti-dumping duties on jute products from Bangladesh. This has affected Bangladesh’s jute exports. India slapped the anti-dumping duty on January 5 this year.
In the meantime Bangladesh is expanding the jute industry. There is a proposal for forming a special fund as part of initiatives to restore the past glory of jute. Bangladesh has taken the initiative to go in for balancing, modernisation, renovation and expansion of 26 jute mills in phases.
Bangladesh currently has 26 jute mills, which are 60 to 70 years old, and of which 24 mills, which are now in operation, are annually producing 2,08,642 metric tons of jute goods against their original annual production capacity of 3,45,000 metric tons.
China has been providing technical and financial support to Bangladesh for revitalising the jute sector. Bangladesh will take technical assistance from China for modernizing 24 state-owned jute mills for producing diversified jute goods. Bangladesh will set up a jute viscose plant with financial and technical assistance from China. Viscose is a kind of manmade natural fiber. Products made using jute viscose could bring in three to four times more profits than products made using jute fiber.
Jute is one of the most affordable natural fibers and considered second only to cotton in the amount produced and the variety of uses of vegetable fibers.
European Union once again warns Bangladesh on not to exploit RMG workers for sustaining GSP. The European parliament adopted the resolution tabled by its Committee on International Trade (INTA) on "The State-of-Play of the implementation of the Sustainability Compact in Bangladesh", an EU-driven initiative to strengthen labour rights and safety at work in the readymade garment sector of Bangladesh.
INTA Chair Bernd Lange says that despite some progress in recent years, the situation on the ground remains worrisome. They are concerned about the lack of meaningful progress in implementing the commitments of the Sustainability Compact by Bangladesh. Countries, which disrespect fundamental rights at work, should not be encouraged by benefitting from unrestricted access to our market, he said, adding that the government of Bangladesh will need to demonstrate that it is willing and able to deliver on its own promises and the demands of the international community.
In the resolution, INTA members expressed concerns over the lack of progress in a number of areas of the Sustainability Compact.The European Commission in a recent letter to the Bangladesh government shared these concerns highlighting the need to do more to align Bangladeshi laws and practice with the recommendations of the ILO.
The resolution suggested that the government of Bangladesh should swiftly amend the 2013 Labour Act so as to ensure freedom of association, collective bargaining and to recruit more factory inspectors.
The mandate of the Accord, a platform including EU companies that help implement the Compact, should be renewed after its expiry of May 2018 and international brands ought to take their CSR policy more seriously to ensure decent working conditions.
Aurora Specialty Textiles is known for its wide width bleaching, coating, finishing and calendaring capabilities. The company has the ability to provide a wide variety of finishes including FR, antimicrobial and water resistance to products such as bedding, draperies, boat covers and awnings.
Market segments that benefit from Aurora’s wide width custom coating expertise include print media, nautical, home décor, bedding, outdoor and much more. Over the past year Aurora has seen a significant interest from the home décor and nautical sectors for its wide width custom coating and finishing capabilities.
With its next generation technology and textile science expertise the company looks forward to serving new markets.
Last year was a major year of growth and expansion at Aurora. Aurora officially celebrated the opening of its vast new, state-of-the-art manufacturing operations. In step with that move Aurora also launched a new brand logo, tag line and mission statement, and this month announced the roll-out and full commercialization of the entire Expressions Canvas product line.
Aurora’s manufacturing operations are in North America, assuring best quality, potential cost savings, reliable turn-around times and the ability to order product as needed.
Aurora Specialty Textiles will showcase its state-of-the-art product development expertise at Techtextil 2017, June 20 to 22, USA.
Among the top 25 global fashion sites by traffic, asos is in the number one spot followed by hm and macys. On fashion e-commerce sites, social media plays a more significant role than non-fashion sites. Fashion e-commerce sites generate 4.3 per cent of traffic from social media channels, which compares to 3.2 per cent for non-fashion sites. By type of traffic source, nonpaid or direct traffic garnered 56.3 per cent of all traffic to these retailers while organic search came in at 30.5 per cent. Traffic generated by referrals was 8.9 per cent.
Social media channels can be useful for fashion apparel retailers. In fashion marketing, using different channels allows brands to connect with niche audiences and diverse demographics. About 57.5 per cent of visitors to the top 25 sites hailed from the US while 12 per cent were from Russia and eight per cent were from Turkey. India had eight per cent of the share as well. It makes sense that the bulk of the traffic comes from the US because the sites are based there.
In regard to spending on e-commerce to drive traffic, fashion lags the industry. Some 28 per cent of general e-commerce businesses with the highest revenue spent more than a million dollars, and 20 per cent spent between 5,00,000 to a million dollars. Only eight per cent of fashion e-commerce businesses spent more than 5,00,000 dollars on paid advertising.
Textile and garment manufacturer Eclat Textile, Taiwan is expecting sales to pick up in the third quarter of 2017, aided by orders from its five new brand customers. Eclat really had a difficult time over the past two years, but I think the worst is over,” company chairman Hung Chen-hai told a media gathering on Monday, citing major customers’ inventory digestion and cautious market sentiment last year in the global apparel industry.
In addition to new brand clients, Hung stated that the company just won a large order from a US-based e-commerce platform operator, but declined to provide details. The new customers, which mainly placed orders for high-margin functional and outdoor products, are expected to raise profitability and contribute revenue more significantly in the fourth quarter, he told the Taipei Times. Computerized jacquard products and functional fabrics used for body-shaping apparel are seen as the company’s next sales drivers, Eclat noted.
Eclat’s gross margin was 26.8 percent last quarter, up from 26.7 percent a year earlier, company data showed. The increasing revenue contribution of higher-priced products is also anticipated to help average selling prices of garments increase by between 8 and 10 percent, the firm said.
Eyeing growth momentum in high-end products, the company said it is considering construction of a new plant for digital textile printing in Taiwan or Vietnam this year, without elaborating. Eclat’s sales increased 7.52 percent year-on-year to NT$1.99 billion (US$65.5 million) last month, ending four consecutive months of decline. Eclat’s sales could achieve double-digit percentage growth in the second half of this year due to the recovery in the US apparel industry and higher revenue contribution from new clients.
The firm’s gross margin is forecast to reach 28.9 percent this year, up from last year’s 28.4 percent on the back of increasing revenue contribution of jacquard products, says Yuanta.
Eclat held its annual general meeting where shareholders approved a proposal to pay a cash dividend of NT$10.5 per share and 2 percent in stock dividends based on last year’s bottom line of NT$3.66 billion, or earnings per share of NT$13.67. The company saw its net profit drop 12.3 percent compared to last year, with sales decreasing 3.9 percent annually to NT$24.5 billion.
Grasim Industries has earned the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified Biobased Product label for its products- Birla Viscose, Birla Modal and Birla Excel. Kate Lewis, USDA Bio Preferred Program stated that the company congratulates Grasim Industries for the USDA Certified Biobased Product label also the products from Grasim Industries are contributing to an ever expanding marketplace that adds value to renewable agriculture commodities, creates jobs in rural communities, and decreases the reliance on petroleum he adds.
The USDA Certified Biobased Product label displays a product's bio based content, which is the portion of a product that comes from a renewable source, such as plant, animal, marine, or forestry feed stocks. Utilizing renewable, bio based materials displaces the need for non-renewable petroleum based chemicals. Bio based products, through petroleum displacement, have played an increasingly important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions that exacerbate global climate change. Bio based products are cost-comparative, readily available, and perform as well as or better than their conventional counterparts.
Dilip Gaur, managing director, Grasim Industries stated that the USDA Biobased certification is another milestone reached in the Sustainability Journey and strengthening. Rajeev Gopal, CMO also commented that the certification reconfirms the natural origin of products improves the confidence of the value chain players in delivering biobased products.
Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada (ATSC) will be held August 21to 23, 2017.This is Canada’s premier international apparel and textile sourcing event. Featuring a wide range of Canadian-made products soon to be launched to the Canadian market as well as products from Chinese and other international manufacturers, the showcase will include the latest innovations by industry leaders.
Show exhibits will include top apparel and textile manufacturers from more than 20 countries, including Canada, China, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the US, the UK, Turkey, Switzerland, Spain, Nepal as well as a delegation of 30 artisanal companies from eight least developed countries. China alone is bringing a delegation of 200 manufacturers to display their newest offerings and forge business relationships with local industry players.
Among the products on display are self-heating winter coats and boot insoles, T-shirts that monitor a person’s heart and breathing, leg bands that measure muscle performance and help prevent injuries, LED-backlit apparel and socks that improve balance.
Debuting last year with great success, ATSC is back in 2017 expanded in size by more than 50 per cent. With two months still to go until show time, exhibits are already 95 per cent sold and attendee pre-registration is up exponentially over 2016.
