FW
"With wool just being 2% of textile industry things are not really hunky dory for merino wool especially when it is ambitiously looking for growth and incremental rise in its global outreach & status. Moreover in the ever connected world collaboration is the key, says Alex Lai, GM Technical (Greater China & Emerging Markets Asia) on the sidelines of HKFW Spring/ Summer 2017. Handshake with all the forces in textile fibre trade is the way forward."
With wool just being 2% of textile industry things are not really hunky dory for merino wool especially when it is ambitiously looking for growth and incremental rise in its global outreach & status. Moreover in the ever connected world collaboration is the key, says Alex Lai, GM Technical (Greater China & Emerging Markets Asia) on the sidelines of HKFW Spring/ Summer 2017. Handshake with all the forces in textile fibre trade is the way forward. Therefore, the technical product development team at ‘The Woolmark Company’ is currently hands full in terms of working with global brands of repute across the product category. So against the given backdrop having a global resource center housed in a majestic building and environs overseeing the pristine sea, and also this hub is a home to many global players likes of Li & Fung, Levi’s and Adidas to name a few all in the close vicinity. Putting the facts in context this Lab shall oversee the biggest global market in the whole world for wool processing in the form of Chinese market which accounts for over 75% of global processing, followed by distant 2nd in the form of Indian processing facilities which roughly contributes to 8% of the global wool processing. According to Alex global demographics is something which can be characterized as EU likes wool, China again cherishes wool
US compared to their market size disproportionately are not as wool hungry ‘all thanks to not so easy care’ what they look for in any general product/ garment. Therefore to try and seek the over trading of this fiber Woolmark is very consciously looking to break ground in research and development ensuring wool need not required to be dry cleaned in every single article it produces.
Speaking aloud he says we are already broken an ice with fledgling denim industry, and quite a few article out of years long research and development have seen broad day light and more is waiting to be tapped. Also in footwear segment out of the box developments engaging global front-line brands like Adidas has resulted in spectacular work, which going forward shall start meeting the eye, opines confident Alex. The ground breaking work doesn’t just end here. The wool which is generally characterized by good breath ability, water repellent property, reasonably decent moisture management etc. is been opportunistically exploited.
To catch the global users fancy it has taken a route of top down approach wherein they are sensibly pushing brands to come on the board to influence the lower end of the retail pyramid. And in the changing paradigm aspirational brands are become the brand ambassadors/ endorsers for this wonder fiber. As this is converging to the brands’ incremental need and compulsion to look & supply beyond the obvious. And this brings them and woolmark on the same page. Resultant discoveries are there to see such as amazingly interesting pure wool wind cheaters, sport goods, out of the box fashion accessories etc. to create a differentiated proposition for brands which always clamor for something beyond ordinary.
Look no further woolmark lab’s open door policy & awesome team spirit is helping brands push all the boundaries and spring surprises ‘spring season in season out’ (and that is what the management is vying for since a while now) and new normal is that wool is not only for Winter season but it is all season wonder now and is a divine boon to the textile industry.
Not only that it is treading on less travelled roads viz. sectors like sportswear, circular/ flat knitting in Tees, and Travel shirts, as it doesn’t crumple so easily and recovers wrinkles faster than many other fibers to occasionally replace performance fabrics. Also wool is trying to foray in areas where there are lot of traction segments like casual and smart dressing & seeking to veer away from its existing ‘only formal segment image’. Fashion accessories are another area where it is attempting its bit to gain incremental footing for instance ties, socks, stolls and shawls. Besides in applications like Upholstery, pillows and other unconventional media such as blending successfully with paper is breaking wool free. Therefore it is no gainsaying wool is set to soar new heights.
You can also swear by its ecofriendly nature something lately has caught the fancy of millennial/ new age evolving consumer. And initiatives like eco-indexing to figure out how conscious, responsible and sustainable any brand is making a strong case for wool. So this versatile fabric is a true homage to human endeavour and enduring quest for sustainable life.
All above cannot really happen but by taking all the stakeholders on the board viz. Designers, Machinery/ Technology providers/ Brands and garmenters and so and so forth. Here Alex was more than generous in his acknowledgement to extend gratitude to Shima Seiki in particular for its support & co-operation.
Trade Dynamics
Price is another barrier which restrains the democratization of wool, so here again wool is gaining currency because of the basic approach of trying to ramp up the scales in every single article it diversifies to. As a matter of fact lately the wool prices have firmed on the back of some of changing habits of Chinese buyers and users (where the propensity of per head consumption has suddenly gone northwards). Unfortunately it is a short term deterrent for global wool trade dynamics. Additionally in perpetuity the supply conundrum i.e. continuous toss between whether to supply meat/ wool going in the minds of ‘Australian wool growers’ creates a state of quandary. But that been mentioned the wool supply remains more or less stable, so much so that Woolmark is trying aggressively pull and push technique to widen and deepen its base within the T&C space, and yet true to its inherent positioning it remains broadly a niche and protected fiber.
"Successful deals in the unpredictable world of US fashion are rare, and look even less likely to succeed as sales dip across the board. Cost savings can be counterproductive if it means squeezing money out of marketing and design, and buyers are risking on a style that can easily go out of favour. Therefore, established brands like Abercrombie are finding it difficult to take the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) route."
Successful deals in the unpredictable world of US fashion are rare, and look even less likely to succeed as sales dip across the board. Cost savings can be counterproductive if it means squeezing money out of marketing and design, and buyers are risking on a style that can easily go out of favour. Therefore, established brands like Abercrombie are finding it difficult to take the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) route. Neil Saunders, MD, GlobalData Retail, says often, as one spends money to buy the brand or business, one also has to spend more to do something strategic that will propel growth, and that means paying twice before getting returns.
Changing scenario
Five of the 20 companies involved in the biggest private equity apparel deals of the last decade have been restructured or gone bankrupt. All struggled under the debt load of a leveraged buyout. The biggest acquisition, Apollo Global Management's roughly $3.1-billion leveraged buyout of Claire's Stores, restructured in 2016. The second-largest acquisition, J Crew Group Inc, which TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners bought for about $3 billion, is now being restructured. Gymboree Corp filed for bankruptcy last month, seven years after Bain Capital's $1.8-billion purchase.
Many US fashion top brass are considering a sale option as pressure mounts from more affordable fast-fashion chains from Europe such as Zara and H&M, and customers abandon malls in favour of Amazon and other online retailers. Outerwear brand Eddie Bauer is eyeing a sale while also seeking relief from its debt load, according to Reuters. Teen brand American Apparel explored a sale last year before filing for bankruptcy.
In this context, Rohit Singh, specialists in retail at UBS Investment Bank, points out public company board members are reticent about green-lighting large-scale mergers and acquisitions because it's hard to find a good example of a business that has been rewarded by the equity market for doing so.
The most successful acquisitions have been those of younger brands, with a substantial room for growth and are yet to develop expensive supply chains and costly, little-used store bases. Gap Inc's $150 million purchase of athletic and yoga clothing line Athleta in 2008, for example, gave it a foothold in a growing fashion trend. The acquisition helped save Gap when sales of its jeans slowed as shoppers shifted to leggings. Josh Chernoff, MD – Retail, Parthenon-EY, said that if you tie two rocks together, they sink just as fast or faster. Mark Belford, a retail specialist at KPMG Corporate Finance, said that fashion is not something you can solve with math. You either get it or you don't, and it either sells or it sits on the shelf.
Israel-based NILIT has launched Sensil, its new nylon 6.6 brand for apparel. Sensil nylon 6.6 represents the gold standard of manmade fibers. It has an exceptional look and feel, is soft, strong, and durable, and retains newness after many wearings and washings. Sensil’s premium performance features include inherent odor control, temperature management, moisture management, and UV resistance. It is the new standard of quality for intimates, leg wear, active wear, and other style- and performance-driven garments.
NILIT, makes nylon textile fibers. Over the coming months, NILIT will be taking its unique message of fashion and performance benefits to the marketplace with a bold marketing campaign establishing Sensil as the smarter apparel choice for brands, retailers, and consumers.
Sensil is the result of extensive market analysis and research on retail industry shifts, consumer insights, and fashion trends. Many suppliers in the industry are focusing on lowering costs and, as a result, diluting quality. With Sensil, NILIT intends to work with its partners to reverse that trend.
Sensil will be supported by a 360-degree communications plan targeting fabric producers, brands, retailers, and consumers that includes trade shows and events, print and digital advertising, social media, point of sale displays, and in-store events.
In Nigeria, textile manufacturing is a key local industry, supported by a chain of suppliers such as cotton growers and natural dye makers. However, traditional methods of dyeing fabrics are threatened by cheap imports from abroad. Nigerians have a love of naturally dyed fabrics with many prints based on traditional motifs. In northern regions, it is common for cloth to be a single color, such as indigo. Dyers use dye-pits (two or three meters deep). The cloth is left in these for a day or two, before being rinsed and left to dry. Sometimes, indigo cloth is beaten and given an extra coating of indigo powder to give a deeper shade and a glossy shine or sheen.
At one time, Nigeria's textile industry used to be the third largest in Africa. Now the country spends about 100 billion naira annually on importing clothing materials. If half of this could be made locally, the drain of foreign exchange could be stopped. Jobs could be created. Buying home made goods can stimulate the domestic economy.
Leadership failed to sustain the manufacturing and textile industries when the country discovered oil. A return to agriculture and manufacturing could enable Nigeria come out of recession. Once industries are back, Nigeria could be not just an investment destination but a job destination.
The retail market in the UAE is attracting many foreign investments from leading brands such as Dolce and Gabbana and high profile fashion leaders such as Vogue Arabia. And it’s not just international trends that are making their mark in the UAE, a rise in modest clothing, which caters to the demand of women in the Middle East who like to dress modestly with style is also seeing a surge. Clothing such as the abaya and jilbab are featured on catwalks from around the world.
Modest fashion was specifically designed to help Muslim women in dressing in accordance to their faith whilst still expressing their preferences in style. However, the market has now diversified as more and more fashion labels are catering to the niche sector and by doing so, are further propelling the UAE as a major player in innovative fashion.
Increasing number of Emirati designers are creating innovative designs to keep up with growing demand for more variety. For too long, consumers who want to buy fashion online in the Middle East have suffered from a lack of variety. Online shopping platform Noon hopes to provide a real sense of varied fashion for customers shopping online.
Woolrich is using inspiration from famous American explorer John Muir to help tell his story for its Fall 2017 campaign. The central feature is the brand’s classic Arctic Parka. It was first made in 1972 to offer protection to men working on the Alaskan pipeline in harsh Artic climatic conditions. Woolrich has updated its jacket which is now part of an exploration themed Fall line. Its A/W17 product line also includes a bomber jacket and a vest, city jackets and its debut launch of footwear.
Woolrich is steeped in history as an outdoors brand, having been in business for over 185 years. In order to modernise its story, it turned to Scottish-American explorer John Muir to help tell a story of a ‘return to the land’ theme. Muir is famous for his writings on the natural world and has become an environmentalist recognised as an icon across generations. His Alaskan expedition in 1899 helped shape Woolrich's Fall campaign. Typical of its new image, and to showcase the brand’s new inherent strength the entire campaign was shot in Alaska.
Japan’s Shima Seiki will exhibit at the Première Vision, New York in July 2017. It will once again participate in the new "Manufacturing" area dedicated to technical and logistical manufacturing solutions as sole machine technologist with a machine exhibit.
The company offers timely solutions for apparel companies whose supply chains span the globe. Problematic areas such as ineffective planning, prolonged lead time and subsequent profit loss, limitations in value-added manufacturing are all addressed by the ever-capable combination of the whole garment knitting machine and SDS-ONE APEX3 3D design system. The same star-combination is also effective in reinforcing the Made in USA movement for returning garment production back on-shore, by supporting new supply chain requirements brought on by recent consumer trends such as increase in online shopping activity, with growing demand for mass customization and short turnaround.
Because of their capability to produce elegant items in their entirety in 3D without the need for sewing or linking, whole garment knitting machines realize high-quality quick response production thanks to reduced lead times as well as reduced dependence on labor. These qualities are maximized with the latest MACH2XS series whole garment knitting machine on display at Première Vision.
Whole garment knitting, together with SDS-ONE APEX3, form a synergy that provides revolutionary game-changing flexibility in the knit supply chain. Ultra-realistic simulation capability on APEX3 allows Virtual Sampling to minimize the time- and cost-impact that the sample-making process has on current manufacturing. With this new manufacturing model, the production cycle can be shortened to such an extent that on-demand production is possible without being limited to seasonal cycles.
Plus-size has become a profit-making segment for apparel retailers over the years. Both genders have been buying plus-size apparels to get out of the skinny and slim fit outfits which have failed to match their size. Women, in particular, have been buying more compared to men.
A recent report by a retail analytics firm, Edited, highlights the poor growth of plus-size menswear over the last five years. The report says women’s wear plus-size market grew 375 per cent in 2012-17; while, the men’s segment reported a 54 per cent decline.
Katie Smith, Senior Analyst at Edited, says retailers have not been able to tap the potential of men’s plus-size market to the fullest. While they have understood how to target women in this segment with the latest trends, fit, colour and more, they have failed to meet even the basic needs of the plus-sized men.
Smith further says sizing has been the key issue missed by retailers. A common confusion that emerged is the differentiation between tall and big (men). It is not necessary that a man who is tall wears a plus-size or vice-versa. However, brands like ASOS, Fabletics, River Island and JCPenney are among the few trying to woo shoppers with their dedicated plus-size collections that keep the segment afloat in the market.
In the meantime, various fashion retailers have diverted their focus on segments like active wear and athleisure wear; especially for men. This has withdrawn the attention from men’s plus-size market, resulting in sales drop. While the bigger ladies continue to enjoy the icing on their ‘plus-size’ cake, the men still rummage for even a small bite of the burgeoning apparel segment.
Benetton has launched ‘Power Her Choices’, a partnership campaign with the United Nations Population Fund to protect women from unintended pregnancies. The Italian company aims to deliver the message that all women and girls have the right to decide freely whether and when to have children.
Organised by the government of United Kingdom, together with UNFPA and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the London Summit on Family Planning brings together governments, institutions and stakeholders to move towards enabling 120 million additional women to gain access to modern contraception by 2020.
Benetton has been involved in human rights and philanthropy and launching campaigns focused on diversity and joining Greenpeace’s 2020 Detox program with H&M in 2016. The new ‘Power Her Choices’ campaign is intended to raise the bar on awareness about family planning and gain additional partners and signatories to their global commitment.
Apex body Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has launched Indian Apparel Industry Sustainability (AISA) Program to promote sustainable practices in the apparel industry. A guidance tool on sustainability was released by Ashok G Rajani, Chairman Apparel Export Promotion Council along with Ashok Kumar, and Energy Economist at Bureau of Energy Efficiency.
Rajani said there is a strong emergence of sustainability requirements as an important competitiveness tool. It is a great opportunity for us to differentiate ourselves in the global market and offer a sustainable value chain. He thanked C-Kinetics for developing a comprehensive guide book on the various aspects of optimisation. Through AISA they intend to inculcate and encourage this process-where just doing is not enough but bringing measurability and self-impact assessment is also important.
AEPC seeks to promote greater participation and inclusiveness of the apparel industry in sustainability initiatives. The program is an endeavour to recognise and take affirmative action to counter the challenges that restrict the apparel industry from taking bigger roles in global market on account of noncompliance to sustainable parameters. The initiative aims to be a network of individuals and institutions committed to increasing sustainable practices across various segments of apparel sector.
AEPC, as the apex body of the exporters, aims at providing a platform where apparel manufacturers and exporters can turn to – for all the necessary information and handholding needed for being sustainable in a holistic way. It has prepared a guidance tool on sustainability which will provide guidance to companies on how they can align their strategies as well as measure and manage their contribution to achieving the sustainable goals.
