FW
Britain’s looming departure from the European Union has led nearly half of big companies from the rest of the bloc to cut investment in the country. German companies, especially, think Brexit is bad for business. Aircraft maker Airbus plans to reconsider its long-term position. This spells uncertainty for thousands of British jobs.
A disorderly Brexit could have disastrous consequences for Britain. Britons voted on June 23, 2016, to leave the EU. Most companies in France, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands want a better trading relationship with Britain after it leaves the EU in early 2019. They feel trade is more important than teaching Britain a lesson for leaving the EU. Two thirds want a free trade deal while 45 per cent are in favor of a customs union.
Business leaders feel they were not properly consulted, or their views taken into account, by the EU negotiating team as it tries to hammer out a post-Brexit trade deal. However, Britain is confident of getting a good deal ensuring trade is as free and frictionless as possible. Brexit could be a sort of blessing in disguise for the British textile industry. The exit of UK from the European Union has resulted in a depreciation of the value of the sterling. This in turn has rendered UK’s textile and garment exports much more competitive for the export market.
Low-cost manufacturing made China the second largest economy in the world. But rising labor costs, rapid socio-economic progress, and improvement in living standards have led the country to shift from apparel manufacturing to capital-intensive industries. Made in China 2025 is a plan to transform the country into a high-tech powerhouse that dominates industries like robotics, advanced information technology, aviation, and new energy vehicles.
Moreover, the One Belt One Road initiative -- which involves infrastructure investments worth $2 trillion -- will give Chinese garment manufacturers fresh relevance. For example, new rail links will shorten transport times to Europe, and the initiative will increase China’s access to Africa’s growing consumer markets.
As Chinese apparel manufacturers ramp up their outbound investment in countries such as Vietnam and Ethiopia, they may enhance their roles in global apparel sourcing, producing on a larger scale beyond their home market. Finally, the Chinese garment sector is leading the push for greater efficiency with the adoption of digitization and automation.
Digitization can unlock progress that go beyond replacing manual processes. For example, advanced analytics -- whether applied in capacity planning, country and supplier selection, or intelligence -- will help achieve the right balance between speed, agility, and cost.
Bombay Dyeing will increase its shareholding in Indonesia textile company PT Five Star (PTFS) from 33.89 per cent to 86 per cent. This means Bombay Dyeing will exit the joint venture partnership with PT Five Star and the latter will become a subsidiary of Bombay Dyeing.
PTFS was incorporated in Indonesia in 1979 with an objective of manufacturing and selling of yarn, cloth and other textile products. It registered a turnover of $1.84 million and a net loss of $1.54 million in December 2017. The company has been incurring losses for many years hence it has been decided to wind up operations. With closures like these Bombay Dyeing is looking to cut down losses across all verticals as it prepares itself to enter the lucrative apparel segment with heavy investment.
Bombay Dyeing, the textile arm of the Wadia group, had earlier announced that it will be re-entering the readymade apparel market with menswear garments and planning to open close to 100 franchise stores in Tier II and III cities before the end of this year.
Bombay Dyeing currently has 27 company-owned stores, 3000 multi-brand stores and over 200 franchise stores across India.
The 4th sustainability compact review, in Brussels assessed the progress of occupational safety, building safety, workers rights and trade environment in RMG industry of Bangladesh. The meeting adopted the recommendations for ensuring due prices of Bangladeshi apparels. It also took initiatives to remove the hurdles in the way of supply chain of Bangladeshi RMG products to the world market.
Out of a total of 17 guidelines of the sustainability compact, the most important included establishing respect for labour rights, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, structural integrity of the buildings and occupational safety and health, and responsible business conduct by all stakeholders engaged in the RMG and knitwear industry in Bangladesh.
Representatives from EU, US, Canada, ILO Donor Agencies, manufacturers, buyers, trade union leaders and civil society representatives participated in the meeting. The Bangladeshi delegation members included State Minister for Labour and Employment, Md. Mojibul haque Chunnu, Commerce Secretary and other officials.
Bangladesh’s garment exports to India, China and Japan grew 17.79 per cent year-on-year in the July-May period of the current fiscal year. Japan is the largest export destination for Bangladesh among Asian nations. In the July-May period, Bangladesh’s garment exports to Japan rose 13.04 per cent year-on-year. Major Japanese retailers are increasing their footprint in Bangladesh for formal garments like woven shirts and T-shirts and bed sheets.
Garment shipments to India from Bangladesh more than doubled year-on-year in the first 11 months of the fiscal year. The reason for the exponential rise is bulk purchase by western brands with operations in India and Indian clothing chains, which are finding Bangladesh’s garments to be more competitively priced for India's middle-class demographic.
Overall exports to India increased 24.67 per cent year-on-year in the July-May period. The demand for formal wear in India is high due to the growing middle-income office-going population. The three per cent stimulus given to Bangladesh’s exporters also acts positively for higher growth to India and other new destinations.
China itself is becoming a major garment export destination for Bangladesh. Moreover, China is a densely populated country. So, having a large consumer base, China is turning into a major garment export market for Bangladesh.
The trade war triggered by the US will inevitably have a wider psychological impact, causing uncertainty in Asian monetary and trade policies. In the era of globalization, if China suffers severe economic damage because of the US, India can hardly escape being shortchanged.
In 2017, China-India bilateral trade was up by 20.3 per cent year-on-year. China has become India's largest trading partner and India is China's largest trading partner in South Asia. The world's two largest emerging economies have reached a new high in economic and trade cooperation. India has remarkable advantages in IT, service and pharmaceutical sectors. China leads in manufacturing as a world factory.
Now when the US’ unilateralism undermines the interests of all countries and jeopardizes the free trade system, China and India should join hands to shield free trade. In 2017, the US was China’s largest export market and China was also the US’ largest import market. In addition, the US is India’s largest export destination and the second largest source of imports. The rising trade dependence of China and India with the US proves that bilateral free trade is a positive game. If the US launches a trade war on the pretext of the so-called trade deficit, all three parties will suffer.
The Istanbul Fashion Conference, which was first held in 2008, is an international project aimed at bringing together supply chain rings like supply, manufacturing, export, import, economy, fashion design, brand, retail, and logistics of apparel and textile sector. TGSD is organizing the 11th TGSD Istanbul Fashion Conference under the theme ‘Responsible Fashion’ on October 3 and 4, 2018 at Çıragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul. The conference will underline the strength of the clothing industry in Turkey, its sustainability and its capabilities as an unequalled business partner in the region. The first day of the conference will feature a world class speakers program. The second day will be a B2B meetings between buyers and the suppliers.
Istanbul Fashion Conference, which is included in the international event calendars, shares information on the following issues and creates new export opportunities thanks to B2B Business Meeting Platform which is organized with buying offices from foreign countries, and local brands. Istanbul Fashion Conference also provides business opportunities for our manufacturers who have participated in the conference from almost every region of Turkey.
With the ongoing tariff war between the US and China, it’s the US cotton industry which is expected to get directly hit as China piles on an additional 25 per cent tariff on US uncombed cotton imports. This will affect the US cotton industry rather significantly as China has traditionally been a large buyer of US cotton and a massive supplier of products back to the US market.
About 95 per cent of the American Pima crop is exported every year and typically China imports about 40 per cent of that crop. The highly prized long-staple American Pima cotton is soft to the touch and durable. Most of the crop is exported to China and India. For the crop year that runs through July 31, China has purchased 2,39,200 bales or approximately 120 million pounds of the fiber.
Already some 2,05,000 bales have been shipped, leaving a balance of about 34,000 bales for this year in addition to some 34,000 bales of forward contracted cotton sales for the next crop year. These existing sales along with the entire new crop are at risk relative to the proposed Chinese tariffs.
China is one of the principal buyers of US cotton as is Vietnam. The United States is the second largest exporter of cotton, having shipped around 15 million bales of cotton overseas last year.
"However, one of the problems in the region compared to Asia-China in particular is merchandising, the response time, getting samples back, highlighted Tony Anzovino, President AAPN and Chief Sourcing and Merchandising officer, Haggar Clothing. Though it has started working on this direction. As per US Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA), the Western Hemisphere accounted for 6.5 per cent of the $2.33 trillion in textiles, apparel, leather and accessories imported to the US last year. For apparel alone, the Western Hemisphere accounts for 16 per cent of US imports, whereas Bangladesh, Indonesia and India combine for 15 per cent of those imports."
The recently held 2018 pro:Americas NYC Regional Summit hosted by the American Apparel Producers Network (AAPN), brought an interesting analogy to the fore as seemingly Central American countries have been able to stay away from the tariff drama being imposed by Trump Administration. The reason behind this is the US has a trade surplus with Central America, and because of that it’s making money rather than losing it, stated Mike Todaro, MD, AAPN.
However, one of the problems in the region compared to Asia-China in particular is merchandising, the response time, getting samples back, highlighted Tony Anzovino, President AAPN and Chief Sourcing and Merchandising officer, Haggar Clothing. Though it has started working on this direction. As per US Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA), the Western Hemisphere accounted for 6.5 per cent of the $2.33 trillion in textiles, apparel, leather and accessories imported to the US last year. For apparel alone, the Western Hemisphere accounts for 16 per cent of US imports, whereas Bangladesh, Indonesia and India combine for 15 per cent of those imports.
The Western Hemisphere also counts for 57 per cent of men’s and boy’s man-made fibre knit shirts, 54 per cent of cotton knit shirts, 39 per cent of cotton
hosiery and 34 per cent of cotton underwear. For the year to date through April, textile and apparel imports from the CAFTA countries increased 2.35 per cent to $2.54 billion worth of goods, according to OTEXA. Honduras is first for the region in apparel, Mexico is second, El Salvador is third, Nicaragua is forth and Guatemala ranks fifth.
According to Anzovino, people are looking for speed, quality and consistency and if the region can supply it at the right price. To have something faster might be a more compliant environment. One key area lacking in the hemisphere, however is wovens, specifically synthetics. You can find everything you need in this hemisphere, but not necessary at the right price. But the region is extremely strong on the knit side, said Anzovino.
Value addition is the key
Hebe Schecter, President, Kaltex America, noted that parent company Grupo Kaltex, Mexican-owned, vertically integrated conglomerate, has grown to be a full-service textile company that produces acrylic fiber, yarn, fabrics, apparel and home textile products. Interaction with customers on a timely basis helps it achieve goal. Men’s custom shirt company Stantt used thousands of body scans, millions of data points and the latest 3D modeling software to create its 99 sizes that allows for anyone to find their perfect fit using three simple measurements --chest, waist and sleeve. The factory uses cutting edge technology and equipment to craft its shirts one at a time. Stantt makes and delivers the shirts in seven days, selling through e-commerce and specialty retailers like Nordstrom and Mitchell’s. And as the Matt Hornbuckle, co-founder & CEO, Stantt, said, by eliminating the waste of excess inventories and errors, they are able to use the highest quality materials and make them at a great value.
"A glaring example of this is the launch of the latest version of AccuMark 3D by Connecticut-based Gerber Technology in partnership with the San Francisco–based startup Avametric +and Israel’s Virtuality. Fashion. And as Mary McFadden, Executive Director -CAD Product Management, Gerber Technology says, Gerber Technology, with this most recent installment has provided a solution that facilitates the process from simple sketches to interaction with consumers. She goes on to add they have good integration of data flow between these systems, as well as the ability to integrate with external systems that customers use because they have many tools they need to use in their process, so having 3-D product offerings makes the offerings more robust and complete."
Although design technology has witnessed tremendous progress over the years, advancement in 3-D platform is yet to match pace. The first half of 2018 witnessed apparel-technology leaders elevate their digital solutions to generate realistic patterns, accurate samples and streamline product lifecycle management (PLM).
A glaring example of this is the launch of the latest version of AccuMark 3D by Connecticut-based Gerber Technology in partnership with the San Francisco–based startup Avametric +and Israel’s Virtuality. Fashion. And as Mary McFadden, Executive Director -CAD Product Management, Gerber Technology says, Gerber Technology, with this most recent installment has provided a solution that facilitates the process from simple sketches to interaction with consumers. She goes on to add they have good integration of data flow between these systems, as well as the ability to integrate with external systems that customers use because they have many tools they need to use in their process, so having 3-D product offerings makes the offerings more robust and complete.
Multiple benefits
The technology enables every person contributing to the apparel-making process to make detailed changes to digital patterns, illustrating in real time how
they can achieve a specific style, without the challenges of shipping patterns or samples. By allowing the artwork to actually be in the CAD data, one can eliminate these hard pieces going along the factory floor. It helps in communicating instructions to factories, especially when they don’t speak your language, because of huge language barriers.
These integrated software solutions enable brands to utilise the technology for merchandising and virtual try-on for customers. Rather than doing photo shoots with the samples and the colorways that one needs to populate an e-commerce website, you could use 3-D simulations instead.
Comprehensive solutions
Lectra, the French technology-solutions provider, which recently upgraded its 3-D technology to streamline the Fashion PLM 4.0 platform, also aims to offer a comprehensive system for apparel design. The brand through its Connected Development application and the Connected Design, offers enhanced tools for patternmaking, 3-D sampling and marker making.
Integrating its 3-D platform with a 2-D patternmaking feature was essential for an easy communication between a designer and his team. The 3-D sample can be used early in the design process to make decisions in terms of style lines, the size of the garment or ensure the vision of the designer is clearly communicated and understood by the technical-design team or patternmakers. It can also be used later for fitting purposes, which is a very strong feature for Lectra’s 3-D offering.
Making technology sustainable
Despite the influence of fast fashion on software innovation in the apparel-industry, there is a thrust on sustainable solutions to make the design process more efficient. In addition to fully integrating these fashion design steps into digital platforms, technology providers are developing applications that allow detailed samples to be viewed and altered by professionals in different corners of the world.
Amnon Shalev, Chief Executive, Virtuality.Fashion aimed to develop a product that provided a crisp, digital vision of designs and whose technology allowed fashion brands to bypass 2-D patternmaking, creating a detailed sample in less than 48 hours. Based on a software created for the video-game and movie industries, the applications provide a realistic vision of designs. Illuminating on the technology, Shalev says, there is pressure on designers to introduce new collections faster, more collections in a single season and faster to the market. If you have to do 3-D and go through 2-D, it takes time. With our technology you don’t have to go through 2-D. Presentations can be done very fast for buyers and management.
Apparel-software providers, by investing in innovative upgrades to their own software and joining cutting-edge digital partners, are creating virtual creative spaces and options to help designers reduce waste, cut costs and bring collections to market faster.
