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Textile machinery exports from India registered a growth of 20.03 per cent 2017-18. Top 10 export markets are: Bangladesh, Germany, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Indonesia, China, Turkey, Vietnam, Italy and UAE.
Spinning, twisting and yarn preparation machines have a 35 per cent share in India’s textile machinery exports. Bangladesh is the topmost export market for India's textile machinery. Region wise, Asia is the largest market for Indian textile machinery, accounting for a 55 per cent share of textile machinery exports.
Cotton spinning ring frames exports account for a 59 per cent share. Cotton spinning ring frame machines are majorly exported to the Netherlands. Other important markets for India’s ring frames are Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia. Cotton combing machines registered an export growth of 16.93 per cent for 2017-18. Vietnam is the top market for cotton combing machine exports.
Exports of printing machinery, including digital printing machines, fell in 2015-16 and 2016-17 by 14.6 per cent and 9.97 per cent. But in the last fiscal year the commodity has shown a rising trend with a growth of 24.3 per cent and having a 14 per cent share in total textile machinery exports. Bangladesh is the topmost market for this product.
The textile and apparel industry in Vietnam is expected to grow 14 per cent over the next two years and a further 10 per cent by 2030. This sector has the second highest export turnover and occupies the fifth position in the world. Last year saw goods worth $31 billion, exported, representing 10.23 per cent year-on-year increase. The rapid growth rate was expected to continue this year with an estimated turnover of $33 billion.
In addition to maintaining traditional markets such as the US, Europe, Japan and South Korea, Vietnamese garment and textile firms have been expanding to new areas such as China, Russia and Cambodia. It also promotes the development of the cotton fiber industry; petrochemical industry and other textile supporting industries as well as trading, services, and fashion industry.
Government policies have played an important role to help businesses develop. Vietnam’s vocational training policies in the industry had not been effective and would need further support.
Marks & Spencer’s waistcoats sales have soared 35 per cent since the FIFA tournament began two weeks ago in a phenomenon that's being called ‘Gareth Southgate’ effect. when Gareth Southgate eventually does return home, he will see an awful lot more waistcoats around the country. England manager has apparently sparked a significant increase in waistcoat purchases thanks to his match attire at the World Cup in Russia.
For each of England's three group games, Southgate has sported a formal look of a fully-buttoned navy waistcoat over a pale blue shirt, accompanied by a navy, red and white striped tie. Marks & Spencer, who has been the official suit supplier to the England national team since 2007, made replicas of the suit for fans. The accompanying tie will set supporters back £25.
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has appealed to the Federal government to relax the tough conditions attached to disbursement of the Textile Intervention Fund. The appeal will relax the bureaucracy and strict conditions surrounding the allocation of the funds and also because there is a need to revitalise the textile industry. The textile industry had suffered a lot as a result of smuggling and other infrastructure deficiencies. At the moment, there are not more than five textile industries working who are functioning at low capacity.
The government had responded its policy initiatives; primary of which is the Textile Fund anchored by the Central Bank of Nigeria. But, manufacturers are finding it difficult to benefit from the fund due to some bottlenecks and strict conditions attached to it.
MAN also urged the government to continue its effort at ensuring provision of basic infrastructure to reduce the cost of production by manufacturers. It suggested inter-ministerial and inter-departmental cooperation for quick actualisation of the proposed anti- smuggling task force to combat smuggling of textiles.
As per Turkish Clothing Manufacturer’s Association (TGSD), the country’s apparel exports of $17 billion would increase to $18 billion this year and reach around $25 billion in five years. Top domestic textile sector players have stressed the importance of environment-friendly and quality products to make the rise in demand sustainable.
Leading apparel supplier Colveta, which every year purchases $46 million worth products from Turkey, plans to raise its purchase to $75 million within five years. The company buys around 30 per cent of its products from Turkey which it plans to raise it to 50 per cent. Hermes Otto aims to increase purchases from Turkey to over $115 million in 2018, a 7 percent growth. Verner, one of the major buyers, would increase its apparel order currently $63 million, by 5 to 10 percent this year. Near East Manufacturing, on the other hand, is ready to increase its $100 million order by 10 percent.
Devan Chemicals has launched a technology- Purissimo™ a probiotic-based solution that make textiles free from allergens shed by cats and dogs. The technology is based on probiotic bacteria and therefore, completely natural. First, inactive probiotic bacteria are encapsulated into microcapsules.
These microcapsules are then integrated into textiles. When the fabric is exposed to friction, the microcapsules break open and release the spores. The spores absorb humidity, are then transformed into probiotic bacteria and start to consume the organic matter, which contains the various allergens that cause allergic reactions and asthma. Test results show a significant reduction of 92.8 per cent on the amount of cat hair allergen Fel d1 found in treated samples.
Since many studies have suggested that allergic diseases have increased in frequency, Devan thought it was about time someone came up with a solution. After months of testing, the company came out with a solution for allergies triggered by pets such as cats and dogs.
Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has taken up major grievances in the textile cluster with the commerce minister Suresh Prabhu. The CM has requested the Union minister to increase the interest subvention from 3 per cent to 5 per cent for the apparel sector. This apart, the exporters’ plea for increasing the duty drawback to remain cost competitive in the global markets was also highlighted.
The exporters in Tirupur cluster are also struggling to get a level playing field in European and American apparel markets due to the preferential trade tariff advantages enjoyed by Bangladesh and few other direct competitor countries. For this, the chief minister has suggested expedition of signing of free trade agreements with European Union, United States of America and United Kingdom.
The US-China trade war has come as a boon to Bangladesh’s textiles and apparels. Garment exporters will get cheaper raw materials as a result of cheaper cotton prices in the international market. Bangladesh is the largest cotton importer with a 18 per cent global share. The country imported around seven million bales in 2017. The volume of imports is expected to increase further this year.
China is the second-largest buyer of US raw cotton. In response to the US measure, China slapped a 25 per cent retaliatory duty on over 100 US goods and commodities, including cotton. Global commodity prices for cotton have been on a downward trend since then. The US is one of the largest cotton producers and imposition of tariffs is expected to decelerate the pace of its raw cotton exports.
If cotton prices fall fabrics prices also fall. Garment exporters hope to get increased orders in the coming days. They are now leaving out many orders due to lower prices being offered by buyers and hope to be able to pick up such orders. India and Pakistan, which produce and consume cotton, will benefit as a result of the war as they may get higher demand for their produce from China.
WWD Magic has entered a partnership with Fashion Go. The alliance will bring about innovation and strategic influence to the dynamic wholesale industry. WWD Magic is a subsidiary of the UBM Fashion Group and the largest showcase of women’s apparel and accessories in the industry.
Fashion Go is an online business-to-business fashion marketplace. It provides one of the fastest growing global e-commerce platforms offering buyers 24/7 access to its vast collection of wholesale fashion and allowing them to shop the latest trends at the best prices.
The pairing of two leaders in their respective industries is expected to bring about the best of both worlds – the sought-after face-to-face engagement and relationship building of the tradeshow experience and the speed and ease of doing business online.
WWD Magic and Fashion Go as a whole will be greater than the sum of its parts. Both WWD Magic and Fashion Go are powerhouses in their own right. Together they hope to be able to fully support the needs of their industry by playing off each other’s strengths. This partnership will give brands and buyers an enhanced experience that merges both digital and B2B events.
A large part of the fashion business has shifted online but brands and buyers are increasingly feeling the need for an experience offline. This partnership will bring an omnichannel experience that has not yet been done in the fashion industry.
"When it comes to fast fashion, Zara’s place is quite influential and its supply chain success story is one of the few in the industries to reckon with. It has over 2,200 physical stores globally and ventured online relatively late on (in 2010). Its model also differs from other store focused clothing businesses. Moving starkly away from 8 to 12 weeks cycle, Zara updates designs and ships new product to stores on an average two-week cycle, which is quite a daunting task. Design teams crunch masses of daily store data to inform the trends they are designing for. It employs a batch testing approach whereby small runs of designs are tested (in Zara’s case in store and online), and if the data says there is customer traction, then more inventory is quickly ordered and shipped out to the stores."
Fast fashion has been gaining prominence globally despite challenges. For consumers, it must seem to be a ‘one size fits all’ template for fast fashion but there are multiple models in operation. Starting from social sellers, to online pure-plays, multichannel giants, and more traditional store focused value-based models, fast fashion has been a winner in every format as displayed by leading global retailers.
Zara, the best example
When it comes to fast fashion, Zara’s place is quite influential and its supply chain success story is one of the few in the industries to reckon with. It has over 2,200 physical stores globally and ventured online relatively late on (in 2010). Its model also differs from other store focused clothing businesses. Moving starkly away from 8 to 12 weeks cycle, Zara updates designs and ships new product to stores on an average two-week cycle, which is quite a daunting task. Design teams crunch masses of daily store data to inform the trends they are designing for. It employs a batch testing approach whereby small runs of designs are tested (in Zara’s case in store and online), and if the data says there is customer traction, then more inventory is quickly ordered and shipped out to the stores.
Many designs are made into finished products locally (around half in Spain or nearby European countries).
Compared to the traditional seasonal orientated retailers, who operate on lead times which can be up nine months, this gives Zara the edge when it comes to being on-trend and staying relevant. Another key to its ability to stay relevant is only committing to 50 – 60 per cent of their manufacturing in advance versus the 80 – 90 per cent typically adopted by competitors, enabling it to react far quicker to changes in trends, maintaining its ability to fulfil customers fashion focus.
H&M, another showcase of fast fashion
Swedish brand H&M is another successful example of fast fashion. Its supply chain is completely in contrast to Zara. It has longer average lead times (varying from a few weeks to multiple months), and typically places larger order volumes putting more stock at risk of markdown. Recent poor performance has led H&M to invest in its supply chain as it seeks to adapt further to the fast fashion model, introducing greater levels of automation, and looking to reduce lead times as it tries to stay on top of trends.
Fashion Nova in US
Coming to the US market, Nova is a master of the social selling model, using a network of Instagram stars as affiliate marketers. For years since their launch Nova has grown to more than 600 people, who produce roughly 500 new designs a week. Fashion Nova source their clothes in the US and partner with close to 500 sewing factories in the Los Angeles area. About 80 per cent of its products are made in LA and Fashion Nova marketing is delivered via a network of 3,000 influencers that reach tens of millions of fans. These local social media influencers work as brand ambassadors and share their photo along with a ‘coupon code’ with strategic posts. This tracks back the efficacy of that post or representative.
Success traits
Consumers in the 16-30 years’ age group wants to experiment with their clothing, thanks to continuous feeds of the latest media streamed to their pockets, creating an insatiable appetite for all things ‘new’. In order to be successful, one needs to continuously keep evolving. But the challenge doesn’t end here… alongside product, deliver model also needs to evolve such as the one which Amazon is currently testing – a one hour delivery window. Meanwhile, fast fashion companies need to stay in constant touch with people through their social media handles to gain a competitive advantage.
With average return rates for fast fashion clocking around the 20 to 25 per cent, there needs to be an efficient returns channel in order to be a real differentiator. With an aim to cater to global audience, near-sourcing and more onshore manufacturing are increasingly being adopted to speed up lead times, and as fashion trends are changing more quickly and the demand for newness hots up, more demands are being made on manufacturers to become more agile.
