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Experts say Bangladesh’s woven garments are losing competitiveness in international markets due largely to longer lead time, poor backward linkage, insufficient gas and port facilities. Data records woven garments exports to the two major markets, Germany and the US spiralled downwards during the first half of the current fiscal 2017-18. Data records during the July-December period of the FY18, woven items garnered $1.03 billion from Germany, recording a 10.84 per cent negative growth as against the earnings during the corresponding period of last fiscal. Wove garments exports to the US fell by 1.15 per cent with earnings valued at $1.88 billion during the same period. Knitwear exports, bucking the trend, grew by 10.76 per cent and 9.94 per cent to Germany and the US during the first half of the current fiscal. Export of woven items grew negatively by 15.89 per cent and 6.95 per cent to Belgium and Denmark while witnessing a slow growth of 2.89 per cent and 9.32 per cent to France and Italy during the period.
Mahmud Hasan Khan, Vice-President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) says knitwear exporters get strong support from local backward-linkage industry, which is not available for woven-garment makers as the latter still largely depends on import to meet their fabric requirements. About 40 to 60 per cent of required fabrics for woven items are met through import from China, India, Korea and other countries. Longer lead time has now become a major concern for woven makers. Local woven exporters were lagging behind at least 15 days for inefficient port handling in Chittagong while they faced problems in making air shipment, too, he noted.
Khan explained around 10 to 12 days can be saved by efficient port handling, which means a lot for exports.
The Apparel Manufacturers of India (AMI) targets orders worth Rs 50 crore (around $8 million) at the upcoming four-day trade fair in Hyderabad, beginning February 6. Over 135 brands from Mumbai will showcase their latest collection, at the first ever zonal trade fair organised by AMI, to retailers and MBOs of South India. Some big brands expected to participate include: Ethos, Geevankee, Era, Final Choice, Torso Shirts, Diya Design Studio, Big Brother, Hansi, Fayon Troupe and Femi Designs. Nikhil Furia, organiser, AMI says, "This is the first time we are conducting the fair at a Zonal level and we are very excited for the same. The phenomenal response we received in the earlier editions have motivated and inspired us to escalate our magnitude to a Zonal level. We intend to convert orders worth Rs 50 crore in this edition. Our idea is to give a platform where all the retailers find the best fashion options from Mumbai at one place and one time. We look forward to a positive and welcoming response this time too and hope the retailers and MBOs get a varied catalogue to select from," he added.
AMI’s main aim is to bridge the gap between manufacturers, retailers, agents and suppliers and build a networked community that will be meaningful to the entire value chain of readymade apparel markets across India. This is the 13th edition of the trade fair organised by AMI in Southern India.
"The textile industry is tightly linked to various development issues, including employment, labour and promotion of clean/green technology. For textile manufacturers, promoting green value chains means that sustainability and green awareness should be encapsulated in the entire production process. This means an assessment of the environmental impact at the beginning of the design stage, and focus on the application of environmental protection technology and cleaner production processes. Manufacturers must adopt sustainable standards for cleaner production to effectively control the use of harmful chemicals."
The textile industry is tightly linked to various development issues, including employment, labour and promotion of clean/green technology. For textile manufacturers, promoting green value chains means that sustainability and green awareness should be encapsulated in the entire production process. This means an assessment of the environmental impact at the beginning of the design stage, and focus on the application of environmental protection technology and cleaner production processes. Manufacturers must adopt sustainable standards for cleaner production to effectively control the use of harmful chemicals.
Government’s green initiatives
From the government’s perspective, it should actively provide enterprises with policy guidance and necessary financial support while making complete use of market instruments to finance sustainable production, the green value chain and it should also promote the formation of green standards in the textile industry.
In 2016, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a ‘Development Plan for the Textile Industry (2016-20),’ including a proposal to promote smart and green manufacturing in the textile industry and form new momentum for development to propel China's textile industry toward the middle and high end of the value chain. During the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), China will strive toward green development, establish a green manufacturing system for the textile industry and promote the widespread application of cleaner production technologies.
By 2020, China's textile industry is expected to cut energy consumption per unit of industrial added value by 18 per cent, with a cut in water use per unit of industrial added value of 23 per cent and a reduction of 10 per cent in the total discharge of major pollutants. As well as breakthroughs in a number of key generic technologies for the recycling of used textiles. The proportion of the textile fibre recycling volume in total fibre processing volume is also expected
To be continuously increased
From an international perspective, the pattern of the textile industry will be further adjusted. Despite the fact China has comprehensive and competitive advantages in the international value chain, it faces pressure from global competition. The country faces the urgent task of structural adjustment and industrial upgrade and must also deal with a ‘double squeeze’ between developed countries' re-industrialisation and developing countries' accelerated industrialisation. The manufacturing capabilities of developed countries is projected to grow in the areas of high-end equipment, high-performance fibres and smart textiles and garments because of their advantages in research, branding and sales channels.
Turkey is likely to impose higher rate of anti-dumping duty on export of yarn/thread from Bangladesh following its failure to prove the alleged violation of the product's rules of origin. A team of Turkish consultants recently informed the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) that the Turkish government has launched a probe and the Bangladesh embassy in Turkey has also been informed about the issue through a verbal note, a BTMA source revealed.
Investigations started in December and they were warned and Bangladeshi companies need to respond within three weeks. If they don't respond, they will be subject to very high anti-dumping measures. The government of Turkey also claims products sourced from Bangladesh do not originate in this country. Bangladeshi exporters are basically circumventing existing rules they say. Around 11 companies now export yarn/thread of artificial fibres to Turkey. Irregularities have been found against five export-oriented companies out of 11, a BTMA source said.
Bangladesh textile owners fear Turkey might impose higher anti-dumping duty on exports of yarn/thread of synthetic staple fibre. This will seriously affect the country's genuine yarn exporters if the Turkish government imposes duty and stops importing the items. Some companies have just started exporting yarn/thread of synthetic staple fibres to Turkey on a small scale. "We don't want that regular exporters would get hurt by some irregular exporters. Besides, the country's image is linked with it," BTMA Secretary General Feroz Ahmed was reported to have said. He said they heard four items of yarn/thread have been brought under investigation by the Turkish government.
Latest stats released by Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh reveal textile imports grew 19.7 per cent year-on-year to around $1.4 billion between April and December 2017 while exports went up by a narrow 2 per cent y-o-y to $26.1 billion for the period. India’s imports of garments from Bangladesh increased 66 per cent y-o-y to $111.3 million during July-December 2017. While knitted apparel imports from Bangladesh rose sharply by 77 per cent y-o-y to $36.5 million between July and December 2017, woven apparel imports grew by 62 per cent y-o-y to $74.8 million.
Sanjay K Jain, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) explains, “It (imports) is negatively affecting the domestic yarn, fabric and garment manufacturers. There is a greater need to impose safeguard measures such as rules of origin, yarn forward and fabric forward rules on countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka that have FTAs with India to prevent cheaper fabrics produced from countries like China routed through these countries.”
Garment manufacturers in India have to pay duty on imported fabrics, while Bangladesh can import fabric from China duty free and convert them into garments and sell to India duty free. This has raised many issues from the garment industry. CITIs Chairman says, India can increase its exports of cotton yarn and fabrics provided the sector is restored with export incentives. India’s share of cotton yarn in world trade is 26 per cent and it is declining steeply as the incentives given to the cotton yarn sector were withdrawn in 2014 and Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) which was extended to the entire value chain was not extended to cotton yarn. Moreover, there are various state levies up to the tune of 8 per cent on cotton yarn which are not refunded at any stage. Similarly, fabric sector is not getting refund of state levies of around 6 per cent. By including cotton yarn under MEIS and providing refund of state levies (RoSL) for fabrics, Indian can retain its competitiveness in the global market.
The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Advisor Shahid Sattar disclosed the textile industry in Pakistan is facing a loss of $500 million following delay in issuance of the revised permit to import cotton from India. He said the textile industry needed Indian organic cotton to maintain exports stimulus, “We have been sensitising the Ministry of National Food Security and Research for a long time about the clearance of cotton from India, but the Ministry remains unmoved.”
Sattar said the delay has imposed tremendous losses to the industry which was already struggling following the high cost of doing business, “The delay in approving the revised permit for importing Indian cotton is going to multiply the miseries for the industry.”An official in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research said the Ministry has received a letter from APTMA about the issue and was under consideration. The letter titled “Issue of Import of Cotton,” which was sent to Fazal Abbas Mekan, Secretary of Ministry of National Food Security on January 16. The letter said toeing the government’s policies, the mills purchased a reasonable volume of specific organic cotton from India in the last few weeks. However, currently, the Indian certifying authorities (Control Union) have refused to issue any certificate stating the organic cotton has been fumigated prior to the shipment.
Indian exporters and shippers are asking the Pakistan side to provide revised permits which exclude the fumigation losses, or permit non-chemical fumigation treatment. “This is causing problems for the spinning industry in Pakistan as we have a lot of organic yarn/fabric programmes and thus it would adversely impact the spinning industry,” the letter noted. As a result, the spinning industry would lose significant amount of organic yarn exports.
APTMAs says, “We are paying the authorities every year to get the licence (Global Organic Textile Standard and Organic Content Standard certificates) to sell organic yarns and fabrics. Pakistan does not produce organic cotton and this is why the industry needs to import organic cotton to compete globally.”
Merlin, the textile company, which resumed operations this year, hopes to regain its former glory as one of the biggest textile giant in Zimbabwe and in the Southern African Development Community region. The company’s Judicial Manager, Cecil Madondo of Tudor House disclosed in the next few months it expects to swamp local markets with its products and also attempt to venture into export markets.
Production, will start with samples, to get orders from the market, hence production in the first months will be customer oriented. The company will resume production at a minimum level, to build its market awareness and secure orders. Madondo said they start with 100 employees for the first three months and slowly increase to 350, as per demand. In the short-term, the company needs $2,1m, in the medium term $4,5m and in the long term, $23,4m. In total, it needs $30m.
The short-term goal is to resume operations which have a lot of benefits to the company, including attracting more investors. The medium term plan should see additional capital investment to raise productivity though carrying out major repairs and maintenance. The long-term objective is to replace the current plant and machinery with state-of-the-art operations which will ensure a huge reduction in costs, improvements in quality and overall efficiency.
They have also implemented a proposal for the company to establish its own ginning plant to ensure a full production cycle starting with the cotton farmers.
They will also work with investors to introduce new products such as disposal diapers and sanitary wear to keep up with market needs and current trends. Cecil Madondo was happy that with the coming on board of a strategic partner, they are confident that the company will be removed from judicial management within the next 12 months, as proposed at their last meeting of creditors and members. The current strategic partner has shown interest to invest in the business on a long term basis because of their huge interest in the textile business of Merlin.
Marks & Spencer (M&S) it would open a new clothing and home ware logistics centre in 2019, as a part of the British retailer’s strategy to streamline its distribution network. M&S recently revised its strategy two months after industry expert Archie Norman joined as chairman, saying it needed changes to modernise their clothing and home ware supply chain to reduce costs and speed up operations.
The British retailer declared it would open a massive 4,95,000 sq. ft. mechanised clothing and home ware distribution centre at a former Tesco site in Hertfordshire, in Southern England. The centre which would serve 150 M&S stores, would be operated by a third-party logistics supplier and employ over 500 people. The move forms part of M&Ss strategy to create a “single-tier” clothing and home ware distribution network where products from suppliers go directly to warehouses and then straight to stores; this implies that the retailer only moves products once. With its existing system, M&S moves clothing more than once to reach stores.
As part the logistics shake-up, M&S said it would cease operations at its Neasden distribution centre in London. The company admitted that Neasden’s closure was not directly related to the Hertfordshire opening and Neasden’s work would be transferred to other sites in the brand’s network. The Neasden site is run by XPO Logistics with transport operations provided by DHL. Both companies have had discussions with the site’s 380 workers. M&S did not wish to disclose the cost of the project, however it admitted that capital expenditure for the entire year 2017-18 would be from 300 to 350 million pounds.
Levi’s President James ‘JC’ Curleigh made a spectacular entrance at this year’s NRF 2018: Retail’s Big Show event, cruising to the stage in A bicycle as he worked his Levi’s Commuter Trucker Jacket with Jacquard by Google. It was a novel way to bring the brand’s mission to life – to create legitimate Levi’s lifestyle solutions.
In his keynote presentation he said, “Our vision for the Levi’s brand is to be the most loved, most relevant lifestyle brand again. We were the original lifestyle brand.” JC was among several key leaders, which included Tommy Hilfiger and Walmart CEO Doug McMillan, among others, invited to speak at one of the industry’s biggest conferences organised by the National Retail Federation.
JC also touched on how we are harnessing our heritage, values, innovation and loyal fan base to move into the future of lifestyle brands. “Remember the mullet haircut? What did it say? It said ‘business on the front, party on the back.’ Well, the new brand and business mullet should be simple on the front, sophisticated on the back,” he told the crowd. “In a world of difficult decisions, picking out your favourite pair of jeans should not be one of them. To deliver that simplicity, we have to take a level of sophistication – a sophistication in the supply chain and how we show up in retail. The most powerful brands on earth found a way to deliver simplicity on the front side through a very sophisticated platform on the back side,” he joked.
Hardwick Clothes, America’s oldest Made in USA tailored clothing maker, has named Ken Hoffman, former CEO of Hart Schaffner Marx, as their new Chairman. The move reunites Hoffman and Hardwick CEO Bruce Bellusci, who spent 30 years together building Hart Schaffner Marx’s brand presence. Bruce Bellusci exults, “Ken’s presence and reputation within this industry are without parallel. His insight, instincts and leadership will help Hardwick accelerate along the course we set four years ago to increase our share of the growing tailored clothing market in a meaningful, sustainable way.” Hoffman takes over from Hardwick’s owner, W Allan Jones, who has presided over the company’s rebuild and rebirth since purchasing the well-known hometown brand out of bankruptcy in 2014.
Allan Jones had popularised ‘Made in America’ much before Trump, “First order of business was always saving an American icon and the American jobs that went along with it by focusing locally and building outward. From there, we set out to revamp the design, engineering and manufacturing processes to elevate the look and feel of the product and create garments that could rival the finest Europe has to offer. And remain 100 per cent American Made; all of which we have done.”
The 137-year-old manufacturer of impeccably crafted, American Made blazers, sport coats, suits and dress pants continues to post strong annual sales growth with a key focus on building the business with leading independent menswear shops and select department store partners. Bringing in Hoffman as Chairman signifies the next phase in this growth and bonds Hardwick’s transition from institutional clothing manufacturer to maker of world class, stylish tailored garments both classic and contemporary.
