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Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), the premier apparel body, in association with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has developed software to alert garment manufacturers about GST (Goods and Services Tax) compliance.
The unique software is being launched for the betterment of textile manufacturers at a minimal cost. From cotton traders to ginners and fabric manufacturers, anyone found non-compliant with GST will be identified through this software. The best part of this software is that it identifies the stage of non-compliance and sends automated reminders for tax compliance.
A garment manufacturer knows which vendor in the value chain has not paid the tax and hence the garment manufacturer can guide the vendor to pay their tax. Priced at Rs 18,000 for the initial six months, the software has a unique feature for highlighting the stage of compliance. The software automatically sends reminders to a vendor or a supplier who has not paid a tax at any stage in the textile value chain.
The impact of the 12 per cent tax on readymade garments above the Rs 1000 mark is not going to be significant. The rates will remain static in the lower price category of garments, with an increase of a per cent or two in the higher category.
Nike plans to focus on the hottest-selling sneakers, slash the number of styles it offers and sell more shoes directly to customers online as part of a restructuring in which it also will cut about 1,400 jobs. Sales of running performance sneakers were flat and sales of basketball performance sneakers dropped last year.
Customers will barely notice the decrease in styles given the breadth of options Nike offers.
Nike is based in the United States. The layoffs represent about two per cent of its 70,000 employees around the world. It is believed the jobs cuts are aimed at eliminating redundant back-office positions as a result of a consolidation of reporting segments.
Nike, known for its swoosh logo, will also make its sneaker-selling apps available in more countries at a time when online sales mean many big retailers and department stores are closing stores.
The brand is getting even more aggressive in the digital marketplace. A main focus will be the 12 key cities in ten countries that it expects to represent more than 80 per cent of its projected growth through 2020. Those cities are New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Milan, Mexico City, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai and Beijing.
Kerala wants to revive its textile industry with a one-time capital infusion and a sustainable development and modernisation strategy. The 17 mills, in the public and cooperative sectors, offer direct employment to 5,000 and indirect employment to 15,000. Though not in the pink of health, they still earn an annual revenue of Rs 100 crores after making statutory payments to the exchequer.
Problems include a supply and demand mismatch, high cotton prices, low realisation from yarn sales, labor absenteeism due to uncertainty, and mounting dues to raw material suppliers and other commitments.
The hope is that a thorough intervention, monitoring, and one-time financial assistance will increase the capacity utilisation of the mills from the present 55.40 per cent to 98.50 per cent.
Strategies include a thorough modernisation, training, creation of a conducive milieu to win workers’ confidence, and the creation of a central purchasing and monitoring system. Moreover, the products will be channelised for distributing school uniforms and also other textile needs of various departments.
A one-time capital infusion will be resorted to as Rs 521.09 crores granted in different phases during the past one decade have not done any good in bailing out the industry from the red. The interest rate will be cut from 11.5 per cent to 10.35 per cent.
H&M had a four per cent year-on-year rise in sales for May. This is the latest in a string of soft sales numbers from the world’s second biggest fashion retailer based in Sweden. H&M faced tough conditions in many of its markets. Its shares are down 16 per cent this year.
After decades of strong growth, H&M has repeatedly missed sales forecasts over the past year while earnings have come under pressure from heavy investment and stiff competition from budget rivals and new online players.
The young value fashion market in which the H&M concept operates is very difficult. Inditex has outperformed H&M and other rivals over the past few years on the back of online growth and its flexible fast-fashion model.
H&M has disappointed market expectations on sales trends for many months now. May is the final month of the group's fiscal second quarter and its net quarterly sales reached 51.4 billion Swedish crowns for the period.
H&M is investing significantly in the supply chain, such as in new logistics solutions with greater levels of automation, but also in optimising its lead times. H&M has been investing heavily in IT investments to integrate its stores and e-commerce and make its supply chain faster and more flexible.
Goa wants investors to set up technical textile production units. A technical textile is a textile product manufactured for non-aesthetic purposes. Currently, technical textile materials are most widely used in filter clothing, furniture, hygiene medicals and construction material.
India’s technical textile market which is currently estimated at 14 billion dollars is likely to reach a level of 32 billion dollars by 2023, by diversifying towards non-woven technical textiles and forging global partnerships with counterparts. The vertically integrated supply chain and the diverse range of products are the main factors expected to contribute to the growth of the industry.
India is looking to increase exports of technical textiles, such as sweat absorbing clothes for athletes or fire retardant wear used by factory workers or fire-fighters, where margins are higher than they are in traditional garments. These apparel require specialised processing to meet requirements of customers as per global standards, but sell at higher price points than do readymade garments.
Technical textiles have multiple segments such as agrotech — crop covers and shade mats; tarpaulins, floor and wall coverings for buildings, and apparel used in cars and aircraft.
The global technical textile market is estimated to be around 100 billion dollars in which India has a negligible share.
Global Brands’ net revenue for the year increased by 11.6 per cent. The children’s segment increased 3.9 per cent and the footwear and accessories segment increased 5.6 per cent. The men’s and women’s fashion segments increased the most out of the three by 31.5 per cent.
Total margin as a percentage of net revenue increased 36.4 per cent. Operating costs increased due to investments in brands and the addition of new licenses. Operating profit and net profit increased 64.5 per cent and 89.4 per cent. Adjusted net profit attributable to shareholders increased 49.4 per cent. Global Brands at the beginning of its new fiscal year reached a deal with Marquee Brands and BCBG to save the ailing retailer. As per the agreement, Global Brands takes leadership of BCBG’s wholesale, retail and online operations as well as lead marketing, sales and distribution for the retailer. The company plans to expand BCBG’s footwear, belts, hosiery, jewelry and home offerings.
Global Brands has a new three-year plan intended to bring growth and reach the goal of five billion dollars in revenue by 2020. The plan, which includes total margin improvement by 150 basis points and increasing EBITDA by 50 per cent, builds on the past three financial years where Global Brands delivered 5.8 per cent compound annual growth in revenue, nine per cent core operating profit, 8.7 per cent in EBITDA, and a total margin percentage increase by over 500 basis points.
Aamra Foundation organized its first ever campaign on World Day against Child Labor in Bangladesh on June 12, 2017.The campaign was aimed to create awareness among people to prevent child labor. Aamra Foundation is led by different buying house and garment industry professionals.
Participants wore T-shirts with the Aamra Foundation logo and having placards in hand with different slogans against child labor like No to Child Labor, Stop Child Labor.
There are a lot of children in Bangladesh working as industrial workers, transportation workers and tea shop workers. More than 95 per cent of child workers are from economic hardship zones where people are very poor. There are millions of children in the workforce in Bangladesh.
Aamra Foundation is working for underprivileged children to make sure that everyone gets education, accommodation, food, dress and healthy living. They also provide them scholarships which are sponsored from people.
Child laborers living in slums work an average of 64 hours each week, many in supply chains connected to the world’s most popular brands. Two-thirds of girls from slum areas who work full-time are employed in Bangladesh’s clothes manufacturing industry, which is one of the world’s largest, despite a poor safety record.
There are very significant levels of child labor in products that end up in retail outlets in the UK and elsewhere.
British Wool does a lot of work on behalf of its wool producers. Over the last 12 months the global market for wool has undoubtedly been challenging. British Wool is working to modernise the business and improve efficiency at every possible level. With a new productivity approach in all depots, early signs are encouraging in terms of the savings which can be achieved. With this in mind wool producers learn more about how they can improve their clip in order to maximise the potential of their wool.
The Wool Lab project introduces competing students to the properties and qualities of British wool as a textile fiber. It is now more important than ever for farmers and industry bodies to work together to secure the future of British production.
NSA Sheep South West is a key event in the calendar for both British Wool and producers in the south west of England. It provides an opening to meet with those at the heart of the industry and to offer support and advice.
Such regional sheep events are extremely important as they offer British Wool a platform to communicate effectively with wool producers from across the region. They also give it the opportunity to discuss with producers how to improve their business, to discuss the latest wool market values and to demonstrate to them how they can add value to their wool.
Nina-Maria Nitsche is creative director of Brioni and Kering. She will have creative responsibility of the house’s collections and image. She had been with Maison Martin Margiela before that and was the creative director.
Nitsche’s long experience and global creative perspective will enable her to reinforce the clarity of Brioni’s identity, emphasise its sartorial values and reinstate its pioneering heritage. She is known for her creative approach, starting from a clearly defined concept and then transforming that into products that accurately resonate with the customer. Her point of view will allow the brand’s core values to prosper and yet inject a contemporary dialogue that will enable Brioni to evolve into the future. Initiatives of the designer, who has no formal training in fashion, include redesigning the store concept and fashioning a new logo for the high-end Italian brand, whose suits retail in the thousands of euros.
Brioni has the potential to redefine its position as a unique luxury brand. The house’s philosophy is based on a pioneering approach to menswear.
Brioni is an Italian luxury menswear couture house and was founded in 1945. All products are made in Italy and meticulously handcrafted by expert artisans. The house is revered for its personalised bespoke approach. Its product range comprises all categories of men’s apparel and accessories, including shoes, leather goods, jewelry, eyewear and fragrances.
Enterprise technology solutions provider Brandix i3 has changed its name to Fortude. The name change re-positions the company as an independent brand in the IT industry. However, the company will remain a fully-owned subsidiary of the Brandix Group. Fortude has become a trusted partner for high performance solutions to diverse industry leaders across industries including fashion, healthcare, manufacturing and food and beverage.
Fortude is a premium technology solutions partner to industry leaders around the world. The company delivers high impact solutions in ERP, business intelligence and analytics and custom software solutions. It enjoys strong partnerships with technology leaders including Infor, Microsoft, Cegid Retail and Amazon Web Services.
With offices in the US, Sri Lanka and Australia and numerous project delivery locations globally, Fortude is well connected to customers and provides exciting global opportunities to its team of 150 professionals. The company is part of the Brandix Group, a global conglomerate with annual revenues of 750 million dollars.
Brandix leads a group of highly respected export brands in apparel, IT, tea, manufacturing, processed foods, services and printing. The group has been Sri Lanka’s top exporter across all industries for the past four years. In all, it has won 25 presidential export awards to date.
