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Apparel exports from India in 2017-18 may be 13 per cent higher than a year ago. In the past six months, exporters have seen a sharp increase in orders from the US, the EU and the West Asia. The momentum is expected to continue.
The industry received a Rs 6000-crores textile package last year. Duty exemptions like the refund of state levies also helped Indian apparel manufacturers compete with global players. The industry wants duty drawbacks to continue for at least one year after the goods and services tax is introduced and the GST rate on job work to be cut from 18 per cent to five per cent.
Apparel exporters enjoy nine per cent duty drawbacks in the form of customs, excise and service tax. Meanwhile GST would make fabric imports from China cheaper. Garments priced less than Rs 1,000 will be cheaper by 2 to 2.5 per cent and those priced higher will become 2.5 to 3 per cent costlier.
In eight states where there is significant apparel production, 85 per cent of apparel exporters say that they are substantially benefited by ROSL in their export performance, while 65 per cent rate the impact of ROSL as high or game changing.
"The 24th edition of Hong Kong Fashion Week for Spring/Summer will be held between July 10-13, 2017 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The theme this time is: ‘Style in Motion’. The four-day fair will host around 1,100 exhibitors from 19 countries, along with newcomers from Canada, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam who will showcase latest fashions, garments, accessories, fabrics and related professional services."
The 24th edition of Hong Kong Fashion Week for Spring/Summer will be held between July 10-13, 2017 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The theme this time is: ‘Style in Motion’. The four-day fair will host around 1,100 exhibitors from 19 countries, along with newcomers from Canada, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam who will showcase latest fashions, garments, accessories, fabrics and related professional services. The fair will have 18 theme zones addressing various needs of the fashion industry, while facilitating an efficient matching of buyers and exhibitors. Always evolving, this edition adds fashionable sportswear and urban clothing to its zones lineup.
Accessories make their debut
The debut World of Fashion Accessories will cover a consortium of accessories-related zones, including accessories, bags, footwear, leggings & socks, gloves, scarves & shawls for buyers to source matching accessories at ease. Titane Group (Hong Kong) , exhibitors in this zone, will be presenting the Hotitle Speed Racer titanium cufflinks inspired by the rim of sports cars. The series is light-weighted, durable and so finely crafted that even the tiny inner brake system is well elaborated.
Functionality meets fashion
With growing demand for quality apparels with functional aspects, manufacturers are innovating and developing functional fabrics. The Woolmark Company for example has developed wool denim that preserves the look and style of traditional cotton denim but goes beyond the possibilities it can offer by adding traits such as softness, warmth-keeping, wrinkle-free and quick-drying. The company will also share latest technology applied in wool denim and wool sneakers at a seminar. Similarly, Hyperbola Textile, will exhibit smart and practical products such as durable wind- and water-proof windbreakers at the new ‘Fashionable Sportswear’ zone.
Meanwhile rapid development of electronic technology has generated broad applications. With people heavily relying on electronic apps in their everyday lives the fashion industry has found a niche within it. HopIN Digitech, will showcase a mobile fashion app at the Fashion Tech zone. The app allows easy browsing of digital catalogues, as well as trying on the clothes in real time by uploading photos of oneself. This innovative user experience boosts customers’ buying incentives, providing an effective alternative for industry players to promote their products.
A round-up of global designers
International Fashion Designers’ Showcase will return again this year with designers from around the world. Indonesia, Japan and Thailand will be hosting group pavilions to flaunt alluring local designs. Among them, Indonesian designer Priscilla Listia, who attended the Vancouver Fashion Week, will present her women’s wear brand Mia Amica, which is acclaimed for employing the Indonesian Batik that has been acknowledged as an intangible world heritage product. The collection is executed with superb craftsmanship, modern silhouettes and charming embellishments such as embroideries and sequins.
Besides being an outstanding sourcing and marketing platform, Hong Kong Fashion Week also presents opportunities for networking and acquisition of the latest market intelligence with its exciting event line up. A series of fashion shows and parades will be staged across the first three days of the fair, participants include exotic Indonesian brand Neusa, Macau haute couture and bridal designer brand Chavin, Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre, School of Continuing of Professional Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, as well as exhibitors from the Chinese mainland, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi) will also host graduation shows and a lingerie show.
Seminars and forums will be held alongside. Internationally renowned trend forecaster Fashion Snoops will shed light on upcoming trends for Autumn/Winter 2018-19 for women’s and men’s wear. With wearable technologies becoming popular, a seminar co-organised with Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) on latest development and application of wearable technologies will also be held. Other seminars will cover topics such as testing and certification for textiles and garments, and fashion e-tailing strategies.
Walmart hopes to benefit from GST. One gain is in a national unified market, there is no need of a warehouse in every single state. Walmart feels if it will be able to run the business at a lower cost, it can pass on benefits to consumers, and the prices of central commodities can come down resulting in a win-win for everyone, consumer, state, business.
Walmart is committed to expanding its operations and investments in India. The retailer plans to open 50 more cash and carry stores over the next four to five years. It has already built a pipeline of nearly 16 stores. Walmart is helping its suppliers deal with the transition to GST --- the new tax structure that roll out from July 1.
The retailer has flagged off a series of workshops. Structured training programs on the various facets and nuances of GST have been completed in Ludhiana and Hyderabad and were attended by 76 supplier partners. As a significant number of Walmart’s supplier base consists of small, medium and regional suppliers, these workshops are expected to educate them and accelerate their preparation by providing them with a platform to answer queries and concerns.
The roughly 70,000 textile traders in Goodluck Textile Market have refused to register for GST, and over the past week the Rs 35,000 crores MMF sector has come to a standstill with strikes, protests and public meetings. As a textile trader, who is fasting outside his shop against the GST order says till now, there was no tax, nor there was register for excise or VAT as most traders are illiterate and cannot use computers. GST-compliance will hit profits, they feel.
Surat has around 170 big and small textile markets comprising more than 75,000 shops with a daily aggregate turnover of Rs 115 crores. Tarachand Kasat, convener of textile GST Sangharsh Samiti, says they want the government to keep GST only till the yarn level as GST will mess up things and result in huge job losses in the industry.
The city's 7.5 lakh powerloom weavers have kept away from the traders' strike but they are unhappy about being placed in the 18 per cent GST slab. They have asked for the 12 per cent slab benefit of input tax credit (ITC), and exemption for weaving job-work. They also want anti-dumping duty on Chinese fabrics. From July 1 about 70 per cent of weaving units operate on job-work and the master weavers have decided to stop the supply of raw material.
Ashish Gujarati, President of Pandesara Weavers (PWCSL), say the strike could hurt employment in the textile value chain that involves about 14.5 lakh workers.
ITMA will be held in Spain from June 20 to 26, 2019. With innovations in the world of textiles as its theme, ITMA will have exhibits showcasing an integrated textile and garment manufacturing value chain. Divided into 19 chapters, the exhibits will also include yarns, fibers and fabrics and solutions for technical textiles and nonwovens and garment making.
Almost 25 per cent of the exhibition space has been booked by more than 300 exhibitors. Global industry players are looking to using ITMA as a launch pad for their new innovations. Among the sectors that have enjoyed greatest take-up so far are finishing, printing, spinning, weaving and knitting. The response from Asian countries has been strong, particularly India, which has already surpassed 60 per cent of the total space it booked in the 2015 show. Manufacturers of raw materials and garment machinery are also applying early.
Despite the challenging business climate, the demand for leading-edge products continues to grow, and technology providers are still leveraging on ITMA 2019 to launch their new solutions to global textile and garment manufacturers and brands.
Some of the drivers impacting the industry include digitisation of products, processes and supply chains as well as sustainability. ITMA is a complete, end-to-end solutions showcase, from fiber to finished textile products.
Starting from next September, the fashion shows in Milan will be held concurrently with the women’s fashion week. This was confirmed by Ivan Scalfarotto, Deputy Secretary at the Italian Ministry for Economic Development. Together with ICE Agency, the Italian Trade Promotion Agency, has provided unfailing support to Milano Unica and the entire fashion supply chain.
This is an important step towards the creation of a true ‘Made in Italy’ synergy; also other industries that participate in trade shows in different locations during the year will be present at the September event with shows and installations under the direction of Davide Rampello, former president of the Triennale of Milan and curator of the Expo Zero Pavillion.
Since the first edition, Milano Unica plays a leading role because of the support of ICE Agency, a delegation comprising clients and journalists visited the Italian Textile and Accessory Trade Show. In this edition, in addition to the internationally most authoritative trade press, a delegation of top level clients will visit the trade show, from all over the world. The extraordinary support provided by the Ministry and ICE Agency in promoting strategic and innovative projects was directed to the event that is strongly focused on meeting market demands. The anticipated dates of Milano Unica is the most farsighted innovation in the international textile trade show panorama.
Total US retail sales for May declined by 0.3 per cent month over month. On a year-over-year basis in May, total retail sales increased by 3.8 per cent and retail sales excluding autos also increased by 3.8 per cent. Five out of 13 major store categories posted positive sales results, while two were flat compared with April. Non-store retailers and furniture stores posted the largest month-over-month increases, of 0.8 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.
A number of in-store metrics were negative in May but showed a slight improvement from previous months. Sales were down 5.5 per cent year over year, the smallest decline in the last six months. In-store traffic fell by 6.1 per cent in May year over year, but the decline was lower than that seen in most recent months.
As shoppers continued to shift their spending online, e-commerce sales continued their trend of double-digit growth. Sales at non-store retailers rose by 10.2 per cent year over year in May, following an 11.4 per cent year-over-year increase in April.
Average transaction value continued a three-month upward trend in May, and was up 1.6 per cent year over year, while sales per shopper increased by 0.6 per cent. Total transactions declined by less than ten per cent for the first time since January.
Tirupur’s garment exporters are waiting for the Rebate on State Levies (ROSL), amounting to over Rs 2,600 crores, to be released. The total ROSL amount for India’s readymade garment exports (woven and knitwear) estimated for the period September 20, 2016 to June 20 this year was Rs 3,025 crores, of which Rs 400 crores have been disbursed so far.
Tirupur exporting units alone have to get about Rs 550 crores. Under the ROSL scheme, a rebate on state levies is provided such as value-added tax and central sales tax on inputs, including packaging, fuel, and electricity duty, accumulated through various stages of production, from yarn to finished garments. For exporters, the scheme offers enhanced duty drawback cover on inputs.
The scheme takes into consideration all taxes paid by exporters like VAT, electricity duty, octroi, entry tax etc. The ROSL scheme is an integral part of the Rs 6,000 crores special package announced by the Center last year to strengthen the textile and apparel sectors to improve its global competitiveness. It has set a target to generate an additional 30 billion dollars in exports and create a crore of jobs over a three-year period. The special package had helped apparel exports to record a 31 per cent growth in April over the previous year.
The ROSL rate for garment items exported varies from 2.65 per cent to 3.9 per cent.
For the benefit of Indian textile sector under the new GST regime the Federation of Gujarat Weavers Welfare Association (FOGWWA) has demanded the implementation of a fiber policy for all types of fibers to attract the same duty.
A memorandum was submitted to district collector Mahendra Patel with a slew of demands, including implementation of fiber policy, refund of accumulated GST credit, no GST on all types of job work required to manufacture grey fabric by the powerloom weavers, lowering GST on yarn at 5 per cent or 12 per cent and imposing extra duty on the imported fabrics.
FOGWWA office-bearers say that the inverted duty structure will increase the cost of fabric. The weaving job-work is done by the small units. Around 70 per cent of the units in the decentralized textile sector are working on job-work. The 18 per cent GST on job-work will force the small units to down the shutters as the cost of fabric will increase compared to the fabric manufactured in composite units. A huge number of powerloom units are engaged in job-work, there will be high job losses in the industry.
President of FOGWWA, Ashok Jirawala states they are not opposed to GST, but there is a need for simplification of tax in the sector. There should be a uniform duty in textiles and the government should not treat the MMF sector as a step child. Jariwala adds, with just few days to go, the sector needs clarity on GST rates. The industry can't survive with 18 per cent and 5 per cent rates.
Spinexpo is a leading textile industry expo that promotes yarns, fibres and knitwears. For the past 15 years, it has been a catalyst for the textile and fashion industry that attracts top international buyers. The upcoming Spinexpo Paris will be a three-day event from July 3 to 5, 2017 at the Cité de la Mode et du Design in Paris. Next in New York it will take place from July 18 to July 20 followed by the Shanghai edition to be held from August 29 to 31. The event showcases fibers to software for knitwear manufacturers (fashion collections), spinners for knitwear, woven fabric for clothing or upholstery, hosiery, lace, embroidery, technical end uses etc. in the textile, fabrics and yarns industry.
The show will also attract an array of manufacturers, retailers, distributors, wholesalers, brands, fashion designers, online retailers under one roof to change the sourcing dynamics and the main objective of the show is to showcase and give a platform in many areas so that they can bring out their potential range of garments and reach every nook and corner of the country.
The exhibition features 77 leading exhibitors attracting the key influential brands from New York and American markets. These exhibitors will showcase a wide range of innovative products focusing on performance and functionality as well.
