FW
May was a difficult month for UK retail with consumers cutting back on their spending for the first time in almost four years as uncertainty over the economy, the post-Easter dip, and an expected election-linked slowdown all added to the mounting woes.
Physical stores saw their biggest sales fall in over five years, despite the warmer weather that should have given sales a bigger boost. And while online sales rose 6.9 per cent they couldn’t make up for the shortfall. That was particularly a problem for the fashion sector with clothing one of the categories with the biggest sales falls.
Fashion was among the biggest categories to suffer during the month and an online spending rise failed to take up the slack. Consumer spending dipped 0.8 per cent year-on-year last month and dropped 1.9 per cent compared to April.
The effects of inflation and stagnating wage growth seemed to have hit home and with last week’s election results and the start of Brexit negotiations this month June is unlikely to provide much relief to retailers.
Inflation could even worsen as the pound fell further against the dollar and the euro. Business confidence has sunk through the floor. The outlook for consumer spending continues to look relatively bleak, with households facing faster increases in living costs and muted wage growth.
A budget of Rs 1,200 crores has been allocated by Telangana for the textile sector for the year 2017-18. Close to Rs 373 crores will be used for the handloom sector, while Rs 827 crores have been allocated for power looms and their modernisation.
The state has generated about Rs 73,000 crores in investments and created 2.56 lakh jobs. Some industrial parks will also be established in Telangana. Housing for workers and staff is proposed within the textile parks.
Telangana has achieved a year on year growth of 10.1 per cent in gross state domestic product as compared to the national average of 7.1 per cent in financial year ’17. The state has also been ranked first for ease of doing business reforms for 2015-16 by the World Bank.
Telangana is in the process of formulating a textile and apparel policy that contemplates waiver of personal loans of handloom weavers. Fresh loans are proposed to be given at three per cent interest. Subsidies will be given for capital investment and purchase of equipment by entrepreneurs. Tax incentives and power subsidies are being examined.
Radici Group presents its reduced environmental impact product range. Solution-dyed polyester, recycled polymer polyester and bio-based polyamide are some of the kinds of low environmental impact yarns produced by RadiciGroup specifically for the fashion industry. The fashion world is finally addressing sustainability and looking for materials that are not only beautiful and strong, but also sustainable. The company aims at playing a leading role in the fashion value chain as the ideal upstream supplier.
The Radici Group product portfolio meeting these new market requirements is described in the recently published book Neo-materials in the Circular Economy – Fashion, available now in bookshops in both Italian and English versions. The book is edited by Marco Ricchetti in collaboration with Blumine S.r.l. and the Italian sustainable fashion social network Sustainability-lab.
Raw materials have a decisive impact on the degree of sustainability of the final products. In recent years, many fiber manufacturers have invested in research and experimentation in order to realize aesthetically attractive, high performance products that are consistent with the sustainable values of the circular economy. Together with product innovation, it is also important to implement monitoring and checking procedures in order to weigh the CO2 emissions of the various materials and opt for those resulting in the least environmental impact. This is the approach Radici has chosen.
The company has over 75 years of experience in the fiber industry and has a vertically integrated polyamide production. Radici, based in Italy, opened in 1941 and is a nonwoven, specialty chemicals, performance plastics and synthetic fiber producer. It has total control over its production chain, from products such as adipic acid and polyamide 6 and 6.6, to yarns and engineering plastics.
Fulgar has joined the Higg Index. Fulgar is a manufacturer of nylon and covered yarns for the manmade fiber sector. In this way it takes its place beside the most important fashion brands in encouraging the eco-sustainable success and development of the global textile-apparel industry.
Higg Index has been developed by the SAC, Sustainable Apparel Coalition, which includes many of the most illustrious names in the international garment industry. The index uses credible scientific data to objectively measure a product’s environmental performance. The Higg index aims to create a unique instrument available to all operators in the supply chain, enabling them to assess the environmental impact of a garment’s entire life cycle. It is a significant step forward towards transparency in the textile sector and a powerful support for all companies in the value chain as it provides them with a method of comparing different materials so they can make knowledgeable, more sustainable choices.
Fulgar’s flagship product, Q-Nova, is a 6.6 eco-sustainable nylon fiber made exclusively from regenerated raw materials. This ecological product fulfils precise traceability requirements and aims to generate reductions in CO2 emissions and cut water use. Higg is further proof of Fulgar’s commitment to green production and to supporting the values of its eco-friendly products. The index for now is applied to Q-Nova but will soon be extended to other categories of Fulgar products.
JLL India one of the real estate consultancy firm in a statement mentioned that Pune’s retail market is receiving considerable investment attention from global retail players, many international brands, which preferred to be present only in the bigger Indian cities, are recognising the potential of Pune as a model city to expand their footprint and study consumers behaviour patterns.
The Pavilion on S.B Road and Westend Mall in Aundh, those account for of 4.5 lakh sq. ft. and 4 lakh sq. ft. respectively, plan to have major international brands like H&M, Zara, Gant, Kenneth Cole, Brooks Brother , MAC Cosmetics and Superdry . Walmart and Ikea are also exploring Pune, Ikea plans to acquire land parcels to execute entry into Pune in 2018-19, and Walmart is considering a suitable location to activate its stores.
Pune’s retail real estate market has started seeing a better quality malls with the introduction of retail reforms like Retail REIT and GST.
World cotton production is forecast to grow 8.2 per cent over the previous year.The projected increase in cotton output is due to price-driven area increases for most major cotton producers, and significant improvements in outlook for a few countries, namely Pakistan, China, and Mexico.
Almost alone among major cotton-producing regions, the African Franc Zone is forecast to yield its largest crop ever obtained, at about 5.2 million bales. Despite this improving outlook, global production remains below the levels seen before the extremely poor-yielding 2015-16 crops.
The forecasts show an upward revision for consumption growth from 2.2 per cent last month to 2.6 per cent. Forecasts for China, India, and Pakistan were all raised appreciably, boosting the forecast growth rate for consumption without greatly increasing forecast demand for imports, especially as China and Pakistan have larger forecast 2017-18 production, and thus comparatively ample expected supplies.
The consumption revision, however, is smaller than the upward revision to global production, resulting in higher forecast ending stocks. Further, global trade forecasts are lowered, driven by lower import demand in producer countries, especially Pakistan. These higher forecast 2017-18 ending stocks are located outside of China (where forecasts of the degree of destocking have been increased), with the result that pressure on prices is expected to continue.
Invista held its 2017 Lycra fibre Legwear seminar in Yiwu, China. The event’s theme of ‘Lycra Moves Ingenuity’, highlighted the innovative attitude of the Lycra brand, which presented inspirational new ideas, innovations and market insights to invited guests from key mills, brands and retailers in the Chinese market.
Lycra shared their integrated mobile campaign, ‘The Difference that Makes the Difference’ the campaign was designed to raise consumer brand awareness and create a positive brand association through engaging and shareable micro-film content that’s perfect for social media.
Martin Suen Chairman, China Hosiery and Socks Professional Committee of the China Knitting Industry Association, and President, Shanghai EIKO Textile, declared that competing in an ongoing price war is not a sustainable business practice. According to him at present the key to outpacing the competition and winning in the global marketplace is to work with strong suppliers to develop good quality products. He also stressed the importance of continuous innovation of products as consumers are looking for like anti-laddering and every product need to be original and feature benefits.
Bangladesh’s cotton imports will be 7.1 million bales in 2017-18, making it the world’s largest importer of the fiber. Local growers can supply less than three per cent of yearly demand. The demand for the natural fiber is on the rise in Bangladesh as it is the only country that is still mainly dependent on raw cotton for making yarns and fabrics.
The other countries have shifted to manmade fibers like filament, polyester or viscose. Currently the ratio of cotton and manmade fiber use is 28:72 worldwide, with a pronounced tilt towards artificial fibers due to lower price, improved functionality and ease of use.
However, this ratio is not applicable in Bangladesh yet as more than 90 per cent of yarns and fabrics are made from natural cotton in the country. Cotton consumption is rising from the spinners’ end. The demand for both yarns and fabrics is increasing every year. The over 430 local spinning mills can supply nearly 90 per cent of the yarn for the knitwear sector and 40 per cent of the fabrics needed by the woven sector.
Currently, Bangladesh imports 55 per cent of its cotton from India, thanks to favorable prices, geographical proximity, shorter lead time and the quality of the fiber.
AATCC announced the winners of the 2017 C2C Merchandising Competition. 20 Students participated from 4 various colleges and universities it also received 11 entries. Many students showcased their skills in business, marketing, and merchandising by creating a business concept of a hypothetical new apparel line that redesigns apparel items (leggings, t-shirts, etc.) for children (ages 2-10) with special needs and/or a disability. At the first place it was Moxie by Alexis Jones, second place Kids in Motion by Caroline DeRosa and third place –Smiley Willy by Lauren Ferrell and Hanna Jernigan.
Established in 1921 AATCC, the Association of Textile, Apparel & Materials Professionals, is the world’s leading not-for-profit association serving textile professionals. AATCC, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC, USA, provides test method development, quality control materials, and professional networking for members in about 50 countries throughout the world.
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.
India expects this segment could also absorb better-qualified engineers and researchers to work on products that could eventually get sold in the US and Europe. At the same time, it would also increase employment for women in states such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, where there is an educated workforce.
