Luxury brands are turning to China to push growth amid the global downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been facing a tough market outlook since the start of the Coronavirus crisis, as a result of closure of many stores and manufacturing sites. Statistics compiled by Bain & Company shows, the luxury goods market has contracted around 25 per cent in the first quarter of 2020. Kering, the parent group of Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent, was able open Chinese stores much earlier than other stores across the globe.

The company reported a 6.4 per cent growth in sales in its Chinese market during the first half of 2020. According to the company's financial report, its business in the Chinese mainland was boosted by strengthened consumer spending power and an uptick in economic activities. One of Kering’s most notable brands Gucci saw sales in the Asia-Pacific region contract 24.6 per cent, However, its business in China is seeing robust growth since mid-April.

One of the world's largest luxury brands the LVMH Group also reported a strong recovery in the second quarter in China, despite impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic on its global revenue in the first half of 2020. The luxury group, whose revenues dropped by 27 per cent in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period last year, saw a strong rebound in China market.

Coimbatore mask and coverall manufacturers hope to tap export orders as the government has permitted export of surgical masks. Raja Shanmugham, President, Tiruppur Exporters’ Association, said the government’s decision to allow masks exports will benefit manufacturers who had invested in machines to make coveralls and masks. Though the government had earlier permitted export of non-surgical masks and coveralls, manufacturers were unable to do so as there was no clarity and exporters were unable to get quotas.

According to A Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC, garment manufacturers who have taken to manufacture of masks will benefit from the government’s decision to permit export of surgical masks.

KS Sundararaman, Chairman, Indian Technical Textile Association says, the government’s decision to permit export of two-ply and three-ply masks with quota restrictions will benefit export, However, the government should permit export of N 95 masks too gradually. There are international standards to be met for export of surgical masks but the manufacturers will be able to meet the standards, he said.

Attended by over 44 global denim companies, the first virtual edition of Denimsandjeans, exhibited A/W21 collections from exhibitors of over 10 countries. The show allotted a virtual booth to exhibitors where buyers and suppliers could interact individually. Other activities like denim talks, seminars, and trend presentations also happened with users attending talks or networking with exhibitors. Exhibitors decorated their booths well inside their own offices and these were visible to visiting customers.

The Trend Zone was divided into five different categories and collections were displayed in those categories. Denimsandjeans team created separate trend zones and they were running throughout the show .The trend zone categories included Super Sustainable, On Demand , Super Technology/Washing/Chemical, Super Comforts, and Super others.

The platform got a very good response from all the stakeholder of Denim Community and most of them found this a helpful tool to connect with their buyers

In a major setback to online fashion shows, none of the luxury brands that launched their collections at the Men’s Fashion Week in Milan or Paris last year, could elicit a similar response on Instagram. Tracking firm Tribe Dynamics observes, digital shows, videos and presentations generated less than one-third of online engagement. The all-digital London Fashion Week saw a 55 per cent drop in social media engagement than in January, says Launchmetrics, another tracker of online activity.

Online engagement by brands was relatively subdued compared to the same period the year prior. For instance, Hermes earned only 28 per cent of its media value during the weeks surrounding its latest menswear show compared to a year earlier, reveals Tribe Dyanamics. According to EMV, Valentino’s couture collection could reach roughly 57 per cent of its online engagement to EMV in July this year compared to its Autumn/Winter 2019 Couture collection. Critically acclaimed collections also failed to make an impression. Prada, who organized a digital fashion show on July 14, recorded a 60 per cent decline in earned media value from July 6 to July 19.

Low attendance by influencer marketers

A reason for this decline was the low attendance of influencer marketing agencies to live shows, possibly due to budgetary constraints or an easy front row access to a digital collection. Influencers, who partnered brands during digital fashion week, met with relative success. For example, Caroline Daur, an Instagrammer with 2.4 million followers, who partnered Dior, earned a 2.28 per cent engagement rate, compared to her average 1 per cent engagement rate and Dior’s 0.2 percent average engagement rate, notes Obviously data.

Brands that held in-person, intimate runway shows with influencers too earned only a fraction of their earned media value compared to last year, though this was above average compared to other brands that opted for strictly digital events. Etro’s, live runway show earned the brand just over 40 percent of what the same show last year earned.

Creating impactful moments

For the upcoming Spring/Summer 2021 ready-to-wear shows, brands need to reconsider their approach to online format. They need to focus on merging the two concepts to create impactful, share-worthy moments both on and offline, says Micheal Jais, Chief Executive Officer, Launchmetrics. He advises brands to repackage and redistribute their digital assets, to provide consumers the right content at the right moment.