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Australia has trimmed its forecast for wool production by nearly 5 per cent as dry weather across the world’s largest producer of the fiber squeezed production to at least a 21-year low - the worst on record. According to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), wool production during the 2018/19 season will total 385,000 tonnes, a decline from the September estimate of 404,000 tonnes.
With Australia’s east coast, home to the majority of the country’s livestock industry, receiving 40 percent less rainfall, farmers have been forced to cull sheep after pastures wilted.
While the drought has left many Australian farmers struggling to survive, the decline in production will also pressure the global garment manufacturing industry.
Australia provides about 90 percent of the world’s exported fine wool used in clothing manufacturing. Lower production will force millers to either pass on the cost or require retailers to cut down on the use of the fiber.
"As per ‘State of Fashion 2019’ report by McKinsey & Company and the Business of Fashion (BoF), China will overtake the US as the world’s largest fashion market for the first time in 2019. The report predicts the leading trends expected to shape luxury fashion industry in 2019. Despite predicting year-on-year growth of 3.5 to 4.5 per cent for the fashion industry next year, experts remain pessimistic. This pessimism could be driven by fears of the accelerating trade war between China and the US, and uncertainty in Europe over how Brexit will impact the global fashion market, according to the study."
As per ‘State of Fashion 2019’ report by McKinsey & Company and the Business of Fashion (BoF), China will overtake the US as the world’s largest fashion market for the first time in 2019. The report predicts the leading trends expected to shape luxury fashion industry in 2019.
Trade war leads to pessimism
Despite predicting year-on-year growth of 3.5 to 4.5 per cent for the fashion industry next year, experts remain pessimistic. This pessimism could be driven by fears of the accelerating trade war between China and the US, and uncertainty in Europe over how Brexit will impact the global fashion market, according to the study. However, in the report, Joann Cheng, Chairman of Fosun Fashion Group & Lanvin, expresses her belief that the trade war will have minimal effect on China’s business.
Increasing omnichannel integration
Technology-impacted consumer shifts are among the most important trends predicted for the coming year. Luxury fashion
brands in China have been quick to utilise the country’s most popular social-media-turned-e-commerce app WeChat, which boasts over 1 billion daily active users. Around 54 per cent of the McKinsey-BoF State of Fashion Survey respondents prioritise omnichannel integration alongside investing in e-commerce and digital marketing as their number one priority for 2019.
Contrasting views
While 51 per cent of executives in the premium and luxury fashion sector believe fashion sector will ‘become better; in 2019; 19 per cent believe it will stay the same. In North America’s market, a staggering 64 per cent executives believe the industry will become worse suggesting America is more cautious of impending trade war tariffs.
Growing domestic demand
China is the world’s fastest-growing consumer market, accounting for more than 18 per cent of all final goods consumed. Chinese manufacturers are using its vast production abilities to cater to surging domestic demand even for luxury products. China’s Singles’ Day shopping holiday this year hit an estimated $30.8 billion in sales, surpassing both Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the United States combined.
Incorporating trust value in products
The increasingly discerning customers are demanding specific information on materials, labor conditions, duties and mark-up. According to the report, fashion companies must cater to demand of distrusting consumer and ensure full transparency across the value chain. 65 per cent of respondents cited consumer needs for trust in product authenticity and creative originality among their top 5 trends for 2019.
Leading the global fashion arena
Surveying over 270 global fashion executives, the report uses McKinsey & Company’s database of over 500 private and public companies to analyse and compare the performance of individual business against their peers by category segment and region. It recognises the top 20 companies leading charge in the global fashion arena. These “super winners” now account for 97 per cent of global economic profit, compared with 70 per cent in 2010, showing their increasing dominance in the market. These 20 companies include: Inditex, Nike, LVMH, TJX Companies, Hermès, H&M, Richemont, Ross, Adidas, Kering, LBrands, Pandora, Fast Retailing, Next, VF, Luxottica, Michael Kors, Gap, Hanesbrands and Burberry.
Messe Frankfurt has included the US Clean Show in its portfolio. The Clean Show, together with Texcare International and Texcare Asia, is one of the leading technology fairs in THE industry and will help the entire value chain master the challenges of the coming years from digitisation to sustainability and from Industrie 4.0 integration/automatisation to the best possible customer benefit.
The government in Pakistan is planning to help restart 200 textile mills in Pakistan that were closed for the last three years due to financial crunch and other factors. The government is planning to take concrete steps for the rehabilitation of the textile industry and restore round-the-clock gas supply to the industrial units, enabling them to attain manifold increase in the industrial production and ensure maximum jobs for the workers in the Industrial units and thus eliminate unemployment from the country.
The government recently started work on Phase-II, III of Faisalabad Garment City project, which will be accomplished within shortest possible period to make this project fully operational.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has warned new tariffs will be imposed on China if the US-China trade negotiations do not reach a successful end by March 1, 2019. In Argentina last weekend, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a truce that delayed the planned Jan. 1 US hike of tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion of Chinese goods while they negotiate a trade deal.
Lighthizer demanded certain concessions for the US, across a number of areas, if these tariffs are to be avoided. These concessions include demands for increased purchases of US goods in a more open Chinese market, as well as structural changes to a system that, for example, forces American firms to turn over technology to Chinese partners as a condition of doing business.
The demands are similar to those made under previous Democratic and Republican presidents, but Lighthizer said he felt Trump’s willingness to go beyond “dialogue” and impose tariffs will produce results.
Islamic Fashion & Design Council’s (IFDC) revolutionary Pret-A-Cover™ Buyers Lane has partnered The Retail Summit to hold its new edition at The Atlantis, Dubai from February 13 -14, 2019.
The partnership between IFDC and The Retail Summit will bring together prominent global brands, retailers, entrepreneurs, media, key personalities, and venture capitalists planning to discover investment opportunities, market share, commercial viability, and more within the lucrative Muslim lifestyle markets but also within the wider secondary market of other modest consumers.
Over 80 international c-suite and senior executives representing iconic and disruptor brands from across every segment of the retail ecosystem will attend the event. The attendees will have access to the modest lifestyle showcases of Pret-A-Cover™ Buyers Lane 2019 being exhibited at The Retail Summit’s e Market Place. These exhibitor platforms will showcase innovative designs, new collections, cutting edge ideas, interactive networking, demos and tutorials, retail innovation sessions and more. The VIP fashion show and highly coveted IFDC Awards will be held on Feb 13, 2019 which will unveil leading modest fashion looks by global talent.
An internal survey done in Pakistan reveals, prices of international apparel brands in Pakistan are sometimes double the original retail prices. According to the World Bank, Pakistan’s adjusted net national income per capita was $1,444 (nearly $120 per month) in 2016 whereas the price of a single top of international apparel brands like Debenhams, Mango, Next and Splash often exceeds a quarter of that income. This implies that these brands are targeting high-end customers unlike global trends.
The difference in pricing is due to additional operational and logistics costs that these brands have to incur. A customer might find the price of a product at Mango’s store in Spain very reasonable when compared to the price of the same top of the franchise in Pakistan. Being among the largest textile manufacturers, Pakistan also has the potential to manufacture these brands locally with some value addition, which could help save some of the operational and logistics costs. However, these franchises are restricted by the brands from manufacturing their products locally.
In some cases, brands like Levi’s have set up their manufacturing outlets in Pakistan, making it comparatively more convenient for retail stores and helping the national economy as well.
A section of BGMEA members including its former presidents have requested the commerce minister not to extend the tenure of current board again. The current board under the leadership of its president, Md Siddiqur Rahman, assumed office on September 22, 2015 through a negotiation process for a two-year term.
The board of the trade body got its first extension (six months) from the commerce ministry on the grounds that BGMEA had to relocate its headquarters as the Supreme Court declared its building on Hatirjheel Lake illegal and ordered to demolish it within six months. The illegally built headquarters of the trade body is yet to be demolished as the Supreme Court later extended time for the apparel sector trade body for its demolition.
After the six-month extended tenure the government had further extended the tenure of the BGMEA board for one more year and allowed the existing board to remain in office up to March 22, 2019. Forum, a platform of the BGMEA members, alleged that the incumbent president was trying to extend his tenure for the third time.
BGMEA members said as the tenure of the current committee would end on March 22 next year; the election schedule would have to be announced by December 22 this year as per the articles of association of the trade body.
Japanese apparel giant Fast Retailing has declared the list of Uniqlo and GU’s key fabric mills and factories. This was a part of the company’s commitment to increase transparency across its supply chain. It has shown its commitment to ensure the right working conditions for the people and protect the environment in addition to safeguarding human rights.
The list published by the group includes sewing factories and fabric mills in China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Turkey and Bangladesh. Fast Retailing claims to have monitored all aforementioned sewing factories and fabric mills to ensure compliance with its Code of Conduct for Production Partners. The fast-fashion retail, over the last decade has been promoting sustainability by regularly conducting independent testing of factory wastewater so as to remove dangerous chemical discharges.
The Japanese retailer joins elite fashion and sports brands like Adidas, Levi Strauss, Primark, H&M, Nike, Marks & Spencer and Arcadia in embracing and encouraging transparency in supply chain.
As per ITC Tajikistan, the Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting held in Dushanbe on November 30, 2018, discussed the role and contribution of the International Trade Centre (ITC) to the textile and clothing sector of Tajikistan. It also discussed the results of the initial year of the new Global Textiles and Clothing Program (GTEX).
The PSC consists of representatives from Tajikistan’s relevant ministries, agencies, private sector, academia, the donor (government of Switzerland), and the ITC. The committee ensures transparency in project implementation and assurance that its outputs respond to the country’s priorities.
The Global Textiles and Clothing Programme (GTEX) launched by ITC aims to boost textile and clothing exports from Tajikistan to stimulate employment and income generation along the textile and clothing value chain. Tajikistan is one of the five countries selected to be part of this new four-year initiative, financed by the Government of Switzerland.
