FW
Hyosung hopes to have a bigger presence of its spandex brand Creora in the global denim market. The Korean company has introduced a collection of denim-use functional fabric applying Creora eco-soft, Creora Fit2 (denim spandex with high power), MIPAN aqua-X (cool touch functional yarn), and askin (cool touch polyester yarn) technologies.
Hyosung is a Korean fiber and yarn company. Hyosung is the largest elastane producer in the world and first developed its own process for manufacturing spandex in 1992. The company has a partnership with French textile mill Sofileta. This mill has the capability to integrate fabric and fiber technology to develop leading edge products. And Hyosung can strengthen its presence in the European market.
Hyosung offers a broad range of high quality, competitively-priced fiber technologies throughout the global apparel value chain. The spandex range includes Creora dyeable spandex, Creora black spandex and Creora fresh spandex. The company has a global network of more than 36 subsidiaries and international offices around the world. Creora is produced in facilities around the world, including Korea, China, Vietnam, Turkey and Brazil. The company is also investing in testing and analysis, which include capabilities in circular and warp knitting, weaving, core spinning and yarn covering.
Leather World will be held in France from September 17 to 20. The theme is leather and the event will cover a fresh segment of fashion and accessories. Around 80 companies are expected at the first edition of the show, with exhibitors from Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Mexico and South Africa. On display will be products ranging from raw materials to finished leather goods. Exhibitors will present a large display of fake fur, exotic leather, tanneries, finished and semi-finished leather, accessories, luggage, furniture and more. New materials, such as vegan leather or synthetic fur, are included.
Leather World is all about materials, leather in all forms and also flexible materials like fake fur and vegan leather. The event has an increased focus on finished products and will offer visitors a wide variety of choices for accessorising their collections. The event enables importers and exporters to gather together and share new trends.
The European leather goods trade represents 18 per cent of the global exchange. France, Spain, Italy, the UK and Germany are Europe's largest leather importers. Exports of leather goods from Asia and Oceania to Europe constitute 20 per cent of the global exchange. The EU imports 26 per cent of the global import of leather goods, 29.4 per cent of the global production of leather clothes and accessories, and 22.4 per cent of the global import of shoes.
The Cambodian Labour Confederation will propose $211.94 as the new minimum wage for garment workers during this month’s negotiations. CLC made the announcement after a meeting between various unions which touched upon criteria that included cost of living, inflation, productivity, competitiveness and profitability. As per Far Sal, President, National Trade Union Coalition $211.94 is a reasonable figure to propose during negotiations as the figure leaves a lot of scope for compromise. The minimum wage for garment workers rose to $170 this year, about a 10 percent increase from $153 in 2017.
Prime Minister Hun Sen recently stated an unreasonable increase in minimum wage could drive companies to bankruptcy and out of the country. He had proposed increasing wages to $168.
The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), the leading apex industry associations of the textile & clothing industry in India, is launching an innovation contest ‘Innotex 2018’ to create an innovation ecosystem in textiles and clothing. The contest will cover areas of design, method, cost, process and product in any sector from ginning to garment. Only Indian nationals living in India or abroad either individually or in a group of four can participate. Further, innovations older than April 1, 2017 will not be eligible and the last date for submitting the entries is September 20, 2018.
The final round of the contest will be held on November 27-28, 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi along with CITI Global Textiles Conclave 2018. Apart from cash prizes, winners will be rewarded with recognition on a credible platform and a market for the product.
Burberry will stop the practice of destroying unsaleable products, with immediate effect. The company will also no longer use real fur. Its Riccardo Tisci’s debut collection to be launched later this month will not have any real fur and the business will phase out existing real fur products.
Burberry formed a five year responsibility agency last year, which covers the entire footprint of its operations and also extends to the communities around it. The brand became a core partner of the Make Fashion Circular Initiative convened by the Ellen McArthur Foundation in May 2018. In the past year, it has created a unique partnership with sustainable luxury company Elvis & Kresse to transform 120 tonne of leather offcuts into new products over the next five years.
With growing economic prosperity, Asean consumers are spending more on fashion and lifestyle items. A Euromonitor International survey reveals, the region’s consumer expenditure on clothing and footwear amounted to $ 51.2 billion in 2017. Over the next five years, it is expected to grow on an average 7.3 per cent annually to reach $ 72.7 billion in 2022. According to HKTDC’s ASEAN Middle-income Consumer Survey, more than half respondents in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok are expected to spend more on fashion items in next two years. The distribution of fashion spending was: business attire (28 per cent), casual wear (26 per cent), shoes (22 per cent), accessories (12 per cent), travel goods and handbags (8 per cent), and spectacles (4 per cent).
Fashion distribution channels
Concept stores, department stores and multi-brand stores are dominant distribution channels for fashion in Asean. Aside from
bricks-and-mortar retailers, e-commerce has quickly become an independent force in the fashion industry as well.
Concept stores:
Concept stores sell well-curated products matching that store’s special theme. They constantly seek unique items to add corresponding accessory labels to their product offerings.
Department Stores:
Department stores are an important fashion distribution channel in Malaysia. Major department store chains, such as Parkson and Metrojaya, continue to upgrade their product portfolios to include a wider selection of brands attractive to middle- and high-income consumers. In Thailand, Central Group has Central Department Store, Robinson Department Store and Zen, as well as managing Marks & Spencer and MUJI. The Mall Group operates The Mall department stores, Siam Paragon, The Emporium, and The EmQuartier.
Online Platforms
With just three per cent, e-commerce penetration in the Asean countries it is still only 3 per cent of total retail sales. The Asean fashion ecommerce market includes classified sites (Mudah and OLX), C2C (Tarad, Tokopedia, Bukalapak, Shopee), B2C (Lazada, Zalora, MatahariMall) and brands’ own sites (H&M and Adidas). Retailers like Central Group and MAP Group, have also embraced e-tailing by creating their own online platforms.
Making inroads into the market
Luxury groups such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Chanel, Prada, and many more, usually enter the Asean market by opening self-owned flagship stores to ensure a total control of brand image. Sportswear brands, such as Nike or Adidas, mostly expand by means of franchising. Fast fashion brands, such as H&M, Zara, and Uniqlo open branded retail shops in major cities across Asean.
Upcoming fashion designers can also approach department stores with their portfolio or propose a joint promotion event, such as a trunk show. Large brands can choose to participate in large-scale iconic fashion shows in the region, such as the Bangkok International Fashion Fair and Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week. Smaller brands can showcase their collections in private fashion events organised by fashionista and public relations consultants. Partnering with a retailer to host a trunk show is another alternative.
Social media has become an essential tool for marketing, public relations, and customer service. Brands need to make sure that their social media content is timely, engaging, and relevant to their target market. They can also hire Influencers to gain immediate access to the right customers.
IMG Reliance has launched a fashion portal called Voice of Fashion. This will bring fashion news and trends to customers. The editorial viewpoints will be gender equal, inclusive and sensitive with an unbiased view of people and the world and thus as its microcosm the fashion and design industry.
Voice of Fashion aims to be a one stop platform for a representative overview of fashion-creation, curation and consumption and hopes to track and lead fashion conversations in India. While the initiative is not yet a full-blown fashion e-commerce platform for shoppers, Reliance may venture into the world of e-commerce via fashion.
With the Voice of Fashion application, users have access to fashion journalism via their mobile devices. In fact, the app has been designed specifically for mobile device users. The app introduces imaginative stories, profiles visionary stylists, talented designers, arts, handlooms, craftsmen, covering the latest trends in the world of fashion.
Users will be able to download it free of charge from the iTunes App Store. Users can share photos and news stories while receiving alerts regarding news in the world of fashion. Currently, almost half of apparel purchases are influenced by the mobile, and by 2022, almost two out of three apparel purchases, and more than 70 per cent of accessory purchases, will be influenced by the mobile.
Narinder Kumar and Ram Krishan have been re-elected president and chairman of Garments Machinery Manufacturers and Suppliers Association (GMMSA), Ludhiana, respectively. A prominent association of Ludhiana, GMMSA works for the growth of textile and apparel industry of Punjab. The election for the term 2018-20 was held under the supervision of the city’s leading apparel manufacturers including presiding officer Ajit Lakra, President, Ludhiana Knitters Association and observers Harbhajan Singh, Oster Group and Narinder Miglani, Knitwear Club.
Kumar and Krishan both assured members that no stone will be left unturned for the betterment of the association and the industry on the whole. Both of them also appreciated the efforts to hold the 3rd edition of the GMMSA Expo in February 2018 and vowed to organise the 4th edition of the event on a grandeur scale from January 25-28, 2019 at Ludhiana.
India has some reservations about joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The main objection is it would bring India into a free trade relationship with China and worsen the already large trade deficit India has with China. India also wants a slower and graduated elimination of tariffs in order to safeguard the interests of Indian domestic industry.
RCEP is a trans-Asia mega trade agreement which comprises the 10 Asean countries and their six summit partners India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Other developing countries in the RCEP, with economies much smaller than India’s, are willing to risk competition with China but India is not. One reason is that the Indian economy is not as competitive as they are. Lack of competitiveness is due to several factors but transaction costs of exports are as much as ten per cent of export value.
The average cost per container for Indian exports is more than double the rate in China. It takes 17 days on an average to deliver exports from India. For China it is five days. Exports will become even less competitive if India stays out of RCEP since members will enjoy preferential access. The question now is: Weather India is ready to take the plunge and commit itself to regional economic integration or if the risks to India’s economy are significant enough to warrant it to opt out.
Riri, based in Switzerland, makes zippers and buttons for the high-fashion, outdoor and denim markets. The collection is characterized by sophisticated and eclectic colors made of enigmatic violets and carefully reinforced reds disrupted by flashes of acid green and blue, but also by natural materials, evocative paints and original and innovative shapes.
Historical and elegant die-cast zinc zippers are back. The use of paints on pullers makes for an illusionary art where the borders between being and appearing are fuzzy. The painting with rubber effect, both shiny and matte, is complemented by processing with a velvet, leather and rust touch effect. Alongside historical and elegant zippers with zinc teeth die-cast directly on the tape are zippers with acetal resin teeth made with an injection process and spiral zippers ideal for apparel and leather goods.
Natural materials like olive wood, leather and real horn decorate buttons and pullers. The metal zip appears in three galvanic finishings, amber gold, clear gold and deep-colored aged gold. The Eloxal Monocolore is the traditional lightweight zip with aluminium teeth which can be colored using a new anodizing process which results in a bright and uniform color. Riri’s pullers are actual sliders characterised by a unique and refined design.
