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Global luxury group, Kering plans to hand over the Christopher Kane brand back to the designer. Both the designer and Kering wish to collaborate to achieve a gradual and harmonious transition. As a consequence, the group will apply for IFRS 5, non-current assets held for sale and discontinued operations to this asset in its half-yearly accounts to June 30, 2018, which will be published on July 26. The brand is currently consolidated according to the full consolidation method. In 2013, Kering had acquired 51 per cent of the brand created by Christopher Kane.
Label Christopher Kane was launched in 2006. The designer is acknowledged as the powerhouse of British fashion with one of the biggest international profiles. Developing his playful signatures of constant innovation, rebellious femininity and extraordinary skill, his clothes continue to surprise and seduce with their ineffable sense of chic.
Kering manages the development of a series of renowned Maisons in fashion, leather goods, jewellery and watchmaking: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Christopher Kane, Tomas Maier, Boucheron, Pomellato etc. Kering enables its Maisons to set new limits in terms of their creative expression while crafting future luxury in a sustainable and responsible way.
The US retail industry plans to fight back against the negative impacts of the tariff wars. And they want consumers to understand the implications of tariffs as they did with the border-adjustment tax. What retailers hope to make clear to the general consumer is that they can expect prices to increase at some of the places they shop. Retailers like Target that import much of their inventory from China will be paying higher prices to bring those products with new tariffs attached to them.
For now, the first $50 billion in tariffs on China could add a 25 per cent tariff to a handful of machinery used for apparel and footwear manufacturing, though there’s no direct target on apparel or footwear finished goods. The newly proposed additional $200 billion tariffs on China, however, could still include apparel and footwear products, though there’s been no mention yet of the potential product targets for the tariffs.
It is estimated the first set of $50 billion tariffs alone could reduce US GDP by nearly $3 billion and cost the country 1,34,000 jobs. Imposing an additional $100 billion in tariffs could be a $49 billion hit to GDP and lead to the loss of 4,55,000 jobs.
More than 50 Inditex textile and garment suppliers in India gathered in Bangalore and Delhi to ensure effective implementation of IndustriALL’s Global Framework Agreements (GFAs). Representatives of Inditex, which is the world’s biggest fashion retailer, joined the meetings for the sessions on improving social dialogue, industrial relations and sustainability along the supply chains. The first meeting took place in Bangalore on June 11 and the second meeting was held on June 13 in Delhi.
The meeting was intended to help to protect and promote workers’ conditions throughout Inditex’s supply chain. IndustriALL is strengthening industrial relations and social dialogue in the textile and garment industries. Industry-wide GFAs have the capacity to ensure living wages and decent conditions for workers in the industry. The active involvement of suppliers in the process would help IndustriALL to build a stronger social dialogue and powerful industrial relations.
Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL South Asia Regional Secretary, addressed the meeting to talk about textile and garment workers’ conditions and rights in India, the importance of being a union member and being paid living wages and the benefits of GFAs.
Javier Díaz Pena, Inditex Social Sustainability Manager, gave a presentation on the commitment of the global brand by signing the GFA with IndustriALL Global Union.
Many global apparel buyers, including Hermes Otto, Newlook, Colveta, Near East Manufacturing and Varnern, plan to increase their orders from Turkey by about 20 per cent. Apparel exports of $17 billion from the country would increase to $18 billion this year, reaching around $25 billion in five years.
For example, Colveta plans to purchase products worth €40 million from Turkey every year and increase the figure to €65 million within five years. Similarly Newlook Turkey plans to increase purchases by 20 per cent while Hermes Otto aims to increase to over €100 million in 2018 , registering a 7 per cent growth. Verner, one of the major buyers, would also increase its apparel order from Turkey, currently €55 million, by 5 to 10 per cent this year. Near East Manufacturing, on the other hand, is planning to increase its $100 million order by 10 per cent.
The Uster Tensojet 5 is acknowledged not only as the industry’s ultimate Tensile tester but also a key element in the growth of a spinning mill’s profitability. With the launch of Uster Tensojet 5, the concept of Tensile testing is extended to provide a total package: precise measurement of a yarn’s strength, combined with reliable protection against quality claims based on accurate forecasts of performance in later processes.
For yarn producers both quality and performance are essential if they are to meet the continually rising demands of their customers in the weaving and knitting mills. Yarns must have the look, feel and functionality to satisfy these requirements.
Uster is committed to meeting the industry’s need for increasingly effective and accurate Tensile testing. For decades, Uster laboratory instruments have set the global standards for strength and elongation measurement of staple as well as filament, yarns. In 2018, a new generation has been launched. The Uster Tensorapid 5, the go-to tensile tester providing precise data, was introduced in March.
Minimum strength and elongation properties are needed to prevent a yarn breaking or being damaged in downstream operations as well as avoiding blemishes on end-products in weaving. Therefore, accurate Tensile-strength values are important, particularly for warp yarns, which are placed under tremendous stress.
Since the third quarter of last year, foreign investments in Vietnam’s textile and apparel sector have increased due to domestic textile-garment enterprises’ high-quality products and short delivery times. Vietnam’s apparel sector has attracted a large volume of FDI. Some 137 projects were approved in 2014 with a total registered capital of nearly $1.75 billion.
Early last year, when the United States, the largest buyer of Vietnam's textiles and garments, withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, FDI capital injected into the local textile-garment sector dipped and tended to flow to other markets with a lower-cost workforce and lower import duties, such as Cambodia, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Vietnam has inked 16 bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, including CPTPP and EVFTA, which will take effect in the near future, creating numerous opportunities for local textile-garment producers.
Import duties of the European Union, Vietnam’s second largest importer, currently ranging from ten per cent to 12 per cent, will be cut to zero when EVFTA comes into force. South Korea may overtake Taiwan to become the largest investor in Vietnam’s textile-garment sector in the near future as this country has clinched a two-way FTA with Vietnam and a cooperation agreement with the European Union.
After increasing tariffs on US imports, China has contracted to import 500,000 bales of cotton from India. As a result, the overall cotton export in India is likely to rise by 21 per cent to seven million bales for the cotton year ending this September, from 5.8 mn bales the previous year.
The price of the benchmark Shankar-6 variety of cotton has risen by 6.5 per cent in June so far, to Rs 13,160 a quintal from Rs 12,373 a qtl. The price has increased 12 per cent, in the course of a month.
There has been an increase in orders for Indian cotton from China, along with yarn, following a build-up in its trade war with the US. China has imposed 25 per cent duty on import of cotton from the US and is meeting its demand by sourcing more from India, in a repay in kind measure.
Earth Alive Clean Technologies, a leading Canadian clean-tech company, developer and manufacturer of state-of-the-art microbial technology-based products for sustainable agriculture and mining, is launching the Clean Fiber Initiative, a collaborative research project to improve the production of natural fiber crops in Canada and around the world.
The company is currently conducting trials on hemps with conventional and organic growers in Canada, as well as the US. Similarly, cotton trials are underway in Peru and Burkina Faso. Earth Alive is calling for more producers to join the initiative. The company is currently exploring hemp seed and oil production. Additionally, one of its sites will monitor the changes in cannabidiol (“CBD”) levels in the plants; with legislative changes underway CBD extraction derived from hemp is expected to increase significantly in the future.
Participants will establish Clean Fiber Initiative trial sites on their commercial plantations and the company’s technical staff will monitor and evaluate the plots throughout the initiative.
Bangladesh has extended the deadline for completing remediation work in garment factories up to December 2018. But factories failing to complete the job by December might face closure. The previous deadline was April 30 last.
Accord and Alliance, two platforms of western buyers, have been strict regarding remediation work. Many factories have faced closure due to non-compliance with the criteria. At the same time, factory owners have sought extension of time ranging from three months to one year. After the collapse of Rana Plaza, western buyers formed Accord and Alliance to improve workplace safety in the readymade garment sector.
They inspected structural, fire and electrical integrity in 2395 garment factories in the country. About 85 per cent and 89 per cent of factories affiliated with Accord and Alliance respectively have completed remediation work. On the other hand, 1549 garment units were inspected under the national initiative. Of these, 755 factories are currently in business while 573 others were closed down for various reasons. Some 79 factories moved out of rented buildings, 12 are located in export processing zones and 123 got enlisted with Accord and seven with Alliance.
Out of 755 factories, a total of 165 units are yet to start post-inspection flaw-fixing work while the progress rate of remediation in 192 units is below 20 per cent. Some 21 per cent to 30 per cent progress was recorded in 65 factories while 385 factories have completed 31 per cent to 99 per cent remediation work.
The second edition of Denimsandjeans will be held in Bangalore on August 1 to 2. The annual event enables supply chain companies including top mills, garment manufacturers, accessory and chemical suppliers to come together.
The first edition was a great success and witnessed phenomenal attendance. With over 1,800 visitors from all major brands, retailers, buying houses etc. in India and some from overseas, it was probably the best aggregation of the denim industry in India in a very long time. The second edition will focus on the growing trend of unisex denim collections. Apart from all major denim mills from India including Arvind, Raymond, Mafatlal, Nandan, Suryalaskhmi, Bhaskar, the show will host companies from Bangladesh, Turkey, Spain, Italy and many more.
Experts from the US and Europe will be holding denim sessions on recent developments and innovations. Various technologies including 3D printing, syncing denim with music, special software to help the global denim industry and more will be explored through presentations and seminars.
India is a hot favorite for international retailers seeking to strengthen their foothold in the booming apparel market. With several taxation changes and ease of doing business, the country is looking forward to sustained growth in apparel retail and with an increase in organized retail.
