FW
"Aiming to reach customers faster and grab market share, global brands such as Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Coach, Helmut Lang, Burberry and Rag & Bone, are working on increased flexibility and faster-paced production windows. Karin Tracy, Head-fashion, luxury and beauty industries, Facebook feels speed is everything right now. For luxury brands, whoever is the fastest right now will have competitive advantage, full stop. They need to step out of the comfort zone of perfection, think about how to move fast and build things to let them do so."
Aiming to reach customers faster and grab market share, global brands such as Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Coach, Helmut Lang, Burberry and Rag & Bone, are working on increased flexibility and faster-paced production windows. Karin Tracy, Head-fashion, luxury and beauty industries, Facebook feels speed is everything right now. For luxury brands, whoever is the fastest right now will have competitive advantage, full stop. They need to step out of the comfort zone of perfection, think about how to move fast and build things to let them do so.
A recent study by Alvanon stated this fast-moving trend has been brought in by brands like Zara, which releases new items four to five times faster than a traditional retail brand. To grasp the change, luxury brands have opted for various strategies with some chucking the traditional fashion calendar and moving over to see-now-buy-now concept. On this note, Caitlin Aylward, Director, Research, L2, says in order to really perform like Zara does, or go with an immediate fashion calendar, these brands will have to consider an overhaul. There are other steps that can be taken to improve speed-to-market.
Enhancing production
With the intent to speed up the rate at which new capsule collections can be released, Kering recently announced the launch of Gucci Art Lab. This will be a 35,000-sq. ft. space in Italy specialising in manufacturing leather goods and shoes, and source its own sustainable materials to bring the Gucci supply chain closer to home. Jean-Marc Duplaix, CFO, Kering, says this is a step toward internalisation of production, especially leather goods. Over time, there will be better control over product development, sampling and material development.
The same strategy was implemented by labels like Burberry and Tommy Hilfiger because of which they were able to shift their production schedules to an in-season model in a short span of time. Vertically integrated supply chains offer brands flexibility that other brands don’t have, particularly on the smaller scale.
Invest in technology
In order to spruce up production process, companies must leverage on technology tools like 3D design, automation and robotics that will also help in reducing turnaround time in the supply chain. Ed Gribbins, president, Alvanon, averred that luxury brands could all do a better job of adapting technology to aid the production process. There are brands that are just now starting to test 3D product development software, and that’s going to change the way all retailers go to market, eventually. Kate Twist, the chief digital officer of Xcel Brands elaborated that they are working on identifying new technologies that can impact all areas of the business.
Tackling complexities
According to Gribbins, internal decisiveness is probably the single biggest challenge in terms of speed to market. Luxury has been nimble at making decisions than, say, department stores or specialty retailers, which have been on an 18-month cycle. That doesn’t work anymore.
Processing customer data and using that feedback to aid in faster decision making is also a cause for concern for luxury brands. Since many still make the majority of sales through wholesale channels like boutiques and department stores, there’s a degree of separation between customer feedback and the brand. Gribbins opined that data is the hardest because brands don’t own the customer, in many cases, and if they don’t connect as directly to the end user, they struggle to get that data. On top of that, millennials, as a group, don’t seem to value brands in the same respect that their parents might have. In lieu to this, Antony Karabus, CEO, HRC Retail Advisory, suggested that luxury retail needs to get a much closer and tighter understanding of the customer, including the ones buying, what’s being bought and how they want to interact with you. Then they can react.
The three-day expo on linencare – Laundrex India 2018 is set to display the latest technology and systems in textile care and dry-cleaning. To be held along with Clean India Pulire, Waste Technology Expo and Car Care Expo from January 18th to 20th. This year’s Laundrex India Expo will also have an international one-day conference organised jointly by Texcare India Forum and LaundrexNet on January 20 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai.
The conference will organise discussions and presentations from national and international textile care experts and laundry and dry-cleaning products, equipment and technologies service providers. There will be panel discussions and presentations on laundry and textile care – global scenario and trends; new approach to laundry and textile care, start-ups and best practises, strategising success through technology, online laundry business, etc.
The speakers include: Ruth Lorenz, VP Technology, Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH; Elgar Straub, MD VDMA Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies; Xavier Salas, International Sales Director, Girbau SA; Anand Dubey, Regional Sales Manager, Alliance Laundry Systems; Andrew Glassford, Director, NewGen Business Services, UK; John Hacker, Director of Sales Asia Pacific, Herbert Kannegisser GmbH; Balachandar R, Founder & CEO, Wassup Laundry; Rachit Ahuja, Co-Founder, Quick Dry Clean Software.
Raj Manek, Executive Director and Board Member, Messe Frankfurt Asia Holding announced, “With a keen eye on one of the fastest emerging markets in the world organised laundering and textile care, the Texacare brand launches in India with this one-day conference on Laundry, Dry-cleaning & Textile Care. This new partnership between Texcare and Laundrex, India’s leading trade show for the Laundering industry is certainly going to be a successful platform for both the parties to combine strengths and contribute to the growth of the sector. The unorganised and fragmented Indian laundry market holds a huge scope for growth and development with immense opportunities for international players to bring best practices and structure to the sector.”
Jayaram Nair, the Chairman, Virtual Info Systems, the organiser of Laundrex India Expo discuses, “Over the past three years, we have been making efforts to bring together the Indian laundry Industry through annual Laundrex India Expo and through Clean India Journal. The commercial laundry and dry-cleaning market is growing very rapidly in India with sectors like healthcare, hospitality, the railways and large industries opting for professional linen care services. The domestic market is also offering wide opportunities.”
Cone Denim, an international leader in denim authenticity and innovation, announces its Cone Denim Parras and Cone Denim Yecapixtla operations in Mexico have received Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification on selected denim products.
The company’s Cone Denim Jiaxing operation in China received certification in 2015. The company is now able to provide Oeko-Tex certified fabrics internationally. Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification provides transparency in the textile supply chain and delivers certified products have been produced without the use of illegal, regulated or other known harmful substances. The ‘Confidence in Textiles’ motto designates independent testing for harmful substances for textile products of all types which pose no risk to health.
Steve Maggard, Senior VP, Operations and Manufacturing for Cone Denim explains, “The expansion of our Oeko-Tex certification to denim fabrics produced from our Mexico facilities offers additional confidence in our products and opens new opportunities to our customers worldwide. We remain committed to responsible manufacturing and promoting sustainable practices and components within our products and processes that minimize our environmental footprint while providing our customers the highest level of denim innovation and design. The Oeko-Tex certification provides our customers and the end consumer further validation of our practices and the benefits of Cone Denim’s SustainblueTM line featuring the highest level of environmentally responsible denims, ”he added.
Cone Denim has operated in Mexico since 1995 producing industry-leading denims, both rigid and stretch, including S-Gene products and many other high-performance and sustainable denim styles. Cone Denim Jiaxing facility opened in 2007 in China. This combined global platform is strategically designed to provide customers with innovative and market-driven denims and services from a comprehensive global network of manufacturing platforms. Certified labs and proprietary process control systems are central to producing high quality fabrics with exceptional shade and physical consistency.
Showcasing ways to improve productivity, saving costs, enhancing quality, cutting turnaround time, and much more, the 26th edition of Garment Technology Expo (GTE) 18 will be held from January 19 to22, 2018 at NSIC Exhibition Complex, New Delhi. This edition promises to be bigger and grander with an array of fresh offerings. GTE would be inaugurated by HKL Magu, Chairman, AEPC. This is Indian subcontinent’s largest show for apparel technology, having an unparalleled representation from all segments of the sector, representing over 800 companies and brands from over 22 countries. New country additions this time are Sweden and Switzerland.
Highlights
A major highlight is that a global educative seminar on 'Apparel 4.0' is co-located with this edition jointly organised by GTE & DFU Publications inviting global experts and stakeholders from across the trade and supply chain. This will be held on the 2nd day i.e., January 20. Apart from this, new sections in this edition are fabrics, laser cutting, flat knitting, etc. The event would be held under the enhanced area of close to 70000+ sq. mt. with 350+ exhibitors exhibiting their products and services. The trade expo is slated to attract more than 21,700 visitors during the four days power-packed event. The event has got association tie-ups from GGMA Ahmedabad; GEAR, Jaipur; OGTC, GMMSA, LDH, Knitwear LDH & Textile club. Their delegates would also grace the event.
Exhibiting segments
The show is known for showcasing latest machines and processes. Nearly 85 per cent of the participants in the initial editions of GTE continue to be steadfast. New innovations, product launches, product upgrades, live demonstrations, new materials, etc. remain the cornerstone of each successive show.
Companies from every sphere of textile would be a part of this show. Key categories on display are: sewing machines, dyes and chemicals, dyes and chemicals, home furnishing, embroidery machines, equipment and supplies, laundry equipment, spares and attachments, digital textile printing, accessories and trims, spreading and cutting fancy yarns/fabrics, quilting/packaging, IT enabled services, leather garment making, software solutions, finishing and testing, fusing/dyeing, etc. Major brands lined up to display their products in this edition are: Juki, Swf, Tolkar, Smartex, Red Square & many more. As far as new players are concerned, Stalwart and Star White will be making their entry into the Indian market through this event while making a comeback in this edition are JN Arora, Cheran, Texmart.
Growth in visitors expected
One would find companies and brands from a wide spectrum of textile at the exhibition. This include garment exporters, domestic manufacturers, ordinance factories, home furnishing manufacturers, job workers, traders and suppliers institutional and government bodies, merchandisers, textile designers fashion institutes, shop floor managers, etc. Organisers are expecting a large number of overseas participants with a region wise breakup as follows: Overseas 5 per cent; East India 11 per cent; South India 15 per cent; North India 51 per cent; and West India 18 per cent.
The 60th edition of India International Garment Fair (IIGF) is scheduled to be held from 17 – 20, January, 2018, at Hall Nos. 11, 12 & 12A, India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO), Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The 60th IIGF will be primarily covering the Autumn/Winter season of European Union, USA and other Western markets.
Shri Ajay Tamta, Hon’ble Minister of State for Textiles will inaugurate the fair and will also unveil the fair guide of 60th IIGF along with Shri Anant Kumar Singh, IAS, Secretary, Ministry Of Textiles and other dignitaries.
A total of 294 exporters from 11 states will be participating at the 60th IIGF. The participating states are Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. These 294 participants will be showcasing women’s wear, accessories, kid’s wear and menswear. International buyers from 95 countries like Brazil, Spain, Japan, Uruguay, UK, Hong Kong, US etc. have also registered to participate in the fair.
Talking about the 60th IIGF, Mr. HKL Magu, Chairman AEPC, said, “IIGF is India’s largest garment exhibition which has been successfully providing a marketing platform to small and medium exporters to showcase their latest garment and fashion accessories trends to the international buyers and helping them to leverage brand India across the globe. The fair is happening at a time when Industry is facing lot of challenges both domestically and globally but I am sure that with a large buyer base IIGF will be able to turn things around for Indian apparel exporters. In the last fair held at Ahmedabad, the response was quite encouraging and this year we are looking forward towards capitalizing on the momentum built during the Ahmedabad fair".
Sharing his views about IIGF, Mr. Lalit Thukral, Chairman, Exhibition Advisory Committee, IIGF said, “IIGF is one of the largest and most popular platforms in Asia where overseas garment buyers can source and forge the business relationship with India’s finest in Apparel and Fashion Accessories domain under one roof. The 60th IIGF assumes greater importance as more than 2000 international buyers and buying houses are expected to participate in the fair, this year. IIGF is known for generating high value business and I am quite sure that the 60th IIGF will help the Industry in influencing the buyer sentiments and demonstrating our product strengths".
IIGF is also organizing fashion shows, twice a day on all three days for exhibiting the collections for business development. Besides this, the best displayed stalls would be awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze Trophies in an award function on 18th January 2018. India International Garment Fair is a B-2-B fair started in 1988 .The fair is being organized in association with International Garment Fair Association and four major Garment Exporters' Associations Viz. Apparel Exporters & Manufacturers Association (AEMA), Garment Exporters Association (GEA), The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) and Garment Exporters of Rajasthan (GEAR).This is only B-2-B fair and is meant for conducting meaningful and quality business.
About Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC)
Incorporated in 1978, AEPC is the official body of apparel exporters in India that provides invaluable assistance to Indian exporters as well as importers/ international buyers who choose India as their preferred sourcing destination for garments. In recent years AEPC has worked tirelessly in integrating the entire industry - starting at the grass root level of training the workforce and supplying a steady stream of man power to the industry; identifying the best countries to source machinery and other infrastructure and brokering several path breaking deals for its members and finally helping exporters to showcase their best at home fairs as well as be highly visible at international fairs the world over. With AEPC's expertise and all the advantages that India has, it makes for a truly win-win situation - Indian exporters grow stronger each year in their achievements, skills and proficiency, while international buyers get superior solutions for their garment imports.
The 49th Hong Kong Fashion Week for Fall/Winter is underway at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The four-day show (15 to 18 January), organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), features global exhibitors which showcase the latest fashion designs and accessories.
FASHIONALLY Presentation was launched yesterday for the first time by the Hong Kong fashion website FASHIONALLY.com. Unlike conventional runway shows, the unique presentation showcase the design concepts and 2018 FW works of local fashion designers Derek Chan, Aries Sin and Mim Mak, in the form of storytelling set in a theatre-like stage. The stage design, props and story sequence of the FASHIONALLY Presentations are all orchestrated by the designers themselves.
FASHIONALLY COLLECTION #11, also staged yesterday, presented the 2018 FW Women’s Wear collections of YEUNG CHIN, phenotypsetter (designer: Jane Ng), 112 mountainyam (designer: Mountain Yam), FromClothingOf (designer: Shirley Wong) and KEVIN HO.
"The ongoing 49th HK Fashion Week which opened yesterday has introduced a new ‘Corporate Fashion and Uniforms’ zone. Lawrence Laung, Chairman, Garment Advisory Committee, HKTDC, points out while the world is struggling with pricing, there are new areas which can be focused on. Hong Kong, an important trade center in global textile and clothing and accessories space, clocked in business worth $13.2 billion from January to November, 2017, a drop of 7.7 per cent over previous year during the same period and imported worth $11.3 billion during the same period, reflecting a drop of 5.7 per cent."
The ongoing 49th HK Fashion Week which opened yesterday has introduced a new ‘Corporate Fashion and Uniforms’ zone. Lawrence Laung, Chairman, Garment Advisory Committee, HKTDC, points out while the world is struggling with pricing, there are new areas which can be focused on. Hong Kong, an important trade center in global textile and clothing and accessories space, clocked in business worth $13.2 billion from January to November, 2017, a drop of 7.7 per cent over previous year during the same period and imported worth $11.3 billion during the same period, reflecting a drop of 5.7 per cent.
However, presently, Hong Kong faces numerous challenges with escalating costs of production, manufacturing has moved to nearby regions of Mainland China and other low cost countries. Now, Hong Kong is repositioning itself as a one stop sourcing hub and solution provider with all kinds of design services.
Lawrence explains, while the global economy is not very strong as of now, competing countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladesh etc, are offering low cost manufacturing facilities.
Moreover, Chinese ports are doing a good job in terms of efficiency and all these together have led to a drop in HK’s exports. He feels, the dip in exports may continue but emphasizes Hong Kong doesn’t need to struggle over prices as corporate fashion and uniforms is an emerging and less focused area. Hong Kong’s services industry contributes as much as 90 per cent towards its GDP. So there is a lot of potential in this sector.
Banny Hu, Chairman HK Apparel Society goes on to add, in Macao there are casinos employing as many as 10,000 people, and all of them need uniforms. Likewise there are many service industry sectors. No country as focuses on the uniform sector, there are no platforms or exhibitions catering to this sector. We are looking to boosting our image in corporate fashion.
Along with Corporate Fashion and Uniforms zone, there is another new zone World of Fashion Accessories in this edition. Lawrence says, the new features such as FashionAlly Presentation set up in story telling narrative with theatre lighting is drawing a good response.
The 49th Hong Kong Fashion Week is being held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). The show is being organized by Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and is on from January 15 to 18, 2018.
Power loom weavers in the country's largest man-made fabric (MMF) industry are planning to file a complaint against yarn spinners before the standing committee on anti-profiteering and state-level screening committee under Anti-Profiteering Rules, 2017, of GST Act for not passing on the benefits of tax rate reduction and increasing yarn prices by almost Rs 8 per kilogram in the last 10 days.
Power loom sector leaders say front and second line spinners have gone on a spree to increase prices of yarn, which is the main raw material for power loom weavers. The price hike has come even as there is a subdued demand for polyester fabrics across the country and exports are dwindling.
Pandesara Weavers Cooperative Society president Ashish Gujarati says iInstead of passing on the benefit of rate reduction to weavers, the spinners have increased yarn prices in the last 10 days. The price hike phenomenon is going on since GST was implemented on July 1. Member of Federation of Gujarat Weavers' Association (FOGWA) Mayur Golwala says that the government must come out with stringent rules against companies indulging in profit-making and not passing on benefit of rate reduction under GST.
Textile processors in South Gujarat, including Surat, have unanimously decided to increase job work charges between 10 and 15 per cent following increase in costs of chemicals, dyes, coal, fuel and labour. The decision to this effect was taken at a meeting convened by South Gujarat Textile Processors' Association (SGTPA) on Friday, where around 100 members from different industrial areas participated. The hike in job charges will come into effect from February 2018.
The textile ministry is expecting the finance ministry to clear Rs 170-crore special package for the knitwear sector at the earliest with an aim to boost job creation and lift sagging exports. Textile ministry officials say the idea is to make domestic manufacturers more competitive. This is an employment-intensive sector so any effort to boost investment will result in job creation.
The official also stated consultation between the textile and finance ministry is currently stuck on the issue of monetary resources needed for the package, amounting to around Rs 170 crore. The package will be announced as soon as the finance ministry gives its go-ahead, as no Cabinet approval was needed for the proposal entailing less than Rs 200 crore.
The move comes in the backdrop of reforms announced by the government for generation of one crore jobs in the textile and apparel industry over next three years. The textiles ministry had earlier rolled out similar plans for the apparel as well as the made-ups, which includes towels and decorative cotton products etc.
The knitwear industry, which mainly comprises small and medium enterprises, was left out in the earlier scheme of things. Exporters believe that the package can ease the pain especially after the goods and services tax rollout.
Tintex has announced its complete switch from conventional cotton with the launch of a new fabric range that is the highest expression of the new generation of cotton: Naturally Advanced Cotton by Tintex, at Première Vision in New York to be held from on January 16 and 17th, 2018.
This new range offers an advanced smart choice of 4 different premium and responsible advanced cotton solutions such as BCI Cotton, ECOTEC® by Marchi & Fildi, GOTS certified organic cotton and Supima. These new fabrics maintain and upgrade the transparent, hi-tech and sustainable organics that are at the heart of the Tintex DNA. They represent better, smarter eco-materials with new levels of performance and hi-tech smarts, due to expertise in specialist dyeing and finishing techniques, coatings and applications that use the latest research, equipment and processes to deliver it.
CEO Mario Jorge Silva says this new launch is confirming once more the commitment of Tintex to its ‘Naturally Advanced’ position meaning “advancing beautiful, organic and natural materials to the next level combined with unique, hybrid ‘nature-tech’ smarts, with added value and creativity, thanks to dedicated investments that serve and secure our customer’s demands both now and in the seasons to come. The Better Cotton Initiative aims to reduce the environmental impact of cotton production; Improve livelihoods and economic development in cotton producing areas; Improve commitment to and flow of Better Cotton throughout supply chain.
