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Cotton On says, Australia's no-frills chain stores in South Africa are key contributors to its revenue growth, thanks to the rising number of young consumers and ease of doing business in the country, once entry hurdles are cleared. According to Michael Hardwick, the firm’s global Chief Finance Officer, their South African operations have reported double-digit growth every month since opening its first store in 2011. He further stated that South Africa still rates as one of the hardest business to get established. However, it rates as one the company’s easiest business to operate once one has got through the regulatory establishment.
Over the next three years, Cotton On will double revenue in South Africa. The privately-owned company has an overall revenue growth target of 20 per cent year-on-year, which it has achieved for the past five years. Its planned expansion comes as South Africa's economic growth is forecast to stagnate this year while interest rates have risen by 200 basis points since early 2014, putting a tighter squeeze on consumer spending.
However, retail sales reached their strongest level in two years after rising 4.5 per cent year-on-year in May. People with jobs are buying more consumable goods and less durable goods such as motor vehicles the sales of which have dipped steadily since November when a small bounce was noticed.
Swedish multinational retail-clothing company H&M also plans to capitalize on retail growth by opening a further four stores this year bringing the countries footprint to nine stores in South Afric.
"A recent study by Boston Consulting Group reveals 50 per cent of Millennials believe brands ‘say something about who I am, my values, and where I fit in,’ while a recent Nielsen study found that three out of four Millennials - a coveted audience for any apparel company - are willing to pay extra for sustainable product offerings. Fashion brands that ignore the clear preference of Millennials for sustainable products and the business opportunity this presents do so at their peril."
Fashion brand leaders across the world are incorporating sustainability strategies into business models and growth strategies, and reevaluating their supply chains to identify and pursue opportunities to reduce petroleum use, carbon emissions, water use and waste throughout the value chain.
A recent study by Boston Consulting Group reveals 50 per cent of Millennials believe brands ‘say something about who I am, my values, and where I fit in,’ while a recent Nielsen study found that three out of four Millennials - a coveted audience for any apparel company - are willing to pay extra for sustainable product offerings. Fashion brands that ignore the clear preference of Millennials for sustainable products and the business opportunity this presents do so at their peril.
Sustainability has come to the forefront of the fashion industry to address the concern of the apparel industry's environmental footprint as well as the opportunity to build brand loyalty with Millennials and increase market share. Major fashion brand leaders are incorporating sustainability strategies into their business models and growth strategies, and reevaluating their supply chains to identify and pursue opportunities to reduce petroleum use, carbon emissions, water use and waste throughout the value chain.
Formal measurement and assessment tools have been established to help drive improved environmental and social performance, as sustainability bubbles to the top of the priority list in the apparel industry.
PFM Benchmark program
Following an initial trial in 2015, Textile Exchange released its Preferred Fibers & Material (PFM) Benchmark program this year. An astounding 89 brands and retailers from across multiple countries and product sectors have submitted entries. The PFM Benchmark provides a robust structure to help companies systematically measure, manage and integrate a preferred fiber and materials strategy into mainstream business operations. Confidential feedback to companies and a sector report will be released in September.
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition's Higg Index is the leading suite of self-assessment tools designed to empower brands, retailers and facilities of all sizes, at every stage in their sustainability journey, to measure their environmental and social and labor impacts and identify areas for improvement. Higg delivers a holistic overview of the sustainability performance of a product or company - a big-picture perspective that is essential for progress to be made.
Meanwhile, there are many sustainability-enabling pressure points for apparel companies to measure and manage. One such opportunity is new technology that is emerging as a solution for reducing petroleum use in the manufacturing process through the integration of bio-based chemicals and materials. Bio-based fibers are not new within the textile arena, but early materials were manufactured through a fermentation process, which made environmental improvements cost-prohibitive.
The chemical industry hasn't had a viable technology option for cost-competitively producing 100 per cent bio-based ‘drop-in’ aromatic chemicals (i.e., benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTX) – the basic chemical building blocks used to make both nylons and polyesters for apparel - due to the lack of efficient and scalable processes that utilise renewable non-food biomass feed stocks.
Renewable sources
The portfolio of biosynthetic fibers today embraces nylon, polyester and spandex/elastane. PET polymer producers have begun to incorporate up to 30 per cent renewable content for beverage bottles, as Bio-MEG from sugar-cane ethanol becomes more widely available, but the purified terepthalic acid (PTA) has always come from petroleum sources of para-xylene. This is currently changing as second-generation bio-based materials entering the market today offer a practical and commercially viable pathway to bio-derived materials. These materials are generally comparable with and, in many cases, identical to petroleum-based products and are, by definition, renewable.
Incidentally, TE has set up a new Bio-Synthetics Working Group, comprised of TE members and experts with an interest in the future of bio-based materials as a solution to transitioning out of non-renewables and textiles based on petroleum towards more sustainable alternatives. The multi-stakeholder group, led by Mather, will be exploring challenges and barriers to growth, sustainability benefits, and importantly how to get bio-synthetics from R&D and proof of concept to market readiness and a commercially viable alternative to virgin materials. The WG meets in Hamburg, Germany at TE's Global Sustainability Conference, 4-6 October 2016.
Trousers are the top apparel exports item accounting for more than 22 per cent of Bangladesh's total readymade garment (RMG) shipment at $28.09 billion in the last fiscal. On the other hand, earnings from shirts remained almost stagnant at $2.17 billion to $2.37 billion during the last three fiscal years.
Bangladesh earned $6.31 billion from trousers, $6.11 billion from T-shirts followed by $3.77 billion from jackets, $3.18 billion from sweaters and $2.31 billion from shirts export in last fiscal year, reveals statistics from Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). The data showed T-shirts accounted for 21.77 per cent, jackets 13.43 per cent, sweaters 11.32 per cent and shirts by 8.24 per cent respectively. The top five items fetched $21.71 billion, more than 77 per cent, out of the total $28.09 billion garment exports in the last fiscal, the data showed.
According to industry insiders, manufacturers are now switching over to more value added products especially in the segment of trousers while the revised rules of origin by the European Union boosted the penetration.
The global market for custom printed T-shirts is expected to witness significant growth with increasing disposable incomes and shifting trends towards fashionable apparels particularly in developing nations. In addition, advances in printing technology allow printed T-shirts in multiple colors and designs.
According to a report by Credence Research Inc “Custom T-Shirt Printing Market – Growth, Share, Opportunities, Competitive Analysis, and Forecast 2016 – 2023,” Asia Pacific is the largest as well as the fastest growing market for custom printed T-shirts. Textile manufacturers from Europe and North America are outsourcing their manufacturing to low cost manufacturing countries like India, China and other emerging countries in the Asia Pacific. North America and Europe have a rising demand for digital printed T-shirts.
The growth of the custom printed T-shirt market is strongly influenced by the adoption of digital printing technology. Low priced solutions and advances in inkjet heads enable the use of a variety of inks from different suppliers. The digital printing technique is also expected to benefit from rapidly changing fashion trends which demand shorter production cycles and high quality prints.
Screen printing is a conventional technique used for T-shirt printing across the world and accounts for the largest revenue share. The screen printing technique is expected to maintain its dominant position through the period 2016 – 2023. The market is highly fragmented with a large number of local players in each regional market.
Retailers in Asia-Pacific have been turning traditional stores into bricks-and-clicks, offering click-and-collect services. Some of them are also engaging convenience stores as their network of in-store pick-up points to attract the new generation of busy consumers.
Mobile internet retailing in India saw particularly strong growth in 2015 due to the growth of internet-enabled smart phones in the country and small-screen viewing prior to purchase of any product or service. Furthermore, mobile applications, which allow consumers to shop on the go, also fuelled the growth of mobile internet retailing in 2015.
Some 70 per cent of leading retailers in India were present in both online and offline channels in 2015. Traditional retailers are no longer the leading players in India. In fact, companies which are technologically advanced and interact with the consumer base via both online and offline media were the most successful ones during the year.
Both grocery and non-grocery retailers registered higher footfalls for large-format stores in 2015. Large formats offer a variety of brands and price ranges and also provide consumers with much larger options to choose from.
Despite predictions and forecasts in-store retailing in 2015 still accounted for 93 per cent of sales in Asia-Pacific.
Global leader in textile odour control and prevention, Microban® International will re-launch its textiles division globally this month. After the re-launch, brand partners and consumers will see an entirely new Microban from next generation technologies and freshness solutions to a new logo, positioning and tagline.
Banking on its 30-year heritage of providing innovative protection solutions for extended freshness and odour control in textiles, the company will introduce a complete brand refresh, including a new website launching in October and revamped marketing collateral for its brand partners. Microban will also expand its product and sales team with seasoned apparel industry executives. In addition, it is already hosting a Fresh Bar experience at Outdoor Retailer Summer Marketin Salt Lake City from August 3 to 6 where attendees of the show will be able to compare apparel and footwear fabrics treated with Microban technologies against untreated fabrics. The re-launch of its global textile division builds upon Microban’s debut of its recent odour capture and antimicrobial products like Excalibur® and Scentry® now being used by top apparel and footwear brands and manufacturers.
Microban recently received bluesign® approval for its ZPTech®, a wide-spectrum antimicrobial technology for textiles used by more than 60 leading sports, athleisure, apparel and footwear brands. The branding will debut at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in a redesigned booth where visitors will experience the latest in odor control science at the Microban Fresh Bar comparing products that have Microban technologies against products that do not.
The Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) along with the Textile Sector Skill Council (TSC) organised an interactive session with textile manufacturers in Amritsar. Among the speakers was Swapna Mishra, director, Textile Sector Skill Council (TSSC). She explained the functioning and working of the Council and informed industrialists about government’s subsidies for training of employees. The industry could benefit from the schemes to train current employees or they could make a new cluster of people for training. She also stressed that this would create employment, skilled labour pool in Amritsar as the local units are facing shortage of workers.
The textile industry in Amritsar was once called the ‘Manchester of India’ is struggling due to global slowdown. The sector is being hurt by constant hike in raw material prices, electricity rates, VAT charges, property tax and so on. Manufacturers and traders are passing on the high input cost to retailers. High tax also prevents dealers from getting registered.
Shawl Club secretary Piara Lal Seth informed the gathering that over 47 new units of shawl manufacturing with 400 shuttle-less rapier looms with electronic jacquards came up between 2002 and 2013. Most of these units were Woolmark licensees. About 4,500 latest embroidery machines have been installed from 2002-2009 for value additions. Dyeing and finishing, woolen and worsted spinning mills, cone dyeing of yarns and printing industries are well established here to support the textile industry in Amritsar which now stands to the international standards.
During the first half of 2016, Turkey’s total exports were down by 3.8 per cent to $70.7 billion. Exports rose by 1.4 per cent for textile and raw materials to $5 billion, by 7 per cent for ready wear and garment to $8.7 billion in the same period. Textile and raw material industry did with a small exports increase, while ready to wear and garment industry achieved a remarkable boost. In June 2016, Turkey’s overall exports surged by 1.8 per cent to around $11.9 billion. During January-June 2016, overall exports were down 3.8 per cent to $70.7 billion.
Textile and raw materials industry achieved 6.3 per cent increase at $889 million exports in June. Looking at January-June, the increase was only 1.4 per cent bringing the figure to around $5 billion. However, ready wear and garment industry recorded 7 per cent hike in exports at $8.7 billion compared to the same half of 2015. The industry obtained $1.53 billion income, a 5.2 per cent decline in exports compared to June 2015.
The largest textile and raw materials exports were made to the EU (28) nations in total, in June 2016 and January-June period. Exports to the union were up by 16.6 per cent in June to stand at $477 million. In the first half of this year, exports to the European Union (28) were up 11.4 per cent to $2.7 billion.
Export of man-made fibre yarns from India continued to grow unabated with export of 100 per cent man-made fibre yarns from India valuing $20.76 million in June this year, up 35.9 per cent on a year-on-year basis while volumes was 7.82 million kg, up 40.5 per cent as compared to the same month last year. The total volume comprised 2.93 million kg of polyester yarn, 3.81 million kg of viscose yarn and 1.07 million kg of acrylic yarn.
Exports of polyester yarn went up by 6.9 per cent in value while the value of exports of viscose yarn surged 108.3 per cent in June, this year. Exports of Acrylic yarn saw a drastic climb down of 24.7 per cent in June. Unit price realization was down US cents 14 a kg for polyester from a year ago and that of viscose yarn was down by US cent 1 a kg. Acrylic yarn unit price realization was down by US cents 70 a kg year on year basis.
It is interesting to note that polyester spun yarns were exported to 49 countries in June with total volumes at 2.93 million kg of which 23.2 per cent was shipped by Turkey alone. Twelve new destinations were found for polyester yarn this June. Among these Canada, Argentina, Uganda, Algeria and Russia were the major ones which imported. Turkey, Egypt and Indonesia were the fastest growing markets for polyester yarns while four countries did not import any polyester yarns during the month including Botswana and Nigeria.
Export of viscose yarn was at 3.81 million kg and was exported to 25 countries with Iran being the top buyer. It was followed by Belgium. Both these markets accounted for 45.7 per cent of the entire viscose yarn exported in June. Brazil, Egypt, Germany and Indonesia were the fastest growing markets for viscose yarns while Portugal, United Kingdom, Canada, China and Turkmenistan were the new major markets.
Pakistan, South Korea and Vietnam were the major countries that did not import any viscose yarns during the month among 7 countries.
Garment manufacturers in Tirupur have urged textile mills in their region to drop the move to increase prices of hosiery yarn as cotton prices are climbing down. Cotton prices have come down by Rs 2,000 per candy (about 355 kg) and the inclination of mills to increase cotton yarn prices will severely affect Tirupur garment export sector, points out A Sakthivel, President, Tirupur Exporters' Association (TEA).
Hosiery yarn prices, which were being sold at Rs 216 per kg in April is now being quoted at around Rs 250 per kg after three rounds of price increases. The increase in hosiery yarn prices has not been commensurate with the rise in cotton prices, said K Selvaraju, Secretary-General, Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA). Even after accounting for the recent decline in cotton prices, the cost of clean cotton (after removing waste and short fibres) increased by Rs 52 per kg since in April while hosiery yarn prices have gone up by only by Rs 34 per kg. About 70kgs of combed hosiery yarn is typically produced from 100 kg of cotton. Around 85 kgs carded hosiery yarn is made from 100 kgs of cotton.
In a letter to SIMA, Sakthivel urged them to not resort to increase yarn prices when cotton prices are coming down. He said they had an apprehension that the business created over time may go out of India and once the business is lost it would be difficult to bring it back.
