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GPS sports watch, tight pants, water sports equipment and a host of Chinese products have prompted China's sportswear market to touch new high as its worth billions of dollars now. Among these products, ultimate sportswear and premium sportswear are popular, partly because of the coming Winter Olympics 1o be held in 2022 in Beijing and partly because the effluent class of Chinese population buys Iron man sports products.
After launching a children’s category in China, the sportswear market is also expected to continue to grow as the US’s UnderArmour and Canaian brand Lululemon. Colin Grant, Group Chief Executive of Pure Yoga products and nutritional products said that sport and health products have great potential in the Chinese market.
UnderArmour has said that by 2018, its China's sales will be 25 per cent more than other markets. Yoga products giant Lululemon expects sales of its first store in Hong Kong, China will reach $8 million this year. But they will have to face fierce competition from China’s local brands like Anta, xtep and 361 degrees. After the Chinese government's anti-corruption campaign in 2015, the share prices of brands such as Prada fell by 45 per cent at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The slowdown in the Chinese economy has also been caused by the change in shopping habits by the Chinese.
According to Euromonitor International, by 2020, China's sportswear market would see double-digit growth and reach approximately 280.8 billion yuan eventually surpassing the luxury products market that will show single-digit growth in the same period. It is presumed that by 2020, it would reach up to 400 million Yuan in comparison to the European sportswear market that is expected to reach $ 64 billion.
According to inspection reports, a lot many safety hazards have put low-wage workers at risk at a Bangladeshi garment factory that makes shirts for Donald Trump's apparel brand. Advocates say a lot of alleged jobsite hazards have placed the Trump-contracted factory known as Elite Garments Industries in violation of standards mandated by the Bangladesh Accord on fire and building safety.
The Accord is a legally binding agreement signed by more than 200 brands and retailers after the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse outside Dhaka, that killed more than 1,100 garment workers. In August 2014, the organization overseeing the accord conducted an in-depth safety analysis of factory buildings within Elite's walled complex.
The Accord group found that, among other issues, the factory contained support columns that were highly stressed, had an inadequate fire alarm system, had apparent electrical problems, and escape stairwells in danger of being engulfed with smoke during a fire. It is learnt that the concerned factory has numerous serious safety hazards that have not been corrected even though deadlines for completing the work have expired.
In the last year, the factory implemented a majority of over a hundred of Accord's recommendations, and records state that it has committed to addressing the outstanding requirements imposed by the agreement. Yet, some of the most important steps towards safety still have not been taken. Although it is known that a variety of Trump apparel items have been manufactured in Bangladesh, the Elite Garments Industries factory is the country's only specific facility to have been linked to Trump.
The organisers of the 28th International Wool Trade Fair & Information Conference held in Wuxi China in September have got mixed views from delegates and speakers. The conference was attended by over 500 delegates with over 100 of them coming from outside China.
Also known as Nanjing Wool Market Conference, this is the annual meeting of global wool industry that facilitates discussion on current industry issues, future developments, and new market opportunities. Participants include wool exporters, major early wool processors, yarn and garment manufacturers and trade representatives from various countries, besides Chinese government officials.
Mostly due to government uniform orders, manufacturers of Chin are now focusing on finer wool. It is interesting to note that the specifications for these uniforms are now more precise with the government demanding better quality that will see the demand for 19 micron wool and below increasing. Commenting on the same, Cao Xiaojie, Professor, Fashion and Art Design Institute at Donghua University said that in order to retain its place in the uniform market, wool must compete with other fibres in the sector. It must offer better design and better quality.
The feeling about crossbred wool was not so optimistic. Some processors expressed concern about the huge stocks of crossbred wools in China and with challenging retail conditions in the country in particular, a drop in demand for double-sided fabric will see demand for crossbred wool go down.
More positively, Chinese manufacturers of winter wear are using much more wool in their garments than used earlier. Although the presentation from Madam Yang, Chairwoman of NWM/SDIC, painted a bleak picture of the industry, she noted that machines are still running and Chinese manufacturers will take advantage of opportunities both in China and overseas. She further went on to say that trade agreements for New Zealand and Australia will make their wool slightly more competitive and put pressure on prices for wools from Uruguay, South Africa, and Europe.
India wants to prevent China from flooding its market with cheap goods. So the approach is to give minimum tariff concessions to Chinese goods and delay concessions by several years and at the same time allow imports from other member countries of the 16-country trade bloc at lower duties. India is looking to treat Chinese products differently due to the burgeoning trade deficit it has with Beijing. In 2015-16, India’s exports to China were $9 billion while imports were a staggering $61.7 billion leaving a trade deficit of $52.7 billion.
This extended phasing out of tariff concessions and differential treatment is called deviations. Since India for some reason had to do away with a three-tier structure of differential duty cuts, deviations are the last ray of hope to contain the trade deficit with China. In the earlier tiered structure, India had proposed to remove duties on 42.5 per cent of the items traded with China, something that China had termed as low.
However, keeping tariff barriers high will raise transaction costs. India’s problem with China seems to be a lack of trade access. And to better manage the trade deficit with China, India needs to call for better trade access rather than opt to keep tariff barriers high.
Global clothing sales have risen dramatically in recent years. Fast fashion businesses have aggressively cut costs and streamlined supply chains, causing the price of clothing to fall relative to prices of other consumer goods.
Emerging economies have seen a large rises in clothing sales as more people have joined the middle class. In five large developing countries—Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and Russia—apparel sales grew eight times faster than in Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Clothing prices dropped by more than 50 per cent in the UK between 1995 and 2014. This has been encouraging shoppers to buy more. Sales have risen dramatically in recent years in the UK. The number of garments produced annually has doubled since 2000. Clothing prices dropped in the UK 53 per cent from 1995 to 2014, while the US recorded a three per cent fall. Shorter lead times for production have allowed clothing makers to introduce new lines more frequently. Zara offers 24 new clothing collections each year while H&M offers 12 to 16 and refreshes them weekly.
But given the environmentally damaging nature of clothing production, this trend for western style consumerism spreading to the developing world could spell serious problems further down the line.
The crash in cotton prices in India has encouraged exporters start to look for contracts for future shipments. A bumper crop has been estimated this year, 35.1 million bales, up 3.8 per cent from the previous year. The benchmark Shankar-6 variety has fallen 19 per cent in a month. During this period, the benchmark Number 2 cotton futures for near-month delivery on the InterContinental Exchange rose a marginal 0.1 per cent. This makes exports viable.
Exporters are waiting for a further fall in local prices before they initiate the signing of contracts with traders for assured supply and deal with foreign buyers. However, a sharp decline in India’s cotton exports is expected during 2016-17 (October this year to next September). That is because Pakistan, which took nearly 40 per cent of 2015-16 exports, has had a bumper crop. Last year, exports to Pakistan not only compensated the decline to China but helped increase the overall shipment. The crop in Pakistan was very bad due to a pest attack. This year, however, no such attack was reported.
Though markets in Bangladesh and Vietnam could be explored, it’s doubtful how far the decline in export will be halted.
Alok Industries’ sustainable debt is slightly less than 50 per cent of the firm’s total debt. This makes the company unfit for invocation of the Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A) in its present form. Lenders can invoke the S4A only in companies where 50 per cent of borrowings are sustainable or can be serviced by current cash flows. Bankers are now betting on the RBI to announce certain relaxations in the S4A that would make Alok Industries eligible for invocation of the scheme.
The S4A can be invoked only in stressed accounts that have commenced commercial operations and have a total debt of at least Rs 500 crores. Alok’s sustainable debt is Rs 10,800 crores. With banks not being able to make much headway with the S4A, and in many cases sustainable debt falling just short of the mandated 50 per cent mark, the RBI is likely to tweak its guidelines.
The rules might be diluted so that the sustainable portion of the debt need not be 50 per cent of the total. However, that would require lenders to convert more than 50 per cent of the existing debt into redeemable cumulative optionally convertible preference shares.
Since 2011, Turkey has pursued an open-door policy toward Syrians. There has been a flood of immigrants with their children and there are fears that some of these children are working in factories in Turkey to make clothes for British high street retailers.
British retailers are one of the largest customers for Turkish textile producers and exporters. Turkey says children may be employed, if at all, by fly-by-night manufacturers who do not produce for any global brand. The country has declared that any manufacturer who illegally employs child labor is a traitor and that such manufacturers must be reported.
Turkey also says global brands which outsource manufacturing to Turkey inspect their producers tightly and refuse to tolerate any labor abuses. Turkey says the use of child labor is strictly forbidden and prohibited and it invites those making the charges to visit Turkey and tour all manufacturers who make production for global brands and if any child laborer is found, it is ready to face sanctions.
The country says it follows a policy where formal manufacturers are strictly monitored and inspected and that such unfair allegations undermine Turkey’s assistance to refugees with a particular emphasis on children.
"Safeducate, a specialist in supply chain and logistics training has launched Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) program under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). This is a skill certification programme of the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship (MSDE)."
Safeducate, a specialist in supply chain and logistics training has launched Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) program under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). This is a skill certification programme of the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship (MSDE).
Rajiv Pratap Rudy, the Union Minister of State, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship was the chief guest at the launch that took place at Safexpress Logistics Park – NCR. Speaking on the occasion the minister said that through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) scheme under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), the government is focusing on reaching out to people in the informal sector. Under the RPL programme, planning is carried out to assess and later certifying over 1 million people is done. These people are engaged in unskilled jobs and either earn low wages or are underpaid. The government’s motive is to provide them recognition for their skills and ensure that they can move on to higher skill job roles. RPL will help them refine their existing skills and find more satisfactory and fulfilling employment opportunities.
Managing Director & chief executive officer of National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Manish Kumar was also present on the occasion. He went on to inform that the NSDC facilitates skilling initiatives that can potentially have a multiplier effect. Later, he complimented Safeducate for undertaking this unique initiative.
Announcing the launch of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) program to the media, founder & CEO, Safeducate, Divya Jain informed that the aim of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana scheme is to encourage aptitude towards employable skills and to increase working efficiency of probable and existing daily wage earners by giving monetary awards and rewards and by providing quality training to them. RPL is being given a lot of importance under the current phase of PMKVY since it addresses many issues in skill development of unorganized workforce.
Elaborating on the same, she averred that through RPL assessments and certifications, candidates will be able to align competencies that they have acquired informally with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) for better opportunities in employment and higher education. It will also lead to the creation of an equitable system where the workers in the informal sector who did not have a chance to undergo formal training but have acquired the skills on their own can appear for RPL assessments. This, in turn will help them in exploring different options in training to bridge the knowledge and skill gaps or up-skill themselves.
With the advent of e-commerce, more and more people have been choosing to shop online. And this figure rises significantly during the festive season. As the e-commerce industry continues to grow, so does the need for high-quality logistics and the need for people who are adequately trained in the field. These trainings have been planned keeping in mind the current needs of the economy. In the first phase, Safeducate will train 10,000 candidates (5000 loaders, 3000 loading supervisors and 2000 warehouse pickers) under the RPL program.
Concluding her speech, Jain observed that Safeducate has been working for the last decade towards bridging the skill gaps existing in the Indian economy. Under the Skill India Mission launched in 2015 by the prime minister, Narendra Modi and Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Safeducate Container School was launched last year. Since then, the school has been working relentlessly to provide skilling and education to the youth of India.
Vietnam's decision to move away from ratifying the Trans-Pacific Partnership is a blow to the beleaguered trade pact and a setback for American economic ambitions in Asia. The 12-nation TPP is aimed at liberalizing trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. Earlier, Vietnam had been hoping that its participation in the deal would lead to an increase in exports.
Even in the US, which initiated negotiations for the pact, approval of the TPP is yet to be completed. This has prompted Vietnam to move slowly. In fact, approval of the TPP is not on the agenda for the current legislative session which runs through late November. This makes it clear that the country will not ratify the pact this year. Vietnam’s decision has had its fallout as well. The Philippines, considering joining the TPP after Vietnam, has changed its decision in recent weeks. This move is seen as moving away from Washington and getting closer to Beijing. With ratification of the TPP looking more likely to stall in a number of countries, the influence of the US in Asia appears to be rapidly weakening.
