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The 16th edition of Performance Days trade fair that took place recently in Munich, Germany, has come to an end with a 6 per cent increase in the number of visitors.
Organisers reported the increasing satisfaction levels of exhibitors and visitors, which are said to confirm the successful concept of Performance Days, the international trade fair focused on functional fabrics for sport, fashion, and occupational clothing.
In addition to all the major fabrics, fibers, and accessory suppliers, the trade fair provides all pertinent background information required for rapid decision-making.
This edition of the event featured several visitor highlights, including the free hourly presentations, and the discussions of the selection of fabrics at the Performance Forum. For the first time, closed workshops were organized by exhibitors on important subjects related to the trade fair's focus topic and were very well received.
Theevent also featured a lecture about the new colour trends for Summer 2018, as well as the brand new Performance Colors, a colour card developed by designer Nora Kühner, available for purchase as an exclusive service at the trade fair.
This edition of the trade fair was especially rewarding for Japanese exhibitor Toyota Tsusho Corporation, which was selected as the winner of the Eco Performance Award for its Gelanots laminate.
From higher interest in physical well-being globally and by increased participation by women in sports and other fitness activities, the athleisurewear category has had a boost. In the United States, Nike, Under Armour, Adidas, and Lululemon Athletica have seen sales and prices for performance apparel and activewear rise. Spending at more mainstream men’s and women’s clothing and accessories stores appears to have borne most of the brunt of the tilt toward athleisurewear, with spending trends declining steadily in the last five years.
Dollar value growth in the sports apparel category appears to have come from both higher selling prices and higher unit sales. Higher prices have been the stronger driver. As activewear companies have continued to innovate, they’ve also been able to raise prices, particularly for more prominent brands such as Nike, Lululemon, Under Armour, and Adidas.
In the US activewear space, the number-one and number-two players are Nike and Under Armour.1 These two companies have seen apparel sales mushroom over the past five years. Nike’s apparel sales in the North America segment2 have more than doubled, from $2.1 billion in fiscal 2011 to $4.4 billion in fiscal 2015. Under Armour’s global apparel sales have increased from $1.1 billion in 2011 to $2.8 billion in 2015. Most of the growth has come from the US market.
The number-three company in the US athleisurewear market is Hanesbrands, which had $1.6 billion in activewear sales in 2015.Nike, Under Armour, and Hanesbrands together constitute 4.7 per cent of the portfolio holdings of the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund.
Vietnam textile and garment industry is experiencing tough days as orders have moved from Vietnam to Myanmar and Laos. According to Pham Xuan Hong, Chairman of the HCMC Textile, Garment, Knitting and Embroidery Association, the orders for the second quarter of the year have come, but the number is lower than predicted.
Vu Duc Giang, Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Association (Vitas) also said at a meeting with the Prime Minister some days ago that many loyal partners have shifted to place orders with producers from Myanmar and Laos, because the two countries enjoy preferential tariffs when exporting products to the US and EU.
Meanwhile, TPP and the Vietnam-EU FTA which offer preferential tariffs to Vietnam’s exports still have not taken effect. Cambodia now enjoys zero percent tariff under the GSP program applied to underdeveloped countries, while Vietnam has to bear a tax rate of 9.6 percent.
Incidentally, Vietnam not only has to compete with Myanmar and Laos which are now attracting orders, but also with Cambodia, which outstripped Vietnam in exports to the EU, one of Vietnam’s largest export markets, in 2015 due to which many Vietnamese small and medium sized garment companies have had to shut down.
American & Efird (A&E) - the largest U.S. manufacturer of industrial and consumer thread, embroidery thread and technical textiles - is acquiring a majority ownership of Vardhman Yarns and Threads from its joint-venture partner, Vardhman Textiles.
Vardhman Yarns and Threads is India’s second-largest manufacturer and distributor of industrial and consumer sewing thread. When the transaction is completed, A&E will own 89 percent of the venture and Vardhman Textiles will own the other 11 percent.
According to Les Miller, A&E’s chief executive, the acquisition of Vardhman Yarns and Threads accelerates A&E’s continued global growth and diversification. Our long-standing blue-chip customer base - including leading global brands, multinational corporations and regional manufacturers - rely on A&E as a mission-critical supply-chain partner.
Miller said that the acquisition will help A&E meet demand for high-quality products in India and increasing international demand for exports from India.A&E, a KPS Capital Partners portfolio company, will invest significant capital and resources in Vardhman Yarns and Threads to ensure environmental sustainability, technological innovation and customer service.
According to the latest market report from Transparency Market Research (TMR), the global textile chemicals market is set to reach US$29bn by 2024. Thus, the global industry is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 3.7 per cent between 2016 and 2024.
Textile chemicals are used on all textile applications such as apparel, home textiles and industrial textiles, and aim to provide a function to improve the textile and optimise the manufacturing process. The research reveals there are “more than 60 classes of functional chemical products are employed in coating and sizing chemicals, colorants and auxiliaries, finishing agents, surfactants, desizing agents, bleaching agents, yarn lubricants and other miscellaneous applications.
In terms of volume, ‘coating and sizing chemicals’ was the largest product segment of the textile chemicals market in 2015, as they provide lust and a silky texture to fabrics, according to the findings. Sizing chemicals are used frequently in the apparel applications industry in order to increase the absorption rate of the fabric.
‘Finishing chemicals’ was the fastest growing product segment in terms of volume in 2015. Colorants and auxiliaries, predominantly used in dyeing and printing of textiles, had significant share in the global textile chemicals market in 2015.
A total of 1,388 out of the 1,452 readymade garment factories inspected by Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh are lagging behind the schedule in implementing corrective action plan while remediation in 57 factories are progressing as per schedule. Only seven factories so far have completed all the remediation items suggested by the major European retailers’ platform.
Starting from November 2013, Accord conducted initial inspections at 1,550 readymade garment factories and provided corrective action plans to 1,452 units. During the inspection, the Accord identified 32,726 electrical, 32,033 fire and 19,415 structural safety hazards in the factories.
The result is that 74.80 per cent of the electrical and 50.50 per cent of the fire safety hazards have been corrected while the percentage of correction of the structural safety hazards is 36.80 per cent.
Accord conducted a successful pilot safety committee training program at 56 supplier factories having registered trade unions and the initiative has formed safety committees in 33 of the factories.
If any factory seeks financial assistance for remediation, Accord would facilitate negotiation over the issue between the lead buyers and manufacturers.
Following the Rana Plaza building collapse on April 24, 2013, that killed more than 1,100 people, mostly garment workers, western retailers and apparel brands, in response to public outrage, began a major push to improve safety in Bangladeshi factories linked with their business.
Nigeria is looking at increasing non-oil exports to the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), Nigerian Export Promotion Council and Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) are leading Nigerian exporters and other Nigerian and international stakeholders in the quest for international markets for Nigerian non-oil exports.
The NBCC will next month lead a delegation of Nigerian exporters to London to explore partnership opportunities and showcase Nigerian non-oil exports.
The UK trade mission, which includes private and public sector operators, will include discussions between the NBCC and London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and other stakeholders on how to smoothen the process of Nigerian non-oil exports to UK.
The UK export trade mission comes at the same time that the ban placed on export of Nigeria-originated beans to European Union countries lapses. The EU had in June 2015 slammed a one-year ban on dried beans from Nigeria over poor storage and preservation practice. The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has assured that the EU concerns have been addressed and the ban may be lifted next month.
Nigeria is also looking at facilitating exports under the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA). AGOA seeks to promote economic growth, trade, and investment in sub-Saharan Africa by providing duty-free access to the US market for some 7,000 qualifying African products until September 30, 2025. AGOA also provides duty-free access to all clothing as well as certain textile exports from countries that qualify under the Act’s ‘wearing apparel provisions’.
Trident for the March quarter has reported a net profit of Rs 55.48 crores. Net profits have seen a surge of 37 per cent as compared to the fourth quarter of financial year ’15. EBITDA for the period stands at Rs 194.22 crores. Total income from operations stands at Rs 968 crores for the quarter as against Rs 978 crores for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
On a year on year basis, net profits after minority interest stand at Rs 227.98 crores whereas for the previous fiscal it stood at Rs 117.81 crores. Net profit has increased by 93 per cent. EBITDA stands at Rs 741.41 crores and has increased by seven per cent from the previous year. Consolidated total income for the period stands at Rs 3706.49 crores.
On a CAGR basis, EBITDA and net profits for the period of three years have grown by four per cent and 39 per cent respectively.
Trident is an Indian company engaged in the business of manufacturing agro based paper, yarn, terry towels and sulphuric acid. The company also has a captive power plant. The company operates in two business segments: textile and paper. The company is currently in an expansion phase but has managed to post double digit profits.
Several sportswear companies are looking to participate in the active wear boom through the inorganic route. In May 2014, Columbia Sportswear acquired 100 per cent ownership of prAna. prAna is a yoga wear lifestyle brand that’s seeing not only strong sales traction, albeit on a smaller scale, but also diversification benefits for the remainder of Columbia’s product portfolio.
Hanesbrands has made two acquisitions in the active wear space. In 2010, the company acquired Gearco, which owned the Gear for Sports brand. In 2015, the company purchased Knights Apparel. The products of both companies use licensed collegiate logo apparel.
Some companies have also looked at providing brand exclusives with select retailers. Hanesbrands’ C9 by Champion products retail exclusively in Target stores. Target and Walmart accounted for about 28 per cent and 21 per cent of Hanesbrands’ US active wear sales, respectively, in 2015.
While Kohl’s has reported strong sales in Nike products, the company has also launched its own line in partnership with Shay Mitchell. Companies such as Nike are looking to expand distribution through wholesalers, including department stores such as Macy’s and Kohl’s, both within and outside the United States. Nike’s largest wholesale partner, Foot Locker, is also looking to expand on vendor relationships to drive higher apparel sales, particularly among women and children.
Pakistan and Romania are interested in strengthening bilateral trade relations.Around 700 Pakistani investors are looking at profitable business ventures in Romania.
Presently, Romania imports cotton, leather, garments, fruits and bed sheets from Pakistan; while Pakistan imports white timber, wood furniture, chemicals, cereals, flowers, canola seeds.
Pakistani products like textile, leather, and mangoes are very popular in Romania. Romania is a member state of the European Union.
Historical relations between Pakistan and Romania were established in 1964. Both countries are exploring more avenues of cooperation in diversified fields. Organising joint cultural shows and frequent exchange of business delegations are the options which could be used to exploit untapped bilateral trade and investment potential in both countries. The countries are looking to promote and consolidate bilateral cooperation in the political, economic, trade and cultural areas.
The trade volume between Pakistan and Romania is 300 million dollars a year. Pakistani products are very popular in Romania. Pakistan is interested in exporting its products, especially textiles, garments, leather articles, sports goods, pharmaceutical products, rice and surgical instruments, to Romania.
Romania is the only country which has four honorary consulates in Pakistan. The Pakistan-Romania Friendship Association is wholeheartedly working to cement relations and explore more areas to work on.
