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Egypt’s readymade garments exports are likely to grow to $3 billion by the end of 2024. As per projections by the Readymade Garment Export Council, this ambitious target will be supported by continuous efforts to enhance production capabilities, improve product quality, and expand market reach.
According to Marie Louis, Head, Readymade Garment Export Council, exports from the clothing sector amounted to approximately $1.08 billion during this period, compared to about $912 million in the same period last year. This marks a substantial year-on-year increase of 19 per cent.
Egypt’s RMG exports to the European Union countries increased by 25 per cent to $254 million from January to May 2024. This growth underscores the strong demand for Egyptian textiles in Europe and the competitive edge of Egyptian manufacturers in this market.
Exports to the United States rose by 10 percent, totaling $444 million during the same period. The steady growth in the US market highlights the sustained appeal and reliability of Egyptian ready-made garments among American consumers.
Export revenue from the Arab countries grew by 38 per cent to $217 million during this period. Within this category, exports to Saudi Arabia surged by a staggering 74 per cent to $64 million. This significant increase reflects the strengthening trade relations and rising demand for Egyptian clothing in the Gulf region.
Several strategic initiatives contributed to this growth trajectory. These include government policies aimed at boosting the textile sector, investments in modernising manufacturing facilities, and efforts to open new markets through trade agreements and promotional activities.
The textile industry is a cornerstone of Egypt's economy, providing employment and driving economic growth. The recent increase in exports not only reflects the sector's resilience but also its capacity to compete on a global scale.
Fashion retailer Tendam has bolstered its presence in Europe and North Africa with the launch of three new Women’secret stores and two Springfield outlets in Georgia, Armenia, and Tunisia.
Women’secret, specializing in lingerie and homewear, opened its fourth store in Georgia at Tbilisi Mall. It also inaugurated boutiques in Yerevan's Megamall Armenia and on Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Nabeul, Tunisia, bringing its total to three stores in Armenia and six in Tunisia.
Springfield, a Madrid-based fashion brand, strengthened its foothold with a new store in Tunisia’s Mall of Sfax, increasing its total to six in the country. Additionally, Springfield opened its second Armenian store in Megamall Armenia.
This expansion aligns with Tendam's global strategy, following recent openings in Guatemala, Iraq, and other European, African, and Middle Eastern locations for its sports brand.
By the end of 2023, Women'secret boasted 692 stores in 63 countries, while Springfield had 720 stores in 56 countries.
Forrester, a leading research firm, has released a report outlining the future of retail, revealing a dynamic landscape driven by both physical stores and online channels. The report, ‘Global Retail E-Commerce Forecast, 2024 To 2028,’ predicts significant growth in both sectors, with strategic considerations for retailers to navigate this evolving environment.
The rise of retail's powerhouses, online and offline
The report predicts a healthy rise in both online and offline sales. Brick-and-mortar stores, far from being relics of the past, are expected to see sales reach $4.2 trillion by 2028 in the US alone. This endurance is attributed to the unique advantages physical stores offer: the ability to touch and feel products, experience them firsthand, and receive personalized service.
However, the digital realm isn't going anywhere. Global online retail sales are projected to hit a staggering $6.8 trillion by 2028, with a projected annual growth rate of 8.9 per cent. This growth is being pushed by the rise of online marketplaces, social commerce platforms like livestream shopping, and the increasing popularity of direct-to-consumer brands.
Click-and-collect, the bridge between physical and digital
Forrester identifies a growing trend in click-and-collect purchases, where customers buy online and pick up in-store. This strategy leverages the strengths of both channels – the convenience of online browsing and the immediacy of physical product collection. The report estimates that click-and-collect sales in the US will double by 2028, reaching a significant $200 billion. This trend underscores the importance of seamless integration between online and offline retail experiences.
The fashion and apparel industry presents a fascinating case study within this evolving retail landscape. While online sales are undoubtedly growing, physical stores remain crucial for fashion brands. The ability to try on clothes, assess the quality of materials, and receive personalized advice from sales staff are all factors that continue to draw customers to physical locations.
Here's a closer look at the trends that will shape fashion retail:
Experience-driven shopping: Physical stores can create a more engaging experience by offering in-store stylists, personalized recommendations, and interactive displays.
Sustainability: Consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of their clothing choices. Retailers who prioritize sustainable practices and ethical sourcing will attract a loyal customer base.
Livestream shopping: This engaging online format allows viewers to interact with influencers and brands in real-time, driving impulse purchases.
However, fashion retailers must adapt to changing consumer preferences. Here's where the strategic drivers come into play:
Omnichannel strategy: Fashion brands need to create a seamless shopping experience across all channels – online stores, mobile apps, and physical stores.
Social commerce: Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are powerful tools for fashion brands. Leveraging these platforms for product promotion, influencer marketing, and even live-streamed shopping events can be a significant growth driver.
Data-driven personalization: Understanding customer preferences through data analysis allows fashion brands to personalize their offerings and recommendations across all channels.
The Forrester report highlights the importance of considering regional variations in e-commerce maturity and growth opportunities. Developed economies like the US and South Korea are ahead of the curve, while emerging markets in Asia Pacific and Latin America are catching up rapidly, driven by smartphone adoption and mobile commerce.
The future of retail is not about online versus offline, but rather about creating a seamless and personalized shopping experience that caters to the evolving needs of consumers. Retailers who can adapt to these trends and leverage the strengths of both physical and digital channels will be best positioned to thrive in the years to come.
Mulberry has appointed Andrea Baldo as its new chief executive officer, effective immediately. He will replace Thierry Andretta, who is stepping down from his role.
Baldo brings over 20 years of experience with leading brands in the fashion industry. Most recently, as CEO and executive director of Ganni, he spearheaded the company's international growth by focusing on retail network development, product innovation, and enhancing brand identity to boost customer engagement.
Before his tenure at Ganni, Baldo held pivotal roles at Coccinelle from 2016-2018 and Marni Group from 2013-2016. In these positions, he successfully redefined strategic priorities, leading to significant improvements in sales and profitability.
Additionally, Baldo was also employed as CEO of the US business for Diesel for over 10 years.
Expressing his confidence in Baldo’scapabilitis, Chris Roberts, Chairman, says, Andrea's international fashion brand expertise, creativity, and strategic thinking made him the ideal candidate for this role.
International fiber manufacturer The Lycra Company, Mexico's leading fabric mill Global Denim, and innovative Spanish finishing technology company Jeanologia have entered into a strategic partnership to highlight the benefits of near-shoring in the Americas.
This collaboration aims to expand supply chains and showcase the advantages of operating locally for brands and suppliers. Their joint project, ‘Oneness, Americas for the Americas,’ will be launched at the upcoming Kingpins New York on July 18 and 19.
An 11-piece denim collection, ‘Oneness’ unites stitches, fades, and washes into a cohesive narrative. It emphasises the profound connections created within a unified supply chain. This collection invites local and global companies to explore the potential of near-shoring and leverage the opportunities it offers in the Americas.
Featuring a variety of fits and fabrics, the collection showcases Global Denim's quality groups such as hyper-stretch, comfort stretch, and body-hugging technologies. It also incorporates technologies from The Lycra Company, including Lycra DualFX and Lycra lastingFIT fabrics, as well as sustainable fibers made from recycled materials. Additionally, the collection includes ThermoliteEcoMade for lightweight warmth and CoolMaxEcoMade for dry, cool comfort.
All garments in the collection were finished at Jeanologia's newest Miami Innovation Hub, inspired by iconic vintage denim finishes. The production process is entirely environmentally friendly, achieving low Environmental Impact Measurement (EIM) scores. Utilising laser and G2 Indra Ozone technology, the collection features 'stone wash' looks created without stones or chemicals through Jeanologia'sAtmos process.
Being held from July 09-11at the Fiera Milano Rho, the 39th edition of Milano Unica recorded 18 per cent more exhibitors compared to the July 2023 edition, and 22 per cent more compared to the pre-COVID-19 July 2019 edition.
This year, the event hosts a total of 700 exhibitors, including 569 participating in the three main exhibitions - Ideabiella, Moda In, and Shirt Avenue - while the rest are divided between the Special Areas and the Korea and Japan Observatories.
All Italian textile districts are fully represented, reflecting both the number of participating companies and the comprehensive range of offerings. The growing number of exhibitors necessitated a 23 per cent increase in the exhibition area, prompting a move to exhibition halls 1-3, 2-4.
The event’s expanded scope has drawn significant attention from both international and domestic buyers, who are keen to explore collections characterised by quality, creativity, sustainability, and innovation. This surge in participation underscores Milano Unica’s critical role as a partner for textile and accessories manufacturers focused on high-end products, especially during challenging times for the industry.
Despite ongoing negative trends in production and trade, with the first quarter of 2024 showing a general decline in domestic production and international trade, the event remains a beacon of hope. While most segments of the textile industry experienced double-digit reductions in exports and imports, exports to China and Hong Kong offered some mitigation, confirming their status as key markets for Made-in-Italy products.
Simone Canclini, President, Milano Unica, highlights, the tradeshow’s signifance as one of the most important international events for high-quality fabrics and accessories. Despite current challenges, the event’s focus on quality, innovation, and sustainability reaffirms its position as a pivotal event for the sector, he adds.
The three-day event showcases creative and innovative proposals for the Fall-Winter 2025/2026 season, highlighting European and Italian excellence. Special areas, particularly the TendenzeSostenibilità Area and the Innovation Area, emphasise Milano Unica’s commitment to sustainability and innovation.
The MU Family project presents creative concepts through a storytelling approach that combines traditional manufacturing with modern technology, reflecting contemporary values like environmental respect and cross-generational style sharing.
New to this edition are MarediModa, previewing Summer 2026 collections, and Velvet Mi Amor by Stefano and CorinnaChiassai, celebrating the innovation of velvet through an artistic installation that merges fashion, music, and art.
Massimo Mosiello, General Manager, Milano Unica, emphasises the importance of strategic international collaborations in achieving the event’s success and maintaining its status as a reference point for textile and accessory excellence.
Researchers at the University of Delaware have unveiled a chemical processing technique to convert old fabrics into reusable molecules. As detailed in a recent Science Advances paper, this method offers a promising solution to the fashion industry's mounting waste crisis.
In 2018, the EPA estimated that textile waste in the United States reached 17 million tons, comprising 5.8 per cent of total municipal solid waste (MSW).
Although many textiles are reused, they are not included in generation estimates and eventually end up in the MSW stream. The recycling rate for all textiles was 14.7 per cent, with only 2.5 million tons recycled. Specifically, the recycling rate for clothing and footwear was 13 per cent, and for items like sheets and pillowcases, it was 15.8 per cent.
Additionally, 3.2 million tons of textiles were incinerated, representing 9.3 per cent of MSW combusted with energy recovery, while landfills received 11.3 million tons of textile MSW, making up 7.7 per cent of all MSW landfilled.
Textile recycling faces significant challenges due to the complex nature of fabrics, which often combine materials like cotton with synthetic fibers such as polyester.
Less than 1 per cent of textiles are currently recycled, with a substantial portion ending up incinerated or in landfills,” notes Dionisios Vlachos, Co-author, University of Delaware. This contributes significantly to environmental pollution, including microplastic contamination in oceans, he adds.
The research team turned to chemical recycling as a viable solution. Using microwave-assisted glycolysis, they successfully broke down synthetic components of fabrics into reusable building blocks.
This process involves applying heat and a catalyst to dismantle polymer chains, converting them into smaller, manageable units. The technique achieved remarkable results, with up to 90 per cent of polyester fabrics converted into BHET molecules, essential for producing new polyester textiles. Notably, this process did not affect cotton fibers, allowing for the simultaneous recovery of cotton in polyester-cotton blends.
The researchers optimised the process to operate within 15 minutes, significantly improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The method proved effective across various fabric compositions, including blends with polyester, cotton, nylon, and spandex.
With continued refinement and scaling, this chemical processing technique holds the potential to drastically increase global textile recycling rates, mitigate environmental impacts, and foster a more circular economy, affirms Vlachos.
The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) and the Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance cooperation and foster exchanges in the textile and clothing industries.
Formalised by RakeshMehra, Chairman, CITI, and James Kuo, Chairman, TTF, this landmark agreement marks a pivotal moment in bilateral textile relations.
Effective immediately, the MOU commits CITI and TTF to actively promote business activities in trade, investment, technology cooperation, and other services related to textile and clothing.
Besides it also aims to provide platforms for constructive dialogue among their members to stimulate collaboration, organiseseminars, exhibitions, conferences, engage with policymakers, delegations, and trade promotion agencies, enhance technological assistance, training, and capacity-building initiatives, facilitate the exchange of information on policies and industry activities, disseminate information on trade and investment opportunities to foster greater economic synergy and advocate for initiatives that promote ease of doing business in both countries.
RakeshMehra, Chairman, CITI, states, this partnership with TTF represents a significant step towards strengthening ties between the' textile industries of the two nations. By fostering collaboration in trade, technology, and policy, it aims to drive sustainable growth and innovation across the sector.
This MOU underscores a mutual commitment to nurturing long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships and advancing the competitiveness of the Indian and Taiwanese textile sectors on the global stage.
TThe Nam Định Industrial Zones Authority in Vietnam plans to develop a yarn production and textile dyeing plant at the Rong Dong Textile Industrial Park in the Nghia Hung district.
To be developed by Jinnor (Hong Kong), the new plant will entail an investment of $9 million. With construction set to begin in Q1 2025, the plant is expected to be operational by October 2025. It will produce nearly 50 million sq m of fabric annually.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, Jinnor (Hong Kong) boasts over 30 years of experience in textile production and fabric trading, supplying numerous renowned brands across 19 countries and territories worldwide.
Nam Định currently hosts 170 foreign-invested projects with a combined registered capital of $4.1 billion.The province remains committed to attracting further investment, with a focus on foreign investment. It aims to concentrate its efforts on accelerating administrative reforms, simplifying procedures, upgrading infrastructure, and enhancing the quality of human resources.
Leading Pakistani denim mill, SM Denim Mills has been awarded with two new patents for its sustainability and innovation.
The first of these is for the revolutionary textile dyeing methodIndiCan that dramatically reduces water and energy consumption. Utlisingcatonic and anionic polymersiation techniques to enhance dye fixation, improve colorfastness and save water upto 71.9 per cent, IndiCan marks a paradigm shift in the dyeing of cotton yarn fibers. The process also reduces energy consumption by approximately 70 per cent.
IndiCan employs ‘super green compounds’ to prepare cotton fibers for superior dye absorption, ensuring long-lasting color retention and minimal color bleeding. A protective secondary coat enhances the durability and resistance of dyed fibers to wash-off and fading.
According to SM Denim Mills, this patent is a significant sustainable milestone for the Karachi-based mill as the IndiCan process not only revolutionises textile dyeing but also aligns with the company goal to reduce environmental impact, says Asif Merchant, CEO, SM Denim Mills.
The second patent awarded to SM Denim Mills is for an innovative method to create abstract patterns in woven fabrics. This process employs air jet looms with a newly invented shedding mechanism to produce intricate patterns akin to dobby structures. This technology enables SM Denim to offer clients a greater variety of patterns and improved fabric quality. The resulting fabrics boast superior softness and stretchability, and the method enhances production efficiency by reducing setup time.
Expressing his excitement over the patent, Merchant says, it will enable the company to offer clients fabrics with unmatched quality and distinctiveness.
