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US luxury fashion retailer Fred Segal is planning to expand its business in Asia with new stores opening in Taiwan and Malaysia. The expansion plans were announced four years ago. The company is launching the new stores after a period during which several outlets were shuttered. The company is also relaunching its retail ethos in Japan and Los Angeles. The retailer is also planning to launch in India
One of these stores includes the 3,200 sq ft store in Kuala Lumpur which will be set up in the 1 Utama shopping center and include a cafe, retailing a mix of established labels. Another store in Taipei will be a Frierson-branded flagship spanning two floors across over 7, 000 sq ft of retail space. Both locations will open next month. The firm is simultaneously establishing its first presence in Europe with outlets in Switzerland.
Fashion World Tokyo will be held October 22 to 24, 2018.
The show will gather various kinds of exhibiting products from designers and brands. It is Japan’s largest fashion trade show. Regional municipalities from all over the country will host their own pavilions. So will Japanese fashion sourcing manufacturers and popular fashion garment and textile companies.
The event will be a great opportunity for those who are looking for business partners. It covers the whole fashion supply chain and is becoming the new Asian hub for professionals in the industry.
Since its launch, the show has presented everything from fashion sourcing to brands exhibits. Fashion sourcing including textiles, garments and OEM will be covered under Fashion World Tokyo Factory while brands from the globe will be showcased under Fashion World Tokyo. Altogether 1,030 exhibitors and 25,000 visitors are expected to gather under one roof, looking for new business opportunities.
Fashion World Tokyo has developed various kinds of approaches to make the show fruitful, such as matchmaking services between international exhibitors and domestic visitors, an online appointment platform, and more.
The show is attracting the attention of brands worldwide. Themed areas, such as Country Pavilions, European Collection and American Street, will lend diversity and attract Japanese and Asian buyers.
Australian wool production is forecast to fall by 5.7 per cent for the 2018-19 season.
The fall reflects an expected reduction in both the number of sheep shorn and average wool cuts per head as a result of the dry seasonal conditions across most of the country.
Ongoing drought conditions have hit output and wool cuts. Drought conditions are affecting most Australian sheep growing regions. NSW is experiencing the highest levels of drought. NSW is the state with the largest wool producing capacity. Parts of neighboring Queensland are also suffering, along with regions in Victoria and South Australia which are also managing extreme dry weather.
Australia produces 90 per cent of the world’s apparel wool.
Adverse seasonal conditions in many sheep producing areas across Australia have resulted in a high turn-off of sheep and lambs. It will also mean lower average fleece weights in several states.
Conditions have worsened in many wool producing regions across Australia.
Wool production is expected to fall in all states, except Tasmania, with the largest reductions expected in NSW (down 8.9 per cent) and South Australia (down six per cent).
How the season progresses over the next couple of months will be very important for overall production levels this season.
Cotton producers in Ethiopia face several challenges. There are 20 ginnery factories in Ethiopia. But most are more than 50 years old and need to be replaced.
Unavailability of land and bank loans is another major challenge for the sector. There are problems related to the supply of seeds, pesticides and other inputs.
Last year Ethiopia produced 60,000 tons of ginned cotton. But demand by domestic textile industries was for 70,000 tons. The balance was covered by imported cotton from India.
The country plans to increase cotton production by 40 per cent in the current fiscal year. Investors are developing cotton plantations in various regions. With this farmers are confident they can satisfy the domestic demand and export the surplus cotton.
The country had banned cotton exports in 2010 hoping to satisfy the demand of the local textile industry. The ban lasted for six years.
After a long debate, Ethiopia recently allowed the import and use of GMO cotton seeds. Two BT cotton seeds from India have been granted permission. However on the whole farmers have reservations on the research conducted on the viability of BT cotton seeds. As a rule cotton growers do not prefer to use BT cotton.
The US imported more jeans in the first half of 2018 compared to last year due to the closure of US denim manufacturing and open trade. According to the data from the Office of Textiles and Apparel, OTEXA, overall denim jeans imports of the country increased by 9.2 per cent to reach $1.66 billion in value for the first six months.
The countries from where US sourced its jeans include Vietnam, China, Mexico, Bangladesh, Cambodia and several Central American countries. China shipped the most women’s and girls’ product, increasing 2.88 per cent to $291.89 million, while its men’s and boy’s shipments rose by 6.35 per cent to $98.97 million.
Among the Asian countries, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia are establishing themselves as major suppliers of jeans to the U.S. market. In the first half, Bangladesh’s shipments in the men’s and boy’s category increased by 16.88 per cent to $132.75 million, while in the women’s and girls’ category, it rose by 16.19 per cent to $104.17 million.
Vietnam’s shipments of women’s and girls’ jeans increased by 46.9 per cent to $75.43 million in the period, while men’s and boys’ rose by 33.3 per cent to $32.23 million. Imports of Cambodia’s women’s and girls’ jeans grew 32.7 per cent to $40.2 million, as the country’s shipments of men’s and boy’s product were up 35.19 per cent to $9.64 million.
Pakistan’s shipments of women’s and girls’ blue jeans increased by 24.1 per cent to $61.54 million, but imports of men’s and boy’s declined by 0.47 per cent to $40.97 million.
Over the years, the outdoor market has become loaded with synthetic apparel, which shed tiny microfibers during laundering.
These tiny plastic fibers travel to waterways and end up in the fish people eat and the tap water they drink.
Companies are making eco-friendly apparel products made with natural fibers like cotton. While they are promoting sustainability they are also reducing the impacts of the industry’s products and processes.
Compared to synthetics like polyester and nylon, cotton active wear is considered to be more comfortable, versatile, sustainable, breathable and reliable.
Consumers love the natural feel of cotton. Most exercisers prefer cotton and cotton blended fibers. Trailing by a wide margin are polyester or recycled polyester, other synthetics like microfiber and rayon fibers, including viscose and Tencel.
Consumers like pulling on their active wear for things like hanging out at home, running errands, doing yard work, shopping or even sleeping. They are seeking out abrasion resistant technology in their active wear.
Consumers are also looking for active wear that is odor resistant, water repellent or has anti-microbial features. They seek out durability enhancement technology in their active wear. Those younger than 35 are significantly more likely than their older counterparts to do so.
The Uttar Pradesh government plans to set up a raw materials hub for the apparel sector in Gautam Budh Nagar. The hub would be set up under the state’s One District One Product (ODOP) scheme. Aiming to promote traditional industries synonymous with various districts of the state, UP government recently launched the “One District One Product (ODOP)” in Lucknow.
The Gautam Budh Nagar district’s garment industry has an annual turnover of Rs 14,000 crore. The district contributes 60-70 per cent UP’s garment export. The ODOP scheme will give a new impetus to the industry. Bank loans worth over Rs 10 billion were distributed to 4,095 SME entrepreneurs to expand their units. Apart from that, the President unveiled the ODOP helpline and ODOP website. The attending craftsmen were also given toolkits.
Maredimoda and Performance Days have agreed to avoid overlapping dates since they have upcoming editions in November. MarediModa will take place in Cannes from November 6 to 8, 2018; Performance Days will take place in Germany, from November 28 and 29.
These are two of most dynamic and on go to textile shows in the European textile industry. The joint arrangement on dates will allow exhibitors and visitors to plan their presence and offerings both in Cannes and Germany.
Maredimoda, has been a leading trade show for textiles and accessories for beachwear and intimates since 2002. It has recently included athleisure in its exhibits. Maredimoda is a not-to-be missed date for every international brand interested in the collection preview of the best European companies, in meeting design studios and private label manufacturers as well.
Performance Days launched in 2008 is the first and only material sourcing trade fair created especially for technical fabrics and accessories as needed in sports, athleisure and work clothing. Designers, product as well as material managers, and decision-makers meet bi-annually in April/May and November in Germany and since July 2018 annually at Functional Fabric Fair powered by Performance Days in New York City.
The Central Silk Board (CSB) has developed new groups of silkworm seeds of mulberry and Vanya silk. These silkworm groups are expected to enhance the income of farmers with improved productivity and quality.
This silkworm range will aid tribal farmers belonging to various parts of the country such as Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh as they can get 52 kilograms of cocoons per 100 disease free layings (dfls). Central Silk Board (CSB) is a statutory body of the Ministry of Textiles.
Additionally, Multivoltine x Bivoltine mulberry (PM x FC2), a hybrid group of silkworm, can make 60 kilograms per 100 dfls. This group of silkworms is said to be more productive than the earlier PM x CSR. The high-quality silk and significant egg recovery make this race more appropriate for farmers.
For the farmers in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, eri silkworm (C2) race has been termed more sufficient than the local breed. Silkworm breeds for a particular agro-climatic location are necessary for accelerating the productivity of cocoons.
Maroc will be held in Morocco, October 11 to 12. Suppliers, full-package and CMT manufacturers as well as innovative suppliers of yarns, fabrics, accessories, technologies and services from the Mediterranean will showcase at the fair. The focus of the fair is fashion, fast fashion and sustainable eco-systems. Around 175 exhibitors from the Mediterranean are expected. About 1,500 visitors from Africa, Europe and America are expected. The fair will also present a denim cluster.
Morocco ranks eighth among countries exporting clothing to Europe. It offers political and social stability, a favorable geostrategic position, modern infrastructure, free access to European markets and extremely favorable production conditions.
The textile and clothing industry is the largest employer in the country. Morocco has more than 1,600 manufacturers with a production capacity of more than a billion parts a year. More than 1,80,000 people work in this sector, with another 1,00,000 to be added by 2020.
A central role is played by the promotion of so-called eco-systems, clusters that promote modern production, design and compliance with international standards. With the help of particularly successful companies, the so-called locomotives, the entire clothing industry is efficiently structured and managed.
Proximity to Europe allows for fast delivery by land and the garment industry is working toward short delivery deadlines.
