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Textile is one of the largest and fastest growing industries in India. It is expected to grow from $126 billion in 2015 to $200 billion by 2020. “Despite positive statistics, the state of domestic hosiery industry is not very optimistic,” says Jyoti Jain, Jt Managing Director, TT, adding, “The scenario is very bleak and unpromising at present as the industry is facing cut-throat competition.” Points to Ponder
India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies with GDP likely tocompetition3-620x350 grow over 8 per cent, benefiting from the acceleration of infrastructure projects, strong consumer spending and other favourable macro-economic factors. It also has a strong retail market worth $600 billion. However, players are not practicing healthy competition, and that is proving to a bane for the overall industry.
Jain states, one example of negative impact of herd mentality is, when a brand reduces product prices due to some personal reasons, other players follow suit and there is a domino effect. Ultimately, no one gains from the price cut. In fact, the market scenario becomes worse -- spoiling consumer sentiment and impacting overall demand.
Continuous deals and discount strategies are adding to the woes if players, since low consumer sentiment pushes shoppers to buy only during the discount season. Jain points out that the industry has created this situation and now, the consumer is not willing to purchase a full-price product and ultimately companies bear the brunt since on the prices of all raw materials and labour costs are rising.
“Offering some festive deals to please the shopper is fine but we are too generous and keep offering schemes after schemes. Who offers discounts when we buy raw materials in bulk?” questions Jain. Appeal to the hosiery industry
Jain appeals to hosiery industry players to follow certain rules such as not giving credit to wholesalers, ensuring timely payments by wholesalers/distributors, not turning a financer for dealers, so that they can buy other related categories offered to sell in the market and so on. “Due to lack of unity among us, often dealers delay payment or even default on payments. Our association should be strong enough to inculcate fear among dealers about default,” she says.
Keeping the hosiery industry’s current situation in sight, Jain is of the opinion that players must act quickly instead of unnecessarily investing funds in heavy advertising and marketing efforts, discounting strategies hoping to race ahead of other brands. “Are any of our friends in hosiery manufacturing business benefiting from the cut throat competition? I don’t envisage any brand actually reaping benefits. Therefore, I request all brand owners to introspect and look for answers,” she asserts.
www.tttextiles.com
Unstable prices are posing a threat to sericulture farmers in Coimbatore. Since June, prices have been fluctuating. They have gone as low as Rs 170 per kg. But farmers hope for a minimum Rs 300 per kg. Cocoon prices in the country fell by more than 60 per cent once the import duty on raw silk from China was reduced from 15 per cent to 10 per cent. This has allowed weavers and silk dealers to buy raw silk from China, which is considered to be of superior quality, at almost the same price as that of domestic raw silk.
With prices hovering at less than Rs 250 per kg from mid-July, sericulture farmers are in despair. Regular silk dealers who purchase cocoons on a daily basis from the sericulture department say that the Ramzan season also led to a fall in prices. Most silk and yarn wholesalers are Muslims, and they don't work during Ramzan. So weavers get very few orders. The peak season for cocoons is between December and February and again between June and August.
Fully formed and recently removed cocoons can't be left open for more than three days or refrigerated for more than 20 days, because they start rotting.
German company Trutzschler, a global leader in textile machinery manufacturing is active in spinning preparation, nonwovens and the man-made fiber industry. Its data acquisition system T-Data is increasingly becoming a standard. Due to Trützschler-specific sensors on machines, important quality data that cannot be acquired by any other system can be managed and evaluated here.
With three detection technologies in one machine, Trützschler claims to have already set a high standard with efficient foreign part separation in the blow room. Further technologies will be added to the existing three to get an even more effective separation. Trützschler nonwovens focuses on a variety of manufacturing processes, especially pertaining to web bonding and total system concepts. Individual components and models demonstrate innovation in spun lacing, needling as well as thermal and chemical bonding.
The significant speed advantages of the newly developed liquid foulard are said to be based on special geometries and roll surfaces and should result in an increased economic efficiency in the production of lightweight, chemically bonded nonwovens.
The Trützschler card clothing unit has expanded its flat tops selection with two new products: flat top Novotop 58 suited for application in fine combed yarns at high production speeds. And flat top Novotop 30, developed for the processing of coarse or dyed fibers and regenerated fibers for rotor spinning.
www.truetzschler.com/
International Textile Fair will be held in Dubai on October 11 and 12, 2015. At a time when global trade and apparel sector is expanding tenfold per annum, ITF has gained prominence as an elite textile expo with an intercontinental outlook.
Principally a trade only event, ITF provides professional and conducive atmosphere to business and networking for manufacturers, traders and designers both internationally and within the region. In response to the need for a dedicated trade exhibition in Dubai, the show has been designed as a quality event for the fashion fabrics business in the UAE. ITF is attended by leading fashion and apparel buying houses from the Middle Eastern market.
Among visitors to the show are fabric importers, distributors and wholesalers, garment exporters and manufacturers, buying houses and agents, local and international retail chains, department stores, apparel brands, fashion designers and merchandisers, design studios and institutes.
ITF's April edition saw 6,732 visitors. With exhibitors coming in from Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia the event set an eclectic ambience. Acclaimed fashion houses like Carlo Pozzi (Italy) and Bella Donna (UAE) participated. The April edition saw over 100 exhibitors. ITF aims to be a major influence on the UAE fashion scene, provide a professional atmosphere conducive to business and networking and make the UAE leading destination for textile industry automation.
www.internationaltextilefair.com/
Lenzing has almost doubled its earnings before interest and tax in the first six months of 2015, thanks to healthy demand in the second quarter, more savings and a weaker euro. Lenzing is the world’s biggest maker of cellulose fiber. It also hopes to improve full year operating results compared to 2014 and reduce its net financial debt further.
Its specialised fibers such as Tencel and Modal, often mixed with cotton, are used in bed linen for clients like furniture giant Ikea as well as clothes for international fashion brands like Zara and in face wipes sold across Asia. The company is banking on China, which it considers an important market. It expects demand in China to stay strong. Lenzing generates about one-third of its sales in the world’s second largest economy. About half of what it sells in China ends up in products earmarked for export.
First half results also benefited from prices for viscose in China rising at the end of the second quarter as several plants had shut there, providing relief to a global market swamped by cheap Chinese and Indian viscose. Lenzing expects weaker Chinese yuan to change the dynamics between competitors in the sector.
Lenzing has almost doubled its earnings before interest and tax in the first six months of 2015, thanks to healthy demand in the second quarter, more savings and a weaker euro. Lenzing is the world’s biggest maker of cellulose fiber. It also hopes to improve full year operating results compared to 2014 and reduce its net financial debt further.
Its specialised fibers such as Tencel and Modal, often mixed with cotton, are used in bed linen for clients like furniture giant Ikea as well as clothes for international fashion brands like Zara and in face wipes sold across Asia. The company is banking on China, which it considers an important market. It expects demand in China to stay strong. Lenzing generates about one-third of its sales in the world’s second largest economy. About half of what it sells in China ends up in products earmarked for export.
First half results also benefited from prices for viscose in China rising at the end of the second quarter as several plants had shut there, providing relief to a global market swamped by cheap Chinese and Indian viscose. Lenzing expects weaker Chinese yuan to change the dynamics between competitors in the sector.
The Pakistan Leather Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PLGMEA) has demanded preferential rates for exporters of finished leather goods. The demand has come in the wake of difficulties in counterbalancing export and import transactions. In a meeting with the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the association said exporters of finished leather goods should be given loans on lower rates. They said the reduced mark-up rates on ERF Loans for exporters of finished goods should be at 3 per cent, whereas exporters of raw material and semi-finished products should be made to pay 6 per cent.
Chairman of PLGMEA, Fawad Ijaz Khan, said the export business provides employment opportunities to a good number of people in the country. He raised concerns, about financial transactions with one of the country’s major trading partners, Iran. Pakistan is carrying out transactions with Iran in Dirhams, owing to the ban imposed on Iran by international fraternity. Iran makes a large part of finished leather import to Pakistan. The SBP has said that the normal trade with Iran will continue once international sanctions are lifted after February 2016. The association has also asked for four per cent incremental rebate for the leather garments and exporters of leather goods.
Bangladesh may again be on US’ GSP list if it satisfies the US delegation, given with the task to monitor the execution of the action plan on RMG sector. The delegation is visiting the country soon. This was stated by commerce minister Tofayel Ahmed after he held a meeting with diplomats from various countries including the US.
Ahmed says, the country has done well in implementing the action plan on RMG. Everything that was asked and needed in the given situation has been maintained. The country deserves GSP facilities and was in the fray before the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013. The facility was postponed but not cancelled. Now there is no reason for not having it. He stated that everybody from Bangladesh wishes the products from their country are under GSP facility.
The US ambassador, Marcia Bloom Bernicat, said that Bangladesh can acquire GSP benefits only if they see more improvement in the working environment and labour laws. A delegation from Bangladesh will also visit the US on the same issue.
Techtextil India, the premier business event for the technical textile and nonwovens industry players in India will return to Mumbai from September 24 to 26, with a host of new innovations and latest market insight of the technical textiles and nonwovens.
The event, from its launch edition has been drawing attention to the entire technical textile and nonwoven industry value chain with its 10 product groups and 12 application areas of agrotech, buildtech, clothtech, geotech, hometech, indutech, medtech, mobiltech, oekotech, packtech, protech and sporttech, facilitating exposure of domestic players to the global market. Expectations for the fourth edition are high as the exhibition promises a pure business and learning environment with networking opportunities.
Amid reports of the Textile Ministry rolling out schemes of around Rs 427 crores to promote geotextiles textiles, Coir Board of India has voiced its intention to showcase eco-friendly coir geotextiles at this industry event. Coir Geotextiles are permeable fabrics used to prevent soil erosion and for other bio-engineering applications. It protects land surface and promotes quick vegetation. Totally biodegradable and better tensile strength, coir geotextiles help soil stabilisation in varying slopes.
An all-encompassing range of technical textiles and nonwoven products along with a seminal symposium with numerous product-focused and market-relevant topics makes it the most anticipated event of the year for sector professionals. Around 150 technology-leading companies are expected to showcase their latest technical textile solutions at the fair. These include 50 Indian companies and foreign contingents from Austria, Belgium, England etc.
Alongside the exhibition, Techtextil India Symposium will bring subject experts on topics like machinery, raw material, nonwoven and technical textile for an annual forum September 25, 2015 at the fairgrounds. The event is being organised by Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India and is part of the company’s international portfolio of 45 fairs.
Techtextil-india.in.messefrankfurt.com
H&M has launched a new €1 million prize has under the H&M Conscious Foundation for eco-innovations working to ‘close the loop’ in the fashion industry. Chosen by a jury, five winners of the first Global Change Award will share the prize money and get access to industry support to develop their ideas further. According to Karl-Johan Persson, H&M CEO, and H&M Conscious Foundation board member, the challenge is open to everyone as he believes that ground breaking, game-changing ideas can come from anywhere. Explaining the aim of the award, Person said that each year, the Global Change Award tries to find truly brave and bold ideas that make change.
In collaboration with Accenture and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, the innovation accelerator, will include an innovation boot camp in Stockholm, that would be provided by KTH Innovation, and guidance from Accenture Strategy on how to develop the winning ideas further, Person added.
The closing date for application is end of October and the jury will announce the five winners on February 1, 2016. Each winner gets €100,000 and the public is invited to distribute the other half of the grant through an online vote. The votes’ result will be declared at an award ceremony in Stockholm on February 10, 2016.
Funded by the Stefan Persson family, the H&M Conscious Foundation is a non-profit global foundation. The Persson family is also the founder and main owner of fashion company, H&M. Neither H&M, nor the foundation will take any equity or intellectual property rights in the innovations.
