FW
Mayer & Cie, the leading German circular knitting machine manufacturer has announced its expansion plans at its German, Czech Republic and China manufacturing sites. Benjamin Mayer, Managing Director of Mayer & Cie, shed light on this and said they focussed on two things in Germany, their headquarters and the biggest plant. In Germany, the company would invest in tool machinery to expand and modernise their existing machine park to produce cams, cam boxes, yarn feeders, cylinders and frame parts. Mayer said they were also investing in new cooling and heating systems, in isolation of buildings and water pipes to save a lot of energy in the future. Finally, it would install a block heat and power plant to generate all the energy needed by them and even supply the rest of the energy into the public grid.
In Czech Republic, they were building a new plant with 5,000m2 that is 1.5 times bigger than the existing one. They would also increase their assembling capacity up to 600 machines and knitting heads for China (knitting head gets assembled in China on locally sources frames).
Mayer also feels that Iran has big potential because companies want to invest in new machinery and, they prefer German technology. He sees a big potential for new orders and further sees other markets such as South East Asia, which he says is the most interesting one.
The revolutionary spin-knit technology that Mayer & Cie announced at ITMA would be advantageous to customers, feels Mayer. He also thinks the first customers would not be the classical knitting customers, but more spinners and vertical companies.
The US is willing to restore GSP facility to Bangladesh if the country makes satisfactory progress in workers’ safety and rights. The US has urged Bangladesh to accelerate its efforts to ensure workers’ rights and to take measures to address continuing reports of harassment of and violence against labor activists who are attempting to exercise their rights.
Bangladesh says there is no labor unrest in the country and trade union activities are permitted. It says, laborers have been given congenial work environments and the amended labor law will be implemented within a week or two. In the meantime it wants the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facility including duty-free and quota-free market access in the US. The US suspended Bangladesh from its GSP list in June 2013, based on Bangladesh’s failure to meet statutory eligibility requirements related to worker rights.
Under the general supervision of the Bangladesh government, over 2,000 initial safety inspections of factories have been completed in the readymade garment sector over the last year, most by teams organised by private sector initiatives led by North American and European brands and retailers.
These inspections resulted in the closure of at least 31 factories, the partial closure of 17 additional factories, and the identification of needed remedial measures in hundreds more.
With mounting losses due to a slowdown in both domestic and export market, spinning mills in India have started cutting down on production. India is the world’s largest yarn exporter. Chinese demand has slowed down drastically as it has been offloading cotton stocks from own reserves for a while now, making locally-produced yarn competitive, compared to Indian yarn. Yuan’s devaluation is making imports even more expensive.
Due to the withdrawal of export incentives for yarn in the recent trade policy, exports to countries such as Latin America are getting affected due to high shipment costs. Poor demand in the domestic market has resulted in piling up of stocks. Indian exporters want free trade agreements with China, the EU and other countries to be expedited as this would create a level playing field for them . They have also sought a three to five per cent export incentive as an interim relief until the FTAs are signed.
Since the capital-intensive spinning segment accounts for the bulk of investment under the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme, non-payment of subsidy amount for earlier investments is taking a toll on the balance sheets of spinning mills.
The 14th International Textile Asia exhibition will be held in Lahore from August 29 to 31. This is a trade fair for textiles, garments, embroidery, digital printing machinery and chemical and allied services organized by Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA. The aim is to facilitate exports of value-added sector in Faisalabad, Multan as well as Sialkot. The event will provide a podium for joint ventures and collaborations for the textile sector’s small and medium enterprises.
More than 350 international brands from around 29 countries will display their products in more than 500 stalls. Participation of 210 foreign delegates will also mark the event. Exhibiting countries include: Austria, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, UK, US etc. This is Pakistan’s largest textile show and the local textile sector’s whole chain has been invited to attend. Some 80 per cent of the country’s small and medium enterprises are located in Punjab.
This is the 14th successive year of the show and the event is being organised at a time when the government is looking at modernising and upgrading the textile sector for better quality products and enhanced productivity. The event provides enormous opportunities for learning, information sharing and mutual cooperation for all stakeholders of the textile industry in South Asia.
Uganda may come out with a textile industry policy that will prohibit government and traders from importing products which are manufactured by local factories. Manufacturers want priority for local goods as they face the danger of being kicked out of business. They are hurt that local industrial products are rotting in stores as the government and traders prefer imports. They want heavy taxes to be imposed on imported products so that the government and traders can consume local goods.
One suggestion is that factories should diversify into manufacturing other products such as African wares to capture both local and international markets. Most Ugandans wear imported second-hand clothes. Used shirts, blouses, trousers, caps and many other clothing items reach Uganda in huge bales from countries such as the US and the UK.
After landing in Africa, the clothes find their way along a chain of wholesalers until they end up with small retailers in thousands of trading centers dotted around Uganda. There are calls in the Ugandan media for banning imports of second-hand clothes to promote the development of homegrown textile industries and enhance economic growth. But most Ugandans prefer the cheapness and a variety of styles and fashion provided by imported second-hand clothes.
Therefore, since these young adults have little money to spend on premium or branded clothing, they spend little on apparels. This, in turn boosts the sales of low-cost fashion brands such as Zara and H&M.
Low cost, a great puller
Maureen Atkinson, Senior Partner at global retail advisers, J C Williams Group believes this shows that the earlier model all about the logo, has changed now.
Meanwhile stock value of American Apparel dipped further to record a net loss of $19.4 million and a 17 per cent decline in revenue in its most recent quarter. Atkinson says the brand’s customer has outgrown it and the brand not been able to resonate or connect with the next generation. Atkinson too confirms the millennial generation has lower employment rates, non-dependable jobs and many worked on contract. Many have student debts and if they came across fashion for less money, they would spend less as then they would be able to spend more on consumer electronics, which has become a priority.
Advantage low-priced brands
However, while American Apparel and other branded retailers were having a hard time, Zara and H&M were making a killing as they kept their prices low by operating as efficiently as possible and also provided what was in trend. Emily Scarlett, H&M Canada’s spokeswoman says they have the best prices for customers by having in-house designers, no middlemen, buying in large volumes, efficient logistics, buying the right products for the right markets and being cost-conscious at every level. Also, the brand is both, importer and retailer, thus it could maintain full control over every link in the supply chain, from the supplier to the store. She further feels the lead time for garments varied and they placed orders well in advance for basics with high-volumes and also for the brand’s annual fashion collections. Garments that were trendier had a quicker turnaround time.
India has imposed an anti-dumping duty on imports of flax or linen fabric having a flax content of more than 50 per cent and exported from China or Hong Kong. This duty would be effective for a period of five years from August 12, 2015.
An anti-dumping duty of $0.75 per meter on flax or linen fabric having a flax content of more than 50 per cent has been imposed on goods originating in and exported from China. For fabric originating in or exported from Hong Kong, this duty would be applicable at $0.63 per meter.
The justification is that flax or linen fabrics with more than 50 per cent flax content are exported from China and Hong Kong below their normal value, resulting in dumping, which is likely to cause injury to the domestic industry.
Anti-dumping duty on flax or linen fabric having a flax content of more than 50 per cent was first imposed in December 2009. Subsequently, a review was carried out as a subsidiary company of Aditya Birla Nuvo filed a petition seeking continuation of the duty on such fabric imports from China and Hong Kong.
The Emerald Expositions’ Outdoor Retailer (OR) Summer Market in Salt Lake City was held from August 5 to 8. The three-day event showcased latest outdoor apparels, footwear, gear, accessories, raw materials, and technologies from 1,600 brands. The US market for outdoor apparel grew by 7.9 per cent over the past year. Specialty retailer sales of outdoor products grew by 5.2 per cent.
The outdoor industry is in transition on several fronts. Outdoor specialty retailers have struggled to compete with a growing number of multi-national and omni-channel retail brands. Growth in the outdoor market is coming from categories such as: footwear, paddle sports, climbing gyms, yoga, and hammock. In fact, sales of light weight hammocks have risen by 51 per cent in the past year.
Outdoor enthusiast wants gear that is super-light and versatile rather than ultra technical. College students are also challenging traditional outdoor brands with a modern outdoor movement based on healthy lifestyles and an increased appreciation of sustainable fibers and cleaner technologies.
The search for a replacement for long-chain (C8) DWR finishes which contain harmful PFOA and PFOS has brands looking at a number of options. Many brands have transitioned to C6 or short-chain fluorocarbon finishes. But these tend to break down more quickly in the environment and perform less effectively in repellency tests. At the same time, brands are working to make DWR products lighter and more comfortable. The 2016 winter market will held from January 7 to 10.
www.outdoorretailer.com/summer-market/show.../show-overview.shtml
Any move by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for imposition of regulatory duty on import of cotton yarn without taking all stakeholders of the textile chain on board will be strongly opposed by the Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA). It came as a surprise for the sector that the FBR took some decisions to facilitate the textile sector in the country, in a meeting with All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA), and the Garments Manufacturers Association, said PRGMEA Chairman, Ijaz A Khokhar. However, the key stakeholder of the sector, the PRGMEA was not invited to the meeting.
Khokhar stated that garments value-added sector under the PRGMEA strongly opposed any barrier on import of fabric for garments export and also any regulatory duty imposed on yarn import. While formulating national policies regarding the textile chain, the value-added garment sector should be taken in confidence as well.
The present rate of 5 per cent custom duty on import of cotton yarn is adversely affecting the domestic spinning industry. Thus, appropriate measures in this regard, which includes imposition of regulatory duty on import of cotton yarn, need to be adopted. The FBR stated in a meeting that that an inter-ministerial committee that included representatives of the Federal Board of Revenue, the Ministry of Textile Industry and the Ministry of Commerce was constituted to give recommendations with regard to imposition of regulatory duty on import of cotton yarn.
However, the garment sector was completely ignored and not taken on board for any consultation, felt Khokhar. Incidentally, this is the only segment of textiles that showed a rise of more than 10 per cent in Pakistan's exports of 2014-2015, out of the total textile sector.
Prices of fabric dyes and chemicals used in the wet processing segment of the apparel production chain are likely to go up if current currency volatility continues. This is likely to pose a challenge for the garment sector in Tirupur. Reason: a substantial volume of the raw materials used for production of fabric dyes and chemicals is imported. With the rupee depreciating against the dollar, imports have become costlier.
Currently, almost 80 per cent of H-acid, a main raw material for the manufacture of fabric dyes, is imported. Apparel manufacturers in Tirupur feel any significant cost hike in fabric dyes and chemicals would result in higher processing charges which, in turn, will have a cascading effect on garment prices. The situation will thus hit competitiveness of garment exporters who are already facing stiff price challenges in the global market. If the currency volatility is not halted, the cost of dyes and chemicals will increase.
Apart from H-acid, a sizeable quantity of other raw materials like vinyl sulfone and K-acid used in fabric dyes production, acrylamide and polyvinyl alcohol used for manufacturing chemicals meant for the dyeing industry, is imported.
