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The cotton crop in Maharashtra has been damaged by unseasonal rains. Due to the high moisture content the damaged crop is estimated to fetch prices that will be 30 per cent to 35 per cent lower than the minimum support price.
India's raw cotton exports fell 75 per cent during the first half of the current financial year due to high domestic prices and the availability of cheaper cotton from Brazil, the United States and Vietnam. The spinning industry saw disruptions in production in the second quarter because of reduced demand and volatility in cotton prices. While demand from China improved marginally in August and September, further improvement will be healthier for the spinning industry which has been facing margin pressure and low capacity utilisations. Manmade fibers saw the second consecutive month of stabilisation on the back of stable crude prices.
Fabric exports improved in the first half of the new year due to an improvement in the quality of Indian fabrics and addition of newer markets. The main markets were Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. A sharp rise in imports of cheap apparel from Bangladesh has rendered the Indian textile value chain uncompetitive. Readymade garments recorded a de-growth of 14 per cent month-on-month in September due to a steep fall in demand from the United States and Britain.
UK based Coats world’s leading industrial thread company offers more than 20 products in 10 sizes of thread. But in color it supplies more than a hundred thousand colors. Coats launched many ranges of innovative threads. One of these is the waterproof AS thread, used in footwear and down jackets. The company has also made investments in its effluent treatment plant, where it reuses 30 per cent water after treatment and is looking to increase that to 100 per cent. In Bangladesh Coats is the first company which offers garment factories recycled thread. The company uses plastic bottles to make chips, which are then converted into plastic threads. It also aims to make all its premium polyester threads from 100 per cent recycled material by 2024.
Coats, has been operating in Bangladesh for 30 years and wants to be a partner to the garment factories by offering solutions that add value to their operations. Other value solutions Coats offers customers are speed, innovation, digital and sustainability. The company has expanded its capacity by around 40 per cent in the last two years.
MySize takes the guesswork out of buying jeans. Users can now receive their size recommendation without having to download the application by easily entering their gender, height and weight. This data is then analyzed by MySize’s proprietary machine learning database in order to calculate the appropriate size. The second feature of the widget is guest mode, which allows guest users to enter their information and receive a size recommendation. The widget can then follow the user across the site and predict a size on different products.
MySize is a measurement app that provides sizing recommendations. The measurement solution bolsters buying confidence in customers by quickly generating their ideal size, which further increases brand loyalty and conversion rates for the retailer while reducing returns. Based on customer engagement, the technology allows retailers to optimize their customer sizing data and maintain appropriate inventory levels on relevant items.
While the widget produces accurate results, the app fine-tunes these measurements using proprietary measuring technology without taking photos. The tool not only benefits brands in the sense that they’re ultimately able to reduce returns, but they’re also better able to plan inventory—one of the biggest hurdles to providing customers with a successful in-store experience.
This year’s lower cotton yield in the High Plains of Texas has impacted the cotton ginning sector. “Yield is about 30 per cent lower than what was expected earlier,” stated 46-year veteran in the sector Steve Moffett, general manager of Lubbock-based Lubbock Electric Company.
He was speaking at a special dinner organised in Lubbock, Texas where several executives of the ginning sector met to discuss the growth of the ginning industry over the past 30-years.
Another aspect of the discussion was how the seed turn out and weight has reduced over the years. This has helped with the productivity, stated Shankar Venkatachalam, president of Bajaj ConEagle, LLC,
“Ginning machinery has not seen a whole lot of changes with regard to its functionality,” quoted Ray Moore, a 31-year veteran with the industry. Certainly, productivity has increased from 25 bales per hour to 100 bales per hour added Moore of Bajaj ConEagle, LLC.
Utilisation of technology for productivity has supported the growth of the cotton ginning industry.Ginning contributes to the cotton sector by cleaning, drying and maintaining/enhancing the quality of the fiber. Ginning plays an important role in enhancing the quality of the fiber. The ginning industry should effectively utilise technologies such as image processing to control trash, contamination, etc.
As Bajaj ConEagle is a subsidiary of India-based Bajaj Steel Industry, discussions at the event focused on the Indian ginning sector, which is roller gin-based. “India should soon invest in saw gins to reduce trash content,” stated Shankar.
Very soon China is expected to become the largest fashion market in the world. This rise in Chinese spending coupled with the new preference for Chinese brands is giving a boost to the country’s fashion and footwear makers. Many Chinese shoppers have typically viewed foreign brands as superior to home-grown labels. The mindset has begun to change, and more shoppers are starting to look to domestic labels.
Heilan Home is one of China’s biggest clothing companies, operating some 5,000 stores. Anta Sports is China’s biggest sports company. Both are now among the ranks of the world’s top performing fashion companies. Chinese companies are growing and becoming competitive in an industry long dominated by American and European businesses. The success of Anta and Heilan reflects shifting attitudes in favor of local brands by Chinese consumers, as local heroes increasingly compete with international high-street brands in areas such as value for money, innovation in design and quality, and customer service.
Chinese millennials and Gen Z are responsible for the lion’s share of luxury consumption globally. China is poised to reach a milestone that signals how the rebalancing of economic power in the world is reshaping industries with it. There is an ascendance of young shoppers and policies are encouraging shopping.
Between May and September 2019 India’s imports of viscose yarn were 195 per cent higher than the same period last year. In July 2019, imports were 342 per cent higher and August saw a 816 per cent rise. China and Indonesia have been dumping cheaper yarn into the country affecting the spinning industry severely. India is self-sufficient in yarn and does not need imports. While most spinning mills are running on lower capacity, some smaller mills in South India are facing a tough time. Availability of cheaper viscose yarn will also affect cotton yarn demand as fabric makers will use more viscose than cotton in their products. The industry wants an anti-dumping duty on yarn as well, the total tax incidence to be 15 per cent or at least 10 per cent on yarn to deter increasing imports.
But this will put the industry in a difficult situation. If yarn duties are increased, either fabric imports will go up or the entire value chain will become costlier, affecting the competitiveness of Indian products in the global market. But if the duties remain the same, imports will continue to impact the domestic spinning industry.
While the US-China trade war has slowed down the demand for viscose yarn globally, India has been witnessing dumping of viscose yarn.
Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is releasing a revised version of Better Cotton Claims Framework. This follows a realization that the need for members to communicate about sustainability is growing and evolving and that the framework must evolve in parallel with growing market and consumer demands. The updated framework includes key changes that allow members to communicate about their sustainability efforts in a clear and compelling way, while at the same time ensuring that the information is accurate and credible. The latest version includes a new type of sustainability claim for eligible retailer and brand members. The Better Cotton Claims Framework is one of six components of the Better Cotton Standard System and equips members to make credible and positive claims about Better Cotton. The framework is an important tool that supports BCI’s efforts to drive demand by building market awareness of the production of Better Cotton in partnership with BCI members.
Better Cotton Initiative is a global non-profit. BCI also gives members the guidance they need to report on their achievements in a way that is credible and transparent. The BCI on-product mark – one-way retailer and brand members can communicate directly to their customers – now references mass balance directly in the required BCI logo. Customers wanting to know more about a member’s sustainability claims and about BCI can have access to more detailed information.
Africa hopes to have a thriving apparel manufacturing industry. The continent is poised to take on more production in the midst of global trade wars and rising wages in China. As the world is increasing barriers to trade, Africa is breaking them down. Once the Africa Continental Free Trade Area becomes operational, Africa will be the world's largest free trade area. More than 50 African nations will constitute a single market for goods and services. Right now, the manufacturing sector is only a small proportion of economic output for many African countries. Once the value chain is functioning properly, it has the potential to create hundreds of thousands, and even millions, of jobs in Africa.
While real progress is being made to loosen intra-African trade barriers, cross-country logistics remain an impediment. Shipping something from a country in West Africa to a country in East Africa, for instance, can be more expensive than importing a product from India or China. Outdated perceptions and stereotypes about manufacturing on the continent by international fashion industry counterparts continue to limit opportunities. Africa is equated with cheap manufacturing. Not all efforts to bring scale to upscale manufacturing on the continent have worked. Some labels, however, are seeing an opportunity that goes beyond mass production. They are working with local artisans, offering community groups a consistent, sustainable income, while showcasing local expertise.
Pakistan’s exports of readymade garments during the first four months of the current financial year grew by 12 per cent. Knitwear exports were up by 9.49 per cent. Bedwear exports were up 5.72 per cent. Textile exports were up 4.10 per cent. Exports of raw cotton during the period increased 0.78 per cent. Cotton carded or combed 100 per cent yarn other than cotton yarn grew by 21.24 per cent. However, exports of cotton yarn decreased by 2.14 per cent, cotton cloth by 4.83 per cent, and tents, canvas and tarpaulin by 1.58 per cent. The country’s merchandise trade deficit plunged by 33.52 per cent during the first four months of the current fiscal year. Exports during the period increased 3.81 per cent. On the other hand, imports of the country witnessed a decline of 19.21 per cent.
On a year-on-year basis, exports of the country increased by 6.75 per cent from October 2018 to October 2019. Imports declined by 15.14 per cent from October 2018 to October 2019. On a month-on-month basis, exports of the country increased by 14.41 per cent in October 2019 when compared to September 2019. On the other hand, imports into the country witnessed an increase of 7.64 per cent.
Ohio-based fashion retailer L Brands reported a fall in sales and bigger losses for the third quarter. It has confirmed that this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show will not be taking place. The fashion show, which aired annually since 1995, has been officially canceled this year.
The fashion show, which features top models called "angels" wearing lingerie, has seen a severe decline in viewership over the last several years. Last year, 3.3 million people turned up to watch the show, down from 9.7 million viewers in 2013. “We’ll be communicating to customers, but nothing that I would say is similar in magnitude to the fashion show,” said L Brands EVP and CFO Stuart Burgdoerfer, when discussing marketing plans for Victoria’s Secret over the holiday period. According to Burgdoerfer, the decision to forego this year’s fashion show is not expected to have a significant effect on Victoria’s Secret’s financial performance. “As timing over the years shifted in terms of the airing the fashion show, did we see specific material impact in terms of a short-term sales response to the airing of the fashion show? As a general matter, the answer to that question is no,” he stated.
The lingerie brand's parent company, L Brands is also planning to revamp the annual fashion by developing exciting and dynamic content and a new kind of event. Overall comparable sales fell 2 per cent, a decline of 7 per cent in comps at Victoria’s Secret, partially offset by a 9 per cent rise at Bath & Body Works, the consistent bright spot in L Brands’ portfolio.
