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London Textile Fair was held July 18 to 19. British mills highlighted struggles around rising costs, while international exhibitors noted the UK market had cooled in recent seasons. Market concerns and nervousness were offset by the presence of good-quality buyers and a strong British showing.
Visitor numbers were down compared with the spring ’19 edition, which took place in January. However, several big names were spotted, Topshop, Debenhams and Urban Outfitters, as well as top designer names and contemporary brands.
Although some exhibitors reported lower footfall compared with previous seasons, the quality of buyers won praise. There were fewer people than the winter edition, but the visitors were all high quality and people really were looking for something specific. Visitors were overwhelmingly British. Most exhibitors reported 90 per cent UK buyers on the stands.
Almost all exhibitors were from Europe and Turkey. In fact, Turkey increased its delegation of suppliers this season, reflecting increased demand. There is a strong textile market in Turkey. Because of the short distance, people choose to do both in the same place to save transport costs, and lots of mills are also manufacturers. There was a section dedicated to sustainable and eco-friendly fabrics.
Pure London, the largest fashion festival in London and leading destination for fashion inspiration opened recently. The show featured some of the most exciting brands and the hottest emerging designers and global manufacturers. One of the highlights of the event included the re-launch of the Spirit fast fashion section as Gen Z to reflect the growing demographic du jour shaping our current culture and the future. Encapsulating the energy and mood of young fashion, Gen Z is filled with off-the-minute, trend-led, street style and unisex collections.
The S/S’19 Catwalks, showcased inspirational and creative talents of this year’s Graduate Fashion Week winners and graduates and key looks from the Common Ground, Creative Manifesto and In Touch trends. WGSN delivered their Future Consumer 2020 Buyer Briefing and a SS19 Trend Presentation spotlighting the new consumer voices including Gen Z bringing ‘Responsible Tech’, ‘Watch Now Buy Now’ and the new ‘Ethnic Majorities’ to the fore.
Laura Balmond from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation kicked off the Pure Origin stage outlining their vision for a circular economy and setting out how manufacturers, brands and the consumer can get on board and join forces to redesign fashion’s future.
Myanmar’s low wages is among the top reasons foreign manufacturers choose to set up base in the country. The garment industry was under pressure to raise the minimum wage. Now that the minimum wage has risen, businessmen are thinking twice before investing in manufacturing-intensive sectors like garments. The country’s daily minimum wage has been raised by more than 30 per cent.
Rising land costs are also a problem. Some manufacturers have been forced to move out of industrial zones as a result of rising land leases. At the same time, productivity, which is already lower than other countries in the region, has not improved. As a result, many garment businesses no longer want to operate in Myanmar.
Seduno Fashion Company, run by a Chinese investor, is a recent example. Earlier this month, the firm closed its factory citing low production, the inability to export in time, rising land and factory rentals and higher minimum wages as the main reasons for ceasing operations.
On the whole, FDI in garment sector is still robust. FDI into manufacturing sector are the third highest in Myanmar. Manufacturing in Myanmar mainly consists of garments, which represent the country’s second largest exports.
Denim and Jeans show was held in Vietnam from June 27 to 28. The event brought together latest technologies, trends, and skills. Sustainability, innovation and technology was on display everywhere. The turnout too was impressive with 40 exhibitors across several nations participating in the two-day event.
Each exhibitor showcased something new and trendy. Prosperity Textiles displayed spring/summer 2019 collection. Its ultra high stretch performance fabrics have the trait of big stretch. Co-flex reflects soft and comfort stretch with unparalleled recovery. After a good start to the year, Prosperity is now excited about its new state-of-the-art denim mill that will come up later this year.
Artistic Milliners, a vertical denim manufacturing company from Pakistan that has a strong focus on innovation, showcased its product Shogun. This has the look of Japanese denim with a softer feel. Japanese denim of 14 or 15 ounces looks very good but is heavy and rigid and therefore, difficult to wear. Shogun makes it comfortable and commercial.
Foison Textile displayed colored denim and silver shiny fabric. Rajby Textiles from Pakistan displayed dobby designs, stripes, and unifit stretches among its various exquisite collections. In addition to using innovative multi-colored web, Rajby showcased hyper-flex, which has 90 per cent stretch and is made initially in three colors.
The government’s decision to increase import duties on textile, apparels, fibres and related products has annoyed global apparel brands selling their products in India. This hike would make apparels costlier by 4-6 per cent for Indian consumers. It may also adversely impact investments in India by price-sensitive brands such as Hennes & Mauritz (H&M). Post hike, textile products being imported from countries like China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka will face the heat.
Basic customs duty has also been hiked ranging from 10 to 20 per cent to protect textile industry and employment. Indian textile bodies Tirupur Exporter’s Association (TEA) and Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) lauded government for taking this commendable move to protect domestic players. RMG import increased from Rs 3,994 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 4,983 crore in 2017-18. Additionally, leading India retail stores also started importing from Bangladesh and other countries due to availability of cheaper products.
Nike will raise wages for its 7,500 employees. About 10 per cent of employees across all levels and geographies will receive pay adjustments. The company has about 74,400 employees worldwide.
The pay adjustment will begin in August and be annualised over the balance of the company’s fiscal year. Its mid-level managers at its Portland headquarters are paid about $40,000 to $1,20,000 dollars a year. Earlier the sportswear maker concluded a probe into workplace behavior that resulted in the departure of a number of top executives.
Fueled by a complete digital transformation of the company end-to-end, this year set the foundation for Nike’s next wave of long-term, sustainable growth and profitability. US-based Nike, is the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Subsidiary brands include Converse, which designs, markets and distributes athletic lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories; and Hurley, which designs, markets and distributes surf and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories.
For the Q4 Nike’s revenue increased 13 per cent. Diluted earnings per share rose 15 per cent. Gross margin increased 60 basis points to 44.7 per cent.
Rana Plaza was a turning point in Bangladesh’s apparel history. Reforms have made the garment industry a safer place but have also resulted in huge job losses for women. Five years ago, the country’s clothing sector employed around four million people, of which more than 80 per cent were women. Now Bangladesh’s readymade garment factories have 3.5 million workers, 60.8 per cent of whom are women.
The clothing sector is Bangladesh’s largest export earner. Five years ago, working in a factory was considered a reliable source of income for women, who made up the vast majority of garment workers. Now, the number of women garment workers is on the decline. Some are keeping away from the industry by choice, afraid of another factory collapse. And thousands of others are being shut out of garment factory work by policies designed to keep them safe.
More than 78 per cent of the Rana Plaza survivors have never gone back to work in a garment factory. And more than 48 per cent of the survivors are still jobless. Women are less knowledgeable about the technology that the industry is bringing in, making it more difficult for them to participate in the garment workforce. This lack of knowledge has created more scope for male workers to enter this female-dominated industry.
The European Union’s import volume of T-shirts rose 6.06 per cent during January to April 2018. India’s export volumes of T-shirts to the EU rose 3.48 per cent. The rise in volume indicates India successfully caters to European buyers. However, to stay relevant and competitive, India dropped unit prices and, as a result, there was a fall of 0.55 per cent in T-shirt shipment value of exports to the EU in the same period.
Bangladesh’s export volume of T-shirts to the EU rose 10.81 per cent. But there was a 1.95 per cent drop in value terms. Vietnam was the only country among Asian manufacturing powerhouses which registered growth in both volume and value of T-shirt exports to the EU. Export volumes surged 4.20 per cent surge on a year on year basis, whereas shipment values were up 8.18 per cent during the review period.
Despite the fact that China remains a key global centre for the T-shirts, production is gradually shifting to other countries in Asia. Asian countries accounted for the highest dollar worth of exported T-shirts (inclusive of all materials) during 2017 and had a 56.7 per cent share of worldwide exports.
Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, Secretary General of the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association (Vitas) says, Vietnam is one of the world’s leading destinations for investors in the textile & garment industry due to the bilateral and multilateral agreements that the country has signed. Vietnam joined 16 FTAs, of which the two new-generation FTAs – CPTPP and EU-Vietnam FTA — are expected to facilitate the development of the industry.
Taiwanese company Far Eastern Apparel recently received an investment certificate to implement a $25 million garment project in VSIP II-A IZ in Binh Duong province of Vietnam. The company also signed a contract for leasing more land to expand its investment in its cloth and chemical fibre project in Bau Bang IZ.
Similarly, Singapore-based Herberton launched a textile and garment project, Ramatex in the Nam Dinh, with total investment capital of $80 million. The project is expected to become operational the next year and generate 3,000 jobs. Meanwhile, Japanese Itochu has spent 5 billion yen ($47 million) to acquire 10 per cent of Vinatex’s shares more, raising its ownership ratio in the Vietnam’s largest textile & garment group to 15 percent.
Invista’s Cordura® brand and Cone Denim® are debuting their latest collaboration at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Denver from July 23-28, 2018. This new denim innovation - Cordura® S Gene® Denim offers an authentic look and feel with hidden performance and engineered stretch benefits.
The Cone Denim's® S Gene® innovation was originally introduced in 2007. The high performance dual-core technology S Gene® yarn provides exceptional stretch and recovery. These yarns are made with two core components which optimise stretch and maximise recovery, and the dual-core is wrapped in spun cotton to provide a soft cotton hand and natural appearance.
Cordura®’s Gene® Denims feature high-strength nylon 6,6 filament technology and are validated to meet the durability, performance, and quality standards required for Invista's Cordura® brand fabrics. Cone Denim offer authentic indigo and black Cordura® S Gene® Denims in a range of weights from 10.75 to 11.75, with varying stretch 14 to 32 percent.
