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A large proportion of the manufacturing in the Indian garment industry is for the export market. The garment export industry is mainly concentrated in urban regions around Bangalore in Karnataka, Chennai and Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, and in Gurugram, Faridabad Noida around National Capital Region. There is a significant wage difference among garment workers in different Indian states.
The garment industry uses low wage states as the reason to oppose wage increase in states with higher wages. This is exactly what the garment units in Karnataka are doing. They argue since minimum wages in Karnataka are higher than in other states increasing wages would have an adverse impact on an industry that is already facing tough international competition.
Karnataka’s garment units threaten to shift to Telangana when the issue of wage revision comes up. That means management has the upper hand in determining the minimum wages of workers in the textile industry, spinning industry and the printing and dyeing industry. Determination of the minimum wage is regulated by the Minimum Wages Act. Garment and textile industries in the state argue they are incurring losses and so are unable to implement the Minimum Wages Act.
With the growing fitness industry in China, demand for sportswear is also growing. To cater to this, domestic brands are launching their products to meet the requirements of different sports. Sportswear giants like Li Ning, Anta and 361 Degrees have launched footwear and outfits for basketball, football, running, outdoor sports and athleisure with similar product strategy as big international brands Adidas and Nike.
With a distinctive style, flamboyant colors and clear cuts, Chinese designer Sun Lei recently launched her own brand Mono, to offer both functional and fashionable fitness clothing to an increasing number of gym-goers in the country. The brand’s special design for gym workouts aims to provide a new option for gym goers, with fabrics that absorb sweat, dries fast, and is ultraviolet-proof and anti-bacterial,. Mono has released three series in different styles and three colors, for women.
Chanel, founded by Coco Chanel in 1910 has released its annual results for the first time in its 108-year history. It also announced a reorganisation that aims to bring its various companies under one roof. The figures released revealed that the company registered total sales of $9.62 billion for the 2017 calendar year. This was an increase of 11 percent compared to the previous year on a constant-currency basis. That growth was primarily driven by sales in the Asia-Pacific region and in Europe, while operating profit was recorded at $2.69 billion.
Synonymous with French high fashion and blockbuster Parisian runway shows, Chanel is one of the biggest brands in the global luxury business. It is a French privately held company owned by Alain Wertheimer and Gérard Wertheimer, grandsons of Pierre Wertheimer. Chanel S.A. is a high fashion house that specialises in haute couture and ready-to-wear clothes, luxury goods, and fashion accessories.
The textile industry is currently facing double trouble with prices of both cotton and dyes, and chemicals have increased substantially in the last few days. The increase in prices of these key raw materials has pushed up the input cost of textile mills and processors.
Cotton prices have increased by 20 per cent whereas the cost of reactive dyes has almost doubled. The price of Shankar-6 variety of cotton has currently settled at Rs 47,500 per candy (one candy is 356kg) after touching a six-year high of Rs 48,500 per candy. The carry-over stock for 2018-19 is low both domestically and internationally. The price could firm up further if the US-China trade war continues. Based on the current scenario, the cotton prices may remain 15-17 per cent higher in 2018-19.
Higher imports of dyes raw materials by China from India has resulted in dyes prices in the domestic market surging by 30 per cent in the last two month. The price of caustic dye has also increased by 40 per cent and even coal prices have increased by 60 per cent
Filpucci is known for its innovative products, high-end knitwear and creative yarns. Research, style and fashion are key to driving Filpucci’s responsible approach towards innovation. The company uses the best raw materials and has an established know-how in the fields of dyeing and finishing.
Among this season’s new offerings are Baby Camel Re.Verso, RWS- certified merino organic wool, Re.Verso cashmere, organic silks and FSC-certified viscose. Filpucci is an Italian leader in manufacture creative yarns for quality knitwear. It is all about a constant movement towards new generation values and a reliable, traceable and transparent manufacturing process, as shown by the Re.Verso circular economy supply chain, of which the group is a unique ambassador in the field of high-end/low-impact knitwear yarns.
With quality always in mind, the group represents a corporate model that has made sustainability a mission, embarking on complex paths that have brought great results with fashionable textile solutions led by ethical and sustainable values. Filpucci’s products have become part of Patagonia’s collections. Patagonia was on the hunt for the highest performing, lowest impact materials and came upon Re.Verso (95/5 transformed) cashmere yarn from Filpucci. It allowed Patagonia to create a range of products with the insulative and soft properties of cashmere while adhering to its mission statement: building the best product without causing unnecessary harm.
World cotton stocks are forecast to decrease following last season’s relatively small increase. Ending stocks are projected at 83 million bales for 2018-19, nearly six per cent below 2017-18 and the lowest since 2011-12. Global cotton stocks totaled a record 110.8 million bales at the conclusion of 2014-15, with China holding 60 per cent of the total. Chinese policies resulted in unusually large stocks in its national reserve. Subsequently, however, policies were implemented in China to reduce surplus stocks, resulting in lower world stocks.
For 2017-18, cotton stocks in China are forecast lower at 41.2 million bales, while stocks outside of China are expected to increase 22 per cent. For 2018-19, stocks in China are projected to decline further to 33.1 million bales—40 per cent of the global total—while stocks outside of China are forecast to approach a record 50 million bales. However, as a share of world mill use, stocks outside of China are expected to rise only slightly in 2018-19.
Reduced yields in 2017-18 in India are contributing to lowered planted area for 2018-19, with exports projected at 8,40,000 tons, representing a 24 per cent decrease from the previous season. Production in Brazil for the 2017-18 season is estimated to be 1.9 million tons, a 26 per cent increase from 2016-17.
Sport apparel manufacturer Suzhou Tianyuan Garments is the first Chinese garment maker to have located in the US. The company opened a production facility in Arkansas and will invest more than $20 million and create 400 jobs.
The Chinese company purchased a 100,000 sq. ft, building within minutes of rail, waterway and air transportation to get Arkansas-produced goods to the market. Suzhou has a manufacturer’s production rate of nearly 10 million articles of clothing.
The clothing mill will mainly supply Adidas, which is the world’s second-largest sporting goods conglomerate behind Nike. At the end of 2017, Suzhou Tianyuan supplied 90 per cent of the garments marketed by Adidas. The Chinese garment market also manufactures clothing for sporting equipment giant Reebok and Giorgi Armani, the high-end Italian brand now based in New York City.
The clothing manufacturer will join India-based Welspun Tubular and the Danish LM Wind Power as key overseas industrial prospects that Arkansas was able to attract to one of the state’s largest industrial parks. For the year, Arkansas manufacturers have added 4,100 jobs, boosting the total number of blue-collar jobs in the sector to 1,60,300. The state wants to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US.
The next edition of CHIC Shanghai will be held from September 27-29, 2018. With 800 exhibitors expected from 21 countries, the autumn edition of Asia's leading fashion trade fair will provide the essential tool box to crack the Chinese consumer market.
The motto of the exhibition will be ‘New Makers’ and the focus will be on innovation. The discussions and fashion shows at the event will look into the future of the fashion business and provide insights into the Chinese market. Impulses, the designers´ section will showcase upcoming designer brands and their innovative, inspiring fashion approaches.
The show has been structured into appealing segments areas such as New Look (womenswear), Urban View (menswear), Young Blood (young fashion and lifestyle), Kids´ Paradise (kidswear), Secret Stars (accessories), Shanghai Bag (bags), Heritage (leather & fur) and Superior Factory (ODM). These present the latest trends and provide the right ambience for intensive business talks. The show will also gather fashion service providers presenting platforms for supply chain solutions, smart retail and production, RFID, laser production, data use, etc.
Forever Black is a denim line from Bestseller’s brand Only. These black jeans have been created in collaboration with Lenzing, the world leader in the production of wood pulp-based fibers. Tencel Modal fibers in black color, which are the primary component of Forever Black, are produced with responsibly sourced wood pulp – rather than traditional cotton – and are pre-dyed in the process of turning the wood pulp into fiber.
These fibers are certified with EU Ecolabel, which is awarded to products that meet high environmental standards throughout their life cycle. In the case of Tencel Modal fibers, there is a reduction of up to 50 per cent energy and water, as well as a 60 per cent reduced carbon footprint.
Only scrutinises the entire denim production process in the search for more sustainable solutions. For one of its 2019 collections, Only recently ordered 40,000 pairs of jeans that will use recycled polyester for stitching. On an average, each pair will use the equivalent of four 500 ml plastic bottles, meaning Only’s order will effectively recycle 1,60,000 plastic bottles. Besides the more sustainable benefits of Tencel Modal fibers compared to cotton, Only is bringing a fabric, which will truly be black forever.
"Care chief economist Madan Sabnavis has advised India to have a cautious approach at this stage as the trade war could be extended to India as well. President Donald Trump is very unpredictable, and has already indicated that Washington could levy higher tariff on some of the products imported from New Delhi. The Sino-US trade war, however, opens an opportunity to boost India’s exports to the US. India-US trade is worth over $100 billion. Both in merchandise and services, bilateral trade is loaded in favour of India. But there is also a possibility of dumping from China in the face of US restricting imports from Beijing."
The trade war between US and China, oil spike and volatility in exchange rate is likely to have a negative impact on oil importing countries like India. To mitigate this, India plans to hike tariff on 30 imported US goods including motorcycles, heavy machinery, chocolates, almonds and shrimps. This is in response to US increasing duty on aluminium and steel imported from India, resulting in a combined loss of $240 billion, which though not significant, mutes the expansion possibility.
Opportunity to boost exports
Care chief economist Madan Sabnavis has advised India to have a cautious approach at this stage as the trade war could be extended to India as well. President Donald Trump is very unpredictable, and has already indicated that Washington could levy higher tariff on some of the products imported from New Delhi. The Sino-US trade war, however, opens an opportunity to boost India’s exports to the US. India-US trade is worth over $100 billion. Both in merchandise and services, bilateral trade is loaded in favour of India. But there is also a possibility of dumping from China in the face of US restricting imports from Beijing.
New Delhi cannot remain complacent as Washington may demand enhanced market access in farm and dairy products and medical equipment. Although
India’s trade surplus with the US is little over $25 billion as compared to China’s $337 billion, America reckons India as a big market for its dairy and farm products and medical equipment. India is one of the largest producers of fruits and vegetables with horticulture recording bumper harvest of 375 million tonne this year. Import of US farm products will worsen farmers and food security concerns.
A golden opportunity
Although, the US has threatened to withdraw the special and differential flexibilities for India, China and South Africa, trade experts see this as a window of opportunity for New Delhi to step up farm exports to Beijing which can help in narrowing the trade gap with China, now at over $50 billion. India can increase its global farm exports to $100 billion from the present $40 billion.
Analysts say, the trade war has certainly opened some opportunities and it is now up to the government and exporters to cash-in on it. FIEO regional head and a top garment exporter A Shaktivel said that as it is garment exports are not doing well and a trade war will definitely hit the Indian exports which of late has started looking up. India will do well to be cautious as it could be the next target. There may be a window of opportunity as well which depends on what Chinese items attract higher tariffs in the US.
