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In December 2016, at a seminar organised by the BGMEA ‘Taking Bangladesh Apparel Sector Forward’, the state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam said, last fiscal, from July 2015 to June 2016, the country’s garments exports touched $28.09 billion whereas in the calendar year ending in December 2016, exports were $28.67 billion. To reach the target of $50 billion in 2021, the export rate needs to grow at a 12.25 per cent cumulative rate.
Past growth rates have been in double digits, but given the current international economic and trade environment, whether it is possible for Bangladesh to continue gain double-digit growth rates is doubtful. Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report 2016 notes, price growth of export goods of Bangladesh will fall in 2017 as against the current year, however, volumes will significantly increase.
At a recent conference at Harvard organised by ISDI, all stakeholders including representatives from buyers and labour unions unanimously felt the price of clothing has been falling in recent years. The downward pressure on price, from the demand side, has been two-fold: Consumers are now buying more high-end products and apparel and footwear sellers are losing consumer big bucks to healthcare, rent, home-related products, electronics and cars.
An additional reason for the lower price is that with greater prosperity, basic needs such as food and clothing have low price elasticity. The commerce minister Tofail Ahmed last month asked labour bodies to press buyers to raise RMG prices. Ahmed urged union leaders to connect with their counterparts in importing countries to use their influence on buyers and consumers. He said labour organisations of the RMG sector should tell buyers to raise product prices, which would help increase labour wages in the sector.
Readymade garments exporters have recently demanded higher cash incentives and devaluation of the Taka against the US dollar. To retain market share in the low-cost-and-high-efficient region, the path to profitability and export growth is increased efficiency, higher productivity and quality management.
The 11th edition of Retail Leadership summit kicked started in Mumbai on Tuesday. Day one saw the presence of industry stakeholders, brand custodians and key management professionals from across all categories who exchanged ideas and business insights while deliberating on various aspects of retail. B S Nagesh, Chairman, RAI gave the opening, He was also the moderator for the first panel discussion ‘Customer Centricity: Redefining Values and Valuations’ attended by the likes of Harish Bhatt, Brand Custodian, Tata Sons, Kishore Biyani, Group CEO, Future Group, Ramanathan Hariharan, Group Director and Board Member, Landmark Group and V Subramaniam, Managing Director, Reliance Retail. V Subramaniam also gave a special address.
In his opening address, Nagesh said the event is aimed at providing great experience to consumers with the help of best practices adopted by stakeholders. This can be possible by holding knowledge sharing programs such as Retail Leadership Summit. He appreciated the state and central governments for their contributions towards the growth of the industry.
V Subramaniam in his special address thanked Nagesh and Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, RAI, for taking the initiative which brings all stakeholders and academia under one platform. He stressed on the need of taking a holistic approach for consumer satisfaction, be it product quality, service or entire value chain. He said, customer centricity is not a one-time act but an ongoing process and it helps in building a relationship between brand and its consumers. He also talked about omni-channel retail and its impact on the industry.
The panel discussion revolved around customer centricity and redefining retail. Kishore Biyani observed, India has a huge population and it will be an advantage if industry stakeholders know well how to make people spend money. Others speakers also shared their experiences and stressed on the need of having a consumer-centric approach for long term growth.
Various panel discussions on different aspects on retail took place through the day. These were: Innovations to Create the Customer Relevance, Keeping Retail Relevant: Evolving with the Consumer, Customer-Experience driven Transformation: Why retailers are changing their Customers, ‘How Digital will Power the Store of the Future etc.
The textile industry says around Rs 16 billion worth of payments to readymade garments alone, under the Remission of State Levies (ROSL) scheme, has not been cleared by the government.
The government had allocated Rs 4 billion in 2016-17. The original allocation under ROSL of Rs 15.55 billion for 2017-18 was enhanced to Rs 18.55 billion in the revised estimates. For the year 2018-19, the ROSL allocation in the Union Budget was Rs 21.64 billion. The amount allocated would not be sufficient for the requirements even at present. Besides, there has been a delay in payment; the ROSL amount was given to exporters only from March 2017 onwards.
The amount allocated might not be enough to serve the current requirements, so the government needs to increase the allocation and disburse funds as early as possible to help the industry come out of its present financial crunch, said the organisation.
The rebate of state levies shall be understood to comprise value-added tax (VAT) on fuel used in the transport of raw materials, finished goods and factory workers, and VAT on fuel used in generation of captive power, Mandi tax on purchase of cotton, duty on electricity used in manufacture as accumulated from stage of cotton and man-made Fibre (MMF) till garment or made-up stage, stamp duties on export documents and state GST on inputs used in the production of cotton, and embedded SGST in purchases from unregistered dealers.
The ROSL scheme was announced as part of a special package to the apparel sector, and, subsequently, made-ups were also included in the scheme. The scheme came into effect from September 20, 2016.
Leading Swiss textile technology brand and a producer of functional polymer chips, yarn and textile technologies, Litrax, displayed its latest technology innovations that could change the future of functional garments, at ISPO Beijing last month.
The company showcased L2 Thermo, a fibre integrated warming technology that permits instant warming and insulation of +13°C infrared heat within 10 minutes, produced by the human body itself collected by L2.
This technology received Top 5 and Top 10 innovations awards at earlier ISPO shows, through fabric suppliers LMA and Sampaio Portugal and is in current use by several brands in body wear, insulation and winter and ski wear.
L2 Thermo is available in dark (grey), light (silver) and off-white fibre and filament versions with marginal temperature difference. Off-white still offers a +60 per cent higher temperature as against virgin polyester. This is best for e-vehicles interior (ceiling, carpet, seats), as it will reduce heating battery consumption by 30 per cent.
It claims their technology can warm up even with thinnest socks, and produces a +13°C temperature difference between virgin polyester and L2 Thermo polyester. The company also presented its solution with L14 Conductivity yarns: polymer filaments with finest Swiss made plasma coating of inert Ag/Ti (silver/titanium). The yarns are said to exhibit excellent conductivity properties, are washable and offer total textile flexibility.
“Under normal conditions the comparison between L14 textile electrodes and conventional gel electrodes show no difference of signal strength making it suitable for finest currents in medical, signalling, sensing and lighting applications,” the company added. Litrax presented another novel technology, showing halogen-free L11 Flame Retardant technology for PA6 yarns in both off white and predyed versions with great LOI values.
The Indian textile industry has recently been seeing exponential growth along with textile and apparel export. India is the world's second largest exporter of textiles and clothing. With readymade garments remaining the largest contributor to total textile and apparel exports from India, textile and apparel exports are forecast to increase to $82 billion by 2021.
Key growth drivers are increased penetration of organised retail, favourable demographics and rising income levels. Key highlights of the textile industry's big success are:
Foreign Investments and FDI: The hike in FDI limit in multi-brand retail is a blessing for the textile industry which will not only bring in more players, but even provide more consumer options. It will bring greater investments along the entire value chain. With international brands gaining a domestic foothold, outsourcing will also rise exponentially.
Retail sector’s growth potential: With consumerism and disposable income on the rise, the retail sector has seen a quick growth in the last ten years with several international players like Marks & Spencer and Guess etc. having entered the Indian market. The organised apparel segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 13 per cent over a 10 year period.
Private sector participation: While government policies and initiatives are growth drivers for the textile industry, private players to are making hay whilst the sun shines. The Central Silk Board's targets for raw silk production is a key example and to achieve these targets, alliances with the private sector, especially major agro-based industries in pre-cocoon and post-cocoon segments has been encouraged.
International demand: Growing population has been a main aspect of textile growth in the country. Moreover, according to World Bank, urban population accounts for 32.7 per cent of the total population of India. This also works as demand driver due to changing taste and preferences in the urban India. This trend has been enhanced by a young population which is growing and is being exposed to changing trends and fashion resulting in the textile industry seeing high volume demand within the country and also in exports.
For 2017, H&M’s operational profit went down 14 per cent. The retailer’s assortment missed the mark last year, which resulted in low comp sales, ballooning inventory levels, and an increase in markdown activity. Stock in trade was 16.9 per cent of net sales. The target is to come back to levels before 2016, which is 12 to 14 per cent.
H&M is experimenting with new store formats that focus on a more shopping-friendly environment thanks to less merchandise, a warmer feeling and more of an emphasis on experience. H&M is also applying features to make the stores easier to shop in. The brand will also make easier its new in-store mode on its app. Shoppers will be able to search the store assortment for specific items, get recommendations based on products available in nearby locations and become alerted whenever a product which is their favorite is in a store they happen to be passing by.
The company is planning to advance the company’s content, and it’s investing in a new photo studio for that purpose. For the fourth quarter of 2017 H&M saw a 34 per cent fall in profits on a four per cent drop in sales.
Dutch denim maker G-Star Raw is launching the most sustainable denim ever. G-Star uses 100 per cent organic cotton, which doesn’t use pesticides that are unnatural, synthetic or chemical. Its organic crops are grown from non-genetically modified seeds and the majority of global production is rain-fed.
The company has developed a new indigo technology that uses 70 per cent less chemicals, no salts, and produces no-salt byproduct. Pre-reduced indigo is combined with a liquid based organic agent that replaces the conventional use of sodium hydrosulphite — a major problem in indigo dyeing.
The conventional technique for washing denim can use nearly 2,000 gallons of water to make one pair of jeans. With G-Star 98 per cent of the water used to wash the jeans gets recycled and reused, and the small percentage left evaporates.
Other measures include replacing rivets and zippers with eco-finished metal buttons to make each garment 98 per cent recyclable, enforcing a code of conduct with suppliers and working to trace all raw materials back to their origins. For the buttons, G-Star collaborated with YKK on metal that doesn’t require electroplating baths during production, which eliminates acid and toxic chemicals.
As much as possible, G-Star uses recycled cotton from post-consumer or post-industrial waste material for its apparel.
The fabric collection presented by Canepa SpA at the February 2018 edition of Première Vision, the French trade fair presenting international innovations and textile trends, was dedicated to environmental sustainability. The company showcased its patent SavetheWater Kitotex®, whose manufacturing process was tailored to minimise its impact on the environmental by reducing the use of toxic substances, energy and water consumption in all the production process.
The new pre-collection S/S 2019 Canepa textile is eco-friendly, ‘ECO comfort’, flexibly destined to man and woman, suitable to be used in any stylistic pattern, through an innovative ecological dyeing. Prints and jacquards of unlimited chromatic variety are harmoniously developed in precious and imaginative top of the range Made in Italy collections, with a creativity that Canepa have been developing since 1966.
The new Canepa collections include other textiles in cotton made as per Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) certification requirements. Flowery, geometrical and false uni fabrics dominate S/S 2019 Canepa collection, pastel shades mix up with more energetic and intense tones, designed for a woman who craves innovation and a romantic mood.
Optical solutions and black and white geometries open the Spring season with light matelassé and fil coupé textiles, taking inspiration from flowers, together with brocades in romantic shades of colours such as antique rose, London grey, pastel blue and light yellow. As summer comes, tones become more intense, in the development of collection storytelling. Patterns become more abstract and shapes more irregular, the vision turns from romanticism to a journey in the hyperspace, colours appear almost unreal, taken to the most extreme tones. The new pre-collection synthetises the suggestions of new style tendencies, translated into textiles connecting a new romantic classicism, a return to minimalism and a strong desire for future and technology.
A designer studio-cum-library for viscose staple fibre (VSF) products will be launched in Tirupur to provide training in the handling of viscose yarn and fabrics. Grasim Industries, in association with the Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA), is to set up the state-of-art-facility. TEA president Raja M Shanmugham disclosed it was important to enlarge the product range, while 65 per cent of global apparel segment belongs to man-made fibres, it would be difficult for the dollar city to survive if it only continued to bank on cotton fabric products, because many developing countries are picking up in the latter market.
With the Liva brand, Grasim Industries is the giant in VSF market and so when they approached TEA, they welcomed them with open arms. Garment manufacturers in Tirupur may be good at handling cotton yarn and fabrics, but not viscose.
Head of R&D, NIFT-TEA College of Knitwear Fashion, CP Senthil Kumar explained, viscose’s wet strength is lesser compared to cotton and the fabric may swell easily. Experience will be needed to handle issues including shrinkage control. Such know-how could be earned from the technical experts at the state-of-art designer studio where marketing solutions could also be met. To strengthen the supply chain, Grasim Industries will include yarn/fabric manufacturers and dyeing processors, who works on their knowledge under Liva accredited partner forum (LAPF).
In January, Indian cotton textiles exports fell by 16 per cent year-on-year. Apparel exports fell 14 per cent year-on-year. Manmade textiles fell seven per cent year-on-year.
Between April and January of last financial year and for the same period this fiscal, apparel exports dropped by five per cent. Usually orders are good between January and March. However, this year, exporters are cutting back orders because of the financial crunch. While the country’s exports are growing, decline in apparel and textile exports will bring down the share of the sector in the export basket. Annual textile and clothing exports this year might be the same as last year. However, yarn and garments are going to be lower.
Cotton yarn exports have declined by more than 26 per cent from 2013-14 to 2016-17 despite adding over three million spindles and 62,000 rotors of spinning capacity during this period.
There has also been a continuous rise in imports of textile products post GST. Imports of textile yarn, fabric and made-ups increased by 15 per cent from April 2016 to January 2017. Almost 55 per cent of garment exporters have not received the Rebate of State Levies since last July.
