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Higher costs wiped out profits for Stella McCartney in 2018. Corporate reorganisation costs mounted but the large new flagship store on Old Bond Street also added to the company’s outgoings. Overall, expenses rose and sales were virtually flat during the period – they rose by a tiny 0.2 per cent after having risen two per cent during 2017.
The company’s strategy is to expand its worldwide retail portfolio with new stores and concessions, particularly in Asia. In fact, the company is heavily focused on international sales in general and doesn’t seem to be worried about Brexit. At the moment less than five per cent of its global revenue happens in its UK shops. That also means only a small proportion of its sales are dependent on cross-border movement of goods to Britain. Further, the majority of foreign revenue recorded by the company relates to royalties, which benefit from UK international tax treaties that are unlikely to be affected by Brexit.
Stella McCartney is one of the UK’s leading designers, who’s also the flag-waver for all-things cruelty-free and sustainable. Stella McCartney has gone into a partnership with LVMH. The aim is to accelerate the development of the Stella McCartney brand globally.
Fabric scraps can earn Bangladesh a huge income every year. The total volume of leftovers discarded by the apparel industry is about 4,00,000 tons each year. In many areas dense with garment factories, discarded fabrics are collected by local miscreants and exported in bulk to counties like India and China. The buyers then recycle the materials to make yarn, particularly for denim products.
Polyester Staple Fiber (PSF), made from recycled plastics, is rapidly becoming the world's first choice in manufactured fibers. PSF is a synthetic fiber comprising solely polyester and can be made from both virgin and recycled polyethylene terephthalate chips. PSF is widely used in the textile, automation and furniture industries for products such as rugs, fibrefill, and non-woven fabrics.
Bangladesh PSF imports increased 13 per cent from 2014 to 2018. The country’s textile chemical market is growing eight per cent a year. Bangladesh’s apparel sector is being hit by Coronavirus (COVID-19) related supply chain disorders, with prices for raw materials soaring. Bangladesh’s apparel sector is the country’s top foreign currency earner. Production in many factories is being hampered by the lack of raw materials. Due to the short supply, prices of different raw materials have increased by between 30 and 40 per cent.
The European Union has decided to retain the GSP Plus status for Pakistan for another two years. Pakistan’s exports to the EU have grown 65 per cent since the grant of GSP Plus in 2014 to 2019. But the country could not take full advantage of the GSP Plus benefit, primarily due to the lack of a solid marketing plan to improve its exports. The value-added textile sector has been the main driver of the economy for the last 50 years in terms of foreign currency earnings and job creation. A zero-rating of sales tax is expected to help the sector fully exploit the GSP Plus facility.
There is a need to enhance product lines of the country’s exports. As of now the garment sector in Pakistan has a limited product line for the export market since the appropriate fabrics are in short supply. Since foreign buyers demand new garments based on G3, G4 and technical fabric materials, there is a need to offer more diversified products to take the benefit of GSP Plus. Another key challenge is the 17 per cent sales tax on exporters. About 45 per cent to 60 per cent of almost every exporter’s cash liquidity is blocked due to this taxation, a major hurdle in export growth.
Bangladesh has emerged as the third largest readymade garment supplier to the United States after China and Vietnam. The country produces garment products that appeal to US consumers.
Trade volume between the two countries has doubled in 10 years. Garment products account for 95 per cent of Bangladesh’s total exports to the US market while US imposes a 15.62 per cent duty on garment imports. Despite sharing an uneven relationship due to labor issues, termination of Generalised System of Preference (GSP) benefits with the US, Bangladesh’s access to the US market continued to increase over time. The US is Bangladesh’s single largest export destination while as a least developed country 97 per cent of the goods originating from Bangladesh enjoy duty-free benefits in the US markets. However, US entrepreneurs are concerned about custom proceeding delays, difficulties in capital and profit repatriation as well as lack of transparency in issuing various trade related licenses.
Alongside the enhancement of product quality, improvement of workplace safety after the 2013 Rana Plaza setback helped Bangladesh regain the confidence of US importers. And tariffs have been no impediment in the country’s ability to access the US market.
In 2019, the US imported almost 50.46 per cent of home textiles and made ups from China. On the other hand, India share constituted only 22.45 per cent of made-ups to the US, although US has a share of around 50 per cent of its home textiles exports from India.
In total, the US imported home textiles and made ups worth $14,424.37 million in 2019. This was around 1.52 per cent more than those imported in 2018. In 2018, US imports had increased by 7.31 per cent over 2017. US textile and apparel import growth could remain stagnant in 2020 too due to the varied impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and numerous store closures.
India emerges top supplier of cotton sheets Some of the main items that the US imported included cotton terry towels, other cotton manufactures (which includes among others table and kitchen linens, bedspread, curtains, upholstery, etc), cotton sheets, cotton bedspreads and quilts, MMF floor coverings, other MMF furnishings, wool floor coverings. While India was the top supplier of cotton sheets, terry towels and wool floor coverings, China was lead supplier of other products.
India was the top supplier of cotton sheets to the US followed by China and Pakistan. However, India’s exports
declined by almost 2 per cent to $691.01 million. The second largest supplier of cotton sheets, China also suffered a setback due to the US-China trade war as its exports of cotton sheets declined by 11.57 per cent to $269.13 million. On the other hand, exports from Pakistan grew by 10.21 per cent.
Cotton bedspreads and quilts import decline
US import of cotton bedspreads and quilts declined 2.89 per cent to $959.26 million. China emerged top supplier exporting goods worth $557.34 million registering a growth of 14.68 per cent. India’s exports grew 10.68 per cent $160.05 million in 2019, slightly higher growth than 10.59 per cent registered in 2018. Imports from Pakistan, $152.92 million, fell marginally by 1.62 per cent in 2019. US cotton terry towel imports in 2019 were $1616.345 million, 1.16 per cent lower than in 2018. India exported terry towels worth US$ 636.71 million, a small growth of 0.32 per cent. India accounts for majority share with 39.39 per cent of total US imports of cotton terry towels.
China’s exports declined 5.58 per cent to $383.77 million while Pakistan’s saw a growth of 2.28 per cent to $340.04 million. US imports from Turkey were up 7.45 per cent, from Colombia 12.36 per cent, from Salvador 17.8 per cent and Jordan 67.91 per cent. Other cotton furnishings and home textiles imports into the US stood at $2892.55 million in 2019, a fall of 3.6 per cent compared to 2018.
Indian emerges top supplier of wool floor coverings
Import of wool floor coverings declined 13.76 per cent in 2019 to $654.32 million. India was the top supplier of wool floor coverings in the US, accounting for 57.86 per cent share in total US imports.
China’s exports declined 27.86 per cent to $55.94 million. Pakistan’s exports stood at $ 43.38 million, a marginal growth of 0.49 per cent. MMF floor covering imports into the US amounted to $1749 million, a fall of 4.43 per cent compared to 2018. In 2019, Turkey overtook China to become the top supplier in the US market. Imports from Turkey at $648.61 million increased 18.37 per cent in 2019.
China’s exports at $ 89.89 were 32.16 per cent lower than in 2018. India maintained its position as the third largest supplier with exports of $187.87 million, 9.75 per cent higher than in 2019. Among emerging sourcing destinations are Mexico, Korea and Vietnam.
Import of MMF home furnishings increase by 12.22 per cent
Other MMF home furnishings is the most important item in the US home textiles import basket, accounting for 35 per cent share of total home textiles and mad-ups. US imports of MMF furnishings increased by 12.22 per cent in 2019 to $5153.20 million. China is the dominant supplier with a share of 83.23 per cent of total US imports.
In view of the intensifying spread of Covid-19 across the globe and the precautionary travel restrictions put in place by the Indian government, Messe Frankfurt India together with Gifts & Accessories, the Exhibition Division of Netlink Solutions have decided to postpone four co-located fairs – Paperworld India, Corporate Gifts Show, Interior Lifestyle India and Interior Lifestyle India presented by Ambiente India, slated for March 2020. Having received definitive industry feedback in support of this decision, the co-located fairs will now take place from January, 21-23 2021 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai.
Given the escalating situation with regard to the spread of Covid-19, the Indian government has taken strong steps on visa restrictions of foreign nationals. With a large international contingent from China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, UAE, Taiwan and Thailand slated to participate at the upcoming co-located fairs in March, the ongoing consultations with the industry demanded a new analysis of the situation, close to the opening dates of the fair.
As per the travel advisory issued by the Union Health Ministry, precautionary travel restrictions have tightened entry conditions, making it impossible for large parts of the international exhibitors and visitors to participate and attend the fairs for regular business. Messe Frankfurt’s decision of postponement of the fairs has, therefore, received a swift, unanimous and definitive support from exhibitors as well as industry associations supporting Paperworld India, Corporate Gifts Show, Interior Lifestyle India and Interior Lifestyle India presented by Ambiente India.
“The current situation represents a major challenge for the MICE industry over the world. We have been in constant dialogue with industry players and keeping the interests of our valued exhibitors foremost, we felt it was imperative to take this decision at this point in time.” says Raj Manek, Executive Director and Board Member, Messe Frankfurt Asia Holdings. “We remain committed to delivering high-quality platforms for networking, and look forward to delivering a great show next year.” added Minesh Modi, Director, Netlink Solutions.
In China, there are about 530 million workers in the secondary and tertiary industries, needing atleast 530 million pieces of face masks a day. This is an on-going requirement and for more masks are needed for the people staying at home to go out occasionally for shopping or outdoor activities. Above this, how many more masks are to be needed, if the change of mask is more often being a single use mask? Roughly accounted, one ton of meltblown nonwovens can turn out 1 million pieces of Single use masks, more than 100 tons of nonwovens in this category can turn into 100 million pieces of masks, still far short of supply.
We have meltblown nonwovens, who has got mask machines?
Before the outbreak of the current epidemic on February 6, Sinopec, a China Petrochemical Corporation, was seeking collaborative production of masks with vendors having masks machines, because the petrochemical complex produces meltblown, the raw material for nonwovens facemasks. But now, the nonwoven raw material is not something it wants to supply to masks manufacturers for co-production, rather it wants to keep the raw material for its own production of masks, instead of selling out cross-aisle to the other sectors of industry.
We have mask machines, where is meltblown?
On the other side, BYD Company Ltd., was the earliest respondent to Sinopec’s appeal for mask machines, now calls even louder for cooperation by saying “ We have mask machines, but have no way of buying meltblown nonwovens!” BYD staff told media “Our company needs 5 tons of meltblown nonwovens per days, but we have only found a supplier for around 10 tons of it, barely enough to support consumption for two or three days, this too at a lead time of about one month.”
Obviously, BYD is not the only company troubled with meltblown supply shortage. Some mask manufacturers said that some suppliers for meltblown nonwovens went with an offer as high as 150,000 Yuan/ton, still very hard to get it even at this cost with cash-and-carry terms. This generally happens only for critical medical-purpose product applications and not for an ordinary civil consumption product.
In fact, 150,000 Yuan/ton for meltblown nonwovens is not the ceiling price at the moment. Mr. Chen, coordinator for raw material allotment to some of the mask manufacturing companies in Changyuan city, Henan province, told the media “The price for meltblown nonwovens rocketed from the previous less than 20,000 Yuan/ton to 300,000 Yuan/ton and even higher up to 400,000-500,000 Yuan/ton in the price offering.” 
Demand spikes up production with new lines
The demand/supply relationship here in the market as the mask manufacturers are starving for meltblown nonwovens, is driving up the raw material prices. A meltblown nonwoven manufacturer in Beijing has told CHINA TEXTILE that its price was somewhere at 18,000 Yuan/ton before the coronavirus breakout, and is over 400,000 Yuan/ton, 20 times higher at the moment today on March 8. “It’s like one-day-one-price business” he said.
The production of this special product is usually adequate for consumption, due to its small niche market, but the outbreak of COVID-19 goaded a lot of companies not only in textile industry, but also in the other sectors of the industry to invest in new lines or capacity expansion, including some new comers who shunted their lines to the mask production to keep abreast of the rising demand, intensifying the competition not to sell out, but to buy in when it comes to availability of meltblown nonwovens. On February 24, Sinopec decided to invest 200 million Yuan in 10 new lines which are expected to go into production as soon as possible, multiplying its daily output to 18 tons of meltblown nonwovens. Two new lines out of this new capacity are set up in Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical Company in Beijing, which was supposed to go into production on March 8, 2020.
The meltblown nonwoven is the core filter of the sandwiched mask that is flanked by spun-bonded nonwovens on both sides, and it is often made of polypropylene which is the key feedstuff for making meltblown nonwoven. According to China Non-Woven and Industrial Textile Association (CNITA), there was about 53,400 tons of this product, roughly 146 tons every day on full-year count, which is not confined to mask application, it is also widely applied to the niche market for environmental protection, garment and diaphragm in battery. Based on its slim production capacity, about 20,000 tons of meltblown nonwovens for N95 medical masks are needed, that is to say, 50 tons a day in a year to meet the demand if we take into account the mask production for 6 billion pieces as was reported last year.
Demand outstrips even increased production
As the factories are rebooting progressively across the sectors in the whole country, workers are asked to wear mouth muffles. There are about 530 million workers in the secondary and tertiary industries that means, a need to provide atleast 530 million pieces of face masks a day. And how many more are to be needed if the change of masks is more often these being a single use masks? Roughly accounted, one ton of meltblown nonwovens can turn out 1 million pieces of one-off masks, more than 100 tons of nonwovens in this category can turn into 100 million pieces of masks, still far short of supply.
This on-going and potential driver for more masks not only for the people at work, but also for the people staying at home to go out occasionally for shopping or outdoor activities. Moreover, there are two sectors driving demand at fast speed right now, one for workers to come back to factories, and another growing demand as global spread of the disease at an accelerating rate, both factors will push the demand for more new lines even higher.
As the price has blown out, another worry grows, nevertheless. The quickly rising demand for new lines for meltblown production overwhelms the machine manufacturers who are unable to deliver on time, with a promise to fulfill the contract in 6 months, in September this year. The heat will soon quench if the coronavirus dies away and out, what will blow out when so many expensive production lines are here and there or even under construction?
Contributed by Mr. ZHAO Hong
He is working for CHINA TEXTILE magazine as Editor-in-Chief in addition to being involved in a plethora of activities for the textile industry. He has worked for the Engineering Institute of Ministry of Textile Industry, and for China National Textile Council and continues to serve the industry in the capacity of Deputy Director of China Textile International Exchange Centre, V. President of China Knitting Industry Association, V. President of China Textile Magazine and its Editor-in-Chief for the English Version, Deputy Director of News Centre of China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC), Deputy Director of International Trade Office, CNTAC, Deputy Director of China Textile Economic Research Centre. He was also elected once ACT Chair of Private Sector Consulting Committee of International Textile and Clothing Bureau (ITCB)
Tailored Brands closed sale of the Joseph Abboud trademarks to WHP Global for $115 million. In conjunction with this transaction, it entered into a licensing agreement with WHP for the exclusive rights to sell and rent Joseph Abboud branded apparel and related merchandise in the United States and Canada, the firm said in a statement.
The omni-channel specialty retailer of menswear plans to use the proceeds from the transaction for debt repayment, which will strengthen its balance sheet and provide additional financial flexibility to invest in its customer-facing transformation strategies.
Brands owned by Tailored Brands include men's Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank, Moores Clothing for Men and K&G. WHP Global is focused on the future of brand management. The New York-based firm specialises in acquiring global consumer brands and strategically investing in high-growth distribution channels and global digital commerce platforms, in addition to introducing new product categories that are relevant to today's consumer.
Eco-friendly denim manufacturing techniques require upfront costs from the mills that employ them. Sustainability is linked to research and innovation. If the company doesn’t invest, there is no innovation and, as a consequence, there is no sustainability. Organic cotton fibers, nontoxic dyes and other sustainable components are all more expensive than their conventional counterparts. Even machinery upgrades that allow for water, energy and chemical efficiencies require constant investment. Mills may have to incur additional costs to have their processes and products audited and certified by third parties to verify claims.
There are three main areas of investment for eco-friendly denim production--dyeing, recycling fibers and finishing. Sustainability is one of the biggest expenditures for mills because it requires a lot of R&D, new technologies, innovations and education. The more sustainable innovation a fabric includes, the higher the price point is going to be. Because there is always room for improvement, there is no way any business can be 100 per cent sustainable. Mills must therefore stay nimble, both in terms of their strategies and plans for financing.
But because sustainability measures often improve efficiency, many, if not most, initial investments are eventually recouped through cost savings. These savings are in terms of energy, water and chemicals.
Garment manufacturers in the Philippines expect their export earnings to be flat this year. Apparel production has almost halted due to delayed raw material deliveries from China, Korea, Taiwan and other Asian countries. The Philippines has to rely on imports of fabrics, textiles and accessories. Coronavirus (COVID-19) which originated in China has also affected several countries, including Korea, Taiwan and other Asian countries.
The Philippines has prepared a roadmap for the garment and textile industry. The plan covers the period 2020 to 2029. In the short term, the hope is to be among the top 20 garment exporters with an annual growth of 12.3 per cent in garment exports and a three per cent to five per cent increase in textile exports. This will be made possible with the increase in the utilization of natural and synthetic textile fibers by five per cent to ten per cent. In the medium term, the roadmap forecasts the Philippines to improve its world ranking in garment exports into the top 15 largest globally. It is expected to increase its garment exports by 21.7 per cent annually and natural and synthetic textile fiber exports by ten per cent. Infrastructure gaps and logistical bottlenecks will be addressed.
