FW
Over a four month period, Asos’ revenue was up 20 per cent. Total orders were up 20 per cent supported by robust operational performance at all its distribution centers. The period also saw strong customer momentum with visits up 23 per cent year on year and an increase in active customers during the four months. Operations both in its domestic UK market and abroad rose in healthy double-digits. It was an improvement on the firm’s latest full year when group revenues rose only 12 per cent. But after a few stumbles in recent periods, the company’s focus through the four months was on restoring consistent operational execution and rebuilding customer momentum. And it seems to have achieved this aim. Its UK retail sales rose 18 per cent while EU retail sales were up 21 per cent. In the US, the company managed a 23 per cent increase and in the rest of the world, retail sales rose 23 per cent. That all added up to a 22 per cent increase in overall international retail sales. But the gross margin dropped 170 basis points reflecting US duty and investment in customer acquisition as planned.
The four months saw improvements in product choice and stock availability, presentation and social media engagement and optimising customer acquisition and reactivation.
Influenced by current global political turmoil, climate crisis, trade tensions and a general instability, in the 2020-21 seasons, the global textile market will henceforth focus on home and apparel textiles. Designers are redefining materials and their applications in the modern designs. They are using materials as resources for example, Netherland-based Eric Klarenbeek and Maartje Drs are converting algae into bioplastic for 3D printing.
Digital clothing is helping companies test the market before buying their fabrics. These companies are creating digital avatars to help consumers discover new brands and purchase modes. Consumers are shopping through games, social media and on influencer-curated sites and pages.
Serving consumers’ emotional needs
Looking at their garments in a different way, manufacturers are focusing on imperfections, redefining their consumer’s behavior towards fashion. Consumers are carving out
spaces and practices that inspire wellness. They are buying products that serve their emotional needs. As festival culture has gained attention, restaurants are creating immersive experiences that are offering diners an escape from everything else around them. For instance, B&Binge has tapped into binge-watchers’ desire to dive into the programs they’re watching by recreating sets that, in effect, allow viewers to watch their favorite shows from ‘inside’ their favorite shows.
Climate-oriented initiatives to reduce carbon footprint
In a similar vein, consumers are making concerted efforts to lessen their carbon footprints. To cater to this, brands are offering climate-oriented initiatives. Finland-based Arctic Blue Resort, offers an discount in bill for guests who are going green, like watching their water consumption, food choices or use of electricity.
Answering consumers’ need for emotional satisfaction, the craft movement focuses on creativity and adding beauty back into the world. It is influencing home textile trends like Maximum Glam, which draws on collaged textiles, juxtaposed patterns, beading and embroidering to create a modern ‘more is more’ look. Henceforth, handwritten patterns, lines that aren’t completely solid, colors that come together, and textiles applied on top of one another, will be a key look.
Understanding a brand’s heritage
Consumers are drawing on their homes as a cocoon of comfort, and heritage as a reflection of better days. They now wish to understand the history and ethos behind the company and product. Therefore, brands are engaging in storytelling by using textiles made with homemade elements, channel heritage paintings and patterns, like vintage florals, and call on Roman antique styling or floor and wall coverings from ancient structures.
Latest edition of the Brand Finance report indicates, Nike, Gucci, and Adidas have improved their positions on the Brand Finance Global 500 2020 rankings. Nike climbed up to the fortieth position. It is the first fashion company on the list, with a brand value of 35 billion dollars. Gucci rose to position 99 with a brand value of 17.6 billion dollars. Adidas remained third in the apparel sector despite dropping 5 places down, it now positions as 104 in the ranking.
Among other brands featuring on the list H&M declined by 25 places to the 135th position while Burberry climbed 12 positions to the 421st position. Uniqlo improved its ranking by climbing up 5 positions now ranks as 143. On a global scale, Amazon became the first brand to exceed $200 billion and for the third consecutive year retained the title of the most valuable brand in the world. The high-tech Google and Apple completed the podium by being ranked on the second and third position.
For the 2019 fiscal year, Primark’s revenues were up 11.7 per cent. Operating profit was up eight per cent. Like for like sales were down two per cent on a global scale. The low-cost retailer has 138 stores in Europe in eight countries excluding the ones in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, who together alone account for 226 stores. Primark has highlighted its strong trading in the UK, Spain, France, Italy and the US.
Out of Primark’s overall 373 stores, nine are in the US. Four more are planned for the near future. Primark first entered the US in 2015, introducing its products to a myriad Americans, thirsty for its everyday low price model, a system different from the majority of other US retailers who operate with extensive discounting, promotions and coupons. The Irish retailer continues to pursue the American dream at a slow pace. The US market is the biggest market in terms of fashion sales and one of the most complex alongside the high competition.
The evolution of Primark can be debatable in terms of its stagnation and slow growth for a company that only operates with physical stores amid an era driven by digitalization and e-commerce.
Yarn Expo will be held in China, March 11 to 13, 2020. This creates a collaborative global networking place to share ideas, experience, expertise and resources. A diverse range of unique functional yarns will be exhibited to meet the specific sourcing needs of buyers. Among the comprehensive range of products on offer at Yarn Expo Spring, functional yarns represent a direct and constant market demand in spite of changing fashion trends.
With the advancement of technology, functional yarns have been developed and used in textile production to enhance the functionality and performance of sportswear, outdoor wear and even everyday clothing. From thermo regulating, moisture absorbing and flame resistant properties to antibacterial, antistatic and more, these innovative features offered by functional yarns add value to textile products. By integrating functionality directly into the yarns, textile products become highly durable, which increases their sustainability as well.
Yarn Expo saw over 28,000 buyers from 87 countries and regions last spring. This year, there will be new exhibitors from Belarus who are attracted to join for the first time to showcase their quality acrylic fibers, nylon yarns, polyester fibers, industrial yarns and more. The fair will have visitors from Turkey, India, Belgium and other European countries.
Uzbekistan will gradually reduce state’s role in cotton trading, opening up opportunities for private companies in Central Asia’s most populous nation and one of the world’s top cotton producers. The government has traditionally bought all cotton and wheat from farmers, directing them how much to grow every season and taking care of exports.
But the practice needed to be phased out in order to encourage private investment, a major policy shift for the nation of 33 million. Uzbekistan is the world’s 10th-largest cotton exporter. However, the former Soviet republic plans to gradually cease raw cotton exports in favor of domestic textile production.
Held from January 15-16, 2019, The London Textile Fair recorded 470 exhibitors from the United Kingdom, Japan and the rest of Europe. The London-based textile trade show, held in the Business Design Center compound in Islington welcomed 4,500 visitors. Sustainability was one of the central points of the fair which dedicated a special space to sustainable fashion companies and a series of talks and meetings to discuss this issue.
TLTF provides manufacturers and their agents the opportunity to showcase their products to the most influential British buyers and designers. The show is one of the top industry events within the UK with an increasing international appeal. It attracts designers, buyers and product developers who come not only to maintain existing relationships but work also to source and develop new and exciting products. The trade show, which first took place in 2008, will hold its next edition on July 14-15, 2020.
Santoni has launched an innovative project called K-Fabric. This process transforms circular knitted mesh into linear fabric, giving high-quality and economic benefits. The possibility of transforming circular knitted mesh into linear fabric makes the K-Fabric revolution process the new manufacturing paradigm par excellence, in order to answer the rising production demand of the luxury sector, the changes in the supply chain model and the search for new materials. Thanks to the optimization of the supply chain – from the idea to production, passing through the prototype and the sample – the K-Fabric revolution process meets the modern fashion market’s demand of customized and fast production cycles. Using seamless production flexibility, it basically makes possible the creation of new potentially revolutionary items. Besides giving the opportunity to reach superfine gauges, this process can provide a natural bi-stretch effect without adding elastic yarns and easily allows the knitting of jacquard patterns of any dimension, complexity and placement. Moreover, the K-Fabric process allows with ease the mixture of fibers and a fast and sustainable production of small quantities.
Santoni is a world leader in the production and distribution of circular knitting machines. Santoni’s X-Machine is a four-feed knitting machine which uses sock knitting processes and concepts to produce seamless shoe uppers.
Global imports of artificial staple fibers rose 1.94 per cent in 2018. Total imports moved up 4.01 per cent in 2018 over previous year and is expected to rise 2.93 per cent by 2021. Italy, Honduras, Czech Republic, China and Bulgaria are the key importers of artificial staple fibers across the globe and together comprise 54.62 per cent of total imports. They are followed by Belgium, Spain, South Africa and Portugal. From 2013 to 2018, the most notable rate of growth in terms of imports was attained by the Czech Republic, Italy and Bulgaria. Global exports of artificial staple fibers increased by 18.49 per cent in 2018.
Total exports increased 13.19 per cent in 2018 over previous year and are expected to grow at 8.85 per cent in 2021. China, Germany, Austria, France and Italy are the key exporters of artificial staple fibers across the globe and together comprise 80.18 per cent of total exports. These are followed by Spain, Turkey, the US and Japan.
The global trade value of artificial staple fibers has shown a sharp growth in recent years. Total trade moved up by 8.85 per cent in 2018 over the previous year.
Iran’s garment output rose 20 per cent from March to December 2019. After the ban imposed on imports of clothing, domestic units are taking all endeavors to boost the quality and quantity of their products. Domestic units supply nearly 80 per cent of the requirement for clothing inside the country. Improving and boosting domestic production has been one of the major strategies that Iran has been following in the past two years. Providing the required working capital for production units and offering them facilities is one of the major measures being pursued to support such units.
The contracts and agreements signed with domestic producers have resulted in a reduction of foreign currency expenditure. Nine expert desks have been established for the promotion of domestic production in various areas including automotives, motorcycles, petrochemicals, and telecommunications, as well as copper and steel industries, and by the end of the current year seven more such desks will be held.
There is a big opportunity for existing textile and apparel plants to expand and for new entrants to set up shop. In addition the Iranian currency’s depreciation has provided an additional boon by cutting imports and smuggling, which are the nagging problem of the industry. Smuggled clothing costs Iran and its apparel producers heavily in lost revenues.
