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Apparel exports from Sub-Saharan African nations have grown significantly over years. The 50-nation bloc exported apparels worth $377.37 million to the US in January-April 2018 period, marking a solid growth of 23.22 per cent on the yearly note and successfully capitalised on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Ethiopia, for instance, has grown from $13.41 million to $30.39 million with a staggering surge of 126.63 per cent during the period.
Kenya exported apparels worth $120.67 million in the first four months of 2018 as against $101.66 million in the corresponding period of prior-year. The country grew by 18.70 per cent in just one year which is more than just a decent growth. The ‘buzz’ around Ethiopian apparel exports isn’t that real, which earned $98.60 million from its export of apparel to the US, posted a noteworthy increase of 19.88 per cent on the year-on-year basis. Apparel exports from Madagascar to the US were $59.10 million in the period with a whopping 25.73 per cent rise over last year. Mauritius posted 10.48 per cent growth to reach $48.19 million in apparel export values in Jan.-Apr. ’18 from $43.62 million in the same period of 2017.
Roica’s collection of superior functional fabrics is revolutionizing the premium stretch market, thanks to advanced yarn solutions dedicated to specific needs of the contemporary consumer. The stretch innovations range from smart shape wear to soft compression that can enhance designs.
The Eco Smart family of yarns is the world’s first range of responsibly made premium stretch fibers that offer sustainable solutions with prestigious certifications. Feel Good is a range of advanced stretch fibers that deliver personal performance and measurable wellness, providing freshness and comfort metrics perfect for travel, sport, leisure and more.
Roica CF is an innovative yarn that neutralizes odors thanks to an active ingredient interlocked within the yarn. This durable stretch yarn offers a fantastic property to every wearer. Color Perfect is an advanced color technology system that delivers a perfect color match finish with an undetectable matte look for the stretch materials. Contour is a high performance stretch yarn control that delivers a calibrated form optimizing power, softness and comfort.
Resistance is a family of innovations linked to durability and functions to match particular applications including heat and chemical resistance in make and wear. Roica Version 3.0 yarn is constructed with more than 50 per cent pre-consumer recycled content.
Georgia is the guest nation at the ongoing Florence edition of Pitti Uomo being held from June 12to 15 2018. Earlier editions had seen South Korea, Africa, the Ukraine, Turkey, Denmark, Australia and Finland as guest nations. Georgia was selected as fashion is booming in the country, after the success of Demna Gvasalia, founder of Vetements and Creative Director at Balenciaga, and of his countryman David Koma, in charge of style at Thierry Mugler.
The 94th edition of the Pitti Uomo menswear show will be held in collaboration with Pitti Uomo and the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week of Tbilisi. The show will display the creativity in Florence through the work of six Georgian designers. The first being Iraklli Rusadze, Founder of women’s ready-to-wear label Situationist, who will present Azanauri, the menswear label launched in 2016 of which he is the Creative Director. The second designer Tatuna Nikolaishvili founded her women’s ready-to-wear label in 2003, and at Pitti Uomo she will show her first unisex collection, featuring trousers and jackets made with quality Italian and Turkish fabrics, such as tweed or raw cotton.
Vasili Tabatadze, Head of men’s and women’s label Vaska, favours natural materials and craftsmanship, while Anuka Keburia is an accessories specialist and launched her own footwear label in 2006. The most exuberant of the six designers is doubtlessly Gola Zumbulidze known for his men’s and women’s label Gola Damian. His colourful, flamboyant clothes are a hymn to love and happiness, though never without a touch of humour.
Swedish non-profit organisation Swedwatch has published a report ‘Power of the voice’ that explores the perspectives of workers and buyers in the Bangladesh garment sector and the ‘social dialogue’ which was supposed to have been established post-Rana Plaza. The report makes recommendations based on its findings, relating to some of the most pivotal issues in the RMG sector such as: freedom of association, anti-union policy making, due diligence and transparency.
The non-profit organisation hopes, to provide a basis for discussion on the responsibilities of companies active in markets where the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining are systematically infringed upon. The recommendations of Swedwatch include assessing and responding to the potential impacts of brands’ purchasing practices on suppliers’ compliance with freedom of association and collective bargaining; identifying and preventing anti-union policies and practices in supplier factories, to comply with the relevant International Trade Union Confederation’s guidance; using collective bargaining agreements as a basis for creating incentives for suppliers, for example by including a measurable CBA premium in unit prices, continue sourcing from unionised facilities, and when expanding production, give preference to unionised locations; publicly communicating the results of the due diligence processes regarding risks to freedom of association and collective bargaining, such as the share of workers covered by collective bargaining agreements and regularly publishing a detailed, searchable list of all sites that manufacture the company’s products and audit results for each factory.
Malaysia wants the Trans-Pacific Partnership to be renegotiated and has urged protection for small countries in international trade. Eleven countries circling the Pacific signed a slimmed-down version of the TPP in March, opting to proceed with the deal after it was left for dead when the US pulled out.
Malaysia’s ideal is a broad trade pact such as the East Asian Economic Caucus. Signatories to the TPP represent 13.5 per cent of the global economy and a market of 500 million people. The deal was pushed by the US in part as a way to counter growing Chinese commercial power. It cuts tariffs and requires members to comply with a high level of regulatory standards in areas like labor law and environmental protection.
Malaysia does not want to be manipulated by the big players in the TPP. Its call to review the TPP agreement would be a blow for the eleven-member trade pact, which was finalized after tough negotiations earlier this year following the withdrawal of one of the original signatories, the United States. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, as it is now called following the US withdrawal, will reduce tariffs in countries that together amount to more than 13 per cent of the global economy. With the United States, it would have represented 40 per cent.
Creative director Tomas Maier has quit Bottega Veneta. He had joined the Italian house in 2001. With his creative vision, Bottega Veneta today embodies the quintessence of understated and sophisticated luxury. With his creative vision, he showcased the expertise of the house’s artisans.
Bottega Veneta, a part of the global luxury group Kering, offers women and men bags, small leather goods, ready-to-wear, shoes, jewelry, furniture, fragrances, eyewear and accessories. Steeped in the traditions of Italian leather master craftsmen, Bottega Veneta has nurtured a new standard of luxury since its foundation in 1966. It has emerged with a unique Italian art de vivre philosophy defined by four unchanging principles: outstanding craftsmanship, timeless yet innovative design, contemporary functionality, and the highest quality materials.
Kering manages the development of a series of renowned maisons in fashion, leather goods, jewelry and watch making: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Christopher Kane, Tomas Maier, Boucheron, Pomellato, Dodo, Qeelin, Ulysse Nardin, Girard-Perregaux. In 2017, Kering had nearly 29,000 employees. By placing creativity at the heart of its strategy, Kering enables its maisons to set new limits in terms of their creative expression while crafting tomorrow’s luxury in a sustainable and responsible way.
Japanese Parliament's upper house has passed a law ratifying the new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement of 11 countries, not counting one original member, the United States. Parliamentary approval is expected to help speed up related domestic procedures and add momentum toward the realization of an early enactment of the agreement. The TPP deal will enter into force once six or more countries complete their domestic procedures.
Ever since his presidential campaign, pledging to withdraw, US President Donald Trump has been critical of the partnership As a result, Trump signed a memorandum for US exit from the deal in January 2017. The pact mainly seeks to slash tariffs on farm and industrial products, protect intellectual property rights, simplify customs procedures and establish rules on e-commerce. It was signed in March by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
The net sales of retail giant Inditex increased by only 2 per cent to reach €5.7 billion in the first three months of this financial year. Its gross profits and the gross margin both increased by 3 per cent, the first figure rising to €3.328 billion and the second to 58.9 per cent. Meanwhile profit on an Ebitda basis rose by 1 per cent to reach €1.125 billion and net profit rose in line with the sales figure by 2 per cent at €668 million.
Inditex launched online sales in Australia and New Zealand during the first three months of the year. Its brands opened new stores in 36 markets while also continuing to absorb smaller units and expand/refurbish others. The company ended the quarter with 7,448 physical stores globally, while its refurbished stores were technologically upgraded.
The new-season H&M garments will bear hang tags bearing the words, “You’ve asked, we’ve listened! We’re changing our sizing. Try on this item to find your size.” These tags will appear on new inventory as a part of a multilateral, multinational move by the company to shift its ladies’ sizing. Affecting the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Mexico, and Colombia markets, the hang tags will be the first obvious clues shoppers will likely encounter.
The first phase of the change, which was effected in 2017, included shifting of the brand’s XS–XXL sizing scale by one standard deviation and also adding XXS (reflecting the former measurements of XS) within Divided, a department that typically serves teens and younger customers. The second phase will encompass shifts in numbered sizing, and would soon equate a former size 12 with a current size 10, and a size 10 with an 8.
Gap Inc has appointed Neil Fiske as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Gap brand. Fiske will serve on the company’s senior leadership team, reporting to Art Peck, President and Chief Executive Officer. Armed with 20 years of brand building and turnaround experience in specialty retailing, Fiske most recently, served as Chief Executive Officer at Billabong International, where he restored the flagship Billabong brand to a position of market leadership and multi-year share growth. Prior to that, Fiske was the President and Chief Executive Officer at Eddie Bauer for five years, repositioning the company to focus on its heritage as America’s original outdoor outfitter. Fiske was also chief executive officer at Bath and Body Works, where he led the complete brand transformation, reversing a multi-year trend of negative comp store sales.
Fiske began his career at Boston Consulting Group, focused on consumer goods and retail. He graduated from Harvard Business School with a Masters of Business Administration and received a B.A. in Political Economy from Williams College.
