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Over 1,200 fashion brands will showcase their wares at Asia's largest fashion fair, CHIC Shanghai, from March 14 to 16, 2018
China's economy is back on track after seven years recording 6.9 per cent economic growth in 2017. A recent McKinsey survey reveals that with more millionaires in China in 2018 than in any other country, by 2025, their share is expected to account for 44 per cent of purchases in the global luxury market, which is equivalent to around EUR 131 billion.
The Chinese are thus more open to spend money and this is also seen in middle to upper income groups, however what these consumers are looking for is quality over price.
Expenditure on the "key desires" in China is rising, and the supply of these goods must be increased. Tariffs on consumer goods, including those for apparel and footwear, will be lowered to make way for global brands that can offer price levels in China similar to their domestic prices.
Key drivers of consumption are China's millennials, who value authenticity, individuality and sustainability.
The desire for individual offers and collections is on top of the mind by CHIC also the retail sector, which focuses on lifestyle concepts and exclusive and creative brands. Multi-brand stores and boutiques have become co-operation partners of CHIC.
CHIC provides valuable input on current fashion trends in China thus over 15 Chinese and international brands will take centre stage at Asia's leading fashion and lifestyle fair. As part of the CHIC Talk, market experts and trend analysts will discuss current developments in the fashion business in China, both for offline and online business.
American fashion retailer American Eagle Outfitters is expected to shut shop in the Singapore market at the end of the month with the closure of its two stores here it was reported.
The store is currently having a closing-down sale and industry watchers said that its closure on Feb 28 will be the final day of operations here. Its Vivo City store shut shop on Wednesday.
American Eagle Outfitters had launched operations here around three years ago under domestic firm Star 360 Holdings, which gained exclusive retail and distribution rights for the brand in Singapore and Malaysia. Star 360 also retails brands such as Onitsuka Tiger, Birkenstock and Cole Haan here along with its multi-label footwear and apparel stores.
Recently fashion retailer FJ Benjamin announced the closure of Gap and Banana Republic stores here by the end of February.
Ms Esther Ho, deputy director of Nanyang Polytechnic's School of Business Management, assessed that the rise of fast fashion labels such as H&M, Zara and Forever 21 has hurt brands like Gap and American Eagle Outfitters which retail at a slightly higher price point and do not produce new styles as the market demands. "For American brands, the growth of e-commerce also affects how their stores perform here. Singaporeans can bypass the distributors and buy direct online instead," she added.
Iconic French lingerie brand, Simone Perele, celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2018 and will be launching its 1948 collection.
In 1948 Madame Perele set up a small workshop in Paris and her working credo, ahead of its time, was “in order to reveal a woman’s beauty, we must liberate women’s bodies.” The contemporary offer recreates traditional styles from the late Madame Perele: from beautiful satin corsets with elegant top-stitched branding along the neckline to stunning edgy bustiers that accentuate women’s curves.
Simone Perele is renowned as one of the leading manufacturers of fine French lingerie. Every collection is inspired by art, travel and culture. The brand is available in over 120 independent retailers and department stores throughout the UK & Ireland.
The 9th Asian Textile Conference (Atexcon) will be held on on 14th March 2018 at Hotel ITC Maratha.
Honorable Union Minister for Textiles and Information and Broadcasting, Smriti Zubin Irani government of India has kindly agreed to inaugurate and address the 9th ATEXCON. Other senior government officials, policy makers and trade experts from ministries of textiles, finance, commerce, etc. and related departments are also invited to deliberate on important policy aspects.
Through its successful endeavors in the past, ATEXCON is now identified as a recognized and important platform for discussing major trends shaping the global textile and apparel industry. Since the event consists of panel discussions.
Considering the importance of this conference, we invite you to attend the 9th ATEXCON. There is no participation fee to attend the conference but participation will be regulated by invitations.
Anant Kumar Singh, Secretary [ Textiles], Ministry of Textiles inaugurated the 45th edition of world largest handicraft and gifts fair known world over as IHGF-Delhi Fair today.
The fair is being held from 23rd to 27th February, 2018 at state-of-the art India Expo Centre, Greater Noida.
Anant Kumar Singh said “Handicrafts sector plays a significant and important role in the country’s economy. It provides employment to a vast segment of craft persons in rural and semi urban areas and generates substantial foreign exchange for the country while preserving its cultural heritage.”
He further elaborated that the Ministry of Textiles has implemented various projects to provide assistance to craft persons and exporters. The growth in exports ultimately results in generation of employment in this decentralised sector of the economy and improve their living standards.
The Secretary shared his experience during his visit to Ambiente 2018 in Frankfurt that he found that products displayed there by over 400 handicrafts exporters were not less than the best in the world and noted that Messe Frankfurt has declared India as a partner country for Ambiente 2019.
O.P. Prahladka, Chairman – EPCH said that The Handicrafts exports during the year 2016-17 was Rs.24,392.39 crores with overall 13.15 per cent increase as against last year. However, the exports of handicrafts during 10 months of the current fiscal 2017-18 is Rs.19,862.19 crore.
EPCHs Chairman further elaborated that 14 product categories of house ware, home furnishing, furniture, gifts and decoratives, lamps and lighting, Christmas and festive décor, fashion jewellery and accessories, spa and wellness, carpets and rugs, bathroom and garden accessories, educational toys and games, handmade paper products and stationery and leather bags was the USP of 2000 styles showcased under one roof by Indian exporters.
Rakesh Kumar, Executive Director – EPCH revealed that overseas buyers from over 103 countries worldwide is visiting the five days extravaganza. He disclosed that EPCH in its efforts to bring hidden treasures from different craft clusters, have set up theme pavilions of products from Jammu & Kashmir, the North Eastern Region and Jodhpur during the show.
Most often cheaper quality cotton is passed off as Egyptian or Pima cotton despite the fact that they are labelled as 100 per cent pure cotton. Now, American Pima growers have found a solution. Supima, the not for profit marketing organisation that represents American Pima growers, has partnered with Oritain Global to provide testing to identify and verify the origin of Supima cotton, which is Pima cotton grown by licensed Supima-cotton companies.
Jason Thompson, Brand Development Manager, says they have been trying to find different solutions for the last 10 years. When a product bears the Supima trademark, they want to ensure the cotton is verified. Oritain will use scientific technology to measure the naturally occurring elements that exist within the cotton fibre, which is based on the geographical production area where the cotton is grown.
Grant Cochrane, Chief Executive of Oritain explains the unique fingerprint analysis identifies different levels of chemical attributes that are found in the product itself and enables the cotton to be verified against its claimed origin. The identification process is done by mapping the geographical region where the cotton is grown and identifying the trace elements in the soil, water and air.
About 85 per cent of the American Pima cotton grown in the US comes from California and the balance from Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. There are over 500 American Pima growers in the US whose extra-long-staple cotton sells for twice as any other US cotton.The advantage of the Oritain method is that it doesn’t need to apply any identifiers or tracers during the manufacturing or processing phases, which makes it a simple solution that measures what is naturally found in the fibre.
Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has welcomed the European Parliament's International Trade Committee's decision to approve continuation of preferential duties on exports for the next two years under Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) scheme for Pakistan. In a statement, chairman Pakistan Textile Exporters Association Shaiq Jawed noted the approval is a a good sign for textile exporters and the economy.
He was happy with the government's progress in promoting good governance and sustainable development which ensured positive results of the second review of EUs preferential duties facility. GSP+ scheme helped Pakistan to enhance capacity to become more competitive in international economics by opening new areas of opportunity.
Post this incentive, Pakistan's market share increased as well as exports to EU significantly rose from €4.54 billion in 2013 to €6.29 billion. GSP+ status had given Pakistan an opportunity to improve its relations with the EU in terms of trade as well as economic and political relations.
Shaiq Jawed explained this had contributed to reduction of poverty, promotion of sustainable development, ensured good governance and boosting the trading industry’s confidence. The textile export sector was a major beneficiary of duty waiver facility. Overall textile exports surged to €4.87 billion in 2016 when compared to €3.14 billion in 2013, recording an increase of 54.8 per cent. Exports of textile apparel and knitwear nearly doubled from €1.4 billion to €2.47 billion in 2016, an increase of 76.4 per cent. The second biggest share was taken by home textiles segment which rose to €1.56 billion as against €980 million, an increase of almost 60 per cent. Export of cotton, fabric and yarn also increased from €739 million to €805 million a rise of 9 per cent.
Luwa India has completed the first phase of its state-of-the-art manufacturing unit in Bangalore. The company had a good year in 2017. In many countries around the globe it concluded orders not only with large customers but also with smaller ones. It expects business to be the same in 2018 and has an excellent order backlog and many projects under discussion. For India, with GST worries getting sorted, it expects an improvement in the flow of new investments with additional capacities in the weaving and knitting segments.
Luwa is a global leader in air engineering that provides comprehensive tailor-made solutions for various air needs of the textile industry. It has seen increased business in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and the US, while sales in Turkey have just recovered. It sees more and more customers investing in other countries than their home base.
In India, Luwa has maintained its market leadership in textile humidification and filtration plants and increased its business by being a preferred supplier to corporate groups. Besides it has penetrated into the small and micro sector business too and has provided energy-efficient solutions to its various customers in and around Bhiwandi, Bhilwara, Ichalkaranji and Ahmedabad.
Luwa is developing an add-on to its DigiControl system to manage performance of humidification and filtration plants. It will be available for customers in India this year.
Lower cotton prices and demand recovery are expected to support textile sector’s profitability. This is in view of expected margin expansion due to softening in cotton prices, improved consumer spending outlook in key user countries and the low base effect of FY18, according to India Ratings and Research.
The report noted the slowdown in domestic demand for textiles due to demonetisation and the goods and services tax (GST) implementation, seems to have bottomed out in the second half of the fiscal. Better margins, modest reduction in working capital requirements and subdued capex in FY19 will improve the overall credit profile.
The report noted that the textile sector outlook is constrained by the possible impact of pink bollworm on cotton output and prices, and increasing crude prices on synthetics. Increasing crude price is likely to narrow the spread between cotton and synthetic yarns, thereby moderating the pace of switch to synthetics from cotton textiles. Operating margins of synthetics manufacturers may witness volatile margins due to crude price fluctuations and delays in passing on cost inflation.
A higher-than-expected rise in cotton acreage at 19 per cent and a consequent 11 per cent increase in crop production in FY17-FY18 are likely to moderate cotton prices in FY19, despite increase in prices in the last few months due to the pink bollworm issue. The global stock-to-use ratio for cotton, excluding China, increased to 56 per cent in FY18 from 47 per cent in FY17, although Chinese inventory declined 17 per cent year on year.
The ongoing IIT Expo in Sri Lanka from February 21 to 23 is showcasing textiles of India. More than 40 Indian fabric manufacturers and exporters are displaying varieties of apparel fabrics (woven, knitted and non-woven), made-ups, home textiles, traditional items etc in various blends, textures, colors and designs from various clusters of India like Tamil Nadu, Solapur, Bhiwandi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajasthan.
The event is expected to position India as a reliable source of supply of textile items to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is one of the biggest garment manufacturing hubs neighbourhng India. These garment units largely depend on imported fabrics and thus India serves as a good source of fabrics and other textile items. This will definitely be a win-win situation for both Indian and Sri Lankan entrepreneurs to directly interact to furthering their respective business interests.
This event is organized by the Powerloom Development and Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) for the third time in Sri Lanka, with the previous events being held in 2013 and 2017. PDEXCIL, under the ministry of textiles, Govt. of India, promotes overall growth and export of the power loom sector in India.
