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Retailer Kiabi is focusing on expanding its presence in Middle East, and recently inaugurated a new market to the list: the United Arab Emirates. With the help of local partner Al Futtaim Kiabi's has opened two stores. Al Futtaim opened a first shop at the Dubai festival city mall and another at the Ibn-Battuta Mall.
Kiabi main growth vector is international expansion and the latest market it entered is Dubai. According to Al Futtaim the company is also planning to set up a local e-store. Kiabi's objective is to finally become the leader in affordable family fashion in the entire Middle Eastern region.
Kiabi recorded a revenue of €1.9 billion, up 4.6 per cent in 2017. Besides its presence in Europe, the retailer plans to expand even in the Maghreb region and targeting the opening of its first stores in the major emerging markets of Brazil, China and India in 2018. By 2021 Kiabi plans to generate 50 per cent of its revenue outside France. The brands strategy relies on three vectors, a focus in those markets that are accessible for Kiabi through a subsidiary, multi-channel franchising for the less accessible markets and a purely online presence for market niches.
Apparel and textile major Arvind has launched its private label for men called Arvind Ready to Wear.
The new brand is targeted at the growing middle class segment in India.
The collection offers a wide array of work wear, leisure and ceremonial wear. It features linen blazers, bundis, chinos, shirts, linens, textured five-pocket chinos and more.
Arvind Ready to Wear will be available across 127 cities across the country. The entire range of products will be available at The Arvind Store outlets across the country and online.
The company also looks to increase its revenues and profits in the coming quarters as private labels usually give better margins as compared to licensed product brands.
The brand business of Arvind contributed Rs 961 crores to the overall revenue of the firm in the last quarter with profit after tax at Rs 90 crores. With its new private label the company will look to better these numbers in the next financial year.
Arvind has an unmatched portfolio of owned brands such as Flying Machine as well as licensed product brands such as Arrow, Gap, Gant, Izod, Aeropostale, Nautica, US Polo Assn., to name a few. The portfolio also includes retail brands like Unlimited, The Arvind Store, The Children’s Place and Hanes.
Global Textile Technology and Engineering Show (GTTES) will be held in Mumbai, January 18 to 20, 2019.
This is the only trade event in India dedicated to magnifying business and trade for textile machinery manufacturers, through interaction with agents and dealers from India and across the globe.
Among the exhibits on display are blending and dosing machines, feeding devices, web laying machines, web drafting machines, machines for aerodynamic web formation, needle felting machines, spunlace machines etc.
The textile industry has not only made a major contribution to the national economy in terms of direct and indirect employment generation and net foreign exchange earnings but also contributes about 14 per cent to industrial production, four per cent to the gross domestic product, and 27 per cent to the country’s foreign exchange inflows. It provides direct employment to over 45 million people.
GTTES aims at promoting integrated services through exhibitions for setting a benchmark in the textile machinery industry through continuous improvement and promoting textile economic growth through new technologies focused on ancillary and allied industries and trade.
In value terms, textile and apparel manufacturers would need to invest 50 billion dollars in new machinery to cater to the additional market demand and 25 billion dollars will be required for replacing the existing machinery. A total of 75 billion dollars in investments in machinery is estimated to be required by 2020. Yarn manufacturing, weaving and processing machinery will attract 58 per cent of the overall investments.
Ethiopia’s textile and garment sector is in an upward trajectory.
The industry has grown at an average rate of 51 per cent. More than 65 textile investment projects have been licensed for foreign investors in the last five to six years.
The country hopes to be a continental textile hub in the coming years. The sector is also working on solving issues related to raw materials, namely cotton, in a bid to increase productivity and global competitiveness.
A 15 year road-map with time-frame has been formulated that would increase productivity, direct how the sector can be assisted and facilitated. The road-map in general provides a set of solution in identifying and solving bottlenecks in cotton production, and a way to interlink with pertinent stakeholders, including agriculture extension experts. It will also contribute to increase the cotton field coverage, and ultimately the cotton production of the country.
Expansion and development of industrial parks in various core areas of the country, developing technological adoption and industrial culture in the industry along with attractive investment incentives are helping the sector's growth.
As the core of the country’s light industry, textiles have been playing a pivotal role in facilitating structural transformation by accumulating capital that would enable the country to focus on capital-intensive heavy industries in the future.
China's move to impose duty on US cotton shipments will help India.
India, the world’s second-biggest cotton exporter, is hoping to treble shipments of the fiber to China next year.
So far, despite India’s efforts to grab a bigger piece of the Chinese market, cotton from the United States, the world’s biggest exporter, had held sway.
India is looking to sell 2.5 million to three million bales to China in the next season beginning in October, up from around 8,00,000 bales of expected exports in the 2017-18 marketing year.
India has always managed to grab at least 25 per cent of China’s total cotton imports. China’s total imports are expected to rise 38 per cent in 2018-19 as it needs to shore up depleting domestic reserves.
China produces about 32 million bales of cotton and its textile mills consume around 45 million bales, allowing imports to meet the shortfall. India benefits from geographical proximity to China compared to other competitors. As well as lower freight rates, shipments from India reach China in about two weeks compared to an average of three to six weeks from other suppliers.
During the current 2017-18 year, China is scheduled to import 2.5 million bales of cotton from the United States. Other suppliers include Brazil and Australia.
Melissa, a shoe brand from Brazil, has opened its first store in India.
The store is in New Delhi.
The brand, known for its innovative technology, modern design and organic shapes, has its presence in over 96 countries, including key fashion cities such as New York, London, and Hong Kong.
Melissa is a one of a kind brand, dealing in eco-friendly 100 per cent recyclable shoes, made of specially-developed Melflex plastic. Melissa shoes are fashionable, breathable, hypo-allergenic and flexible.
The brand’s spring/summer 2018 collection revolves around the theme Mapping. At a time when borders are being questioned worldwide, Melissa found the theme for its latest collection in this thought process of bridging territorial gaps worldwide.
The collection is inspired by the fashion of different cultures, where people become local agents of the regions they reside in, transforming and connecting with the region in everyday life. Through this collection Melissa has tried to bring together geographical representations of various regions across the world.
The shoes in the collection are inspired by and made to represent various time periods and places, resulting in a diverse range that has something for everyone. Melissa shoes are the result of design collaborations that include the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler, Vivienne Westwood, The Campana Brothers, Jason Wu, Disney, Karl Lagerfeld and other celebrated designers and artists.
Bangladesh has the potential to become the main supplier of jute to the global car industry.
The industry needs about 1,00,000 tons of jute a year, of which 12,000 tons come from Bangladesh.
The car industry uses the natural fiber to manufacture the interiors of vehicles. Previously, the car industry used glass fiber to manufacture the interiors. But glass fiber is not recyclable or biodegradable, so in 1994 the search for a green alternative began. Jute emerged as the frontrunner. Bangladesh started supplying jute to high-end car brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Audi in the early 2000s. The country’s jute is much admired for its high fiber quality.
The use of the natural jute fiber from Bangladesh by global car brands has helped in diversification of jute products. As a result, Bangladesh has the potential to export jute and jute goods worth almost seven billion dollars annually in the next seven years.
But in reality the growth in supply has remained stagnant at five per cent over the last many years. And the unpredictable jute export policy is to blame. For instance, a few years ago, Bangladesh imposed a ban on the export of raw jute from Bangladesh, which left BMW facing a shortage of the natural fiber. Small traders cannot supply jute to car brands directly.
South Korean fibre giant Hyosung is set to foray into the Indonesian textile market where Muslims make up 87 per cent of Indonesia’s population.
This week, Hyosung announced that the company would begin to enter the local market as a global premium textile brand by participating in Indo Intertex, a textile industry exhibition held in Jakarta, Indonesia from April 4 to 7.
Hyosung showcased its yarn and fabrics used in premium garments, sports and leisure fashion items and active wear for Muslims in this exhibition by partnering with a local Indonesian brand.
The brand showcased a premium denim fabric with Creora Fit Square, spandex for denims with global denim brand Lee Cooper and spandex creorafit square for denim. The company introduced Southeast Asian lingerie brand 'Sorella' and Creora Eco Soft-based lingerie and Muslim wear brand with Hyosung's spandex yarn.
The company has been working hard to raise consumers’ awareness of the Creora brand by delivering as per customer expectations for elastic, comfortable and light fabric for Muslim wear. The company has been developing fabric and implementing collaborative marketing with local companies.
Indonesia has a population of about 260 million which ranks fourth in the world. About half of the total population are 24 years old or younger and are sensitive to fashion and trends and there is a high demand for foreign-made clothes, following enhanced economic growth.
The Indonesian government is looking at growing their textile industry by up to 6 per cent annually. Indonesia's apparel market is expected to touch around US$ 18 billion in 2018 and grow by 8.4 per cent annually till 2021.
In a retaliatory move the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has announced plan to impose a 25 per cent tariff on 106 U.S. goods, including agricultural products such as cotton, soybean, corn and beef.
The effect of the Chinese tariff is expected to impact exports valued at around $50 billion from the US.
This move could affect the entire US cotton industry, as China imports a significant amount of US cotton each year, along with other leading importers like Vietnam, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan.
The would seriously affect US cotton and agricultural exports and correspondingly affect US farmers averred Darren Hudson, professor and Combest Chair of Agricultural Competitiveness at Texas Tech University. More cotton would likely be sent to Southeast Asia and away from China, he added.
In March, President Trump proposed a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminium imports, while exempting some countries. This measure was aimed at protecting US jobs and American innovation and its industry. At that time, the effect on the US cotton industry was not foreseen to be serious as they felt that the Chinese retaliation would target US soybean.
"Slowly but surely, Artificial intelligence (AI) is seeping deep into the textile industry production cycles. Till date, several attempts have been made to quantify something as abstract as fashion but all were in vain. Thanks to the fast changing technology landscape, things are finally able to quantify the complexities of abstracts, such as fashion. And as Ambud Sharma, Founder, Escaro Royale Luxury points out, AI is now helping with not only merchandising decisions but also in fine-tuning the supply chain and creating customised and personalised fashion trends."
Slowly but surely, Artificial intelligence (AI) is seeping deep into the textile industry production cycles. Till date, several attempts have been made to quantify something as abstract as fashion but all were in vain. Thanks to the fast changing technology landscape, things are finally able to quantify the complexities of abstracts, such as fashion. And as Ambud Sharma, Founder, Escaro Royale Luxury points out, AI is now helping with not only merchandising decisions but also in fine-tuning the supply chain and creating customised and personalised fashion trends.
Fashion forecasting
With the exponential increase in data and events pertaining to fashion each season, it is impossible to collate and correlate all statistics to understand future trends. AI systems are now being utilised to correlate worldwide data to forecast trends on what merchandise needs to be produced and in what quantity. The typical variables include colours, patterns, designs and geographic tastes in materials. With access to more data and insights, designers can now take help from the AI platforms to produce accordingly. This saves time and money that was earlier wasted in experimentation. The designers can now be more confident in the sales potential of their merchandise.
Consumer insights
It is important to know your customer, and even more important to know their buying and spending behaviour. There are thousands of digital footprints that we leave behind each day when we engage over the Internet – be it reading an article, reviewing a product or signing up for an event. These footprints are a goldmine for the fashion industry – since it helps in identifying the digital persona of a person in the AI world. Using this info, it is possible to accurately map a person’s digital persona to their potential interests. This is especially amplified when an AI system knows what a person bought and when, thus projecting and reinforcing a potential consumer’s interest in a fashion product through targeted advertising. The power of consumer insights allows in gauging market size, thereby helping brands in ascertaining the quantities to be produced.
Retail intelligence
Retail is complex but can be handled seamlessly using AI. A consumer’s retail interaction, be it in a showroom or on a website is extremely important and hear-worthy. The feedback received in real-time from consumers can be extrapolated to ascertain whether demand is being sufficed and if the consumer is looking for something that isn’t available. Also, real-time digital feedback mechanisms can quantify customer satisfaction, thereby assisting in customer retention. This feedback, if correlated correctly, can be used as a guiding tool for future merchandising and retail dominance. Though this can be done manually, it can be done faster, better, cheaper and more accurately by using the processing capability of an AI platform.
Consumer interaction and engagement
AI-based chat-bots are being used now to seamlessly interact with consumers. These chat-bots learn skills over time by interacting with various sets of customers and they are able to handle most questions and concerns on their own not to mention that they don’t change shifts or get tired like their human counterparts, leading to higher consumer satisfaction. Additionally, the information collected through chat-bots is regularly analysed and correlated by AI central commands for deeper insights about consumer base. Customised and automated messaging systems can keep the consumers abreast with the latest offerings of a fashion brand, thereby keeping the customers engaged through the information that is unique & customised to his/her taste.
Inventory management
There is nothing more frustrating than having inventory that doesn’t sell and not having inventory that sells well. This is where AI-based inventory management systems come to the rescue. These systems understand the velocity of sales, many times global sales, and provide insights into what is selling and how fast. More importantly, they help in providing recommendations on inventory optimisation across markets to ensure that the right product is available in the right market. For sized products, like shoes and apparels, these intelligent platforms provide market-wise recommendation in sizing to ensure that the correct set of sizes are available in applicable markets.
In all, something as abstract as fashion can be more-or-less quantified using AI to the point that it may very well one day be able to make automated design and product decisions for current and future trends. For fashion brands, the potential of AI taking over these day to day decisions is very high and will only increase with time. As digital transactions and interactions increase, and more and more data are produced, brands can only look up to powerful AI platforms with humongous data-crunching capacities to assist them to navigate complex digital waters.
