FW
"South Korean company Hansae Co, boasts of global renowned clientele like Zara, Abercrombie & Fitch, Nike, Patagonia and many more. The company has been a front player in global apparel industry for years, making shoes and shirts in South Korea in the 1980s and then moving factories to China and other developing countries as labour costs rose. After gaining traction for three decades and mastering the art, the company now wants to focus on its own brand. As Anna-Karin Birnik, a brand consultant based in Singapore opines, it’s a highly commoditised market."
South Korean company Hansae Co, boasts of global renowned clientele like Zara, Abercrombie & Fitch, Nike, Patagonia and many more. The company has been a front player in global apparel industry for years, making shoes and shirts in South Korea in the 1980s and then moving factories to China and other developing countries as labour costs rose. After gaining traction for three decades and mastering the art, the company now wants to focus on its own brand. As Anna-Karin Birnik, a brand consultant based in Singapore opines, it’s a highly commoditised market. A lot of firms see the opportunity not just to manufacture for others but since they have the manufacturing capability, to leverage that and develop their own brands and command a higher price.
Hansae’s operating profit is also pointing towards the same. The company’s founder Kim Dong-nyung said 30 per cent of this year’s operating profit is expected to come from their own-label business and the number will rise. Hansae posted around $1.38 billion in sales last year. And as Na Eun-chae, a Seoul-based analyst at Korea Investment & Securities Co highlighted clothing OEMs have good cash flows, with few cash expenditures required once they have grown to a certain size, and are in stable financial condition, which helps them fuel dividends or make investments. They are more interested in investments, expanding their businesses for growth.
Similarly Sae-A, operating more than 40 factories in 10 countries, including Vietnam, Guatemala and Haiti, in 2007 took over South Korean women’s fashion retailer In The F Co, which owns labels such as Joinus and Compagna. Sae-A, which reported 1.9 trillion won in revenue last year, plans to expand the unit by launching a range of golf wear next year.
Close competitors
These famous Korean companies have competition from companies in China and Taiwan. Taiwanese producers Makalot Industrial and Eclat Textile, which produce clothing for brands such as Gap, Nike and Under Armour, have started making apparels for a new private-label line from Amazon.com Inc. On the other hand, China’s apparel giants Shenzhou International Group Holdings, developed their businesses during China’s consumer export boom. Added to this, marketing, distribution skills and the ability to anticipate the fickle tastes of the consumer pose a greater challenge.
While companies have been gaining muscle in their home turf, it’s equally tough once you venture in unknown terrains. For instance, Chinese clothing maker Bosideng International Holdings, which makes down-jackets for giants including Adidas AG, opened a 35 million pound store in London’s Mayfair five years ago. But it had to shut shops recently, despite being the most successful outwear supplier in China. The company seems to be concentrating on restructuring its domestic business, at the same time it is also keen on acquiring foreign labels to expand in China and is negotiating with a Japanese kids’ wear label. Benjamin Durand-Servoingt, a Paris-based partner at McKinsey & Co, highlighted that moving to regional countries or even going global, OEMs don’t have the necessary understanding of how to operate in different markets, how to do retail and marketing to different types of consumers. The easiest way is to acquire existing players.
Portugal-based Tintex, an industrial company, has garnered its second ISPO Best Product Award in TexTrends for 2018 in the ‘Soft Equipment’ category with the company’s Article 4691TC. The product is a circular economy centric material, branded ‘B.Cork’, a unique technology that sources certified pre-consumer cork waste. The company reports, “Following a patent pending hi-tech lamination of a water based, formaldehyde and solvent free coating, a breathable, natural and waterproof super soft touch is achieved,”. B.Cork can be applied to both knits and wovens, and works with all current Tintex smart fibre bases. The jury also chose two new Tintex fabrics for the top 10 ISPO qualities, selecting one for the ‘Eco Era’ section and another one for the ‘Membranes & Coatings’ category.
Seven more Tintex fabrics were selected as runners up and include one more for the ‘Eco Era’ selection, two more for ‘Membranes & Coatings’, three for ‘Baselayer’ innovation, and one for the ‘Street Sport’ category. Tintex launched in 1998 by making high quality, natural based, responsible jersey fabrics using latest sustainable hi-tech dyeing and finishing processes. The company supplied the contemporary fashion, sport and lingerie markets.
The company in a statement said, “Tintex is the future of a smart and proud manufacturing dynamic where trust, values, skills and smart innovations are delivered through precision creativity and flexibility to brands looking to make naturally better choices.”
GapKids has announced a new limited-edition collection with actress and former Gap campaign super star, Sarah Jessica Parker, launching in Spring 2018 at GapKids stores in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Greater China, Hong Kong and Japan and online. Parker became a popular name in the fashion industry following the TV show ‘Sex and the City’.
The actress launched her namesake label, SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker, in February 2014, and also launched collaboration collections with Nordstrom and Tome among others. In 2016, Parker opened the first retail location of her brand and in 2017 opened a store at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and launched a handbag line called, ‘The Seven Essentials.’
Of late, Gap has been increasingly focussing its attention on children’s clothing. The clothing retailer in October launched a ‘Baby Gap Outfit Box’ subscription service which offered five mix-and-match pieces every 3 months and launched a similar service for Old Navy in November offering clothing for children ages 5 through to 12. Gap has recently increased its same-store sales forecasts for 2017 after having reported a 3 per cent increase in overall third quarter same-store sales.
Japanese companies are looking for cheaper production bases elsewhere in Asia with wage rise in China. And Bangladesh is optimistic investment would increase from Japan, and give boost to the country’s economy. Among rising labor costs, Japan’s garment industry is shifting production from China to Bangladesh and other Asian countries, however, to catch the opportunity is not so easy for Bangladeshi businessman, though, Japanese businesses have shown keen interest in investing in Bangladesh as they have got rid of the fear in the wake of terrorist attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in 2016. Bangladeshi garment manufacturers have been enjoying zero-duty benefit on apparel exports to Japan even if the raw materials were imported
As per Japan External Trade Organization, the number of Japanese companies operating in Bangladesh has more than tripled since 2008, reaching 253 as of May 2017.That’s still far fewer than the number in China or Thailand but their presence in Bangladesh is increasing at a much faster pace. Garment shipments to Japan from Bangladesh began after the adoption of ‘China Plus One’ policy by the Japanese government in 2008 to reduce overdependence on China for goods like apparel, electronic gadgets and home appliances. The ‘China plus One’ policy was supplemented by the relaxation of Rules of Origin by Japanese government for least-developed countries, which worked in Bangladesh’s favor.
Japan Textiles Importers Association says, although Bangladesh only accounts for 2.3 per cent of total imports, its average grows at an annual pace of about 20-40 per cent. Japan imported 65 per cent of its textile products from China in 2015. China at one time accounted for nearly 80 per cent of textile imports but the percentage has been declining gradually due to rising labor costs, among other reasons. Now imports from countries like Vietnam and Indonesia are rising.
A recent by Relooping Fashion Initiative, report suggests textile items made from recycled fibres should be made affordable to the masses apart from the environmentally conscious niche consumer segment. The emotional engagement for such recycled textile products has to be elevated, so that consumers are willing to take good care of them, and use them longer.
The report also added the retailers and brands should increasingly apply new circular business models, which are based on product use, rather than sales. Setting up circular material flows will shorten value chains, because brands will have to work closely with all actors of the business ecosystem. The business ecosystem report of the Relooping Fashion Initiative stated brands and retailers are in key position in defining the new circular customer value proposition which is central for profitability of the new circular business models of all business ecosystem actors.
Focusing on the business ecosystem modelling work, the report introduced crystallised vision of a higher-level system that enables the textiles industry to operate according to the basic principles of a circular economy. The main direct opportunities of circular economy relate to resource efficiency, the possibility to replace and reduce usage of virgin materials, elimination of waste, new opportunities for employment, business and innovation, as well as promotion of sustainable consumption habits and fostering socio-economic well-being.
Devan Chemicals, a Belgian-headquartered provider of finishing technologies and a speciality chemical provider, has launched a new multifunctional antimicrobial brand line. The line consists of their well-known, but recently rebranded quat-silane antimicrobial solution, combined with extra features. This enables textile manufacturers to apply multiple functionalities using only one single treatment.
BI-OME®, Devan’s recently rebranded antimicrobial solution, has been launched with interesting extra features. They have combined its antimicrobial technology with other functional finishes in its product range and now offer a variety of combinations. BI-OME® Quick dry combines the antimicrobial properties (for odour control) with advanced moisture management properties to promote efficient and faster evaporation to aid cooling and comfort.
BI-OME® Stretch combines the antimicrobial solution with stretch recovery properties for better fit. A revolutionary variation is BI-OME® AV, which has an antiviral activity in addition to its antimicrobial properties. BI-OME®, the antimicrobial solution without any extra features, remains available.
The company’s experience with antimicrobial technology goes back a long time where over 25 years of research led to the creation of the BI-OME® product range. Due to a combination of a cross-border support package (mill training, quality control, etc.) and unique product excellence (non-migrating and not using silver), Devan’s antimicrobial technology is used internationally.
BI-OME® is fully BPR and EPA compliant, Oekotex and Bluesign registered, can be delivered worldwide and is applicable for apparel, home textiles, bedding, transport and mobility, among others.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has asked government to form a minimum wage board to review existing wages of the RMG workers. Siddiqur Rahman, President, BGMEA explains despite the adverse situation the sector is currently going through, they have requested the government to take necessary measures to form minimum wage board for re-fixing minimum wages for garment workers in line with the provision of labor laws and to uphold the image both at home and abroad. He also suggested every factory owners should look for new markets and invest more in research and development.
Industry owners expect gas, power supply problem will be solved when government sets up LNG terminals. He said the value of taka against dollar, poor infrastructure and shortage of power and gas are the key challenges for the export oriented RMG sector.
In the last FY 2016-17,Bangladesh RMG exports to EU was 63 per cent, while to the US it was 19 per cent, Canada 3 per cent, Japan 3 per cent, Australia 3 per cent, Turkey 1 per cent and others 9 per cent. As per BGMEA, currently 4,482 garments factories are member of the associations where 4.4 million employees are working.
Australia's major wool segment is set for strong growth largely due to record high prices and strong demand from increasingly affluent Chinese consumers. Experts for the non-profit Australian Wool Innovation industry group, says demand is now at its peak since the last few decades, with ‘Chinese influence on the market exerting extreme upward pressure on wool prices in Australia.’
In terms of US dollar wool prices are not as high as they were about five years ago, but the weaker Australian dollar against the USD now meant Australian producers were getting paid more in local currency. Chinese wool buyers were paying about US$14 to US$15. dollars a kilo for wool earlier but the price is about US$12.50 now. Prices have rocketed to over 16 Australian dollars a kilo, industry data indicates. Analysts say China has the capacity to push the market even higher as long as demand remains strong. What is seen at the retail levels is that there's been so much wool at retail and many different products that people are seeing the capacity for the market to hold at these levels or even improve.
Australia is the world's leading producer of wool, with its top-grade Merino sheep helping growth of its annual exports of around AU$3 billion dollars (about US$2.28 billion). Chinese demand makes up over 70 per cent of that market, with its businesses manufacturing wool into a wide range of products such as sportswear and shoes and garments.
Around two decades age, almost 100 per cent of wool that the Chinese imported was used to manufacture products which were then re-exported because Chinese consumers found it expensive and could not afford to pay premium price for wool. Today, around 60 per cent of wool is retained in China for local consumption, as their affluence has grown tremendously and this in turn has only helped wool prices to rise. Thus, the Chinese market remains very important for Australian wool as the Chinese see quality in Australian wool.
Nearly 388 local and international companies participated in the Korean Textile Fair Preview in Seoul (PIS), a global textile and fashion fair that is targeted at the export of domestic textiles and fashion. A large number of innovative and creative products representing all aspect of the textile industry were on display. Among them were threads manufactured to meet changing lifestyles of customers, eco-friendly and functional materials, knitwear, accessories, subsidiary materials, digital textile printing (DTP) and sewing machines.
The Trend Forum Hall displayed latest materials at a glance. The fair featured simultaneous events such as a fashion show, seminar, bazaar and job fair. Among the participating companies, 257 were from Korea and 131 from 16 countries and regions also participated in the show. Of these, 94 companies were from Mainland China, 11 from India, eight each were from Taiwan and Southeast Asia, five from Pakistan and two were from Japan. Global fibre companies such as Lenzing (Austria), Shima Seiki (Japan), Everlast (Taiwan), Heng Li and Sheng Hong Group (Mainland China), and many from India and Taiwan were present.
Fashion Fair had a showroom operated by the Korean Apparel Industry Association which featured Ledome’s designer brand, around 50 companies such as Sekanskeen, Doucan, TheAStory and BeBe n BiNo. It also had a common hall for leading Korean fashion companies and association members, and fashion companies popular in China and Korea such as C&C Korea, Noble Mink and Wide International.
"CEMS-Global USA’s ‘3rd Brazil International Apparel Sourcing Show 2018’ (3rd BIAS 2018) will be held from August 28 to 30, 2018 in Sao Palo. This is the leading apparel sourcing marketplace for a colossal market like Brazil to make in-roads into the South American region. The show will be held in a perfect B2B hub at Sao Paulo, showcasing readymade garment collections from leading manufacturers from all over the world including trims and accessories."
CEMS-Global USA’s ‘3rd Brazil International Apparel Sourcing Show 2018’ (3rd BIAS 2018) will be held from August 28 to 30, 2018 in Sao Palo. This is the leading apparel sourcing marketplace for a colossal market like Brazil to make in-roads into the South American region. The show will be held in a perfect B2B hub at Sao Paulo, showcasing readymade garment collections from leading manufacturers from all over the world including trims and accessories.
Brazil’s textile industry has ‘a world of untapped potential’. As a BRICS country, it is the 4th largest market in the world for textiles after the US, China and Japan. Brazil’s textile and apparel industry has finally achieved success in terms of its textile and apparel exports, especially exports to Arabic markets. Brazilian exports of textiles and apparel to Arab countries have surged to $3 million during the first two months of 2017, increasing by 87.5 per cent from the same period a year ago. Currently, Arab countries are some of Brazil’s largest markets for textile and apparel exports, particularly for segments such as party wear, children’s wear, and beach wear. The United Arab Emirates had the highest imports of Brazilian textiles and apparel, followed by Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Lebanon.
With strong investments in recent years, Brazil is rising as a leading global technical textile producer. Along with global spotlight on the nation, the economy is booming. In 2009, Brazil imported textiles and clothing worth $2.69 billion and $767.07 million respectively, in 2010 it rose to $3.89 billion and $1.07 billion, in 2011 it further increased to $4.45 billion and $1.72 billion respectively and in the first nine months of 2012, it has reached $3.30 billion and $1.64 billion, respectively. Upcoming sports events are expected to drive future growth, analysts expect the apparel & other market to exceed $154,251.6 million by 2017, thus making it a potential market for textile & apparel exports from Asia.
Brazil’s emergence in world trade
The country’s economy is the largest in Latin America and the second largest in the western hemisphere. Brazil is one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world. In future, Brazil is expected to become one of the five largest economies in the world. Brazil’s place as a leader among the world’s emerging economies was first brought to widespread prominence with its inclusion as one of the BRIC countries – the tag given a decade ago to Brazil, Russia, India and China because of their robust economic growth and tremendous market opportunity. Today, Brazil has fulfilled its promise and remains one of the world’s top prospects for business development and exports with its huge market.
The line up
The 3rd BIAS 2018 while being one of the biggest networking hub for Apparel sourcing in Brazil, will also cater to the requirements of the ever-growing readymade apparel / garment requirements of the South American region itself with visitors / buyers coming to visit from all over the region.
