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Profits for Page Industries in the July to September quarter are expected to be up 22 per cent compared to the year-ago period. Revenue may be up 21 per cent year-on-year while EBIDTA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) may grow 17 per cent. Margin may contract 100 basis points to 21 per cent in the second quarter. Page Industries is a garment manufacturer. Men’s wear/sportswear is expected to sustain revenue growth of 26 per cent and women’s wear is expected to have 21 per cent growth. Both men’s wear and women’s wear may have 17 per cent volume growth.
Operating leverage and improved mix are expected to drive EBITDA margin but higher cotton prices may impact margins year on year. Bangalore-based Page Industries is the exclusive licensee of Jockey International USA for manufacture, distribution and marketing of the Jockey brand in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and the UAE.
Page Industries commands a pan India distribution encompassing over 44,000 plus retail outlets in 1,400 cities and towns. As of June 2016 there were 285 exclusive Jockey outlets across India. Page is also the exclusive licensee of Speedo for the manufacture, marketing and distribution of the brand in India. Speedo products include swimwear, water shorts, apparel, equipment and footwear.
Italian fashion trade show White Milano will organize a series of worldwide trunk shows through some of the key international fashion capitals. One will be in Germany, November 17.
The event will present some of the trade show’s participating brands including both established Italian ones and upcoming designers, through a live modeling performance. The aim of the initiative is to show insiders what White Milano offers and how its exhibitors are always different with over 200 new entries for each edition.
Participating in White Milano’s event will be Lucio Vanotti and Stefano Mortari (clothing lines), Peter Non and Manfredi Manara (shoe brands), and sophisticated bags by Giancarlo Petriglia.
The live modeling event will host a selection of designers characterized by a more avant-garde twist and conceptual approach to fashion which better matches the German taste. The evening will also host an opening talk presenting designers who are rooted in Germany. Sharing their experiences will be two Italian designers who are based in Germany, Lulù Poletti from Melampo and Ludovica Diligu, founder of Labo.Art.
White wants to be seen as a brand - rather as merely a tradeshow - through communication projects with a cultural twist. Subsequently White will present a series of events in strategic markets, such as the Far East and North Europe, with avant-garde designers and those Italian businesses that represent the trade show’s success stories.
Donald Trump may present an opportunity, and difficulties, for the American textile and apparel industry. What the industry is looking forward to is getting rid of the yarn-forward rule, something that may happen. The Trans-Pacific Partnership won’t happen with a Trump administration. His campaign centered on a pledge to ‘Make America Great Again’ by renegotiating trade agreements, imposing tariffs as high as 35 per cent on imports from countries like China and preventing companies from manufacturing overseas.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a proposed trade agreement between the US and the European Union that’s already on rocky ground, likely won’t happen either. If Trump wants to raise tariffs on China, the US will have to withdraw from the World Trade Organization (WTO). The effects of leaving the WTO would be that the US would enjoy the same economic status as Syria, North Korea and Iran. The US would lose binding dispute resolution process, lose protection against non-tariff barriers, protection of its intellectual property and it might engender mutually retaliatory trade wars.
In this election, trade became the proxy, the scapegoat for everything people felt was wrong with America. Trade isn’t the main force destroying jobs but it serves as a good target.
Soft and stretch denim fabric was the center of attraction among visitors and buyers at the 5th Bangladesh Denim Expo held in Dhaka on Tuesday and Wednesday. Exhibitors said most of their latest collection was soft and stretch fabric while they also concentrated on sustainability. Visitors were seen roaming every stall, checking the fabric and discussing with the exhibitors at the two day long exhibition.
Foshan Seazon Textile and Garment based in China brought two way stretch and a good number of visitors crowded at their stall. Pervej Mahbub, Marketing Manager in the company’s Bangladesh office said this fabric is more comfortable than other stretch denim and got a good response from buyers.
Taiwan based Yogotex Fabrics exhibited polka dot stretch denim at the exhibition. Tareq B S. Khan, a senior executive at its Bangladesh office pointed out the product got a good response from buyers. Similarly, Foshan Huafeng Textile displayed stretch and soft denim fabric, magic colored denim fabric. Li Miao Qiong, Business Supervisor said they have got good orders at the exhibition. “Buyers like our magic color stretch fabrics.” In fact, exhibitors pointed out that most visitors looked for stretch denim fabric at stalls.
As Jahid Hasan, Marketing Sales Executive of Wong’s Group said most of their latest collection is cotton stretched fabric and they got a good response at the expo. Besides fabric companies, other related companies also put up stalls. Singapore’s business solution company 3D Denim Laser Washing had a stall. And Will Li, Sales Manager said they have got some orders at the exhibition. Sarena Dyeing and Finishing also had a stall and Sultan Ahmed, Manager, was happy with the response from visitors.
Clothing retail giant Primark has joined the European Clothing Action Plan (ECAP). ECAP aims to develop a framework to promote practical action for tackling carbon, water and waste footprints across the lifecycle of clothes. It was launched in May 2016.
Primark is one of five businesses to have signed up to the initiative so far, along with Dutch sustainable sock producer Star Sock, Italian clothing brand OVS, Swedish ski-wear firm Peak Performance, and Spanish children’s clothing producer Bobo Choses.
Primark’s decision to join ECAP comes as part of its commitment to reducing its environmental impact. The firm has been blamed for encouraging fast fashion due to its low prices, but like many high street retailers has also launched a series of initiatives to try and curb its environmental footprint.
The ECAP plan aims to help firms better understand the impact of the fibers used in their clothing ranges and to encourage steps to use more sustainable alternatives, such as choosing a more sustainable cotton over traditional cotton. Overall the initiative aims to help its members collectively divert 90,000 tons of clothing waste from landfill and incineration, reduce their climate impact by 1.6 million tons of Co2, and save 588 million cubic meters of water.
The Indian textile sector is facing challenges especially in the export market mainly due to uneven tariff and non-tariff barriers. It’s hoped GST will bring down input costs, give a boost to textile exports and bring in greater capital investment in the sector.
Many states do not have a dedicated textile minister. A well-coordinated cohesive governance approach will ensure more effective program implementation and sectoral outcomes. India’s positioning in international markets depends upon branding of Indian textile products. Branding of handloom products by involving top designers and retail giants in the country has led to a paradigm shift in the handloom sector. There is a proposal to brand ‘Eri’ silk as peace silk from the land of the Mahatma.
Capacity enhancement in the production of textile machinery in the country would address the challenges of industry such as cost of power and labor. Views and contributions of all states would be reflected in the new textile policy, so that India becomes the textile destination of the world.
The MoU between IGNOU and The National Institute of Open Schooling provides free, anytime, anywhere education to children of weavers and artisans. The Indian textile industry is extremely varied, with hand-spun and hand woven textiles at one end and capital intensive sophisticated mills at the other.
Gujarat is facing a shortfall in cotton supply due to the currency monetisation. From 35,000 bales of cotton, arrivals have dropped to 15,000 bales. Gujarat is a major cotton-producing state.
There are some transaction issues. Ginners can only pay in cheques, but farmers are not interested in payment through cheques. So farmers return home with the cotton. Just about 20 per cent of farmers are open to payment through cheques. Even otherwise, the cotton trade is mainly carried out through cash.
For ginners, procurement of cotton can cost up to at least Rs 3 crores a day. There is a fear farmers may hike prices of the crop if the markets remain shut due to a lack of funds. Business transactions will be low until the situation stabilizes. This is the peak arrival season for the cotton crop.
Till the day before the decision to scrap the currency was taken, markets were operating at peak activity. Arrival of all crops were recorded in normal quantities. But since then market activity has dropped. Cotton seed and cotton oil prices have also risen. Where usually there is movement of Rs 2 or Rs 3 per 20 kg in their prices each day, there has been a movement by nearly Rs 10 per 20 kg since then.
The European Union will sign a textile protocol with Uzbekistan only if it’s satisfied Uzbekistan has made progress in scaling back the use of child labor. The EU wants the practice of forced labor and child labor to be eradicated from the national to the local levels.
Europe represents a major market for Uzbek cotton. In 2013, Uzbekistan began allowing the ILO to monitor the annual harvest. Along with a boycott by major clothing manufacturers, Uzbekistan made progress in scaling back the use of child labor and EU pressure certainly played a part.
ILO said in 2015 the use of children in the cotton harvest in Uzbekistan has become rare, sporadic and socially unacceptable. But there are charges Uzbekistan has simply shifted to a greater use of forced adult labor, continuation of a demanding production quota system, and harassment of independent monitors.
Human rights advocates say entering into the textile protocol with Uzbekistan now would have an adverse impact on human rights. Uzbekistan will soon have a new president and it is yet to be seen whether he will engage in significant reforms in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry. The EU may be hoping that a reward for improvements to date will entice the new leader to consider future reforms.
Zimbabwe's clothing industry continues to deteriorate due to high costs of production, antiquated machinery and the influx of cheap clothing and fabrics. Sustained erosion of incomes has forced Zimbabweans to resort to cheap imports, including second hand clothes.
There are 64 million tons of second hand clothes from overseas waiting to be dumped in Africa. The industry wants a ban on cheap clothing imports, which would cushion it from unfair competition. The textile and clothing subsectors play a major role in Zimbabwe. They provide vital commodities such as shirts, trousers, suits, dresses, hats, stockings, underwear, blankets and towels.
There are concerns revenue officials are working in cahoots with cartels involved in the smuggling of goods into the country. Cotton production has been falling in Zimbabwe over the years, forcing farmers to resort to cash crops. Tumbling cotton prices have made it unattractive in comparison with other cash crops such as tobacco. At its peak in 2012, cotton production by small scale farmers was at 660 million bales.
The period 2000 to 2010 was the most difficult for the textile and clothing sectors. A number of companies closed and a number of people employed by this sector lost their jobs.
An orientation program for NERLP students was held on October 22, 2016. The program was coordinated by business head and project leader, MSPL, Neera Chandra.
It was presided over by Anita Gupta OSD, SICB, Govt. of Sikkim, as the chief guest for the program. The first panel of speakers included Krishan Gaur, head, special projects, NSDC, Harmeet Singh Bedi, senior merchandiser, MEPL, with 25 years of experience, Ginni Gulati, senior operation manager, MEPL, with 20 years of experience, Uday Singh, senior fabric sourcing manager, MEPL, with 20 years of experience.
After a light high tea the second panel of speakers included some eminent people from industry. Animesh Saxena, CEO Neeti Clothing, elaborated and guided students on how to settle in work conditions of Delhi.
Mridula Lall, country manager, India and China, Indisca, spoke about the job role of merchandiser and gave an insight into careers and the scope of growth in fashion merchandising.
Arunav Gogoi, designer, MEPL, with 15 years of experience and a native of Assam, shared his experience about settling in Delhi and guided the students to come out of pre-conceived prejudices and be open to work anywhere in India.
Manuj Nagpal spoke about the domestic fashion business and merchandising. Students were inducted by Deepika Gupta, soft skill trainer, MSPL. This was followed by distribution of study material and special trainee kit bags to students. Vineet Lall, director Modelama Skills, concluded the ceremony by thanking the guest for gracing the occasion and summarizing the useful guidance to the students. The whole event was covered by special apparel magazines, that is, Apparel Online and Fashionating World.
