FW
Bangladesh’s $26 billion garment industry is booming. The industry is said to be the key driver of the economy and nation’s development. Exports of RMG account for over 80 per cent of the nation’s export earnings. Second only to China, the world’s second-largest apparel exporter of western brands, Bangladesh’s industry has 60 per cent of export contracts of western brands with European buyers and 40 per cent with American buyers.
Dhaka, the commercial capital of Bangladesh, is home to quality manufacturers and exporters of garments. As a professional garmenting hub, the Bangladesh capital has attracted manufacturers by way of the Taiwan Textile Fairs. The said fairs, with their high quality and technically advanced fabrics and accessories, will help Bangladesh’s manufacturers increase the quality of their export offerings.
The 2nd edition of the Taiwan Textile Fairs in Bangladesh will take place on November 20 and 21 this year in Dhaka. Organised by the Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF) and the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) of Taiwan, and managed by Worldex India Exhibition & Promotion the event is endorsed and supported by the Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association (BGBA).
The Taiwan Textile Fairs in South Asia is an excellent opportunity for Bangladesh’s apparel manufacturers, exporters, brand-owners, sourcing offices, buying houses, buying agents, importers, etc. to look for new materials and connect with leading suppliers from Taiwan at their doorstep. The fair will showcase variety of products ranging specialty yarns to performance and outdoor fabrics, eco-friendly and textured fabrics.
Bankers hoping to recover Rs 24,000-crores loan from Alok Industries are in a fix with the Small Industries’ Development Bank of India (SIDBI) filing a winding-up petition against the company in the Bombay High Court. The bank has filed the petition under Sections 433 (E), 434 and 439 of the Companies Act seeking to wind up Alok Industries and liquidate its assets. According to sources, SIDBI is not part of the 30-lender consortium to the company and is, therefore, classified ‘other lender’ in its annual report.
Earlier, efforts to initiate a strategic debt restructuring (SDR) scheme has had no results because the Bombay HC stayed the company’s sale of assets and change in its equity structure after HSBC filed a winding-up petition against it. The London-based bank had filed the petition on behalf of unsecured lenders like VTB Capital to settle the outstanding dues worth $55 million. Other petitioners include Barclays Bank, Shreeji Steel Traders, Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) and Global Tradinglinks.
Alok Industries is currently ineligible for a loan recast even under the revised rules for sustainable structuring of stressed assets (S4A) scheme. It has been recently reported that a techno-economic viability (TEV) study found sustainable debt to be at Rs. 10,800 crores, slightly less than 50 per cent of the firm’s total debt.
Bankers, however, are hopeful that the RBI will respond favourably to suggestions asking for some relaxations in the formula for calculating the sustainable debt. Currently, lenders can invoke the S4A only in companies where 50 per cent borrowings are sustainable or can be serviced by current cash flows.
Increasing importance of denim in Vietnam’s apparel industry is instrumental in bringing another edition of Denimsandjeans show to Ho Chi Min City in June, 2017. With the first Denim Show in Vietnam launched by India’s Denimsandjeans.com team, the second edition in June 2017 would attract leading denim jeans and fabric companies besides chemical, accessory and other suppliers in the denim supply chain.
Over 50 companies from Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Italy, Switzerland, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and some other countries are expected to participate in the show. Vietnam, exported about $27 billion apparel and textiles last year is expected to grow to $30 billion by the end of 2016. Denim is increasingly taking a share of these exports.
The maiden international denim show in Vietnam was held in June 2016 by Denimsandjeans while the second edition with the theme Street Style seeks to highlight the importance that denim holds in the realms of street play.
The India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) is gearing up to promote India’s country level participation in IM Intermoda-International Apparel & Textile Fair to be held at Guadalajara (Mexico) from January 17 to 20, next year. Being a regular participant, ITPO aims to provide an excellent business opportunity in high potential Mexican markets that attract a large number of buyers from North America and Latin American regions.
Aiming to strengthen bilateral trade and economic cooperation between India and Mexico, the participation in the coming fair assumes a special significance in the backdrop of our prime minister’s visit to the country in June last. The participation offers excellent opportunities for Indian companies to export apparel, textile, leather garments, fashion accessories blouses, skirts, evening wear, woollen shawls, tie and die items, made-ups, fashion jewellery, wooden block printed garments, terracotta items, etc.
The fair, that also brings together Mexican and international companies, manufacturers, importers and distributors, is an ideal place to publicise brand image as well and also to analyse the competition, step up sales, launch new products, get to know the market trends and expand network of business contacts. IM Intermoda is the continent’s largest specialised exhibition that attracts more than 10,000 businessmen including top buyers, the world’s leading apparel, textile buyers of fashion wear manufacturers and service providers. The fair will be supplemented with a number of conferences on color, textures and fabric as well as fashion shows highlighting new trends and merchandising.
The fair will bring together Mexican and international companies, manufacturers, importers, distributors. It is an ideal place to publicise the Indian brand and step up sales, launch new products and expand company’s network of business contacts in the highly potential Latin American market.
Slowing demand and fading consumer confidence have created havoc in the global fashion industry. Days after American Apparel filed for bankruptcy for the second time in 13 months, popular clothing brand GAP said it expected to shut about 65 company-operated stores this year due to sluggish sales.
High-end designer houses are also losing out on reduced foot falls in malls. German fashion house Hugo Boss recently announced plans to eliminate two brands and slowdown expansion while it has come to light that Kate Spade put itself up for sale. The woes of traditional apparel and luxury brands have been exacerbated in recent years as online retailers grow in popularity, especially among millennials, forcing these big names to rethink growth plans and device new strategies to cut costs and bump up sales.
Many, including Abercrombie & Fitch and Michael Kors, have posted disappointing earnings in the third quarter, leading to a drop in share prices. The challenge for these brands has mostly come from fast-fashion chains such as H&M, Forever 21 and Zara which have grabbed a large chunk of market share by offering trendier clothes at lower prices.
Clothing companies have been hit particularly hard with brands such as Aeropostale, Quiksilver and Pacific Sunwear of California filing for bankruptcy in the past two years. American company Banana Republic recently announced it is closing all eight stores in the United Kingdom, and moving its operations online to its regional website.
The garment industry in Ludhiana has been hit hard by the government's decision to abolish larger bank notes. The move has dealt a severe blow to small time traders and shopkeepers whose 90 per cent trade happens only in cash. The knitwear industry in Ludhiana contributes about 80 per cent of the total woolen/acrylic output of the economy and generates employment for over 400,000 people in the city. Ludhiana has a large number of small industries - both registered and unregistered – that deal in readymade garments, textiles and winter hosiery products.
The industry has seen a fall in footfalls as thousands have been left without cash in the wake of demonetization and strict limits on withdrawals from banks. According to the government, demonetisation is aimed at bringing billions of dollars' worth of cash in unaccounted wealth into the mainstream economy as well as dent the finances of Islamist militants who target India and are suspected of using fake 500 rupee notes to fund operations.
Fast Retailing has set up a denim innovation center in Los Angeles, a city well-known as the home of denim. The center aims to bring together specialists in jeans development from premium denim brand J Brand and other Fast Retailing Group companies to develop jeans utilizing innovative technologies and materials, based on established tradition of jeans. The first project for the facility will be research on jeans for Uniqlo and J Brand. Products for both brands developed at the center will be available from the fall-winter 2017 season.
The denim innovation center is Fast Retailing’s first facility to focus on research and development of denim fabric. It will enable Fast Retailing to quickly incorporate the essence of current trends in its designs. Focusing on fabric, fit, and finish, the key elements in making jeans, the center will develop fabrics with the world’s leading fabric makers as well as conduct R&D on the latest production technologies to make jeans that look exceptional and are comfortable to wear.
The center can also be used by contracted producers as a research center, which will increase the integrity of the finished product during actual production. In addition, the facility will focus on environmentally friendly processing and production methods, conducting R&D on chemicals and techniques used for fading and distressing of jeans.
Karl Mayer’s latest digital innovations include the Karl Mayer Connect and Karl Mayer check parts apps and the spare parts webshop. They complement the 360 degree service provided by Karl Mayer and guarantee efficient communication with the company’s own technical support staff. They also ensure that the machines operate more economically.
The new Kamcos 2 automation platform is the basis for this innovative link between network communication and the machine technology and also for solutions for integrating systems.
Karl Mayer exhibited these machines at the recent ITMA Asia + CITME 2016 show in China from October 21 to 25. The company’s representatives had more than 600 meaningful conversations at the trade fair. As well as neighbouring Asian countries, there was considerable interest from Turkey. Some customers even travelled from as far as the US and Eastern Europe.
Karl Mayer is committed to promoting the concepts of sustainability and digitisation when dealing with its customers. Its entire operations have technical solutions concentrating on sustainability, such as the Low Energy Option for warp knitting machines and the materials-conserving HSB-PW Size Box for warp preparation as well as textile applications having ecological implications in the field of multiaxial technology.
In the tricot machine sector, Karl Mayer has two HKS models of the next generation. Their modern design sets them apart from other machines on the market. The new OJ 59/1 B for the lace sector, with its unique level of productivity, is revolutionising the production of lace. Karl Mayer also has some new developments in shoe fabric production and an innovative preparation machine for warp knitting.
In a veiled counter to US President-elect Donald Trump over his protectionist stance, leaders of 12-member states of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have agreed to step up efforts to implement the free trade agreement. At a meeting in Lima, the leaders affirmed their intention to advance domestic procedures such as ratification by parliaments of member states so that the US-led TPP can enter into force, it is understood.
Although it is unclear whether the free trade pact will come into force with the new Trump administration, the leaders did not discuss the possibility of implementing the TPP without the US participation. President Barack Obama has been quoted as saying that his administration will continue efforts to win domestic support for the pact.
Interestingly, Trump has vowed to scrap the TPP once he assumes office in January. It is not immediately known whether the leaders’ call for implementing the TPP would prompt Trump to reverse the harsh anti-globalism rhetoric he advocated during his presidential campaign.
Garment factory inspection agency Accord is in talks with the Bangladesh government to extend its tenure in the country beyond June 2018 so that it can ensure completion of remediation works in all its member factories. The platform is planning to extend its stay in Bangladesh by another three years, much to the displeasure of garment factory owners.
The number of factories from which the 220 Accord signatories source has expanded much since the inspections started in February 2014. Currently, the number of signatories stands above 7,000. Accord is now conducting its fourth batch of preliminary inspections. This means the more recently inspected factories will not have finished with their remediation by June 2018.
Accord's first batch of inspections concluded in September 2014 and remediation works in this group of factories will most definitely be complete by June 2018. About 72 per cent of the total findings from the initial inspections are reported as corrected by the factories and/or verified as corrected by Accord engineers. After the Rana Plaza building tragedy, 220 retailers joined hands to form the Accord with the view to fixing the structural, electrical and fire loopholes in Bangladesh's garment factories.
