FW
Finnish clothing brand Torstai is the world’s first sports clothing brand to take part in the Fairtrade Cotton Programme. The company aims for a strong growth in Europe’s sports clothing markets and is committed to grow its Fairtrade cotton purchases at least with 100 per cent during the next five years. Torstai’s first collection that is produced using Fairtrade cotton was released in Finland this summer. In addition to the Nordic countries, the new collection will be available in Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Italy and Russia.
The Fairtrade Cotton Program comes up with new methods to connect the Fairtrade cotton farmers with growing number of businesses seeking to make sustainable cotton a core part of their business. Resultantly, more and more companies are going in for the particular cotton brand.
Riikka Karppinen, Head of Marketing and Commercial Relations at Fairtrade Finland At the moment said that the cotton used by Torstai comes from Fairtrade farmers in India, and for them the long trade relationship means that they venture to acquire fertilizers and tools and plan the future. On the other hand, Finnish sportswear company Luhta Sportswear Company. The company happens to be the world’s first sports brand to acquire all of its cotton from Fairtrade farmers.
Luhta Sportswear Company is a Finnish family business founded in 1907 in Lahti, Finland. The company makes a turnover of about EUR 241 million and employs 1,592 people. Exports activities cover in total over 50 countries. In addition to these brands, Torstai has other brands such as Luhta, Rukka and Icepeak.
"CENTRESTAGE, the new fashion brand promotion and launch platform of Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) ended last Saturday on a high note. The four-day international fashion event was house to some 200 fashion brands from 20 countries and regions showcasing their latest fashion collections. In all, the trade show attracted close to 8,300 buyers from 71 countries and regions, with nearly 40 per cent of buyers coming from Asia other than Hong Kong."
CENTRESTAGE, the new fashion brand promotion and launch platform of Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) ended last Saturday on a high note. The four-day international fashion event was house to some 200 fashion brands from 20 countries and regions showcasing their latest fashion collections. In all, the trade show attracted close to 8,300 buyers from 71 countries and regions, with nearly 40 per cent of buyers coming from Asia other than Hong Kong.
HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Benjamin Chau said that CENT RESTAGE was s an ideal promotion and launch platform for international, especially Asian, fashion brands and designer labels. The HKTDC is pleased that the event has captured the attention of the Asian fashion industry successfully attracting fashion brands and buyers keen on expanding their Asian business to come and promote, source and launch new collections and explore cooperation opportunities. And it provides a platform for local new designers to showcase creative designs to media and buyers in the region. He added that CENTRESTAGE was an effective event for driving regional fashion exchange and development while solidifying Hong Kong’s position as a fashion capital.
Excellent Response
In order to understand the industry players’ views on the outlook for the fashion industry and product trends nicely, the HKTDC commissioned an independent market research agency to conduct on-site surveys during CENTRESTAGE, interviewing some 270 exhibitors and buyers. The survey found that most respondents were cautiously optimistic about overall sales in 2017. Nearly 60 per cent of respondents expect overall sales in the coming year to remain steady, while 27 per cent expect overall sales to increase.
Thirty three per cent of respondents were of the view that production costs or sourcing prices would increase but 65 per cent of them said that they would not increase the FOB price or retail price indicating that the industry is generally reluctant to transfer the increased costs to customers or consumers. In terms of markets, the respondents expect Hong Kong, Japan and Korea to have the best growth prospects among traditional markets in the coming two years. 60 per cent of respondents considered that the Chinese mainland to be most promising among emerging markets.
The survey also sought to understand the product trends of the fashion industry. 60 per cent of respondents consider women’s wear to have the best growth potential followed by men’s wear and kids’ wear. Nearly half of the respondents said that they have engaged in e-tailing business selling mainly women’s wear (69%), casual wear (41%) and fashion jewellery (12%).
Besides the stalls, a number of trend seminars were held during the event. Michael Leow, Asia/Pacific Sales & Marketing Head for Fashion Snoops, said Nowstalgia will be a key trend in the coming year. The trend blends nostalgic and contemporary elements while incorporating the convenience of modern technology.
In another seminar, Erica Ng, WGSN’s Senior Editor, Retail Intelligence, Asia Pacific, said the millennial lifestyle was transforming traditional retail. Retailers will need to find synergies between mobile apps, online shopping, physical retail and social media to effectively capture market share among this generation.
Hong Kong best place to contact new suppliers
The survey also found that nearly 90 per cent of fashion buyers consider Hong Kong trade shows a major channel to contact new suppliers. At the same time, 92 per cent of exhibitors use Hong Kong trade shows to find new buyers. These findings indicate that CENTRESTAGE being a regional fashion promotion and launch platform was an important channel to promote industry cooperation and generating business opportunities.
For the first time, French women’s fashion brand Edward Achour Paris was exhibiting in Hong Kong. Edward Achour, the brand’s designer commented by saying that CENTRESTAGE offers a great opportunity for their brand to open new markets. The results have been encouraging. Here, we met many buyers from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Indonesia and other countries. Four Chinese mainland buyers even placed orders on-site.
Hong Kong’s Anagram, a brand that specialises in upmarket women’s fashion collections, had come to CENTRESTAGE to develop its international market. Its Brand Director, Winnie So, said that international buyers have shown keen interest in our brand. It was here where his company could establish connections with wholesalers from Malaysia, Singapore and the US and a distributor from Vietnam. A buyer from New York has already confirmed orders and expects more orders after the show. And it was an awesome experience when CENTRESTAGE opened its gates to the public on the last day.
China’s street fashion brand Ilovechoc also attended the event. The brand has a sales network of more than 300 retail stores across the mainland. Gu Yu, the brand’s Vice President said that they were participating in CENTRESTAGE to broaden their sales presence in the international market. The show was instrumental in drumming up extensive interest and helped the company to establisg contact with many buyers from Southeast Asia.
He also informed that a number of buyers from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia even wanted to explore cooperation. Hong Kong is a major fashion hub in Asia and CENTRESTAGE can bring together industry players from around the world. This platform can certainly facilitate our business expansion, he added.
Finding new brands
La Rinascente, a long-established high-end department store group in Italy, saw CENTRESTAGE as an ideal opportunity to explore business opportunities in Asia for the first time. They found that the event was an ideal platform to find new brands and understand the fashion industry in Asian markets. Commented Andrea Bonecoo, Buying Manager, la Rinascente SpA that the business matching service introduced Hong Kong’s I.T Group to them. Officials of the company held useful talks to exchange ideas and establish initial contact. Finally he exclaimed by saying that this show was the start of the company’s effort to get to know more about Asia.
Indonesian fashion boutique, Lucy House, joined CENTRESTAGE to source more new brands for its customers according to Lucy Kurniawan who operates the company. In all, he found that the event offers a good platform to meet designers and was instrumental in generating good business opportunities. He further informed that he was now negotiating with a Hong Kong designer for the evening wear collection. An initial order would involve about 100 pieces in different styles.
Fida Alkaud, a buyer from Harvey Nichols, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia came to CENTRESTAGE to look out for contemporary evening wear. She said that she felt very happy to have found new brands which suit the tastes of their customers which include Marquess & Homa, Guy Laroche Furs, Shelina and Camelia. She was all praise of HKTDC's business matching service because it saves one a lot of time finding the right brands. Fida went to the extent of saying that the fashion shows at CENTRESTAGE were also very fascinating.
Also attending the event was Meili Inc. one of the mainland's largest fashion e-tailing brands. Margaret Yao, Business Cooperation Director said that she visited CENTRESTAGE to find new brands and explore cooperation opportunities. She expressed her happiness of the business matching meetings arranged by the organiser as they helped in generating positive results. She was aso of the say that she found a Hong Kong designer and a US brand offering some suitable products to sell on her website. She also established contacts with four fashion brands from Thailand saying that she would be in further discussions with them.
Korea’s biggest department store operator Lotte that runs 40 stores across the country also made its presence at CENTRESTAGE. Lotte’s buyer Hyeon Ji Sun observed that she visited CENTRESTAGE to find new brands, especially sportswear and lifestyle wear brands. People in Korea love sports and outdoor activities. Hence demand for related fashion items was very strong. She was very happy to inform that she was very happy to have established contact with two brands from Hong Kong.
Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister of Rajasthan inaugurated Safeducate Container Library. Safeducate Container Library is a mobile library that will move to different locations across Ajmer so that maximum number of people can benefit from it.
“Safeducate Container Library is a unique endeavour by us to create a mobile library. This container library is made out of a refurbished container, as a part of our Go Green initiative. The Safeducate Container Library can be easily moved to any location across India. Many such Container Libraries will be set up in the near future” said Divya Jain, Founder & CEO, Safeducate.
The Safeducate Container Library is a learning hub where students can gain knowledge on a variety of subjects. Millions of people across Rajasthan will benefit from this endeavour of Safeducate.
The library has a vast collection of books and periodicals meant for people of various age groups. We need to channelize the energy of our youth into education in a big way, and this library will help drive that, especially from the perspective of those who do not have the access to high quality books.
Jain concluded by saying that Safeducate has been working towards bridging the huge skill gaps prevalent in the Indian economy.
Europe’s first fashion social commerce platform, Trendy (www.trendy.guru) has been launched. The platform connects consumers directly with designers and sellers through the influencers and social channels they follow, on one user friendly platform. Often customers are unhappy as they do not get what they had ordered for after seeing an advertisement in the social media. Trendy addresses this by facilitating direct purchase from recommendations and social channels with a simple two click system. Furthermore, the platform helps influencers to monetise their work and supports young/up and coming designers and fashion retailers by exposing them to a wider, targeted audience.
Juan Cruz Aliaga, founder of Trendy states, “In the UK, social media still only accounts for a small share of total retail sales but its impact on people's shopping and buying activity is rising fast. We can look to the US for things to come. Last year the US the top 500 retailers earned $3.3billion through social comers, up by 26% on the previous year.
For designers the process is simple and connects easily with existing social channels and connects them with a whole new audience and advocates in no time. Trendy offers bloggers and fashion influencer highly competitive benefits including a 5 to 7 per cent commission rate up to £300 credits to purchase as well as gifting from sellers.
The time is right for social commerce in the UK and Trendy offers designers, sellers and influencers a simple, safe and cost-effective solution to engage in social commerce. Trendy thus creates an effective and easy way for influencers to monetise their art.
Garment exports from Vietnam has been falling in the recent past. For example, Thanh Cong Garment, one of a few Vietnamese garment companies that owns a yarn – fabric – garment production line that has a strong demand from South Korea and the US, has seen a contracts decrease considerably from foreign partners in the first six months of the year. As far as consumption is concerned, Thanh Cong has stable consumption outlets as its large shareholder Eland Asia Holding Pte is usually responsible for 60 per cent of the company’s output. However, even with great advantages and support, the outfit, like other enterprises in the industry, is still going through difficulties.
The annual revenue from fabric accounts for 10 per cent of net revenue, while yarn brings 30-40 per cent and garment 50 per cent of revenue. The company’s revenue in the first six months of the year increased compared with the same period last year but its post-tax profit dropped sharply by 42 per cent from VND 86 billion to VND 50 billion. The company’s business efficiency also fell, with gross margin down.
Thanh Cong’s decline in business performance is attributed to a decline in exports. In the first half of the year, the company’s export turnover fell by 12 per cent in comparison with the same period last year. As far as yarn production is concerned, Thanh Cong took a loss with the gross margin of minus 5 per cent. The selling price has stayed unchanged for a long time while input material prices have been increasing sharply since the first quarter of the year.
Many Vietnamese companies are losing orders to companies in Laos, Myanmar and Bangladesh that have the advantage of making products at lower prices thanks to preferential tariffs offered by some large markets. Vietnam may have the same preferences obtain by 2018 if the TPP is ratified.
The Ministry of Textiles has notified a scheme for Rebate of State Levies on Export of Garments (ROSL). This, first of its kind scheme, has unique features and will apply with 'Let Export Order' dates from September 20 onwards. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has issued a detailed circular, clarifying various aspects of the scheme. It says the claim-cum-declaration of eligibility has to be made by the exporter on drawback exports at item level. The drawback exports (shipping bill or bill of export) may be standalone or in combination with other schemes.
For the EDI (electronic data interchange) shipping bill, selection of the scheme code involving the ROSL scheme at the time of export shall itself amount to making a claim- cum-declaration of eligibility. For the same bill, this shall be the only means to make the claim. If a need for a manual shipping bill arises, only then will the exporter printing the claim-cum-declaration on the shipping bill be accepted. No claim for rebate shall lie except in this manner, informs CBEC.
The scheme seeks to rebate state value added tax or central sales tax on inputs, including packaging and fuel, duty on electricity generation and duties, and charges on purchase of grid power, as accumulated through the stages of production from yarn to finished garments. The ministry has notified the rebate rates for all items covered under Chapters 61 and 62 of the All Industry Rates of drawback. Usually these are between one and two per cent of the FOB value for those availing of the special advance authorisation scheme and between three and four per cent of the FOB value for those claiming duty drawback. The scheme will be valid for three years but the government can change the rebate rates any time.
Since the rebate will be disbursed by the Customs Department along with duty drawback, the scheme is optional. So, the exporter claiming the benefit has to make a suitable declaration to the Customs regarding his eligibility for the rate and rebate, acceptance of the terms and conditions of the ROSL scheme, that he has not claimed and shall not claim the credit or rebate or refund reimbursement of the specific taxes that comprise the rebate of state levies under any other mechanism and also that he has constituted an ICC.
All eyes are on the forthcoming Yarn, Fabric & Accessories Trade Show (YFA) 2016 to be held from November 23 to 26 at NSIC Exhibition Centre, in New Delhi. Exhibitors to the second edition of the show will be eligible to subsidies offered by the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC). YFA 2016 is being supported by NSIC, and MSME units that participate in the YFA 2016 exhibition can claim subsidy under the Marketing Assistance Scheme (MAS) of NSIC of 60-95 per cent under various categories of MAS.
This year, the YFA will aim to redefine the way fibres, yarns, fabrics and apparel accessories are sourced and bring renowned suppliers from the these four segments closer to buyers and also offer them a one-stop place to source all their requirements. The show will see exhibition space doubling from one hall to two halls in this edition. And good news is that WGSN, the global authority on fashion trends will be the Trend Partner.
There will be a special Chinese Pavilion where around 40 Chinese exhibitors will showcase yarns, fabrics and garment accessories. A special highlight of this YFA show will be the Denim Zone which will see 20 top Indian denim fabric makers exhibiting their denim innovations. The organizers have also arranged a conference in association with TIT-Bhiwani and the Textile Association of India (TAI). Titoba, the alumni meet with a gathering of more than 800 top industry professionals in association with the two organizations is also in the offing.
Vision Communications, the organizer, has also planned fashion shows during the days of the show. Additionally, there will be a high-level conference which will see ministers, top government officials and industry leaders offering their views at the conference.
The fair is being supported by the Northern India Textile Mills Association (NITMA) with Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), Textile Association of India (TA(I)), Power loom Development Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL ), Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), Federation of Hosiery Manufacturers Association (FOHMA), Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC), Northern India Textile Research Institute (NITRA), U.P. Apparel Exporters Association and PTA Users Association as supporting associations.
The fashion industry is hungry for eco-friendly and natural fabrics. Synthetic fabrics have dominated production, but high quality wool is now making a serious comeback. Wool is a natural, sustainable, fire-retardant fiber that’s biodegradable, renewable and recyclable. Fine Merino wool produced on farms is sought after by many Italian fashion labels.
Wool is a protein fiber formed in the skin of sheep, and is thus one hundred per cent natural, not man-made. At the end of its useful life, wool can be returned to the soil, where it decomposes, releasing valuable nutrients into the ground. When a natural wool fiber is disposed of in soil, it takes a very short time to break down, whereas most synthetics are extremely slow to degrade.
Woolmark represents Australia’s finest wool producers and looks to present wool from its Australian producers as a modern fiber both in premium fashion markets and growing markets such as China.
China already buys three-quarters of Australian wool exports, making it a key market for Woolmark. South Korea is an increasingly important market. Now, as China’s economic growth weakens and global consumer spending slows, Woolmark is looking for growth from the sports, technical outerwear and athleisure fashion markets.
Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) held its annual elections recently. Ajmal Farooq of Noor Fatima Fabrics was elected chairman of the Association. Other office-bearers were elected unopposed as no nomination papers were filed. Earlier, 12 members were also elected unopposed as Executive Committee members for the next two-year term.
Besides Farooq others elected were Faisal Nisar of NFK Exports elected as senior vice chairman and Muhammad Naeem of Enn Eff Exports elected as vice chairman for the term 2016-17. Speaking after his election, Farooq said chairing the country's apex textile body was an honour as well as a challenge particularly in these testing time. Currently, textile industry was facing many challenges in almost all segments particularly high utilities cost, trade deficit as well as additional levies and other impediments directly affecting the cost of doing business, which has hampered exports of the country. The textile sector will have to deliver to steer the country out of economic troubles. For this, the PTEA would need the cooperation of not only the entire sector but also of value-added associations, he added.
Farooq appealed to the government to chalk out a viable policy on textile. This, he said was required as this sector has the potential to wipe out the entire trade deficit, provided genuine factors impeding its growth are removed. The Annual General meeting of the Association will be held on September 27 and results of the elections will be announced officially while newly elected body will take charge of their offices from October 1.
The judges for this year’s The Woolmark Company Texprint Award have been announced. They are: Aline Galimberti, Chief Designer of Dormeuil and Jonathan Christopher, the 2015-16 European menswear finalist for the International Woolmark Prize. For many years, the Woolmark Company, the global authority on wool has supported Texprint’s prestigious awards with a dedicated prize that recognizes the use of Merino wool incorporated into textile design.
The Woolmark Company Texprint Award is judged and presented at Premiere Vision Designs. This year’s announcement will be made on September 14 at the Texprint village in Hall 5. The judges will meet the 2016 Texprint alumni on their stands at Premiere Vision Designs to view their collections and discuss their use of Merino wool. After joint deliberations they will select the winner of The Woolmark Company Texprint Award.
Aline Galimberti is Chief Designer of Dormeuil, one of the most respected global brands in the textile industry. The firm was founded in 1842 with a reputation for exceptionally high quality research, creativity and innovation.
Netherlands-based Jonathan Christopher has proved to be a major innovator in wool denim. The International Woolmark Prize highlights the most innovative and modern interpretations of Australian wool by leading design talents.
The winner of the Woolmark Company Texprint Award will receive £1,000 plus ongoing support from the Woolmark Company and get opportunities to learn about developments, innovations and the supply chain for wool. In addition, the Woolmark Company will sponsor a dedicated presence for the winner at Intertextile Shanghai.
