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Meridian Specialty Yarn Group, Inc. (MSYG) has launched polyester yarns processed with CiCLO technology. This technology allows polyester fibers to break down in landfills and the ocean at rates comparable to a natural fiber like wool.
Yarns with CiCLO technology are also available to manufacturers of medical PPE for use making medical gowns, lab coats, medical setting curtains and other medical textiles typically made from polyester. These yarns can be treated with antimicrobials proven effective at reducing exposure to viral infections and have the same beauty, wear-ability, durability, functionality, and performance characteristics consumers expect from polyester.
The yarns are currently being processed in the United States in MSYG’s new manufacturing plant in Valdese, North Carolina. The facility, which opened in July 2019, is he most modern and up to date dyehouse in the US and equal to, or better than, any other yarn dyeing operation worldwide.
According to MSYG, the plant has been engineered to use dramatically less water and power than comparable textile operations and generates much less effluent as a by-product of the dyeing and drying process.
LVMH-owned luxury fashion house of Givenchy has appointed designer Matthew M Williams, the 34-year-old founder of luxury streetwear-inspired label 1017 ALYX 9SM, as its new art director. Williams will succeed Clare Waight Keller after her exit in April, and will present his first collection in Paris this October.
The appointment of Williams will further push Givenchy in a streetwear direction, though he joins the luxury couture house during a period of turbulence for the fashion industry. Williams will join the label during a moment of profound societal change, during which consumers are questioning how all the institutions they interact with are actively fighting discrimination. He will likely be expected to deliver the types of collections that drive customers to queue up to shop, but on a much larger scale than he has operated before.
Givenchy, a couture house with a rich history, has major expectations for future growth. Its parent company LVMH hopes the label to grow like Dior with revenue exceeding €2 billion ($2.14 billion).
Cotton USA has signed new licensees with two Western European firms, I Cotoni di Albini and Bugatti. These licenses cover the equivalent of 2,088 bales of US cotton. I Cotoni di Albini, a company of the Albini group, specialises in the production of high-end yarns. Owing to its partnership with Cotton USA, Supima, and Oritain, I Cotoni di Albini can offer 100 per cent traceable US cotton. Incepted in 1876 in Italy, the Albini group’s ambition is to create the most beautiful fabrics in the world.
Bugatti, a German mid-market men’s, and women’s brand, is licensed for a line of US cotton-rich men trousers. Established in 1947, the company employs more than 1,000 people in Germany. In 2019, the company generated sales worth $250 million and export share was 44 per cent. The group’s main export are to Italy, Austria, the Netherlands and Russia. Bugatti has 327 points-of-sale in Germany and 600 in its export markets.
Showcasing its growing relation with the German-based luxury fashion brand Hugo Boss, Frasers Group has acquired a 5.1 per cent stock in the former. The group purchased 120,000 shares of the common stock in the brand besides 140,000 shares of common stock via contracts for difference, and 3.29 million shares of common stock via the sale of put options.
After taking into account the premium, the will receive under the put options, its maximum aggregate exposure in connection with its acquired interests in Hugo Boss is around £97 million. This investment reflects the group’s belief in the long-term future of Hugo Boss. It intends to be a supportive stakeholder and create value in the interests of both Frasers Group’s and Hugo Boss’ shareholders.
In February, the group also acquired a 12.5 percent share in luxury British handbag label Mulberry. Its key strategic priority is the elevation of its retail proposition and building stronger relationships with premium third party brands.
USDA’s recent report says, the US is expected to export 19.5 million bales of cotton in 2020. The country’s exports for the 2019 crop year remain at 15 million bales. The country has lowered its mill use for the 2019 crop year to 200,000 bales.
USDA also revised its mill use for 2020 crop year downward by 100,000 bales. The world demand (Use) for the 2019 crop year was revised down by 2.35 million bales to now only 102.65 million bales. As a result of this lowered use, carry-in stocks in 2020 will be higher than earlier projected.
Though cotton global consumption is expected to rebound, USDA lowered this increased by 2 million bales. The end stocks for the 2020 crop year are now projected to top 104 million bales—almost 5 million bales higher than for 2019 and the largest stocks since 2014 and second highest on record.
India’s Bajaj Industries has signed a contract with the Holding Company for Cotton, Spinning, Weaving and Garments, affiliated to the Egyptian Ministry of Public Enterprise Sector, for the supply of three state-of-the-art cotton ginning machines. Bajaj had previously supplied and installed the first modern cotton ginning machine in Fayoum. The three new cotton ginning machines, which will be located in Sharqiya, Beheira, and Gharbiya, are expected to enter into service by the end of 2020 at an estimated cost of EGP 400 million.
China aims to ensure its citizen shop for international luxury brands within its own borders instead of travelling abroad. For this, the government, proposes a new annual limit of RMB100,000 ($14,000) per person for tax-free shopping in Hainan, China’s southernmost province. The popular tourist destination attracts more than 75 million, primarily domestic, tourists every year. The new limit is more than three times the current RMB 30,000 ($4,200).
The allowance rise and free port policy announcement followed the ‘Two Sessions’ annual plenaries of the National People’s Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference which ended last week. Among other aspects of the free port plan relevant to duty-free retailing include the plan to increase its number of tourists by making Hainan an international aviation hub; liberalising air rights including fifth and seventh freedoms; and the constructing a cruise tourism pilot zone.
According to consulting firm Bain & Company, the Chinese increased their share of the estimated $313 billion personal luxury goods market by up to 35 per cent last year. China was also responsible for almost single-handedly growing the personal luxury market in 2019.
Though most European brick-and-mortar clothing stores opened around four weeks ago, sales have been dismal. As per latest data published by the trade association Acotex, in April, clothing sales declined 50 per cent in the United Kingdom and by 67.4 percent in France. These sales further plummeted by 72 per cent year-on-year in May and by 45 per cent to date.
Huge cash reserves save Inditex despite declining sales
Some of reasons for declining sales are: the inability of people to visit stores in recent times, reduced socializing and a decline in consumers’ incomes. Recently, one of the largest fashion retailers Inditex reported a 44 per cent plunge in revenues in first quarter and also a net loss of €409 million.
However, the company’s online sales surged 50 per cent in the first quarter. The company expects online sales to represent over 25 per cent of its total sales by 2022. Despite
its struggles, the company’s huge cash reserves enabled it to pay its staff without having to put them on short-term leave.
Government bailouts, short term leave to survive
Unlike Inditex, budget fashion chain Primark had to rely on government bailouts across Europe to pay its 68,000-strong workforce, while, Sweden’s H&M Group had to put tens of thousands of employees on short-term leave throughout the world. H&M also had to face the problem of burgeoning inventory of unsold goods during the lockdown. By the end of April, the brand had unsold inventory amounting to almost $4.2 billion.
According to Euromonitor International, around 40 per cent of the businesses in the sector expect the impact to be much worse than that of the 2008 financial crisis, while McKinsey estimates up to one-third of global fashion retailers to perish during the crisis.
Retailers are already feeling the pinch as big clients such as the UK’s Arcadia Group are cancelling orders and extending payment terms, the onset of the discounts trend could further cripple their already challenged finances.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has made a significant dent in the Japanese apparel retail industry, forcing the mass closures of retail stores in the country.
As a result, during January-April ’20 period, Japan imported 903.5 billion yen (US $ 8.41 billion) of garments, marking 9.60 per cent downfall on a yearly basis. According to the data released by Ministry of Finance, Japan was also down by 8.80 per cent in weight to import 2,076 million kg worth of garments from the world over.
Vietnamese apparel shipment to Japan valued at 149.29 billion yen (US $ 1.39 billion), marking a surge of 4.81 per cent on Y-o-Y basis.
China exported 486.05 billion yen (US $ 4.53 billion) of garments to Japan in the first 4 months of 2020, noting a drop of 14.43 per cent, while the exports of India valued at 11.71 billion yen (US $ 110 million) which was 21.58 per cent down from what it had exported the same period of the prior year.
Bangladesh too dwindled in its exports to Japan. The shipment from Bangladesh valued at 46.59 billion yen (US $ 434 million), noting 3.04 per cent fall on Y-o-Y basis.
In an effort to deliver transparency when consumers demand it most, denim mill Isko launched its first Sustainability Impact Report. The report documents the ways Isko is achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and International Labor Organization (ILO) standard frameworks, and illustrates sustainable initiatives and ties each one back to a specific goals.
Isko’s new laser-friendly finish, Vulcano, supports SDG 6 (lean water and sanitization). The company’s R-TWO concept, which uses reused cotton and post-consumer recycled polyester, speaks to SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production). The company’s starting wages—which are three times the legal minimum wage in Turkey—supports SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth). Currently, the monthly minimum wage is 2,324 Turkish liras, or approximately $340.
The report also describes Isko’s commitment to responsible innovation and production, and provides details on the ways it manages its environmental impact, oversees supply chain processes, uses raw materials and implements better health and safety standards.
