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Lucky Brand is preparing to return to work with a new code of ethics as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the denim brand prepares to reopen select retail locations, it’s continuing the community outreach and employee support it began at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
In March, the brand partnered with community organizations such as Suay Sew and LA-based factory partner New Fashion to provide materials and support for mask production.
It also launched a mask purchase program, ‘Give 5 Get 5’, that donated five masks for every pack of five purchased. By the end of this week, the brand will have donated more than 20,0000 masks to people in need.
On May 13, Lucky Brand held a “Salute to Heroes” ceremony to pay tribute to the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Hospital and its staff, providing them with camouflage masks and T-shirts. The brand also worked with partner Avery Dennison on 1,000 iron-on patches featuring the word “Hero” to commemorate the VA’s efforts.
As the brand readies a retail relaunch, it’s ensuring this same level of support to its employees, sending health and safety kits with cleaning supplies, sanitizer and reusable face masks to each location. Masks were re-purposed from materials such as promotional bandannas and fabrics from stock supplies.
In an effort to contribute to COVID-19 relief, Ralph Lauren has announced a Polo T-shirt design competition that will allow people to submit their own designs.
Aptly named ‘Polo Project: Design for Good’, the initiative aims to gather as many inspirational designs for their signature Polo shirt out of which 10 finalists will be shortlisted.
A voting procedure will decide the winner of the competition where they will be able to see their designs on store shelves and e-commerce catalogues. All proceeds from this initiative will be donated to World Health Organization’s Solidarity Response Fund to provide relief to people across the world.
One can send their designs with a few quotes of inspiration through e-mail by 20 May 2020. All the details for the participation can be found on Ralph Lauren’s official website.
VF has begun reopening its stores, and now expects all stores to be reopened globally by the mid-calendar year 2020. VF has since reopened its retail stores in its Asia Pacific region, including Mainland China.
VF has also started a phased reopening of its retail stores in its Europe, Middle East and Africa region, and is prepared to start a similar approach for North American stores, subject to the guidance of local authorities. E-commerce remains in operation.
Net revenues of retailer for the quarter ended March 28 fell 10.8 percent to $2.10 billion from $2.36 billion, with the decrease mostly due to lower consumer demand connected with the coronavirus outbreak and temporary store shutdowns as mandated by local authorities.
Gross margin for the period fell 150 basis points to 53.1 percent. That was driven by elevated promotional activity to clear excess inventory, but was partially offset by favorable mix shift toward higher margin businesses.
The company posted a net loss of $483.8 million, or $1.22 a diluted share, versus net income of $128.8 million, or 32 cents, in the year-ago period. The quarter’s results included a loss from discontinued operations, its occupational workwear business and the spin-off a year ago of its jeans business that now operates under the name Kontoor Brands Inc. On an adjusted basis, earnings per share fell 69 percent in constant dollars to 10 cents.
The company expects first-quarter fiscal 2021 revenues to be down slightly more than 50 percent and full-year fiscal 2021 free cash flow to exceed $600 million.
A recent study by FactMR says, the global nylon industry is projected to rise at a healthy CAGR of 5.5 per cent between 2019 and 2029. Increasing application of nylon materials as a substitute to rubbers, steel, bronze, and gunmetal are key factors driving sales. The use of nylon in the production of automotive components such as fuse boxes, timing belts, bearings and more will continue to aid the growth of the nylon market.
Nylon 6 will account for a major market share of 60 per cent of the overall value through 2029. Nylon 66 segment will provide highly remunerative opportunities with a 6.7 per cent CAGR. Automotive applications will maintain a high growth rate, expanding 1.6x through the end of the forecast period. East Asia will remain a leading market with 57 per cent share of the overall market revenue through 2029. South Asia and Oceania will provide highly lucrative growth opportunities with a major 7 per cent CAGR in this duration.
The nylon market is indirectly hit by the ongoing global pandemic. The market’s reliance on the automotive industry is adversely affecting sales due to halted productions in major regions such as China and India. The restrictions in China have interrupted large-scale manufacturing has halted the imports and exports of nylon material, thereby putting pressure on the market players. Adding to the burden, the shortage of manpower is limiting the manufacturing quantity. Akin to the situation in the automotive industry, the COVID-19 scare has led to stores and malls being closed down, hurting the retail sales of nylon textiles as a consequence. However, if social conditions improve in the upcoming quarters, the sales will see a rise.
After hosting a record breaking 543 exhibitors from 14 countries and regions, along with over 19,000 visitors from 93 countries and regions in 2019, Yarn Expo Autumn will return to Shanghai from September 23-25, 2020. The fair is expected to occupy 26,000 sq mt of exhibition space at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai. It will showcase trending eco-friendly and innovative products amongst a diverse range of high-quality yarns and fibers.
The extensive fringe program and dedicated product zones will enrich the experience for fairgoers. Market trends and information will be shared in forums such as the China Fiber Fashion Trends and seminar which will dive deep into the Chinese market. Meanwhile, the Fancy Yarn Vision zone will return amongst others, following its popularity in the previous edition. The area will gather creative fancy yarn and downstream application products to display the latest innovations from fancy yarn exhibitors.
Yarn Expo Autumn 2020 will be held concurrently with Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Autumn Edition, PH Value and CHIC. It will provide a concentrated overview of the latest trends and developments in the sector in one place. The expo will be organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) and the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT.
Now that its deal with private equity firm Sycamore Partners has been terminated, Victoria’s Secret plans to concentrate on new merchandise, marketing and the readjustment of the c-suite. The innerwear business, owned by parent company L Brands , will focus on establishing Victoria’s Secret as a stand-alone company. The Bath & Body Works division will be separated.
The Victoria’s Secret team has been very active in improving the quality of fashion and the quantity of inventory, managing expenditures, examining all costs and being in the best position; changing the mix of merchandise, brand marketing and again, carefully managing inventory as we emerge from the pandemic and get back to normal so the Victoria brand can be in the best possible position.
But much like the rest of the retail industry, Victoria’s Secret has suffered amid the pandemic, the crisis that caused both its stores and those of Bath & Body Works in North America to close in March. The Victoria’s Secret and Pink e-commerce businesses also briefly went dark.
Giving relief to a clothing industry starved of sales, the South African government has published a more detailed list of clothing that can be sold in the first phase of easing its lockdown. On May 1, the country rolled back one of the world’s strictest COVID-19 lockdowns, seeking a balance between containing the disease and providing much-needed relief for the economy.
Under regulations, the government permitted sale of categories including all children’s and baby wear, maternity wear, adult sleepwear, underwear and footwear, outwear items such as exercise apparel and winter clothes such as knitwear. The list was welcomed by the National Clothing Retail Federation, which includes retailers likeTFG, Mr Price, Truworths, Woolworths, Pick n Pay Clothing and Queenspark, and by the Apparel & Textiles Association of South Africa (ATASA).
ATASA Deputy Chairperson Herman Pillay said the move would help its manufacturer members recover from lockdown and give “employees the opportunity to be gainfully employed yet again. Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel said that resumption of sales would help greater production and commerce in the sector.
Though initially clothing and general merchandise retailer Pepkor expects reasonable sales, levels are expected to taper off due to increased unemployment as a result of the impact of the coronavirus on companies.
Marks & Spencer has launched a huge half-price clothing sale as the high street shutdown leaves retailers with mountains of unsold spring and summer fashion. The retailer has called the promotional blitz a rainbow sale and is handing 10 per cent of takings to NHS charities. The sale promises shoppers discounts of at least 50 per cent across the store. The womenswear offers include summer dresses reduced from £40 to £15 and half-price jumpsuits at £29.
M&S is donating 10 per cent of the purchase price, excluding VAT, of all rainbow sale items to NHS Charities Together. Shoppers can get online orders via a contactless home delivery service or from collection points in stores situated next to food halls. They will also be able pick up bargains in the retailer’s 290 shared clothing and food branches, which have kept sections of their fashion floors open to sell clothing essentials.
The retailer has also confirmed its new clothing and homewares boss, Richard Price, will arrive in July. He has worked at M&S before, for seven years, but left in 2012 after becoming disillusioned with the retailer’s strategy at the time.
Price is returning to M&S as the pandemic sends shockwaves through the retail industry. High street retailers have been scrambling to cancel stockorders for next season as the impact of the crisis points to weak demand for the rest of the year.
Messe Frankfurt, the organizers of Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas, has rescheduled both the events to October 1 to 3, 2020 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Due to the worldwide spread of Covid-19, the organizer had initially postponed both the events to December 2020.
The new dates have received an overwhelmingly positive response from the exhibitor base thus far. The team is looking forward to aiding in the global recovery of the Technical Textiles, Nonwovens, and Sewn Products industries by providing a platform where industry professionals can once again gather to exchange knowledge, new ideas, and business.
In an open letter, luxury retailers have urged the fashion retail sector to rethink attitudes towards seasonality and discounting post COVID-19. The retailers also called on the industry to also consider offering a more balanced flow of deliveries throughout the seasons. The consortium included Selfridges, Liberty London and Harvey Nichols, who urged the sector to delay end-of-season promotions to January for autumn/winter collections and to July for spring/summer.
The consortium agreed the current environment although challenging, presents an opportunity for a fundamental and welcome change that will simplify their businesses, making them more environmentally and socially sustainable and ultimately align them more closely with customers’ needs.
The retailers hope to achieve this by adjusting the seasonality and flow of both women’s wear and menswear goods, starting with the autumn/winter 2020 season. Their other initiatives include reviewing and adapting fashion shows, less fabric and inventory waste and utilising digital showrooms.
Signatories to the letter include: Acne Studios chief executive Mattias Magnusson, Liberty buying director Sarah Coonan, Mytheresa president Michael Kliger, and Brown Thomas fashion director Shelley Corkey, etc.
