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Hennes & Mauritz (H&M ) retail chain is using artificial intelligence to customise its products in individual stores instead of stocking stores around the globe with similar merchandise.
The 71-year-old fast-fashion chain aims to arrest the slump in same-store sales that has lasted 10 quarters due to a spike in online shopping. H&M has repeatedly slashed its prices to clear out $4 billion of unsold goods, and its shares have declined by 56 per cent in the past three years.
H&M, like most retailers, has a team of designers to decipher the need of the shoppers. It uses algorithms to analyze store receipts, returns and loyalty-card data to better align supply and demand, with the goal of reducing markdowns. As a result, some stores have started carrying more fashion and fewer basics such as T-shirts and leggings.
After attending the Shima Seiki MFG student competition on 18 April George Turner and Humphrey Barrett, from The Worshipful Company took the opportunity to present James Whitehouse, Shima Seiki Trainee Technician, with a bursary to help with the purchase of tools and equipment.
George Turner stated that the Framework Knitters will continue to look to support up and coming talent in the UK to help improve the skills base in the knitwear trade.
Shima Seiki’s Apex Competition for students based at UK Universities awards two winners with a two-week paid visit to the company’s head office in Wakayama, Japan, where they will receive training on the latest Shima Seiki Apex Programming Systems and knitting technology.
Since 1985,Shima Seiki Europe has been serving the European knitting industry, especially the UK and surrounding countries. Shima Seiki develops top quality functional products and employs dedicated staff, who have provided customer-oriented sales and service for almost three decades.
In 2014, the company renovated its office and expanded its Training Suite, which has a showroom with the latest knit samples and garments.
The Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters is one of the City of London's Livery Companies, collectively known as the Livery. It traces its origins to 1589 when William Lee of Calverton in Nottinghamshire invented a method of knitting mechanically. Many of the company’s members have direct connections with the knitting and hosiery industries and assist them with various charitable works.
Framework Knitters has been helping students of design, management, marketing, science and technology relevant to the knitting/knitwear industries with bursaries for many years.
The EU has consistently been a trusted partner of Bangladesh and has helped the country attain the status of middle-income country.
EU’s imports from Bangladesh account for around 55.84 per cent of Bangladesh’s total trade.
Bangladesh’s exports to the EU have grown 156.27 per cent in the last ten years. The EU grants Bangladesh duty-free, quota-free access for all exports, except arms and ammunition. EU’s imports from Bangladesh have almost trebled in the period between 2008-2007 and 2016-2017.
Apart from economic and trade development, the EU provides support to Bangladesh for human and social development, good governance, and human rights. The EU’s support to Bangladesh also covers environment and disaster management, as well as food security and nutrition.
The backward and forward linkage industries to the garment sector, manmade fiber based high-end textiles, pharmaceuticals, and footwear and leather products, frozen foods, ship-building have become promising industries in Bangladesh where foreign investment can be highly feasible.
The EU has established itself as the largest trade bloc in the world — average GDP per capita in the EU has almost doubled over the past 20 years.
For Bangladesh, the EU continues to be a strong trading partner and a source of investment for more than four decades.
Power generation from renewable energy sources is a good option for Bangladesh.This will ensure sustainable economic growth.
The country plans to produce 25,000 megawatts of electricity by 2020, of which 2,500 megawatts will come from renewable energy sources.
There are 14 lakh diesel-based irrigation pumps in the country. The plan is to set up four lakh solar-based irrigation pumps to reduce the burden on the national power grid.
Bangladesh faces several challenges such as air and water pollution, the loss of forest land, the unsustainable use of fishery resources, and the damage of ecosystems.
As per the Environmental Performance Index 2018, Bangladesh is ranked 179 out of 180 countries. So the country has no option but to reinforce its commitment in the areas of cleaning up the air quality, protecting biodiversity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The groundwater level dips between one meter and two meters every year because of the use of a huge amount of it to keep up industrial production. Water-efficiency programs will prevent the depletion of the underground water.
Bangladesh stands to lose 1.4 per cent of the gross domestic product growth every year between 2021 and 2041 if climate change mitigation measures are not implemented properly.
Amazon will use 3D printing scan technology to customize clothing outfits. The e-commerce giant has proactively chosen to use physical scanning of bodies to achieve this customization.
This effort will go a long way in helping online customers achieve a perfect fit whenever they order clothing.
Amazon is inviting volunteers to its New York office. This will serve the purpose of keeping a tab on their body shape and size. The exercise will be done over a 20-week period by using 3D scanning. The volunteers will visit the office twice a month in order to allow Amazon a better understanding of the changing human body.
Online e-commerce giants collect a lot of data to ascertain customer preferences. This is one way to beat the competition. A project like this will give a new impetus for the e-commerce industry to provide their customers with the best fit of clothing. Consequently, the number of returns the company deals with on a daily basis will be drastically reduced.
The three product categories where customers make the most personalised purchases are holidays, clothing and furniture. Those businesses who do not offer an element of personalisation risk losing revenue and customer loyalty over the longer term as customers increasingly demand personalisation.
US President Donald Trump’s administration would not be granting an exemption from new, higher, import tariffs to this country’s steel and aluminium products.
According to the reports the American tariffs could lead to the loss of 7 500 jobs. Also in the early 1990s, South African government-subsidised exports to its neighbours where Zimbabwe saw thousands of jobs lost in the battery, tyre and textile industries in that country, which played a role in triggering that country’s economic decline.
At the same time, SA was sending artificially cheap goods north of the Limpopo and imposing harsh tariffs on Zimbabwean imports like clothing in order to protect its own garment industry which has, ironically, since been swamped by Chinese imports.
SA needs to learn to develop alternative markets if it is to survive as an industrial nation.
In spite of the moves towards combined global markets, many countries still have protective systems in place and they will offer preferential deals to those nations they observe as their friends.
Over the years, SA has taken stand as a government against different aspects of US foreign policy and so the Trump White House does not regard South Africa in an especially friendly way because. Also, South Africa is almost unrelated to Washington.
Clariant will focus on its increasing on-the-ground support and innovation for North America’s four key plastics application segments at NPE 2018. The company will also emphasise on its growth plans for the region by advancing R&D competencies, and increasing its manufacturing footprint and technical capabilities across its 50+ sites, 3 R&D and 6 technical innovation centers. The company’s innovations for the plastics industry include advanced additives, master batches and pigments which support the packaging sector.
The company, at the exhibition, will also highlight solutions for enhancing and protecting healthcare products, as well as its contribution to stronger and colorful textiles and fibers for everything from e-mobility to industrial applications.
Deepak Parikh, President, Clariant-North America comments: “Clariant’s product innovation for the US and wider North American plastics industry embraces the region’s fastest growing end-use areas of automotive and construction. It also addresses the impact of trends driven by changing consumer lifestyle preferences and market regulations on other important segments such as packaging and healthcare.”
Denim Première Vision will become a roving international event. The show will be organized alternately in Paris, the global capital of fashion, and in a European city with a strong fashion influence. The aim is to encourage proximity with fashion and design markets while offering the sector new sources of inspiration and creativity.
The new show calendar (end of May and early December) fits with all the supply chain needs of fashion brands as well as with the right time when pure players are making final adjustments to their collections and launch pre-production.
Products will remain the heart of events and will be timed with visits from buyers, weavers, components and accessories manufacturers, clothing manufacturers/denim washers/finishers. A unified stand will showcase creative developments and the technical and technological innovations of exhibitors.
Over the last ten years, Denim Première Vision has adapted to the transformation and innovations in the denim industry.
It is evolving to match the needs of the ever-changing denim industry, which is characterized by a shorter time to market, a continual development process, generalization of updates, injections and capsule collections, tighter creation and production schedules.
In this changing market, Denim Première Vision’s event format has been completely overhauled to take into account the needs of the entire denim value chain and its players.
"The Indian handloom industry has a rich and long history spread over thousands of years. From weaving during the Harappan civilization to spinning materials in Vedic times it’s been a long history. Even though the handloom industry, has taken major strides over the years weavers in the country are facing great hardships. Not just because it is an unregulated sector but also because of increasing mechanization and industrialisation. The most troubling aspect however, is the huge disparity in pay between weavers and mass producers of fashion who acquire their exquisite works for a paltry sum, and sell them at exorbitant rates."
The Indian handloom industry has a rich and long history spread over thousands of years. From weaving during the Harappan civilization to spinning materials in Vedic times it’s been a long history. Even though the handloom industry, has taken major strides over the years weavers in the country are facing great hardships. Not just because it is an unregulated sector but also because of increasing mechanization and industrialisation. The most troubling aspect however, is the huge disparity in pay between weavers and mass producers of fashion who acquire their exquisite works for a paltry sum, and sell them at exorbitant rates.
Weaving them into the mainstream
However, with some entrepreneurs striving to bring these weavers into the mainstream by ensuring they get
remunerated fairly for their work things are expected to change. One of such entrepreneur is the Banka-based Udyan Singh, who founded Banka Silk, a non-profit organisation, which works for the betterment of weavers across Bihar since 2012. A civil engineer by qualification, the 35-year-old founded Banka Silk to develop a handloom cluster and an ecosystem to support handloom research, design and creation, as well as to train and empower local artisans and craftsmen in Bihar.
Banka Silk recently collaborated with Avinash Pathania and Kiran Kheva, the organisers of the fashion week, India Runway Week, which was held in the national capital in April. As a part of the collaboration, over 40,000 weavers got a chance to sell their work directly to designers at prices deliberated by them. As a result, the weavers made a direct profit without the involvement of any middlemen.
Promoting local art
Founded in 2012 by Avinash Pathania, the Indian Federation for Fashion Development (IFFD) is aimed at facilitating action and inspiring growth in the fashion industry. The collaboration with Banka Silk, bridged the gap between designers and weavers. IFFD also promotes local artisans, while providing quality handloom fabrics to fashion designers without them having to visit any stores. The company also signed agreements with around 30 participating fashion designers, giving them access to pure handloom fabrics at weavers’ price for the designers’ future works.
Financing growth
Another social entrepreneur working towards the upliftment of weavers is Mumbai-based costume designer and stylist Nikhat Mariyam Neerushaa, who, earlier this year, founded the Roots in India initiative for weavers with the aim to provide financial support, work, etc. Neerushaa’s program, goes beyond buying, selling and providing market access to artisans by helping them in other ways as well. In Rajasthan, for instance, Neerushaa ensured that the weavers received water for dyeing clothes
Pollachi-based husband-wife duo Mani Chinnaswamy and Vijaylaxmi Nachiar, who set up Ethicus, are credited with everything from encouraging farmers to setting up the country’s first organic cotton farm in Pollachi, Coimbatore, to creating a sustainable fashion brand. One of the most significant aspects of their sustainable fashion brand is how each product (mainly saris and blouses) carries a tag with details of where the cotton was grown, who the artisans were and how many days it took them to complete the garment.
A platform for their voice
But nowhere is the plight of artisans as grim as conflict-ridden Jammu & Kashmir. Famous for their own style of intricate embroidery and winter wear, Kashmiri handloom artisans need not just an outlet for their work but for their voice as well. And channeling some of their concerns through her work is fashion designer Leena Singh who, in March this year, brought out a collection to pay tribute to the weavers of the state.
The Kashmir-centric collection, ‘The Reversible Shawl’ consisting of shawls, suit pieces, etc, made from Jamavar silk, was created after visiting the artisans’ homes several times over the course of the past year. Several months went into the exhaustive research, and in the designing and creation of each shawl, with Singh closely supervising the cuts and patterns for the Jamavar silk she sourced from J&K. The fabrics used in the collection carry Singh’s designs, with hand-embroidered beadwork and tassels by Kashmiri weavers.
Bright future ahead
Designers Ashima Leena, who has been around for close to three decades now, is known for its fashion-forward approach, but Singh now wants to dial it back a few notches to be able to resonate with regional artisans. She also plans to continue working with Kashmiri weavers and is hopeful that her customers would commission several pieces in the coming winter. These pieces will carry her design/motifs and the artisans’ handiwork, resulting in them being remunerated for the same.
"Asean took shape on August 8, 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, was comprised Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand and today it has expanded to Cambodia, Lao PDR, Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, and Vietnam. The intent of the association formed between ten Southeast Asian countries was to promote inter-country trade, governmental cooperation, and economic, political and socio-cultural integration of the member countries, and globally. Additionally, it also aims to protect the member states’ regional stability and instill peace amongst them in times of conflict resolution. In 2015, ASEAN organization’s nominal GDP (combined) was around $2.8 trillion, making it a global powerhouse."
Asean took shape on August 8, 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, was comprised Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand and today it has expanded to Cambodia, Lao PDR, Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, and Vietnam. The intent of the association formed between ten Southeast Asian countries was to promote inter-country trade, governmental cooperation, and economic, political and socio-cultural integration of the member countries, and globally. Additionally, it also aims to protect the member states’ regional stability and instill peace amongst them in times of conflict resolution. In 2015, ASEAN organization’s nominal GDP (combined) was around $2.8 trillion, making it a global powerhouse. ASEAN shares its physical borders with major apparel trade giants like India, China, and Bangladesh. It has been the foundation of several establishments like East Asia Summit, EAS, and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, RCEP (FTA between ASEAN, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and India).
Free trade agreements
Free Trade Agreements within ASEAN countries are led by the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and
the Agreement on Customs. The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) is a trade bloc agreement, which launched the Common Effective Preferential Tariff Scheme (CEPT). CEPT states that the tariff will be reduced to 0-5 per cent, on the goods being traded within ASEAN region, if the goods meet a 40 per cent ASEAN content requirement. Apart from the establishment of AFTA within the member states, ASEAN trade bloc has also signed various free trade agreements with major Asia-Pacific economies, such as ASEAN-China FTA (ACFTA), ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA), ASEAN-Korea FTA (AKFTA), ASEAN-India FTA (AIFTA), and ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP). These FTAs encourage and promote businesses in the ASEAN trade bloc, irrespective of their size, by enabling regional and international trade without any tariff barriers. They also offer businesses an easy access to the new export markets with simplified import and export.
Competitive edge
ASEAN countries do not face a high degree of competition for consumer and finished products, and product diversification has enabled ASEAN economies to aggressively export to the global textile & apparel market. The process of trade liberalization through AFTA, various FTAs and the ASEAN Economic Community’s creation in 2015, has not only led to tariff reduction and elimination but also in integration and elimination of the non-tariff barriers that ASEAN players face in the industry. Owing to this advantage, exports value of ASEAN5 including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam nearly tripled from $24.4 billion in 2001 to $71.8 billion in 2014. The biggest gainer has been Vietnam with a 10-fold increase in the apparel and textile exports value in the same time period. Apart from the ASEAN advantage, Vietnam’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), 2007 was also an additional factor that allowed Vietnam to export to larger markets without tariff barriers.
India ties
In 2010, India achieved a milestone to expand its economic and political relationship with its neighbours, through the ASEAN-India FTA (AIFTA). This agreement resulted in duty liberalisation between India and ASEAN countries to enhance bilateral trade. Under AIFTA, each trading partner can keep some products out of the agreements, till the time they amount to less than 5 per cent of bilateral traded imports. This FTA can trigger a positive trade between India and ASEAN countries. The agreement set tariff liberalisation on over 90 per cent products traded between India and ASEAN. Additionally, AIFTA can also bring in investments from ASEAN textile manufacturers in the Indian manufacturing sector, catering both to the country’s domestic and export markets.
