FW
The Europe-ietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is expected to create growth momentum for Vietnam’s textile industry. The agreement is expected to be finalised this year. Once this happens, export tariff to the EU will reduce to zero from the current 7 to 17 per cent. The growth rate of garment exports from Vietnam to the EU market is predicted to reach 7 to 8 per cent per year.
In 2017, Vietnam’s textile and garment export turnover as a whole grew 10.23 per cent year-on-year. Turnover from the EU surged 6.3 per cent year-on-year. In addition, an optimistic EU economic outlook is also a positive signal for the development of the local textile and apparel industry.
The EU is the second largest import market of Vietnam’s textile and garment sector after the United States. In the case of stability in the global economy, especially in the EU, the difficulty associated with having orders similar to 2016 would not be repeated.
It would not be easy to make use of opportunities offered by the EVFTA. The garment industry in Vietnam must deal with many technical barriers for its products exported to the EU, including standards of production, packaging and labeling. The EU is known for being a fastidious market.
In a retaliatory move the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has announced plans to impose a 25 per cent tariff on 106 US goods, including agricultural products such as cotton, soybean, corn and beef. The effect of the Chinese tariff is expected to impact exports valued at around $50 billion from the US.
This move could affect the entire US cotton industry, as China imports a significant amount of US cotton each year, along with other leading importers like Vietnam, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan. This would seriously affect US cotton and agricultural exports and correspondingly affect US farmers feels Darren Hudson, Professor and Combest Chair of Agricultural Competitiveness at Texas Tech University. More cotton would be sent to Southeast Asia and away from China, he added.
In March, President Trump proposed a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminium imports, while exempting some countries. This measure was aimed at protecting US jobs and American innovation and its industry. At that time, the effect on the US cotton industry was not foreseen to be serious as they felt that the Chinese retaliation would target US soybean.
"Thomson Reuters ‘State of the Global Islamic Economy Report’, recently reported that Muslim consumers’ spending on apparels was the highest in 2015 around $243 billion and is projected to touch $368 billion by 2021. As per Pew Research Center, Muslims are the fastest growing religious group in the world, estimated to increase the population of Islamic Faith by 70 per cent in the next 40 years. In order to tap this opportunity, brands are increasingly finding means & ways to lure this tribe."
Thomson Reuters ‘State of the Global Islamic Economy Report’, recently reported that Muslim consumers’ spending on apparels was the highest in 2015 around $243 billion and is projected to touch $368 billion by 2021. As per Pew Research Center, Muslims are the fastest growing religious group in the world, estimated to increase the population of Islamic Faith by 70 per cent in the next 40 years. In order to tap this opportunity, brands are increasingly finding means & ways to lure this tribe.
These reports point towards a critical aspect that age and location make a big difference when it comes to clothing in the Middle East, which is the largest region of concentration for the Muslim community. The way a certain set of people dress reveal not only their personality, but also the region and social class they belong to. In the Middle East, local traditions and Western fashion mix together to pave way for a new market which designers and brands are now eyeing with interest. When comparing the variables of age, economic class, and education, not all Muslim consumers exhibit same spending habits or fashion preferences. Millennials and Gen Z consumers in the region are increasingly moving towards westernised clothing concepts, reserving more traditional styles for ceremonial and religious occasions, while the older generations continue the trend of traditional garments.
Within the regions also, from Morocco to Oman, the concepts of modest dressing and traditional garments deviate from one country to another and the clothing is also hugely dictated by the climatic conditions prevalent in that area. Many women in Lebanon do not cover their head, but majority of women in Saudi Arabia still have to wear a niqab. People living in the cities are more attentive to the latest fashion trends, while those in smaller towns and rural areas are still conservative, following traditional norms.
Changing preferences
All Arab women wearing hijab seems to have become a stereotype today. Rising literacy rates and blurring boundaries point towards the acceptance of western clothing in these regions. Recently, Sheikh Abdullah al-Mutlaq, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, and a senior member of top Muslim clerical body in Saudi Arabia, stated women need not wear loose-fitting, full-length robes symbolic of the Muslim faith known as the abaya. Some Muslim countries have even gone ahead and started following top fashion trends. These include: Lebanon, Dubai, Jerusalem and Jordan. In Lebanon, women have little in common with the fashion preferences of Saudi Arabian and UAE women. They are open to experimentation with westernised fashion concepts. Women prefer more revealing clothes with shorter hemlines and longer necklines. In countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Yemen, the emphasis is more on the traditional dress.
Multi-brand retailer stores expanding base
The younger cohort (people under the age of 30) in the UAE, Saudi or Qatar makes up more than half of their entire population. There are some 350 million people in these countries who are still below 26. While a bigger purchasing power lies with the older generation. With the country boasting of a wealthy consumer base in terms of GDP per capita the opportunities for luxury clothing are immense. Tapping huge potential, mainstream international brands have expanded their clothing lines into the Modest Fashion, launching across the region and also stocking modest fashion products. Brands such as Dolce and Gabbana, Burberry, Nike, and Uniqlo have introduced exclusive modest fashion ranges.
Meanwhile at International Fashion Weeks Muslim designers have emerged strong. All these together signal the dawn of a new era in fashion, which is set to challenge the conventional norms set by society over ages, and signals the advent of modest dressing. The level of success achieved by designers such as Elie Saab, Zuhair Murad and Rami Al Ali, is testimony of their rich culture, talent and innovative skillsets. It’s about time to give greater emphasis on nurturing and developing younger designers.
Retailer Kiabi is focusing on expanding its presence in Middle East, and recently inaugurated a new market to the list: the United Arab Emirates. With the help of local partner Al Futtaim Kiabi's has opened two stores. Al Futtaim opened a first shop at the Dubai festival city mall and another at the Ibn-Battuta Mall.
Kiabi main growth vector is international expansion and the latest market it entered is Dubai. According to Al Futtaim the company is also planning to set up a local e-store. Kiabi's objective is to finally become the leader in affordable family fashion in the entire Middle Eastern region.
Kiabi recorded a revenue of €1.9 billion, up 4.6 per cent in 2017. Besides its presence in Europe, the retailer plans to expand even in the Maghreb region and targeting the opening of its first stores in the major emerging markets of Brazil, China and India in 2018. By 2021 Kiabi plans to generate 50 per cent of its revenue outside France. The brands strategy relies on three vectors, a focus in those markets that are accessible for Kiabi through a subsidiary, multi-channel franchising for the less accessible markets and a purely online presence for market niches.
Apparel and textile major Arvind has launched its private label for men called Arvind Ready to Wear.
The new brand is targeted at the growing middle class segment in India.
The collection offers a wide array of work wear, leisure and ceremonial wear. It features linen blazers, bundis, chinos, shirts, linens, textured five-pocket chinos and more.
Arvind Ready to Wear will be available across 127 cities across the country. The entire range of products will be available at The Arvind Store outlets across the country and online.
The company also looks to increase its revenues and profits in the coming quarters as private labels usually give better margins as compared to licensed product brands.
The brand business of Arvind contributed Rs 961 crores to the overall revenue of the firm in the last quarter with profit after tax at Rs 90 crores. With its new private label the company will look to better these numbers in the next financial year.
Arvind has an unmatched portfolio of owned brands such as Flying Machine as well as licensed product brands such as Arrow, Gap, Gant, Izod, Aeropostale, Nautica, US Polo Assn., to name a few. The portfolio also includes retail brands like Unlimited, The Arvind Store, The Children’s Place and Hanes.
Global Textile Technology and Engineering Show (GTTES) will be held in Mumbai, January 18 to 20, 2019.
This is the only trade event in India dedicated to magnifying business and trade for textile machinery manufacturers, through interaction with agents and dealers from India and across the globe.
Among the exhibits on display are blending and dosing machines, feeding devices, web laying machines, web drafting machines, machines for aerodynamic web formation, needle felting machines, spunlace machines etc.
The textile industry has not only made a major contribution to the national economy in terms of direct and indirect employment generation and net foreign exchange earnings but also contributes about 14 per cent to industrial production, four per cent to the gross domestic product, and 27 per cent to the country’s foreign exchange inflows. It provides direct employment to over 45 million people.
GTTES aims at promoting integrated services through exhibitions for setting a benchmark in the textile machinery industry through continuous improvement and promoting textile economic growth through new technologies focused on ancillary and allied industries and trade.
In value terms, textile and apparel manufacturers would need to invest 50 billion dollars in new machinery to cater to the additional market demand and 25 billion dollars will be required for replacing the existing machinery. A total of 75 billion dollars in investments in machinery is estimated to be required by 2020. Yarn manufacturing, weaving and processing machinery will attract 58 per cent of the overall investments.
Ethiopia’s textile and garment sector is in an upward trajectory.
The industry has grown at an average rate of 51 per cent. More than 65 textile investment projects have been licensed for foreign investors in the last five to six years.
The country hopes to be a continental textile hub in the coming years. The sector is also working on solving issues related to raw materials, namely cotton, in a bid to increase productivity and global competitiveness.
A 15 year road-map with time-frame has been formulated that would increase productivity, direct how the sector can be assisted and facilitated. The road-map in general provides a set of solution in identifying and solving bottlenecks in cotton production, and a way to interlink with pertinent stakeholders, including agriculture extension experts. It will also contribute to increase the cotton field coverage, and ultimately the cotton production of the country.
Expansion and development of industrial parks in various core areas of the country, developing technological adoption and industrial culture in the industry along with attractive investment incentives are helping the sector's growth.
As the core of the country’s light industry, textiles have been playing a pivotal role in facilitating structural transformation by accumulating capital that would enable the country to focus on capital-intensive heavy industries in the future.
China's move to impose duty on US cotton shipments will help India.
India, the world’s second-biggest cotton exporter, is hoping to treble shipments of the fiber to China next year.
So far, despite India’s efforts to grab a bigger piece of the Chinese market, cotton from the United States, the world’s biggest exporter, had held sway.
India is looking to sell 2.5 million to three million bales to China in the next season beginning in October, up from around 8,00,000 bales of expected exports in the 2017-18 marketing year.
India has always managed to grab at least 25 per cent of China’s total cotton imports. China’s total imports are expected to rise 38 per cent in 2018-19 as it needs to shore up depleting domestic reserves.
China produces about 32 million bales of cotton and its textile mills consume around 45 million bales, allowing imports to meet the shortfall. India benefits from geographical proximity to China compared to other competitors. As well as lower freight rates, shipments from India reach China in about two weeks compared to an average of three to six weeks from other suppliers.
During the current 2017-18 year, China is scheduled to import 2.5 million bales of cotton from the United States. Other suppliers include Brazil and Australia.
Melissa, a shoe brand from Brazil, has opened its first store in India.
The store is in New Delhi.
The brand, known for its innovative technology, modern design and organic shapes, has its presence in over 96 countries, including key fashion cities such as New York, London, and Hong Kong.
Melissa is a one of a kind brand, dealing in eco-friendly 100 per cent recyclable shoes, made of specially-developed Melflex plastic. Melissa shoes are fashionable, breathable, hypo-allergenic and flexible.
The brand’s spring/summer 2018 collection revolves around the theme Mapping. At a time when borders are being questioned worldwide, Melissa found the theme for its latest collection in this thought process of bridging territorial gaps worldwide.
The collection is inspired by the fashion of different cultures, where people become local agents of the regions they reside in, transforming and connecting with the region in everyday life. Through this collection Melissa has tried to bring together geographical representations of various regions across the world.
The shoes in the collection are inspired by and made to represent various time periods and places, resulting in a diverse range that has something for everyone. Melissa shoes are the result of design collaborations that include the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler, Vivienne Westwood, The Campana Brothers, Jason Wu, Disney, Karl Lagerfeld and other celebrated designers and artists.
Bangladesh has the potential to become the main supplier of jute to the global car industry.
The industry needs about 1,00,000 tons of jute a year, of which 12,000 tons come from Bangladesh.
The car industry uses the natural fiber to manufacture the interiors of vehicles. Previously, the car industry used glass fiber to manufacture the interiors. But glass fiber is not recyclable or biodegradable, so in 1994 the search for a green alternative began. Jute emerged as the frontrunner. Bangladesh started supplying jute to high-end car brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Audi in the early 2000s. The country’s jute is much admired for its high fiber quality.
The use of the natural jute fiber from Bangladesh by global car brands has helped in diversification of jute products. As a result, Bangladesh has the potential to export jute and jute goods worth almost seven billion dollars annually in the next seven years.
But in reality the growth in supply has remained stagnant at five per cent over the last many years. And the unpredictable jute export policy is to blame. For instance, a few years ago, Bangladesh imposed a ban on the export of raw jute from Bangladesh, which left BMW facing a shortage of the natural fiber. Small traders cannot supply jute to car brands directly.
