Garment Industry

Analysis

COVER STORY

Sweater is a major product category – third in line after T-shirts and bottoms. However, considering the huge global knitwear market, Bangladesh’s average annual knitwear export of US $ 12 billion – in which sweater constitutes little more than one-fourth share of the country’s total knitwear items – leaves much room for growth and improvement.

Sweater – Automation leading the wayManufacturers stress on dual strategy of market diversification & automation to cash in on new opportunities

hina is still the largest sweaterCmanufacturer in the world

with estimated production volume ofaround US $ 50 billion as compared to Bangladesh’s US $ 3.5 billionper annum even though Chineseentrepreneurs are moving away from garment towards hi-tech and heavy industries in face of rising labour cost and scarcity of skilled manpower. But, signs are already here for everyoneto see with visible shift of business to Bangladesh.“The kind of capabilities the country has for sweater manufacturing is difficult to be replicated by any other country. As not only is the investment huge but also the expertise and support system required has not kept pace with time in other countries,” opines Saiful Hoque, Chairman,Sky Apparels, a 100% export-oriented sweater manufacturer with 200 state- of-the-art jacquard machines andin-house yarn dyeing and processing capabilities. Sky Apparels also manufactures woven items.Blessed with a robust ecosystem – significant increase in yarn dyeing and processing, and enhancing cotton and acrylic yarns manufacturing

capacities with only the fancy yarns still missing in its repertoire for which the country is majorly dependenton overseas destinations – most of the sweater manufacturers in Bangladesh have adopted a two-pronged strategy of market diversiftcation and automation to enhance productivity, expand product offerings, increaseefftciencies and grab bigger market share. The sub sector, which shared US $ 3.41 billion (11 per cent) of total RMG exports of US $ 31 billion in the fiscal year 2014-15, and aiming to reach US $ 8.0 billion export milestone by 2020 to fulfil the target of US $ 50 billion from RMG exports by 2021, the stakes are really high!AUTOMATS TO THE RESCUE…With each passing day profit margins are gettingnarrower and on the contrary production cost is rising continuously for themanufacturers. This season the askingprice for yarn is reportedlyalmost 20-25 per cent more than the last year; add to it the automatic increase of 5 per cent in workers’ wages. “The only option to reduce cost and still remain competitive is through automation,” underlines Milan Kanti Barua, Director, Azim Group. The labour cost in sweater manufacturing is also much higher compared to knit or woven factories due to piece rate in production and 10 hours of running. “Earlier the wages were between US $ 50-60 but knitting operators are now demanding and also getting salary as high as US $ 250 to even US $ 300 a month,” addsMd. Delowar Hossain, Director – Raozan Sweaters Ltd., pointing out how increasingly labour cost is taking the sheen off Bangladesh, considered

a low-cost garment hub with abundant manpower and expertise.As such retraining the manual flat knitting machine operators onautomatic knitting machines where the average man-machine ratio in most factories is 1:4 with some even trying to replicate one operator handling 10 automatic machinesas practised in China and Turkey, industry insiders foresee total elimination of hand flat knitting machines from Bangladesh in days to come.According to Mohammed Hatem, former Vice-President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), around 10,000 automatic machines have

been installed in different

sweater factories in Bangladesh

last year alone while as per Md. Mamunur

Rahim, MD, Desmo S, owner of100-machine-

strong sweater manufacturing unit with

production capacity of 800

pieces a day, there are at least 50,000

automats in the country currently. Deferred payment options offered by leading automatic knitting machine providers, under which sweater manufacturers starts repaying the capital invested only after a period of 2 to 3 years of purchasing, is also pushing the demand for automats. “Despite sizeable investment, the RoI has come down significantly over the years, which is encouraging the entrepreneurs,” underlines Enayetuddin Md. Kaiser Khan, Managing Director of Sonia & Sweaters Limited, who has already

installed 200 automatic machines from Shima Seiki with plans to open LC for 100 more soon.

With fashions changing at a faster rate than ever before, and

Azim Group

Manyfeel Bangladesh

has very good prospects

with the markets in South Korea,

South Africa, Russia (especially theCIS states), China, and some countries in

South America. China’s US $ 100 billion market for apparel products has many sweater manufacturers in Bangladesh

aggressively looking at gainingtraction there.

A multinational holding company based in Chittagong, Azim Group has about 20 manufacturing units (in woven garments and sweaters), with over 26,000 employees in its payroll and annual revenue of about US $ 200 million. It also has sourcing and marketing hubs in Hong Kong and a liaison office inNew York.Catering to the leading labels of US and EU – Inditex (Zara), The Children’s Place, Loblaws Inc. (Joe Fresh), Sainsbury’s, Eurofrente, Branex, Tesco, Asda, etc., Azim Group produces around 700,000 pieces of sweaters monthly through its three sweater manufacturing facilities – Orchid Sweater Limited (production capacity of 8,000 – 8,500 dz./month), Savar Sweater Limited (Capacity 16,500 – 17,000 dz./ month) and Creative Sweaters Pvt. Limited (capacity 9,000 – 9,500 dz./month).

Inside the factory of Azim Group

“In our group, we have 4,500 manual machines and now we have introduced 330 auto jacquards in Savar Sweaters and plan to install another 200 machines shortly,” underlines Milan Kanti Barua, Director, Azim Group.Proficient in manufacturing sweaters – both in heavy and the fine gauge using different kinds of yarns, Azim Group produces fashionable and value-added products along with basic items for its various customers. “Joe Fresh requires high-end sweaters, Zara in mid-fashion and Walmart and Kmart forthe mass market, which are mostly basics,” explains Barua. Azim Group is also open to do smaller volumes – 2,000 to 3,000 pieces per style also, but only for the existing clients and plans to introduce intarsia in near future. “Intarsia will enable us come up with more complicated and high-end designs,” points out Barua, underlining that currently the demand is more for fine-gauge sweaters in complex designs and colours.

“Exporters prepare samples based on the drawings sent by the buyers and then redesign it according to the buyers’ inputs. However, what they do not realize is that making a sample is more difficult than manufacturing 1,000 sweaters.” – Tadanori Ueno, General Manager, Bangladesh Liaison Office – Shima Seiki Mfg. Ltd. p20

necessitating greater machine flexibility to come up with innovative designs, styles and value-additions, manufacturers are also opening up to invest in automation, keeping future inperspective. “Now buyers are not only looking at basics but also seeking fashionable items, which is not always supported by handflats,” maintainedHabibur Rahman, Manager, Merchandising and Marketingof Pretty Group with monthly sweater production capacity of 1.8 million pieces.The combined hand flat machines strength of Azim

Group in its three sweater factories – Savar Sweaters Ltd., Orchid Sweaters Ltd. (Chittagong),and Creative Sweaters Ltd. (Dhaka)– is 4,500 machines, excluding the 330 automatic jacquard machines, and another 200 to be installed soon, catering to diverse clienteles like Zara (mid-fashionable products in

volumes), Kmart and Walmart (basics in volumes) and Joe Fresh (fancy items), the introduction of automats have enabled them to diversify product basket, attain greater flexibility while also increasingthe capacities.“Tops, bottoms, kids’ items

and dresses are some of our

produce that we are exporting now… With

hand flats also we can do certain

items but the productivity is very low. Besides, manualmachines

have limitations in terms of quality and designs,”explains Barua

of

Azim Group.For Sonia &

Sweater, automation is more forcapacity expansion rather

than value addition. Says Enayetuddin: “We can design almost everything on our manual machines but we intentionally don’t produce dresses and other fashionable items. We are doing 3-4 million pieces a year and with installation of automats

Raozan Sweaters

“InChittagong there

were at least 70-80 sweater

factories 5-6 years back but now the number has dwindled to 15-20…

Even when you don’t have orders, workers’ wages and other overheads

pertainingto maintenance is something that

one cannot escape.”– Md. Delowar Hossain, Director –

Raozan Sweaters Ltd.

Milan Kanti Barua, Director, Azim Group

Established in 2007, Raozan Sweaters Ltd. (based out of Chittagong) headed by Md. Delowar Hossain, as Director has 500 hand flats and 9 jacquard machines from Shima Seiki, and exports sweaters mainly to South American countries (fine-gauge sweaters) including Peru, Chile, Colombia, Mexico; besides Japan.Awarded by BGMEA in 2010 for exporting to non-conventional markets, Raozan counts Mexico as its principal marketwhere it caters to chain stores like Almacenes Garcia, Coppel Corporation, Woolworth, etc. “Garcia has been placing all its sweater orders to us since 2006; they have around 80 outlets in Mexico,” underlines Delowar, who manufactures and exports all kinds of sweaters in diverse makes – acrylic, cotton and various other blends, like viscose, mélange viscose, etc.The recent acquisition of the automats, Delowar believes is a necessity which would help him produce more value-added and fashionable items while also diversifying his product basket. “Without upgradation, it is not possible to survive in the present scenario as profit margins are diminishing drastically while production cost is going up,” maintains the Director of Raozan. Making sweaters based on styles and specifications provided by the buyers, Delowar is more than keen on developing his own team to create new designs. “Currentlywe don’t have the capabilities to come up with our own PD team but in future we have plans to make designs in-house,” underlines Delowar.

The new automised production unit of Raozan Sweaters

Desmo S

Md. Delowar Hossain, Director, Raozan Sweaters Ltd.

Md. Mamunur Rahim, MD, Desmo S

Helmed by Md. Mamunur Rahim as MD, Desmo S is a100-machine (hand flats from Honkima) strong sweater unit with production capacity of 800 pieces per day, catering mainly to H&M and George in men’s and women’s sections. Having manufactured around 1,00,000 pieces of sweaters for George and H&M each respectively, last year, Mamunur is now planning to double the volumes consequent to increased demand from the clients. “As there is enough space in the factory, I am planning to install 50-80 automatic machines,”underlines the MD of Desmo S, who has already procured land to come up with a fully-compliant sweater factory with machine strength of around 300.Alongside increasing capacities, Mamunur is also pursuing new clients and expecting to make some headway soon. “Shirtex (importer) based out of Shanghai, China, which supplies to around 600 entities there, is one of the new clients I am in discussion with. They also visited my factory last month,” adds Mamunur, who has also recently startedsupplying Chinese metallic yarns in many sweater factories of Bangladesh, owing to its increased demands.

Production unit of Desmo S focused more on metallic yarns

our productivity is getting better continuously, so we have no reason to get into higher fashion categories…”

MARKET & PRODUCT INNOVATION TO ADDRESS SEASONAL BUSINESSTraditionally cateringto Europe, USA and Japan, sweater exporters are no longer contentjust with the established market places; the call of the unknown and the unexplored seems too strongto resist, and why not if potentials are good.“From the very beginning our market strategy has been different. Our focus area is South America where we want to consolidate our position,” underlines Delowar Hossain, who has recently procured 9 Shima Seiki machines from Japan to boost productivity and cater to non-conventional countries like Peru,

Chile, Colombia and Mexico, which Hossain considers his principal market where he supplies to chain stores like Almacenes Garcia, Coppel Corporation, Woolworth, etc. Next in line for Hossain is Russia, where he anticipates good business. Amongst traditional markets, Raozan is also present in Japan.

South Korea, SouthAmerican

countries, South Africa,

Russia (especially CIS states),and China are markets

Bangladesh has very good prospects, feel many. China’s US $ 100 billion market forapparel

productshas many sweater manufacturers in

Bangladesh aggressively looking at gaining traction there. India is another big name emerging as potent non-conventional

market, lately.“Population wise India

makes more business sense compared to Europe. Catering to India would be much easier too in terms of logistics and

Witheach passing day

profit margins are gettingnarrower and on the contrary

production cost is rising continuouslyfor the manufacturers. This season the

asking price for yarn is reportedly almost 20-25 per cent more than the last year;

add to it is the automatic increase of5 per cent in workers’ wages.

other aspects. The country also has many big retail chains,” points out Mamunur, adding, with numerous established players already in fray to capitalise on the opportunities, it would be no cakewalk for smaller entities like Desmo S. Though India is shrinking in terms of sweater manufacturing but market wiseit has lot of potential that has already earned attention of sweater manufacturers from Bangladesh.Mamunur’s observation on India is also reiterated by Lutfor Rahman– CEO, Araf Tex Mode, a buying house, which has already started exporting to a Delhi-based importer in smaller quantities, sensing the opportunities there.Considered a seasonal business, market expansion is also helping sweater manufacturers to deal with the lean season, effectively by reaching out to markets as diverse as Japan and South America whereseasons are different. “In Chittagong there were at least 70-80 sweater factories 5-6 years back but now the number has dwindled to 15-20… Even when you don’t have orders, workers’ wages and other overheads pertaining to maintenance are somethingthat one cannot escape,” laments Delowar Hossain.

With demands increasing steadily for summer cardigans and pullovers that feel like a T-shirt for layering, sweater manufacturers seems to have found a new opportunity to survive even in the lean (‘off-peak’ season) phase. “Some buyers call the yarns of such products as summer yarn, as they are a bit cooler,” underlined Zahir Rayhan, Managing Director of Asian Tex Sweaters with production capacityof 2,00,000 pieces per month. Summer yarns are mostly blended yarns with 65 per cent rayon and 35 per cent polyester made in one ply and two ply, making it more breathable for thesummer season but a little heavier than just a T-shirt. Giving a further boost to demands for sweaters, coming up are many new brands like Alps & Meters, Jude (Australian knitwear label), Knyttan (a London-based company),Wool and the Gang (online platform for bespoke knitwear production), etc. alongside the trendsetters – Chanel,Prada, Marni, Céline, Stella McCartney, J.Crew, Loro Piana, and traditional powerhouses – Max Mara, Missoni, John Smedley, Black Sheep, J.Crew, Garnet Hill Cashmere, Lands’ End,Charter Club/Macy’s, Jed and the likes that have opened up avenues ofgrowth for sweater manufacturers like never before.

Sonia & Sweaters Ltd.

Sonia & Sweaters Ltd. is part of Sonia Group– established in 1998 as a ‘trading house’, which subsequently branched off to various related manufacturing processes pertaining to the Knit Composite Industry – Sonia Ltd., Sonia & Sweaters Ltd., Sonia Fine Knit Ltd., and Naba Knit Composite Ltd. It also deals in allied services related to RMG through Hope Packaging Ltd., Nexus Logistics Ltd., and Nexus Cargo.Producing 3-4 million pieces of sweaters per year in men’s, women’s, and children’s categories in various yarn compositions for all age groups and demographics, Sonia & Sweaters counts names such as Marks & Spencer, Kenneth Cole, GAP, Metro Group, Carrefour Group, George, etc., amongst its clienteles.“With installation of new machines (already 200 automatic machines from Shima Seiki have been installed in Sonia & Sweaterswith plans to open LC for 100 more soon), our productivity is getting better,” maintains Enayetuddin Md. Kaiser Khan, Managing Director of Sonia & Sweaters Limited, who goes on to add that in Bangladesh, sweater manufacturing started off as a manual process having entered the phase of semi- automation lately with linking still done manually in majority of the factories.Capable of doing fashionable and high-end varieties, the company dwells more on basic items. “We can design almost everything but we don’t do dresses and other high-end, fashionable items,” underlines Enayetuddin, adding, “We basically live on volumes.”Having created a niche in 12 and 14 gauge sweaters, Enayetuddin maintains that though many sweater manufacturers have started thinking of PD but lack of local availability of well-trained designers has slowed down the process, who also observed that Bangladesh was yet to go some distance before attaining maturity in sweater manufacturing. “We are using automatic machines but whether we are able to optimally utilize the machines is a big question; that’s why I say that we have not fully developed yet,” signs off the MD of Sonia & Sweaters.

Enayetuddin Md. Kaiser Khan, Managing Director, Sonia & Sweaters Limited

STATISTICAL FACTSHEETUS MarketGlobal export of sweaters to USA marked a marginal increase of one per cent in 2015 (Jan.-Dec.) at US $ 13.8 billion as compared to the corresponding period in the previous year, and the trend continues in the year 2016 as per Jan.-Aug. data.Interestingly, MMF sweaters showed growth in the first 8 months of 2016 (from Jan.-Aug. 2015) as against cotton which grew more in 2015 compared to 2014.Though the total US imports of sweater is standing steady, Bangladesh registered a major growth in export of cotton andMMF sweaters to USA by around 24 per cent value-wise in 2015 (Jan.-Dec). The country exported cotton sweater worth US $ 260.79 million in 2015 and MMF worth US$ 112.41 million to the US market. The growth trend continues in both the categories in 2016 (Jan.-Aug.) as compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.Bangladesh has a long way to go to catch up with Vietnam. The export of sweaters from Vietnam is valued at US $ 1.98 billion in 2015, which is around 5 times more than the value of exports of Bangladesh. Even India exports more sweaters than Bangladesh.Even though Bangladesh sweater marked an increase by investing in automation, its export will not be more than 7 per cent in 2016 compared to the previous year.

EU MarketEU is a smaller sweater market compared to the US, while the total exports to EU is US $ 10.7 billion, to the US market it is US $ 13.8 billion. However, Bangladesh is major exporter with US $ 2.4 billion export to EU and will see a growth of minimum of around 10 percent in 2016 despite having faced many difficulties.Though the cotton sweaters have much bigger market in US, the EU prefers both cotton & MMF in equal quantities. Bangladesh, however, is more stronger in cotton sweaters.

he data by the InternationalTTextile

ManufacturersFederation shows that the global shipments of electronic flat knitting machines (used in fully- fashioned sweater production) were up by 31 per cent in 2014, of which 85 per cent made their way to Asia. If China grabbed a major share of the total shipment to Asia (accounting for 42 per cent), Bangladesh came a close second followed by Vietnam in third.According to Shima Seiki, around 8,000 machines came to Bangladesh last year, which has emerged as a major player in the Bangladesh market, recording astonishing growth with unit sales doubling year over year.Highlighting the company’s expanding market in Bangladesh, Executive Director of Shima Seiki Mfg. Ltd., Ikuto Umeda, points out that Bangladesh is currently the fastest moving market for them as the industry is rapidly converting its hand flats into automated flats and with economic models to suit the entry point needs, Shima Seiki is poised to increase its market share significantly.“Shima gives us good service and fantastic support. They not only trained our operators in- house but also took some of our people to Japan for training.Spare parts availability and the locally-based team of Japanese technicians are excellent,” underlined Alamgir Kabir, Managing Director, Best Wool Sweaters, one of the biggest sweater manufacturers inthe country with 1,600 hand flats, 500 Shima Seiki and 400 Chinese semi-automatic flat knitting machines, vouching on Shima Seiki’s services and reliability. Kabir’s sentiment isreiterated even more strongly byEnayetuddin Md. Kaiser Khan,Managing Director of Sonia & Sweaters Limited, who has

already installed 200 automatic machines from Shima Seiki with plans to open LC for 100 more soon, and who underlined, “Shima Seiki is the only one to work with for us,” the statement seconded by Delowar Hossain, Director – Raozan Sweaters Ltd., who has installed 9 automatic jacquard machines in his facility recently.The popularity of the Shima Seiki is also due to its robust trainingprogrammes for the operators and technicians. “We are providing basic training, intermediate training and higher trainingto our customers. We are even

The Race for Automation…

Talking Sweaters

sending technicians of our customers to Shima Seiki, Japan for further training,” explainedM. Shahabuddin, Managing Director of Paciftc Associates, supplier of Shima Seiki machines in Bangladesh.The brand’s flat knitting machine SSR112, which comes with Shima Seiki’s patented DSCS- Digital Stitch Control System technology, is the most popular.The machine treats each loop as digital data and thus is able to control the length and shape of every loop. Once a specific loop length is programmed, the machine continuously adjusts

Tadanori Ueno, General Manager,Bangladesh Liaison Office – Shima Seiki Mfg. Ltd.

Seminar on technology in progress

Ikuto Umeda, Executive Director, Shima Seiki Mfg. Ltd.,

egardless of the promisesRand prospects,

sweatermanufacturers in the country are constrained by diverse challenges, which are however not unique, they are in reality applicable on the entire industry spectrum like short supply of gas and electricity, infrastructural bottlenecks, business-unfriendly banking (non-availability of loans, high interest rates) for small and medium segments toname some while there are some, which are unique to the sweater industry. Foremost of these are workers’ absenteeism and limited skill set, limitations pertainingto efficiency and unethical competition.Blessed with huge manpower but high rate of absenteeism during the festive seasons is something sweater manufacturers arehard-pressed to tackle. This not only affects productivity but also leads to serious business loss owing to delivery delays and cancellations. Automation although has helped address this to a great extent, lack ofskilled manpower is still holding back sweater manufacturers from reaping full benefit of automation. Some have already started retraining manual flat knitting machine operators on automatic knitting machines, but the average man-machine ratio of 1:4 is still a far cry from the advanced manufacturing destinations like Turkey and China, where an operator is skilled enough to operate 10 machines simultaneously.This has helped them cut manpower substantially while also increasing productivity. To counter this, sector experts suggest initiating knowledge- based education by updating the curriculum and opening sector-related departments in the universities.

Enhancement in knowledge base, they feel, would also help sweater manufacturers move up the value chain by producing fashionable products. Despite technical advances, the country is yet tobe considered fully developed to compete in high-fashion sweaters, which has many brands and retailers availing limited support in terms of jacquards, with only some parts of the sweater made in critical designs, here.Another interesting development is constraint due to rapid increase in capacities, compounded further by new players joining the fray to cash in the opportunities leading to ‘undercutting’. Spoilt for choice, there’s no blaming the buyers if they go to who offers the lowest price. A concerted marketing effort spearheaded by the Government in association with the industry bodies is the only way to control the malpractice and give a new direction tothe industry.Experts, as such, stress on a sustainable Government policy formulated in consultation with all the stakeholders, including industry people, to overcome the shortcomings and achieve desired results.

yarn feed and tension to yield consistency in every loop of each course, within ±1%. Thisresults in production of knitwear with uniform dimensions and shaping, reducing the quality rejections due to size variations and deformed shape. The knitting machine, which comes in 7, 12, 14, and 16-gauge,also features Rapid Response Carriage System, allowing lower movement of inertia and quicker carriage returns.ShimaKnitPLM, which is also the first PLM solution in flat knitting, is another offering worth mentioning. This unique intervention helps connect Shima Seiki products with the customer’s ERP and SCM core systems to provide high-level of traceability and eventually higher productivity through every stage of the value chain. “Manufacturers need to focus on these kinds of interventionsto get better value and minimum rejections, and also meet on-time deliveries,” explains Tadanori Ueno, General Manager, Bangladesh Liaison Offtce – Shima Seiki Mfg. Ltd.The company plans to make it loud and clear that it is not in Bangladesh to just sell machines, but rather help the garment manufacturers add value totheir produce and production capabilities.Apart from the range of flat knitting machines, Shima Seiki’s SDS design system is also said to be of big help

Design studio of Shima Seiki

Talking Sweaters

Challenges for the sub sector

to the apparel exporters of Bangladesh. “Exportersprepare samples based on the drawings sent by the buyers and then redesign it according to the buyers’ inputs. However, what they do not realize is that making a sample is more difficult than manufacturing 1,000 sweaters,” reasons Tadanori. By using the SDS design system, manufacturers can make virtual samples andalso adjust the size of each part immediately, using the grading system, which helps them save a lot of time and money, spent on making samples.In this race for automation, Chinese automatic machine manufacturers are a long way from catching up with the market leaders (Shima Seiki, Japan and Stoll, Germany). And now the stress is building up to increase capacities by producing high-end jacquard and intarsia sweaters by installing machines from Shima Seiki.Further, taking note of the industry heading towards full automation with potential of customizable garments in the long term, Shima Seiki has also introduced seamless flatknitting machines. Shima Seiki’s WHOLEGARMENT takes away the need for skilled linking labour in sweater production by knitting fully finished, seamless garments while its WHOLEGARMENT model – MACH2XS, the company has introduced strategic machine linked to design systems to strengthen production.

Some have already started retraining manual flat knitting machine operators on automatic knitting machines, but the average man- machine ratio of 1:4 isstill a far cry from the advanced manufacturing destinations.

he growth of the knitwear sectorTin general, and sweater

as aproduct category, is largely due to the increase in the yarn production capacity – especially cotton and acrylic – over the years. “The core strength of the knitwear sectoris its strong backward linkage industry that supplies almost all the required yarns and fabrics excepta few varieties and qualities,” states former BKMEA President Fazlul Hoque, adding that the improvement has been possible due to the integrated growth of spinning units.As per Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), thereare currently around 413 yarn manufacturing mills that spin 2,250 million kilograms of yarn annually, 792 fabric manufacturing units with 2,810 million metres capacity and 240 dyeing units having fabric processing capacity of 2,720 million metres, annually. To encourage further development, the Government also providescash incentive for using local raw

materials, ensuring flourishing of the backward linkage industry more so for the knitwear sector. However, despite increased self-sufficiency in basic yarns, fancy yarns still remain a weak link.“We have developed a lot of suppliers domestically but some expensive and performance-driven yarns still have to be sourced from China,” underlines Milan Kanti Barua, Director,Azim Group, a company that loves experimenting with different blends, including spandex. Same is thecase for Raozan Sweaters, which also banks upon China for viscose, mélange viscose and other blended yarns. The consensus remains that for specialised and fancy yarns, China is still the favoured sourcing destination.Spinners and knitters are relentlessly innovating new yarn blends, colours, textures and performance properties like water and stain repellent yarns using nanotechnology, the engineering of functional systems at the molecular

level is expected to further foster brand new blends of high- performance and multifunctionaltextiles.There already is a very high demand for functional yarns in the international market leading to inventions like Naturetex Plasma (Plasma delivers fibres with the same strength and the same or better pilling performance as conventionally processed yarns, along with improved abilityto absorb moisture), H2DRY (This process gives wool new performance, making it elastic,easy to care for, anti-creasing and breathable), AFC Night Glowing Yarn (Night Glowing Yarn is a luminous yarn that automatically glows inthe dark after absorbing light for 10 minutes), Colour-Changing Yarn (Thermochromic yarn changes its colour with the rise and declineof the temperature. This kind of colour variation uses the difference of temperature to control the change of colour), offering sweater manufacturers newer avenues of value-additions and growth.

FACTSAs per BTMA, there are currently around 413 yarn manufacturing mills that spin 2,250 million kilograms of yarnannually, 792 fabric manufacturing units with 2,810 million metres capacity and 240 dyeing units having fabric processing capacity of 2,720 million metres, annually.

Talking Sweaters

Basic yarns in abundance locally; China preferred for specialised varieties

“Sustainable Denims...”A new unique sellingpreposition for denimmanufacturers lmost everyone at the

DenimAExpo, from all segments of thesupply chain had much to share on progress they had made in making sustainable denims. “We have taken lots of initiatives in sustainability. As of day, mindset is changing and everybody is trying to adopt the culture now. Bangladesh is growing well in this direction,” sharedShohel Rana, Director – Marketing & Merchandising, Nassa Group, one of the largest denim fabric manufacturers in Bangladesh withturnover of US $ 600 million in textiles and US $ 300 million in garments. As a fabric manufacturer Nassa caters predominantly to the domestic market for international brands and retailers like Marks & Spencer, Walmart, Zara, H&M, JCPenney, etc, and has started exporting small quantities to Sri Lanka and Turkey, of late.“To carry on with our concept of making cotton-free denims, we are replacing cotton with more sustainable products like tensile, hempen, etc. Our machines, with nitrogen system, use relatively20-30 per cent less water,” revealed Mohammad Jamal Abdun Naser, Director, Shasha Denims Ltd., while expressing that the buyers should equally be ready to pay the sustainable price so that everyone could sustain in the market.A manufacturer that exports 95 per cent of its production toEuropean markets, Shasha Denims is in progress to come up with an altogether new product of pure indigo denim.A regular visitor of the show, Karen Day, Product Manager, Next Sourcing Ltd., observed various

unprecedented products in the current edition. “We have seen lots of bi-stretch, black overdyed, indigo and authentic look denims. The washes are innumerably available.” Another visitor thrilled with the experience of seeing different hues and application in denims, in one go was Guillermo Fernández, Sales Manager, Iberlaser – a Spanish company producing lasers for 60 years. “We are here because we have ventured into Asia. Every year, we developnew technologies for garments as well as for fabrics. Bangladesh makes you bullish about everything. This international expo is a perfect example.” Having achieved 10 per cent market share in Bangladesh,Iberlaser can reduce 40-50 per cent water in washing as well as in chemical process without affecting operator’s health.In her maiden participation at the event, Ru Yi Zhong, Marketing Director, Seazon, exclaimed, “We are glad that we did not miss this expo. We are expanding, and what makes us different is the range of products available in denims; from 4 ounces to 16 ounces of our indigo products. Our equipment is the most advanced in the world with the help of which we not only producedifferent denim products but with 20 per cent lesser water usage.” Based in China, they sell 70 per cent of textiles domestically and 30 per cent oversees. Looking forward to make a 50-50 share, they have now expanded to Bangladesh.For Khan Md. Pavel Hossain, Managing Director, BEE Bangladesh Clothing, a regular visitor to the show over the years, there were only a few

Khan Md. Pavel Hossain,Managing Director, BEE Bangladesh Clothing

FACTSThe 16th edition of the show witnessed participation of manufacturersand buyers from across 46 countries including the US, UK, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Egypt, Belgium, China and United Arab Emirates. The show highlighted 55 exhibitorsfrom 15 countries with main theme revolving around ‘Natural Denims’.

new products that grabbed attention. “The fabrics in this year’s edition are same with a little combination of cotton but the prints are innovative with different varieties available,”he averred. Pavel came to the expo with a hope of meeting new factories who can provide him with different varieties and designs with a good price tag. Jahirul Islam, Assistant Manager Merchandising, Ananta Group was at the event for bottom fit jeans and he was very excited to

Mostafiz Uddin, Founder and CEO, Bangladesh Denim Expo

Ru Yi Zhong, Marketing Director, Seazon

Jahirul Islam, Assistant Manager Merchandising, Ananta Group

“To carry on with our concept of making cotton-free denims, we are replacing cotton withmore sustainable products…”– Mohammad Jamal Abdun Naser, Director, Shasha Denims Ltd.

have seen many suitable fabrics apart from the invariable denim washes available in the expo. However, he expressed his wish of having more real-time demonstrations in washing if possible. “If organisers could imbibe the washing procedure in the next expo, it would really be a value-add as washing plays as significant a role as fabrics in denim production,” added Islam. To which Mostaftz Uddin, Founder and CEO, Bangladesh Denim Expo adhered, and added

that a couple of companies that were giving a simulation of washing had seen a larger footfall.Though happy with the outcome, Mostafiz also lamented the absence of many exhibitors in the event. “Actually, in the present edition, we had thought it will be 100 exhibitors but due to some sad incidentsthat happened in Dhaka, everyone couldn’t make it; 45 in textiles, 10 in accessories and 7 in chemicals are the only ones present.” Mostafiz added

that he would be happy if there were more events of such stature taking place in Bangladesh, “It keeps us busy and thinking.” He also believes that Bangladesh is improving and the way its hard-working manpower is acclimatising with the things around, he was very optimistic that theywill be producing the best quality garments in the world in a few years. Moreover, he is very bullish about doubling the exhibitors in the next event.

Guillermo Fernández, Sales Manager, Iberlaser

“Our team of experts work closely with customers, assessing their needs using market research, retail & fashion trend forecasts, and innovative technology.”– Khan Md. Pavel Hossain, Managing Director, BEE Bangladesh Clothing p28

EXPORTER PROFILE

ast year we exported garments“Lworth US $ 67 million and

thisyear our target is to reach US $ 90 million with the inception of the latest 20-line facility (Galaxy Stitch Ltd.) with production capacity of 7 lakh pieces per month to manufacture mainly bottoms –shorts and casual trousers for Next, Lidl, Walmart, Carter’s OshKosh, California Baby, George and other selective buyers,” informs Md. Mosharraf Hossain Dhali, Managing Director of Impressive Group and Chairman of Utilization Committee of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA). Galaxy Stitch Ltd. is a fully compliant green facility, being looked after and taken care of by Mosharaff’s son Rahet Hossain Dhali.Underlining the secret of success, unlike many other garment manufacturerswho have diversified their offerings to increase market share, the company has been steadfastly augmenting its product knowledge and expertise in niche products. “If you do everything you won’t be good in anything, hence our focus is on bottoms,” explains the MD of the Group. Besides, carrying the tag of ‘specialist’ also helps negate the competition from rivals who can go to any extent to eat into the competitor’s market and business. “Although competition is everywhere but in Bangladesh it has gone to an altogether different dimension. The buyers are taking advantage of the existing scenario and pitting one manufacturer against the other, which they should not…,” laments Mosharraf.Going beyond its traditional market of Europe and USA, Impressive Group is now looking at new destinations and there are reasons for it. “Specialising in a particular product category requires one to widen one’s market base that has demand for the product. As such we are targeting Australia and South Africa, both of which have very good prospects,” maintains Mosharraf.To cater well his would-be buyers in these new markets as well as theexisting ones, Impressive Group has also hired services of a Canadian company, to take up product developments and new innovations as per the global trends and demands. Impressive Group’s services – fabric trading entity, Good Link Enterprise, which supplies imported fabrics (from China, India and Indonesia) for the domestic market as well as catering to the in-house demands, has given

Mosharraf an extra edge enabling him to have a better control over quality. “We have our office in China for fabric development and fabric sourcing. Every season, we collect new fabrics andpass on to the buyers. We also take our buyers to our fabric suppliers’ showrooms wherefrom they can select the fabrics of their choice,” elucidatesMosharraf about Good Link, a company which is manned by a workforce of 45 people, selling fabrics worth aroundUS $ 35 million annually. Having in-house accessory (Royal Label &Accessories Ltd.), printing (G7 Printing and Packaging Ltd.) and washing (ARK Washing Ltd.) facilities help Impressive Group’s cause even more. Aiming to consolidate operations, markets and clientele, Mosharraf has decided to stay put to further expansions, at least for now. “For the next five years I am not going to add any new facility. If my son wants to go on his own, that’s his prerogative,” says Mosharraf, adding, “I am happy with my buyers and the markets we are operating in now,” ona parting note.

Product specialisation, non-traditional markets to stay on course for Impressive GroupStarting its journey way back in 1992 with a four-line facility, Impressive Garment (Pvt.) Ltd. has traversed a long distance to turn into a conglomerate known as Impressive Group with six garment manufacturing facilities and even extending into accessorymanufacturing, fabrics and other businesses now, but yet staying focused on producing ‘bottoms’.

Impressive Group houses under its umbrella – Impressive Garments (Pvt.) Ltd., a 5-line manufacturing facility at Kadamtoly Industrial Area (Dhaka), with production capacity of 1,00,000 pieces per month now and spread over 45,000 sq. ft.; Civic Apparels, a 15-line setup with production capacity of 3,20,000 pieces per month; M-YEW FashionLtd. – a 6-line production setup, with monthly production capacity of 1,30,000 pieces; TH Fashion with a setup of 6 lines and production capacity of 1,20,000 piece per month;Tivoli Apparels Limited is a 6-line manufacturing facility with production capacity of 2,10,000 pieces per month; and Golden Stitch Design Ltd., a 17-line facility with production capacity of 5,00,000 pieces per month.

Md. Mosharraf Hossain Dhali, Managing Director, Impressive Group

BANGLADESH CANVAS

six-year-old buying houseAdriven by a group of

youngprofessionals, BEE Bangladesh Clothing with annual turnover of US $ 200,000, which may be small by some standards, works with big names such as Kato, J Brand, Vigoss, Admiral, Etam, Indigoskin,Samurai Jeans, Spalding and Blue- Button, in markets of Europe (except UK), Russia and Japan. Along with apparels, the company also deals in handicrafts – jute and other hand- made products.“We cater to some of the big brands globally, and growing steadily with introduction of a wide range of denim products. Our strategy isto create and maintain a diverse product portfolio to fulfil clients’ requirements,” quips the young and dynamic Managing Director of BEE Bangladesh Clothing, Khan Md.Pavel Hossain, adding, “Our team of experts work closely with customers, assessing their needs using market research, retail & fashion trend forecasts, and innovative technology.”Working primarily with 5-6 factories in Bangladesh to cater to clients’ needs, technology is something Pavel has been leveraging extensively for generating leads. Starting business of apparel sourcing with just a

Leveraging social platform for business generation and growth

BEE: A small but efficient sourcing company…

business professionals worldwide including executives from big and small retailers and brands) and its community feature is one such. “By regularly beefing up the company profile, we approach prospective clients and try build personal relationship with them,” reveals Pavel, who witnessed order volumes going up from a mere 10,000 pieces at one point of time to 100,000-500,000 pieces per shipment today usingsuch innovative techniques. Also to be counted is BEE’s database onEmbassies and Consulates through which it accesses information on international brands and buyers registered with the diplomatic offices. “They give little but very helpful information but sometimes we manage to get complete list of the buyers,” underlines Pavel, whouses his knowledge of handicrafts for value addition in garments.“Denim in particular is very price- competitive but if you can make small value additions like a little embroidery, add a couple of fancy buttons, a different wash which stands out, it is possible to increase the profit margins,” underlines Pavel. BEE Bangladesh mixes handicraft’s embroidery art with modern slimfit trousers (especially for women) to add that extra punch. “It does not take much effort and even theretailers can command good price on such value additions,” points out the MD of the buying house.Going forward, Pavel plans to diversify his product basket with addition of woven items and linen shirts, and try to penetrate new markets, while keeping true to his business mantra of ‘client satisfaction’. “We analyze each customer’s needs, anticipatechallenges, design options and set up contingency plans so they never have to worry about anything…,” signs off Pavel.

laptop and dreams of making it big someday, the MD of BEE Bangladesh tapped the digital platform to good use apart from the traditional avenues of business generation like seminars, events and trade fairs, many of which Pavel also have to skip owing to financial constraints. The resume-based social media website LinkedIn (used by over 135 million

Khan Md. Pavel Hossain, Managing Director, BEE Bangladesh Clothing

Some of the denim products sourced by BEE Bangladesh Clothing

authorities will have to inform their remediation progress to the department within seven days; otherwise, they have to face legal action as per the labour act.”According to DIFE’s statistics, out of 319 factories, 22 of these completed Detailed Engineering Assessment (DEA), 38 started process and four factories were closed under the recommendations of the Government-set review panel. However, as many as 255 factories are yet to start the process for conducting DEA and some of them disagreed to go through the process. Moreover, corrective action plan implement progress in 73 factories is zero, 286 factories achieved zero progress in structural remediation, 160factories made no progress in electrical remediation and 129 factories made zero progress in implementing fire safety- related corrective action plan.

319 RMGfactories to face legal actionThe Labour Ministry has ordered the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) to issue notices to 319 readymade garment factories that are structurally vulnerable.Preliminary safety assessments in 1,549 readymade garment factories were conducted under the national initiativewith the support of International Labour Organisation.Out of these 1,549 factories, 319 were identified as having vulnerable structures and the factory authorities were asked to conduct detailed engineering assessment of their factory buildings to find out the worker’s safety factors due to lack of structural design and drawing.Syed Ahmed, Inspector General of DIFE reportedly said, “After receiving the letter from the DIFE the factory

Observing the fourth anniversary of the tragic Tazreen Fashions fire that killed 112 workers and injured over 200 in 2012, severaltrade union leaders in Bangladesh recently called upon the Government to ensure rehabilitation and long- term treatment of the fire victims while also demanding exemplary punishment to those responsible for the mishap.Alleging that even after four years of the fire incident, good number of victims are yet to get proper compensation and as such are leading a miserablelife, President of Bangladesh National Garments Workers Employees League (BNGWEL), Sirajul Islam Rony maintained, “The surviving

Close on heels of Finance Minister AMA Muhith expressing desire to take up the issue of Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) facilities with the President-elect of USA, Donald Trump, US Ambassador in Bangladesh Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat has reportedly underlined that she would also discuss the matter with Trump.“Certainly, I will discuss the issue with President-elect Donald Trump so that Bangladesh could get the US Generalized System of Preferences facilities for its products to the US markets,” Bernicat reportedly said talking to reporters while handing

victims need long-term treatment and rehabilitation to come back to normal life,” adding, “We do not want to see any further incident in the industry that would cost lives of fellow workers.”The fire incident that broke at Tazreen Fashion factory on24 November 2012 is considered the deadliest factory fire in the nation’s history.Recollecting the tragic incident, a worker at Tazreen, Monir Hossain said he is still traumatised by the fire incident and does not feel normalin everyday activities. “I lost my leg in the incident that has made me physically challenged. Who will take the responsibility of my family?” Monir asked.

over Nargis-Rashid Foundation Education Stipend to the recipients.The US Ambassador also reportedly expressed satisfaction over the current working atmosphere in Bangladesh garment factories.“We are very happy as we see that working atmosphere in the garment industry has showed tremendous development… The owners are now very much cautious to this end, especially following the Rana Plazacollapse,” Bernicat reportedly stated while adding the country’s RMG sector has witnessed tremendous development and gender disparity has been reduced significantly.

Workers' union demands rehab for Tazreen victims

Bernicat to discuss GSP issue with Donald Trump

After a meeting with the visiting European Union Parliament delegation at the Secretariat, State Minister for Labour and Employment, Md. Mujibul Haque Chunnu said that the Government would be able to take the responsibility to look after the compliance and other issues in the readymade garment (RMG) sector after the tenure of the Accord and Alliance expires in 2018.Haque told media, “We’ve formed a Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC) and it’s working to create experts locally. So, we’re confident that we will be able to achieve the quality/capability to look after the RMG compliance issues in absence of the Accord and Alliance.”

Bangladesh can become an export powerhouse at the level of itsEast Asian neighbours by improving its business competitiveness and trade regime which will help firms compete globally, according tothe World Bank report – ‘South Asia’s Turn: Policies to Boost Competitiveness and Create the Next Export Powerhouse’.The report, launched jointly with the Policy Research Institute in Dhaka (Bangladesh), pointed out that South Asia will be home to more than a quarter of the world’s working adults by 2030 and should take advantage of the favourable demographics, increasing education levels and growing cities.The report also identified four policy levers that can help Bangladesh enable its firms to boost productivity and become more globally competitive, that is, improving the businessenvironment, connecting firms to

Govt. ready to handle compliance issues after Accord, Alliance: Chunnu

Bangladesh can become an export powerhouse: World Bank

The two western platforms of retailers – Accord and Alliance – were formed to ensure workplace safety in Bangladesh’s garment industry in the wake of the tragic industrial accidents, especially after the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed more than 1,100 workers and injured many.Meanwhile in a separate development, in order to complete remediation process of the garment factories in Bangladesh, the factory inspection agency, Accord has reportedly sought to extend its stay in the country for another three years. The legally-binding agency’s stay is scheduled to end in 2018.Accord, which comprises of 200 European apparel retailers, has

global value chain, maximizing agglomeration benefits, and strengthening firm capabilities.“To realize Bangladesh’s competitiveness potential, the country needs to start byfocusing on improving its trade policy regime and the business environment, and address the acute shortage of industrial land. With the right set of policies and

been monitoring more than 700 readymade garment factories in the country since 2013. Rob Wayss,Accord’s Executive Director for Bangladesh Operations, reportedly said, “Several of theAccord members are in discussion to extend the tenure as full remediation of the factories might not be possible by the set time.” However, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has criticized this move of Accord.Vice President of BGMEA, Mahmud Hasan Khan maintained, “Remediation is a continuous process. As per recommendations of the Accord and Alliance, we have done a lot of work.”

enabling environment, there is no reason why Bangladesh cannot become the next Asian export powerhouse,” said Qimiao Fan, Country Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, World Bank.It may be mentioned here that with rising labour costs in East Asian countries, investors and buyers are now turning to South Asia, including Bangladesh.

BGMEAsettles 9,670 complaints via ADR between 1998-2016At a seminar on “Building Construction Labour Management Relations: Promotion Alternative Dispute Resolution in RMG sector”, organised jointly by Solidity Centre (American Centre for International Labour Solidarity) and Congress of Industrial Organizations, it was revealed that Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) settled a totalof 9,670 labour dispute complaints through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism during the period between 1998 and 2016.During the period, a total of 38,208 workers had been able to get BDT 150.64 million as compensationthrough the ADR. It was also informed at the seminar that the country’s seven labour courts have to handle 1.5 million cases annually. To lessen the rising numberof cases which are pending with labour courts, speakers at the event however suggested necessary steps to settle the invariable labour- related disputes via ADR.Mikail Shipar (Chief Guest), Labour and Employment Secretary; Kevin Gash, Director (Acting), Office of Democracy and Governance, USAID Bangladesh;Alonzo Glenn Suson, Country Programme Director of Solidarity Centre Bangladesh; and SM Anamul Haque, Joint Director of Department ofLabour amongst others were present at the seminar.

After registering a record inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in textile and apparel sector worth US $ 445.82 million in Financial Year 2014, the slump in FDI in the subsequent years was reversedin FY 2016 after Bangladesh registered 11 per cent growth compared to FY 2015 (when it was US $ 351.62 million), recording net FDI inflow of US $ 396 million in the last fiscal year. This is according to the latest figures released by the central bank of the country. According to reports

World’s leading denim manufacturer, Bangladesh has seen a stellar growth of denim exports in the first eight months of the current year. According to the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) data, the country’s denim exports during the period were up5.84 per cent to US $ 299 million as against US $ 282 million (appx.) in the corresponding period last year.According to the data of Eurostat, the country’s denim exports to the European Union were up 6.86 per cent to Euro 568 million in the first six months as against Euro

Italian fashion brand Benetton has unveiled a project with a two-year calendar of concrete initiatives called – ‘Sustainable Livelihood Project’ under itsWomen Empowerment Programme (WEP). The project aims to empower women in the readymade garment sector in Bangladeshand also home-based women workers in Pakistan, to reduce their vulnerability at home and workplace.Presented in October 2015, WEP is the focus of Benetton Group’s current sustainabilitystrategy. Based on the Sustainable Development Goals set by theUN for 2020, its objectives – attaining gender equality and women empowerment – will be achieved through five keyefforts – sustainable livelihood, non-discrimination and equal opportunities, access to health,T&C sector witnesses surge in FDI in FY '16

Country sees surge in denim exports

Benetton commences ‘Women Empowerment Project' in Bangladesh, Pakistan

Subsequently, in Pakistan, the initiative will support around 1,500 women workers while prioritizing unemployed women, those working at home, or in the fields and those belonging to ethnic and religious minorities. Benetton will helpeach of them obtain an ID, which is a necessity to vote, open a bank account and get access to training courses. The brand will also helpthem obtain formal employment and will work together with the local textile factories to make workplaces more welcoming to women.The Benetton Women Empowerment Programme is rooted in the brand’s long history of social commitment and moves on to recognize that gender equality and the empowerment of women are not only human rights, but necessary steps toward building a peaceful, prosperous and more sustainable world for all.

quality education and the end of every form of violence against women around the world.In Bangladesh, the project will support close to 5,000 women currently employed in the garment industry and will organize training courses that will help them

strengthen their professional skills. In the process, the company will help garment workers sign up for basic financial products at banks, such as loans, insurances and savings accounts and speak to their employers with regard to increasing their safety at the workplace.

published in the news dailies of Bangladesh, of the total foreign investment in textile and clothing in the last fiscal year, around US$ 222.86 million was reportedly injected as reinvested earnings of the current companies operating in Bangladesh.South Korean firms, mostly in the Export Processing Zones (EPZs), reportedly invested US $ 111.61 million, which is almost one-third of the FDI, in the textile sector, followed by Hong Kong, which invested US $ 89.07 million.

531.50 million in the same period last year.Denim products contribute about US $ 6 billion to US $ 28 billion RMG exports of Bangladesh, which is expected to reach US $ 7 billion by 2021. Of the total amount,EU and US import big chunk of Bangladesh’s denim products. According to the study by Cotton Inc., 71 per cent of people in Europe and Latin America enjoy wearing denim, followed by 70 per cent in the US, 58 per cent in China and 57 per cent in Japan.

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Hugo Boss to cut brands; slow down expansion

Next Plc's CEO warns of tough time post-Brexit

Germany-based fashion house, Hugo Boss AG, has announced its plans to eliminate two brands (Boss Orange and Boss Green brands) and limit expansion of stores while it will expand its online business.It’ll only produce apparels under the Hugo and Boss brands, contracting its focus to casual wear and business wear.Mark Langer, Chief Executive Officer of the company, reportedly said, “We have placed a too-strong focus on a push into luxury price points and we have to make sure we are perceived as a lifestyle brand

beyond our suiting capabilities.” Langer further predicted that 2017 will be a year of stabilization after an expected fall of up to 3 per cent in currency-adjusted sales this year, predicting a return to growth in 2018.The fashion retailer will also continue to bring the prices of its goods in several regions in line, leading to further cuts in Asia and a slight rise in Europe, while prices should stay stable in North America. The move is expected to bring the company back on profit- making track.

taken and asserts that the drop in pound would lead to an ‘inflation bubble’ in 2017.Although he doesn’t expect the situation to continue into the following year, Next Plc will raise the prices of its garments by no more than 4.5 per cent in 2017 to

offset the higher cost of sourcing apparel from factories outside UK.The CEO further stated that the combination of rising prices and a tendency of Britons to spend more money on leisure activities suggest that UK fashion retailers should prepare for another tough year. Shares of Next Plc, Marks & Spencer Group Plc and Primark owner Associated British Foods Plc, have all declined this year on lacklustre results.“The underlying problems with the British economy have been there a long time before the Brexit vote. It’s not that we are out of the woods. We are just going into the woods,” averred the CEO.Founded in 1864, Next Plc has its presence in UK, Ireland, continental Europe, Asia and the Middle East with around 700stores, of which 502 are in the UK and Ireland alone.

British multinational clothing, footwear and home products retailer – Next Plc’s Chief Executive Officer, Simon Wolfson, who is one of corporate Britain’s most prominent Brexit supporters, expressed his concern about the hard-line direction the process has

American Apparel to close stores in AustraliaUS-based fashion retailer, American Apparel is going to close all the stores across Australia to stop supporting the businesses outside of the US. Once the stock is cleared, around 100 employees are going to lose their jobs.Lately, the company has also liquidated businesses across UK and Ireland. The closure comes after recent reports of the company’s moving towardsbankruptcy within just a year after recovering from the same.American Apparel is an American clothing manufacturer, designer, distributor, marketer and retailer based in Los Angeles, California. Founded by Dov Charney in 1989.

World’s leading apparel retailer H&M, which has 1.6 million garment factory workers working at around 1,900 factories across the globe that manufacture goods for H&M, has signed an innovative Global Framework Agreement (GFA) along with world’s largest sectorial trade union organization IndustriALL Global Union, which represents 50 million workers, and Swedish trade union IF Metall. The agreement marks a new level of commitment by the collaborating parties to fundamental rights of the workers, and promises to bring about lasting improvements inthe condition of garment workers and creation of well-functioning industrial relations.“This agreement opens an exciting new chapter in the relationship between IndustriALL Global Union and H&M. It cementsthe path towards a sustainable garment industry with unionized workforce, constructive labour- management relations, living wages through industry level collective agreements, and safe workplaces,” said Jyrki Raina, General Secretary, IndustriALL, who was also one of the architects behind Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, which was first signed by H&M.Under the agreement, national monitoring committees will be set up, initially in countries likeMyanmar, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Turkey to safeguard the

implementation of the agreement from the factory floor upwards, and to facilitate a dialogue between the parties on the labour market.The GFA establishes that –• The parties will jointly

promote signing of collective agreements both at factory, company and industrial level between relevant social partners,

• Workers will have the right to refuse unsafe work as part of their health and safety rights,

• The parties will provide training for both management and union representatives on employers’ responsibilities, workers’ rights and obligations, industrial relations, collective bargaining agreements and peaceful conflict resolution,

• H&M will actively use all its possible leverage to ensure that its direct suppliers respecthuman and trade union rights in the workplace,

• Workers’ representatives are not discriminated against and have access to carry out their representative functions in the workplace.

GFA establis his the best possible standards on trade union rights, on health and safety, and onthe labour relations principles adhered to by the company in its global operations, regardless of the standards existing in a particular country.

H&M commits to fundamental rights of garment workers

In the third quarter, Abercrombie & Fitch exercised a lease kick-out option for its A&F flagship store in Hong Kong. The company will be closing its A&F flagship store in Seoul in January 2017.Commenting on the results, Arthur Martinez, Executive Chairman of the company said, “As expected, our third quarter was challenging. While Hollister improved sequentially, it was more than offset by disappointing performance in A&F. Ona total company basis, conversion trends remained positive across both channels and the direct-to-consumer business grew domestically and internationally. While we anticipate the A&F business will remain challenging through the balance of the fiscal year, we continue to move aggressively to evolve the brand across all channels through significant changes in product, customer experience and marketing.”

Abercrombie & Fitch's net sales down 6% in Q3 FY '16American clothing retailer, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has revealed its third quarter results. The brand reported that its net sales declined 6 per cent to US $ 821.7 million compared to the same period last year. Its comparable sales for the third quarter also plunged 6 per cent.Brand-wise, net sales for the reporting quarter dived13 per cent to US $ 358.3 million for Abercrombie and dropped 1 per cent to US $ 463.5 million for Hollister against last year. By geography, net sales for the quarter decreased 7 per cent to US $ 531.4 million in the US and were down by 5 per centto US $ 290.3 million in international markets as against last year. Direct-to-consumer sales in the review period grew to approximately 23 per cent of total company net sales compared to approximately 21 per cent of net sales last year.

Ralph Lauren to concentrate on its core business

GAP to close 65 more stores

Fashion retailer Ralph Lauren has announced its plans to focus on its core business and has shared a ‘way forward’ restructuring plan to be implemented in the coming months. Stefan Larsson, CEO, Ralph Lauren has issued a series of statements wherein his decision to stop working with the less profitable multi-brand stores has been mentioned. Accordingto the CEO, 20-25 per cent of the label’s wholesale clients will not be served any longer. Another decision taken is to discontinue ‘Denim & Supply’ – the brand targeting a younger clientele.Denim & Supply was created in 2011 and gained recognition for its style, but struggled to attract its 15-30-year-old target consumers due to its high price positioning.Despite enjoying an international presence, with some 20 Denim & Supply branded stores, the label accounted only for a very small

Apparel chain GAP announced closures of 65 company-operated stores, compared to its previous forecast of about 50 stores. The company is expecting a further drop in traffic at stores during the crucial holiday shopping season. The brand recently decided to close its Banana Republic stores in the UK.

Sabrina Simmons, outgoing Chief Financial Officer,GAP commented, “Given that challenging traffic trends have continued, we are investing meaningfully in marketing across our portfolio brands during the holiday season.”The company reported its seventh straight quarterly sales decline

Destination XL unveils Q3 FY '16resultsDestination XL Group Inc., the largest omni-channel specialty retailer of big and tall men’s apparel, has unveiled financial results for the third quarter ofthe current fiscal. The company’s net sales rose2.3 per cent to US $ 101.9 million compared to last year’s US $ 99.6 million, primarily driven by a comparable sales increase of 2.3 per cent from the company’s DXL stores.In the reporting period, net loss for the company stood at US $ 4.5 million compared to the net loss of US $ 5.5 million in the corresponding period last year.“The DXL transformation remains on track, as we opened 13 new storesin the third quarter. We have decided not to spend advertising dollars on television in the fourth quarter. Our marketing campaign in the fourth quarter will consist of radio, digital and social media, and we will continue to evaluate the use of television in the future,” said David Levin, President and CEO, DXL.As per the financial outlook for the fiscal 2016, the apparel retailer expects its total sales to be in the range of US $451.0 to US $ 457.0 million with a total comparable sales increase in the range of 1.0 to 2.0 per cent. It will open approximately 25 DXL retail stores and4 DXL outlet stores, and close approximately 29 Casual Male XL retail stores and 4 Casual Male XL outlet stores.

part of the Ralph Lauren Group’s business, amounting to not more than 2 per cent of global net sales.Additionally, the Group’s top management intends to cluster as many segments as possible under its leading brands, like Polo.Commenting on his game plan, the CEO stated, “We are pursuing the

objective of improving our focus on and the resources available for our key brands, and we have recently announced the decisionto discontinue the Denim & Supply brand. We will respond to the denim market’s expectations more effectively through our Polo brand, bolstering it at the same time.”

in the three months ended 29th October 2016 as demand for its GAP and Banana Republic brands remained sluggish. GAP had been trying to replicate the success of its low-end Old Navy brand at its GAP and Banana Republic chains since last year.Traditional apparel chains are struggling with the growing popularity of online retailers and fast-fashion chains such as H&M, Forever 21 and Inditex’s Zara, which are known for offering trendier clothes at cheaper prices.GAP is a leading global retailer offering clothing, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the GAP, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, and Intermix brands. The company has 3,730 retail locations around the globe.

Clothing business has proved problematic as it has been draining the market share of the company. In Britain too, M&S has been undermined by shops such as Primark and Next. Its food business, however, is doing well. Although the market share is less than 4 per cent, but it sells 22 per cent of all ready meals and 38 per cent of party food bought in Britain.So, the new strategy is to convert M&S from a clothing store with food attached to a food and clothing business, each on an equal footing. In the meantime, the firm’s share price fell by about 6 per cent after the plan was announced.

Fast fashion brands impact M&S' clothing businessUK-based clothing retailer, Marks and Spencer, announced a turnaround recently. In the next five years, the company aims to close 30 of its full-line clothing stores (those selling clothes, food and homeware) and converting 45 more into food-only outlets as the company faces tough competition from the fast fashion brands like Zara. Also, the company is scrapping fashion brands that have not sold well.The retailer is also giving up its outlets in China and France which totals the closing outlets to 53 at the expense of 2,000 jobs. To cut management costs, 500-odd more jobs are being cut at headquarters and another 400 moved out of London. This leaves wholly-owned stores in only Ireland, Hong Kong and the Czech Republic.

Canada-based apparel manufacturer, Gildan Activewear Inc., has entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (APA) to acquire the worldwide intellectual property rightsrelated to the American Apparel brand and certain assets from American Apparel LLC, a US-based manufacturer of fashion basics, for a cash purchase price of approximately US $ 66 million. The closing of the transaction is however subject to approvals by the American Apparel bankruptcy process and customary conditions, and is expected to occur during the first quarter of 2017.The move aims to create revenue for the company as American Apparel is a highly recognised brand among consumers within the North American printwear channel.

Kenneth Cole Productions,New York-based fashion house, has decided to shut its 63 outlet stores over the next six months. This will effectively end its run as a US brick- and-mortar chain.Kenneth Cole currently lists just two full-priced stores in the US, one in New York and other one in Arlington, Virginia. The company will be focusing on its e-commerce site and international business. It will continue to sell merchandise through other retailers.Marc Schneider, Chief Executive Officer of the company said,

Gildan will also separately purchase inventory from American Apparel to ensure a seamless supply of goods in the printwear channel while the company integrates the brand within its printwear business. However, Gildan will not be purchasing any retail store assets of American Apparel.American Apparel also voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection. The Bankruptcy Court may require American Apparel to hold an auction for its assets and business under which the proposed acquisition would constitute the initial bid. Consummation of the acquisition would be subjectto Gildan being selected as the successful bidder in any such auction and Bankruptcy Court approval.

“As we continue on our path of strengthening our global lifestyle brand, we look to expand our online and full-price retail footprint across the globe. We need to focus our energies and resources to better serve the consumer on their terms.”Kenneth Cole’s outlet shops have faced increasing competition from rivals such as Coach Inc. and Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. As part of its transformation, the brand has begun relying more on licensing deals, which generate revenuefrom its name without the need for physical stores.

Gildan Activewear proposes acquisition of American Apparel

Fashion house Kenneth Cole to shut its brick & mortar stores

Vietnamese T&C sector to face challenges even in 2017?

Myanmar's garment exports zoom

Textile and garment sector of Vietnam will continue to face challenges even in 2017 due to fierce competition by other major exporters such as China, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan while global demand is forecasted to slow down, reports a local Vietnamese news agency.Le Tien Truong, General Director, National Garment and Textile Group (VINATEX) averred that the textile and garment exports to the US and the EU will alsobe under negative impact owing to the consequences of Brexit and the lack of support from US President-elect Donald Trump for TPP. So, the sector forestalls its export growth rate at just 5-7 per cent if there are no appropriate policies. For this Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) has made several proposals to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for support of the local industry, including strengtheningmanagement of both domestic and foreign investment projects in the

Myanmar’s garment industry has registered decent growth in the current year. The country’s garment export earnings has increased to US $ 940 million in the year to mid-October from US$ 409 million in the corresponding period last year.

The increase in earnings was mainly because of the rise of exports to Japan andEuropean Union. While Japan accounted for about the third of country’s garment exports, EU and South Korea were25 per cent each, and United

‘Sri Lankan apparel exportmay get affected if US changes trade policy'Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Harsha De Silva, cautioned the country about the impact of any small change in the US trade policy due to political alterations there, on account ofthe apparel industry’s dependence on the US market.At Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association’s AGM held in Colombo, the Minister observed, “Given that America is very important to us, 25 per cent of our exports go to the US and 70 percent of that was apparels, I don’t think in the short- term there is going tobe any misalignment. Any way any small shock can have a large repercussion because of the dependency wehave on the US economy. Without TPP, is it possible for Sri Lankato create opportunities in this unsettled global trade environment?”The Minister also made a mention of effects of Brexit while talking about country’s exports to the UK which were about US $ 1 billion or 10 per cent of the total exports. However, he opined that the UKwouldn’t be as worrisome as the US on the backdrop of his optimism that by mid next yearSri Lanka will receive GSP+ concessions from the European Union.

industry, reviewing policies on minimum wage raises and working hours. Additionally, the association has also asked for adjustmentsto the sector’s development and assistance in human resources training assistance.It might be mentioned here that Vietnam’s textile and garment export revenues increased4.8 per cent year-on-year in the first 10 months of the year to reach US $ 23.3 billion, according to VINATEX. The garment and textile export turnover needs to reach an

BEYOND BD

average of US $ 2.5 billion a month in the last two months of 2016 in order to reach this year’s target of US $ 28-29 billion.Furthermore, US is the top market of Vietnam’s textile and garment products with US $ 10 billion which went up 4.37 per cent against last year. It is followed by Europe, with exports hitting nearly US $ 3 billion with a year-on-year increase of2.46 per cent. Additionally, Japan and South Korea are counted among key markets for Vietnamese garment and textile.

States and China accounted for2.4 per cent each.Trade with the EU has grown as it lifted the economic sanctions on Myanmar in 2013 which resumed its trade privileges suspended in 1997 over Junta’s human rightsrecord. The European Commission reports state that Myanmar’s exports to the region have increased from Euro 345 million in 2013 to Euro 548 million in 2015.As per the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association figures, the industry employs more than 300,000 workersin 389 factories of which 171are Myanmar-owned, 196 foreign-owned and the rest are joint ventures.

The web-based Management Information System (MIS), which has been devised to monitor skill training programmes, was also reviewed in the meeting. It is worth mentioning that ISDS has been in limelight due to less number of placements. Most of the states having textile industry often demand to train more, but MoThas suggested to first improve the placement percentage of already trained candidates. Even in one of the latest documents, the same was advised to Gujarat as the state was asked to enhance the target of training from 30,000 to 60,000 individuals; Rajasthan was also asked to allocate additional target of 6,000 persons (under ISDS) in this FY as Central Government allocated target of 5,000 only while the state wants to train 11,000. Till now, 21,577 candidates have been trained under ISDS in the textile sector through 556 centres across the country. Also, Rs. 1,029.19 crorehas been allocated for the scheme; however only Rs. 629.05 crore has been received so far by the states.

Indian MoT stresses on ‘strong monitoring' for ISDSStrong monitoring mechanism for Integrated Skill Development Scheme (ISDS) seems to be on top priority for Ministry of Textiles (MoT), Government of India. Physical verification module with a feature to upload videos of visits in stipulated time can be a good tool for it. ISDS is one of the most appreciated schemes to train the workforce for Indian textile industry.Union Textiles Minister of India Smriti Irani recently had a meeting in New Delhi (India) with senior officers of MoT to review the implementation of ISDS and also recommended a few measures to strengthen its monitoring mechanism and increase its outreach for imparting training to individuals in the textile sector. She also discussed functioning of Project Management Unit under ISDS.

Pakistan’s readymade garments (RMG) exports have zoomed 3.76 per cent during the first two months (July and August) of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period last year. According to reports, 5,109 dozen readymade garments worth US $ 364.072 million were exported from the country during the period as against exports of 4,944 dozen readymade garments costing US $ 350.867 million in the same period last year.In the period under review, bedwear exports rose by 5.28 per cent with 58,365 metric tonnes of bedwear worth US $ 355.799 million being

Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Labour – Government of Cambodia, GMAC (Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia) andILO’s BFC (International Labour Organization’s Better Factories Cambodia) have signed an MoU to extend the partnership for three more years, covering a period from January 2017 to December 2019.During this period, the partners have committed to increase collaboration to work together to improve the working conditions and boost the competitiveness of the Cambodian garment sector to build institutional sustainability of the programme.Cambodian constituents have agreed to contribute approximately 25 per cent to the BFC Budgetover the next three years, while

exported. Made-up articles exports also witnessed an increase of 11.83 per cent to US $ 102.44 million compared with US $ 91.61 million worth export during the same period last financial year. Besides this, other textile material exports posted an increase of 9.35 per cent during the reporting period as textile materials worth US $ 69.288 million were exported compared to the exportsof US $ 63.361 million in the same period last year.The exports of raw cotton, cotton yarn and cotton cloth decreased by55.67 per cent, 16.64 per cent and4.12 per cent, respectively.

international garment buyers sourcing from factories that have deployed ILO Better Factories Cambodia programme will contribute to programme based on fees for services rendered.In addition to its current projects, BFC will also work with Ministry of Labour on the implementation of a joint strategy and actionplan with the objective to support Government’s capacity and ownership to uphold compliance with labour law and support remediation in the garment and/or other sector as appropriate. Ith Sam Heng, Ministry of Labour and VocationalTraining (MOLVT) averred, “BFC has played a key role in the growth ofthe industry and the improvement of working conditions...”

Readymade garments exports from Pakistan surge 3.76%

ILO's Better Factories Cambodia gets 3-year extension

RESOURCE CENTRE

he first things that hit you whenTsitting down to converse

withthe MD of Aamra, is his confidence, visionary approach to business and sense of humour. Without mincing words he says that Aamra is in the driving seat in all its partnerships, be it with the industry or the international companies that it represents in the country. “Evenif we want, we cannot have 100% market share, so we decide who we want to work with or rather what type of companies do we want to be associated with, and service these companies with a large basketof solutions,” says Farhad. The customer list of Aamra reads like a who’s who of the industry with all front runners including Pacific Jeans, Azim Group, Square Group,DBL, Standard to name a few, as also young progressive companies like Ananta. “What is important is the attitude of the management… What is the vision, how responsive are they to change and new technology, passion for the industry, are someof the basic traits that we look for in companies that we work with,” adds Farhad.

FACTSAll brands under Aamra Resources– Lectra, Barudan, Ngai Shing, Sclavos, Santex, Ecotex, among a few others have the flexibility to be suitable for small to huge operational needs.

Syed Farhad Ahmed, Managing Director, Aamra Companies

As much clichéd as it may sound, ‘the power of WE’ is trulya part of the corporate culture of Aamra, which has as many as 250 out of total 1,200 team members working with it that have been with the company over 20 years, almost since its inception in 1985 by the Ahmed brothers – Syed Faruque and Syed Farhad. “Our name is not a gimmick; we have created a business that has a work environment which motivates people to optimize their skills and enjoy the process of working,” saysSyed Farhad Ahmed, Managing Director, Aamra Companies. Sitting in his plush Banani office, Farhad is extremely excited about inching closer to his dream of going international with his own brand after being a service/technology provider in many distinctive segments including apparel. In a retrospective mood, Farhad shares with Apparel Online, the key attributes that makes Aamra different from other companies.

Apparel industry, the root of all expansions and diversifications at Aamra

Another important factor that differentiates Aamra from other solution providers is the long term approach to business. “It is not about how much money we can earn from a customer today, but about creating relation of trust where he is constant in all our ventures andmarketing becomes a by-product and not the main thrust of the business,” avers Farhad. He jokingly adds that his customers are more like friends than clients and they want to take Aamra along with them even when exploring overseas ventures, quoting the case of DBL and its factory in Ethiopia. “Over the years we have created a bond of understanding where customers have soughtour advice in setting up factories, selecting technology best suited for their factories and managing their data,” adds Farhad. In this effort Aamra holds the patents,distribution and marketing rights of a number of world renowned high technology-driven products.Always on the lookout for new opportunities, Aamra evaluates technology carefully before taking it up for the industry. One of the important criterions in selection, is the flexibility of the technology,how can it scale up as the company grows. “We want to give solutions that can grow with the company and not ones that become redundant and have to be replaced,” argues Farhad. All his brands under Aamra Resources – Lectra, Barudan, Ngai Shing, Sclavos, Santex, Ecotex, among a few others have the flexibility to be suitable for smallto huge operational needs. Only recently the company received the SCLAVOS Premium Award

for highest sales of the brand in any country. And more recently Farhad was felicitated with the ‘ICT Person of the Year’ recognition for his commitment and significant achievements in growing and advancing the value of technology in Bangladesh.Aamra is also very careful while selecting the companies that it would want to represent. “We only align with the technologies that are the need of the industry and are coming from companies that are world leaders. It is also important that the product will be accepted by our customer base and has the potential to give us good returns in the future,” shares Farhad. The latest to jointhe stable is a biological ETP from Italian company Panta Rei, which passes the test of flexibility and can be scaled up from a need of 30 tonnes washing to over 100tonnes of washing/dyeing. “Italians are probably the most expensive, but we studied the market for one whole year talking to buyers like H&M, GAP as also our customers to ensure that the technology was the right one to satisfy everyone. It was even more important as investing in ETPs was just a formality earlier, and it is only recently that players have become serious on why they want to invest and what they wish to get in return…, it is all about offering value,” says Farhad.What has really aided the growth of the Aamra Empire is the nose for opportunities, from apparel technology to IT solutions to web solutions to being the biggest provider of ATMs in Bangladesh toWi-Fi and Cloud services and finally

WE Smart Solutions, the company has come a long way. Interestingly, the biggest industry in Bangladesh, garment manufacturing, is never far from the vision and all expansions have only helped the industry to become more efficient and better global players from managing uninterrupted email servers to ensuring fast connectivity and data management on ERP platforms.Even the latest ‘WE’ mobile is being seen as a means to stay connect with workers as the phone comes with free Wi-Fi facilities through Wi-Fi hotspots around the country,Cloud services for data storage and intranet connectivity to the 24 most popularly used site on theinternet that account for 75 per cent of traffic.The ‘WE’ mobile is a revolution that will bring even the poorest of Bangladeshis on to the net andupgrade their lives believes Farhad. “We are already doing trial runs at some factories and the chat groups will help the worker to communicate directly with the bosses. The effort is on to identify how to increase the user experience. It is our first B2C platform and we are very excited,” shares Farhad. Going global isa very exciting challenge as WE smart solutions has launched the first ever locally hosted Cloud storage and Cloud computing solution. “There is so much that can be done on the IT platform and we are aware of the pitfalls, so our people are always on their toes to keep ahead of technology and be in touch with the industry…, if the connect is there the power of ‘WE’ will surround all with success,” concludes Farhad.

ESSENTIALSGarment manufacturing is never far from the vision of the management at Aamra and all expansionshave only helped the industry to become more efficient and better global playersfrom managing uninterrupted email serversto ensuring fast connectivity and data management on ERP platforms.

AN IMPORTANT FACTOR THAT DIFFERENTIATES AAMRA FROM OTHER SOLUTION PROVIDERS IS THE LONG- TERM APPROACH TO BUSINESS. IT IS NOT ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY WE CAN EARN FROM A CUSTOMER TODAY, BUT ABOUT CREATING RELATION OF TRUST WHERE HE IS CONSTANT IN ALL OUR

VENTURES AND MARKETING BECOMES A BY-PRODUCT AND NOT THE MAIN THRUST OF THE BUSINESS,

“As of today, the majority of business is from the core apparel segment, but future growth will come from diversification into categories like lingerie and footwear, as well as volume migration of business from China.” – Frederic Verague, Managing Director – Bangladesh, Thailand & Myanmar (Coats)p52

he country already has 100TMorgan spreaders

installedat various factories, and moving forward the company is seriously thinking of opening a training centre in Bangladesh given the huge potential of the technology. The attractiveness of Morgan solutions lay in the huge reduction of manpower by an average 60 per cent which is very important today, as labour cost is rising year on year. On the side-lines of the event, Team Apparel Online caught up with the Managing Director of EastmanTechnocrafts Limited (sole agent for Morgan’s solutions in Bangladesh), Manik Lal Chowdhury and Country Manager of Morgan Tecnica, Prakhar, for a candid interaction.The duo gave a lowdown on various issues related to cutting room technology, need for automation, and about Morgan’s solutions for theBangladesh industry… Excerpts from the discussion:

AO: The market for cutting room solutions is big in Bangladesh and growing, how are you marketing yourself differently?

Prakhar: Though the industry is receptive, but they ought to understand first what are the kinds of solutions we have for them. Unlike other companies in the field, Morgan offers its solutions very differently. We take up each job as a turnkeyproject – taking care of everything, including total number ofpieces produced in a company. Automation is the need of the hour and we approach companies which need to be updated on why automation is necessary.This seminar is one of the efforts by us to build awareness, which will be followed by many such events to be organized by Morgan in association with Eastman in Bangladesh. In exhibitions, people

come to just see the products but when we call them in seminars, the focus is more on awareness building and introducing them to the various solutions provided by Morgan.The market has lot of potential and since last two years we are working very aggressively to capture more customers. Morgan already has a very good clientele base in Bangladesh and there are many who have gone in for repeat orders with us and we are also expecting many more repeat orders, which is indicative of thehuge market for automatic cutters and spreaders.

AO: Do the companies here ask for fully-integrated cutting room solutions or are they interested more in single machines?

Prakhar: It depends on what kind of volume one is doing.

Eastman Technocrafts Limited, in association with Morgan Tecnica– the Italy-based cutting room solution provider (automatic spreaders, spreading tables, labellers, automatic cutters, software for CAD, Cut Order Planning, PDM and Virtual Fitting) – recently organized a seminar titled‘Fashion Technology Event’ at Hotel Le Méridien, Dhaka,to introduce the existing clients with various new developments of the company while also trying to bring about awareness on the need of automation forthe Bangladesh RMG industry, the second largest garment exporter in the world.

MORGAN BRINGS MUCH MORE THANCUTTING ROOM SOLUTIONS TO BANGLADESH

Prakhar, Country Manager, Morgan Tecnica Manik Lal Chowdhury, Managing Director, Eastman Technocrafts Limited

For example, if you ask about groups like Fakir and Metro, they go for full solutions – right from the software, spreading machines, to conveyorized tables, cutters, spreaders, everything.Manik: Along with Fakir and Metro, there are many other upcoming factories like Pakiza Industries, Iris Industries, Mahmud Attires (a part of Rising Group which is foraying from woven to knits), besides another 10-12 more clients, who want the complete solution from us.The need of the industry today is services; buying a machine is easy but utilizing that optimally is the complicated part. I have seen many factories, where cutters installed by some ofour competitors are lying idle due to lack of training and services. In Morgan, we not only provide the solution, but rather customize it according to the need and requirements, followed by adequate trainingand full range of services. Using our technology one can not only minimize manpower requirement and improve efficiency but also reduce wastage significantly. Our cutting room solutions facilitate average saving of 2 per cent fabrics, which amounts to a huge quantity considering the capacity and volumes of most of the factories here.Morgan also has software for all requirements, which are also highly efficient, including the widely-used Cut Order Planning (COP) and Enterprise Information Portals (EIP) software forfabric sourcing.

AO: Apparel industry in Bangladesh is known for volumes. How does that reflect in their higher need for automation?

Prakhar: Of course, higher the number of garments produced, higher would be the need of manpower as well as rate of rejection. If garment

manufacturers go for automation they can actually save upon raw materials, reduce manpoweras well as enhance quality of garments. In my opinion, rejection of an apparel item starts atthe cutting level and not at the stitching point.AO: Are the companies, using

your machines, able to optimally utilize the benefits of your solutions, most relevant forthis industry?

Prakhar: Our machines are well- equipped and efficient but the industry lacks in skilled operators along with the production methods.This is where the companies need education. Keeping this in consideration, Morgan has started a training centre inBangalore (India) wherein garment manufacturers can send their teams so that we can train themon how to effectively utilize the machines and teach the correct production methods, depending upon the kind of applications they are using. To get optimumoutput, these two issues need to be addressed.We have recently opened a training centre in Honduras, and in the third phase we would think about Bangladesh.All our solutions are very useful – both the existing and the upcoming ones, including the 3D software, which would be unveiled shortlyby Morgan. Pin Table is another solution which is very much important for Bangladesh garment industry.

AO: Given the current market scenario, what kind of growth are you expecting in the coming days?

Prakhar: Manual cutting consumes a lot of space and automations – the only solution for garment manufacturers, challenged by space constraint. This is another reason why we feel there is a lot of scope for automats in this market, provided

the customers also show interest in implementing the same.Manik: As things are looking, I am sure our sales would increase more than 40 per cent by 2017.This is because there is a lot of demand for cutting room solutions. Though there are considerable numbers of players in this segment but none could guarantee performance as Morgan. Ours isa unique technology which takes care of all aspects of garment manufacturing – from sourcing, buying fabrics and accessories to management requirements. Lectra specialises on cutters, Gerber on software but Morgan is a complete solution provider.

AO: Since after-sales service is one of the major components in customer conversion, where does Morgan stand in this respect?

Prakhar: Service is the backbone of any company; this is one area where we cannot be complacent and work continuously for improvement. Asa solution and service provider, we have a robust after-sales service mechanism in place. Apart from our own staff, there are six service engineers from Eastman who are dedicated only for Morgan. They are shortly going to India to attend a technical seminar conducted by Morgan to teach service managers from the vendors’ side on various technical aspects to equip them to provide even better services in their respective markets.Manik: In addition, we have also hired a highly-qualified and experienced technical help from Sri Lanka, Janaka Udaya Kumar Perera. With more than 30 years’ experience, he has joined us as a Sales & TechnicalConsultant. Under him there would be 62 engineers to cater to the clients’ problems and queries. In Chittagong, we have another 22 engineers. So strong is our focus on after-sales that half of our total expenditure is actually used to beef up the technical team.

“In Morgan, we not only provide the solution, but rather customize it according to the need and requirements, followed byadequate training and full range of services. Usingour technology one can not only minimize manpower requirement and improveefficiency, but also reduce wastage significantly.”– Manik Lal Chowdhury, Managing Director,Eastman Technocrafts Limited

“We are implementing the Japanese concept of dyeing with design solutions of the West. By January next year we would be able to show you some innovations coming out of this new venture.” – Mohammad Jamal Abdun Naser, Director, Shasha Denims Ltd. p56

roducing denim fabricsP(weighing 4oz/yd2 –

15oz/yd2)Shasha Denims Limited (SDL), established in year 2000 at Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ), is a deemed exporter catering predominantly to the EU and Australian markets with annual fabric production capacity of 21.6 million yards that counts names such as H&M, Marks & Spencer, Zara, C&A, Cotton On, TargetAustralia, George, New Look, Tesco, Bestseller, Jack&Jones, Dressman, Gina Tricot, LPP, Kiabi, etc., amongst its clients.“Sustainability has become a necessity now as most of the buyers including H&M are looking for sustainable denim products, keeping with which we are focusing on cotton-free products like fabrics using hem, tencel, rayon. We also make organic denims using BCI cotton,”shares Mohammad Jamal Abdun Naser, Director, Shasha Denims Ltd.SDL’s range of organic denims is made from 100 per cent organic cotton, while spinning, dyeing and finishing of the yarn is carried out as per stringent ecological procedures. The company’s Modal® innovation comprises Lenzing Modal® (basic botanic principle of photosynthesis forms the basis of Modal® in which wood is used as the raw material) and TENCEL® (a natural functional fibre with particularly good moisture

absorption with skin-sensitive properties). Shasha Denim’s inherent strength lies in stretch fabrics (with more than 100 per cent extension) like Tencel stretch, Modal stretch, Recycled stretch, etc.“In dyeing we use machines with nitrogen system, which use 20- 30 per cent less water compared to the conventional procedures,”points out Naser, who believes true sustainability requires efforts from the buyers also. “Hence we tellour clients if you are talking about sustainability, offer sustainable price,” underlines the Director of SDL hinting at the need to strike the right balance between product and its price to ensure business viability.Going forward, Shasha is all set to launch a new range of Indigo, which Naser prefers to call where ‘West meets the East’. “We areimplementing the Japanese concept of dyeing with design solutions of the West. By January next year we would be able to show you some innovations coming out of this new venture,” adds Naser.Shasha, which uses computerized SLASHER DYEING technology and other state-of-the-art machineries from Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and USA in its vertically-integrated unit, is now coming up with a new plant in DEPZ extension area with top of the line technology to increase fabric production capacity by 9.6 million yards annually.

Nassa expanding capacities by sustainable development

Sustainability, the way forward for Shasha Denims

specialising in sustainable denim products with facilities and expertise to cater to the high-end global denim market is a major factor to propel demands for specialised fabrics, feels Shohel. Keeping the sustainability factor in perspective, Nassa group is overhauling its processes and systems substantially to offer sustainable denim fabrics. “We are committed to achievingthe highest possible standards of environmentally protective procedures. Safeguardingthe world is an inherent component of our sustainability programme…,” says Shohel.The group has put in place a stringent 3-year plan aimed at further improvingenvironmental measures, which include integration of Effluent Treatment Plants (ETP) with1.5 cusec capacity, designed to adhere to recommended World Bank guidelines; introduction of high-efficiency production machinery to reduce water consumption by 50 per cent; implementation of combined heat and power generation to reduce gas consumption by10 per cent and transition to the latest dyeing technology to further reduce waste and pollution ratios.

perating from itsO Kanchpur-based 28-

acretextile manufacturing complex in Dhaka, Nassa Group is one of the largest denim fabric manufacturers in Bangladesh with fabric production capacity of 1 million yards/month, setto touch 3 million yards by next year after expansion. It also manufactures readymadegarments from 34 factories with combined production space of1.1 million sq. feet, employing over 30,000 workers. Nassa’s turnover from RMG is US $ 300 million, while the turnover from textiles is US $ 600 million.“Our garment division is very big; we produce around 5 million pieces. Now, we are planning to expand fabric production capacity which would be basically for more value-added fabrics,” maintains Shohel Rana, Director – Marketing andMerchandising, Nassa Group, underlining Bangladesh’s emergence as a denim hub has drawn in buyers and brands from far and wide, whose stress on improved lead time, isleading to increased demand for local fabrics thereby opening new opportunities for the domestic fabric manufacturers.Specialising in indigo denims, Nassa also produces high- quality cotton and slub yarns, ring slub, rain slub, crossfire, Lycra in cotton, and other denim fabrics. “In denim, the stress now is more on stretch in different blends like cotton with polyester, viscose, wool, rayon, tencel, etc,” Shohel mentions, adding, “Though the requirement is still more for basic fabrics, the trend is sure to shift in favour of value-added fabrics in the coming days.”Increasing number of green factories in the country

Shohel Rana, Director – Marketing and Merchandising, Nassa Group

Mohammad Jamal Abdun Naser, Director, Shasha Denims Ltd.

efined as the number of garmentsDor parts being worked

uponduring production in the factory at any given time, Work In Progress (WIP)is a hazard well known to the apparel manufacturing fraternity. Expressed in days, it is most commonly measured by dividing the total WIP in pieces by the average production target for a day. “Most factories have zero control on WIP. We have been brought upwith the classic American concept of ‘Cut & Dump’ which advocates that once dumped on the floor, there will be pressure on the workers as they like to see a mountain of goods in and around him/her. Slowly the goods will keep on moving. This WIPbuild-up actually begins to hurt during style changeovers when continuously for 2 to 4 days the lines are running and the first piece is still not out,” shares Nimish Dave, Director,The IdeaSmith. The company has recently accomplished a WIPmanagement project at Indo-British Garments, popularly known as the uniform sourcing/manufacturing wing of security solutions provider G4S. When the project commenced, every workstation had 70 pcs., two days’ of WIP in the line and a changeover time of two days. Now, the WIP has been reduced to one day, the bundle size for every workstation to 10 days (the team is aiming at bringing this figure down

to 4 days and the style changeover time has been reduced to 1 to 3 hours.As popular notion has it, WIP would include fabric that has been spread, part sewn garments, through to finished garments, which may have been packed but not booked for finished goods warehouse. “There lies a fine line of distinction between inventory and WIP; while WIP is a form of inventory, all inventory is not WIP. Generally, partly finished(where work started but not finished) goods are referred to as WIP, restis inventory. Fabric rolls in fabric godown, trims and accessories in store and packed garments awaiting dispatch are called inventories, whereas fabric spread, cut parts

stock in cutting department, partly sewn garments at trolleys in the sewing floor, partly finished garments in finishing department can becalled WIP,” says Dr. Prabir Jana, NIFT Delhi. Another School of Thought suggests that even the fabric that lies in the warehouse, the trims in-house and the cartons of finished goods, should be considered as WIP.

Why WIP exists?There are primarily three reasons for maintaining WIP between any two sewing operators (for both PBU and UPS system):• To balance the unequal

SAM between two operations.

WIP MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES DECODED BY PRACTITIONERS

“The idea is to have just enough backlogs between two successive levels to insure against anybody waiting for work, and at the same time, have the minimum of WIP

between the two levels, necessary to accomplish such coordination.” – Jacob Solinger

As the famous adage goes, too much of Work In Progress (WIP) is as bad as too little of WIP. The hazards of high WIP levels include excess of working capital tied up in a resource that is not adding any value but rather demanding more storage space, equipment and housekeeping facility. When these high levels of inventory enter the production system, problems are created much before they are detected by roving or final QA, and thus increase the chance of defects and rework. Moreover, a false sense of security blankets the floor as problems are less obvious, and the need for solutions is less urgent. High WIP levels make it harder to find and quickly process an urgent order or size/colour selection through the production system. On the other hand, low WIP or WIP starvation will lead to idle machines and idle labour – a cost incurred by the minute. Team AOB analyses if there exists an ideal situation and solution…

Operators working on a bundle size of 4-5 pieces... Inventory levels should be determined by not asking ‘how much’ inventory is needed, but asking ‘why’ inventory is needed

“There lies a fine line of distinction betweeninventory and WIP; while WIP is a form of inventory, all inventory is not WIP…”– Dr. Prabir Jana, NIFT Delhi

• To cover absenteeism.• To cover machine breakdown.It can be deduced from the above factors that a factory with heavy absenteeism and very old machines will keep more WIP than a factory with lesser absenteeism and newer machines. Further, if the SAM of different operations in the style is closer to pitch time, then balanceefficiency will be higher and lesser WIP can be maintained between any two operations. The effect of above three factors can be minimized but the net effect will still remain, and hence the WIP. “The unpredictable reasons of WIP (absenteeism/machine breakdown, etc.) can be contributed to bufferingthe lack of information. As we don’t know how many persons will be absent tomorrow or which all machines will breakdown, and for how much time, we keep WIP,” avers Prabir Jana.

Optimum WIP levelThere is no magic formula to calculate optimum WIP level for a sewing line. Out of the three abovereasons for maintaining WIP, while the first reason is controllable and can be predicted and the WIP calculated, the last two reasons are unpredictable and the calculation is based only on historical data.For example, if SAM for operation ‘A’ is 0.8 min. and operation ‘B’ is0.9 min., then ‘A’ is going to produce 75 pieces per hour and operation

‘B’ will produce 66 pieces per hour. If ‘B’ is feeding ‘A’, then every hour there will be 9 pieces of shortfall and unless WIP is maintained between them, ‘A’ cannot work to its full potential. If we maintain around72 pieces of WIP in-between, then both operators can work to their full potential uninterruptedly for 8 hours (72 divided by 9 = 8).Ideal WIP levels for macro planning can be calculated by using Takt Time. “This methodology will also facilitate in switching from ‘push’ to ‘pull’ system. Once the planning is in line with the Takt Time, the unit produces what is needed, when it is needed, with the minimum amount of material, equipment, labour and space. Asa result, WIP is slashed, inventory is greatly reduced, and money that was earlier used to be tied up in inventory, now becomes available. Lowest WIP results from supplier integration for 5Rs – Right Quantity, Right Time, Right Quality, Right Information and Right Cost,” aversPisith Chooyong, a Thailand-based Lean Implementation Consultant. For example, if one PO = 5,000 pieces, and time from commencement of order processing to delivery date is 10 days, then production required per day is 5,000 divided by 10, i.e. 500 pieces per day. All the production efforts can now be orchestrated to meet this quantity.Hence, the key to answering the optimum WIP level conundrum rests in a statement

by Operations Management veteran Robert W Hall. He asserts that inventory levels are determined by not asking ‘how much’ inventory is needed, but asking ‘why’ inventoryis needed.

Journey to an optimum WIP levelMaking this journey effective, involves identifying where was WIP created for the first time in the value chain.This could be due to a multitude of reasons. It could be a cutting room with an excess capacity, anunderperforming or imbalanced sewing floor or an understaffed finishingfloor. These issues can be overcome by a capacity balancing exercise.On a micro level, say the area to be focused on is identified as sewing floor. The next step in line will be to assess the problem area on the ‘5Ms’ of efficiency – Manpower, Materials, Machines, Methods, and Metrics, followed by ‘5 Whys’ analyses. The process is continuous in nature, i.e. once one bottleneck has been resolved, the team must attack the next one in line. Following the Pareto Rule ensures effectiveness and a pointed approach to problem solving.

WIP management and style changeoverDuring a style changeover, the sewing line is one of the most crucial and intensive areas in terms of the

Carrying malignant amounts of WIP merely exposes the inefficiencies of the system. The key to maintaining optimum numbers lies in problem-solving acumen and robust machine maintenance

• To cover absenteeism.

• To cover machine breakdown.

ESSENTIALSThere are primarily three reasons for maintaining WIP between any two sewing operators (for both PBU and UPS system):• To balance the

unequal SAM between two operations.

coordination and execution efforts required. It is also the stage where bundles can potentially start clogging the system. If one glances through the best practices, no more than the line’s output is loaded onto the line. Once bundles start exiting the lines, an equivalent number is fed into theline. Exercising such a control ensures that at maximum a day’s WIP is inthe line. Similarly, the process can be simulated for other departments. However, there might be cases where some processes are to be outsourced which can increase the WIP levels.

WIP management assisted by real-time dataWhile a sizeable chunk of the industry is infamous for being run on a perpetual fire-fighting mode, there are thought leaders who very much understand that such practices will not create the enterprise of future.Sahu Exports is one such progressive exporter based in NCR, manufacturing high-fashion women’s and kids’ wear. The company has managed to bring the WIP levels down to one day in the cutting room and 60 pieces per sewing line. The average SMV of products manufactured at Sahu Exports is 25 minutes and the finishing is being done inline. “With just 2-3 pieces of WIPbetween workstations, we have brought down the throughput time to 4 hoursin our sewing lines and it is all runningsmooth,” reveals Pradeep Chaudhury, GM – Production, Sahu Exports.The throughput time is reviewed atany hourly rate. This ensures that any

problem that might be building up in the line is nipped in the bud. In case of a machine breakdown, if the machine can be repaired in 5 minutes, it is done inline or else the machine is replaced.The company is working with overhead hangers for material movement. Furthermore, the sewing workstations at Sahu Exports are equipped with ElixirCT’s Garnet– an RFID-enabled real-time data capturing and monitoring software. In a general scenario, where the lines are monitored through pen and paper, there is no fair arbitrator of the actual production and the actual performance of an operator. The WIPand line balancing is based on reports of data recorded earlier in the day and whatever can be visually judged as bottlenecks. “But with our RFID- enabled workstations, every swipeis recorded which is reflected in real time either on an LCD display or on a handheld tablet, while supervisingindividual workstations or standing at a workstation,” shares Raghav Wahi, Assistant Manager, ElixirCT. The card number of the RFID tag is the only data input, and using this, reports of line output, graphical representations of operational efficiency, sectional efficiency and WIP between workstations are generated by the software to highlight the areas or operations that demand attention of the supervisors, line in-charges, industrial engineers, etc. “Thedeliverables of such a system are quite simplistic. However, real-time data is not just about tracking production;it is about tracking with formidable accuracy,” asserts Raghav.

Venkatesh Murthy, BusinessHead – Development & Productionat Bangalore-based K Mohan & Company (Exports) PrivateLimited echoes the thought as few of the lines at K Mohan have the Eton System installed. The Eton Systems come with real-time data assessment abilities supported through an interface for the supervisor with software on android tablets. “We can easily program how many pieceswe want between two workstations. In case there is a bottleneck, the ETONnote sends an alert to the tablet and we do not really haveto wait for the clogging to become glaringly evident. Besides, the pieces sent for alteration, or pieces which sometimes are found beneath the trolleys lead to incorrect WIP figures, which is not a problem with Eton System, as we can track each and every piece on it,” shares Venkatesh. The line has been running with the Eton System since Day 1. The WIP between two workstations is limited to 3-4 pieces.

ConclusionIt is often suggested that a ‘healthy WIP’ safeguards a line against machine downtimes and other unforeseen vagaries. However such an explanation to carry malignant amounts of WIP merely exposes the inefficiencies of the system.The key to maintaining optimum numbers essentially lies in problem- solving acumen and robust machine maintenance. These WIP management principles hold equal significance across all production systems.

FACTSIt is often suggested that a ‘healthy WIP’ safeguards a line against machine downtimes and other unforeseen vagaries. However, such an explanation to carry malignant amounts of WIP merely exposesthe inefficiencies of the system. The key to maintaining optimum numbers essentially lies in problem-solving acumen and robust machine maintenance.

SINGLE PIECE FLOW WITH ZERO WIP IN APPAREL SEWING LINE CAN WORK ONLY WITH HIGHER MACHINE TO OPERATOR RATIO AND STAND-UP WORKSTATION, WHERE PIECES ARE MOVED FROM ONE OPERATOR’S HAND TO ANOTHER OPERATOR’S HAND AND ARE NOT TO BE KEPT BETWEEN WORKSTATIONS. IT IS ALSO A KNOWN FACT THAT A FACTORY CAN LIMIT THE WIP BETWEEN ANY TWO SEWING OPERATIONS WITHOUT STARVING THE BOTTLENECK OPERATOR. THE ONLY DRAWBACK OF LIMITING WIP IN A SEWING LINE IS THAT AN INDIVIDUAL

OPERATOR’S PRODUCTION WILL DECREASE AND THUS PAYMENT TO THE OPERATOR. DUE TO THIS, IT IS GENERALLY RESISTED BY OPERATORS.” – DR. PRABIR JANA, NIFT DELHI

ccording to National RetailAFederation’s earlier

predictions,the holiday season sales of November and December, excluding autos, gas and restaurant sales, would have increased a solid 3.6 per cent to US$ 655.8 billion, which is significantly higher than the 10 year average of2.5 per cent and above the seven-year average of 3.4 per cent since recovery began in 2009. “All of the fundamentals are in a good place, giving strengthto consumers and leading us to believe that this will be a very positive holiday season. This year hasn’t been perfect, starting with a long summer and unseasonably warm fall, but our forecast reflects the very realistic steady momentum of the economy and industry expectations,” revealed Matthew Shay, President and CEO, NRF when declaring the forecast.The overall non-store holiday sales in 2016 were expected to weigh in at US$ 112.35 billion. Also, in comparison to last year, retailers are expected to hire between 640,000 and 690,000seasonal workers this holiday season, in line with last year’s 675,000 new holiday positions.Another report from Deloitte was equally positive, projecting that the US retail holiday sales would exceed US$ 1 trillion, up 3.6 to 4 per cent over the same period in 2015, while online sales were projected to soar 17 to19 per cent to reach US $ 98 billion between the two months. According to the report, consumers have ramped up their spending this year on the backof a strong labour market and also slightly higher growth in disposable personal income. “While attention toward presidential elections may be a temporary distraction in the early part of the holiday shopping season, it should not have a negative impact on

sales, and retailers may benefit from a pickup in post-election consumer spending,” reveals the report.But it seems as the positive outlook has taken a blow, and contrary to NRF’s forecast, Mintel, a Market Intelligence company’s new research reveals that the holiday season of November and December 2016 will only see a rise of just 1.3 per cent over 2015 to US $ 692 billion, the slowest growth rate since 2006. Though providing an optimistic outlookfor growth the pace is nonetheless conservative. The scaled down predictions for increase in sales during the holiday season is due to consumer concerns regarding the outcome of the elections and the global economic situation.What was shaping up to be one of the most lucrative holiday sale season

(according to earlier forecast) since the 2008 financial crisis, looms in uncertainty again as consumer spending analysts are worried about the surprise victory of Trump derailing the earlier predictions. But, analysts believe that typically, the state of US economy impacts holiday shopping more than presidential elections and according to the US Census Bureau data, retail sales jumped 4.3 per cent during the holiday shopping season after George W. Bush beat Al Gorefor the White House (another shock victory), from US $ 413.8 billion in November 1999 and December 1999 to US $ 431.7 billion during the same two months in 2000. But by contrast holiday sales dropped by almost 8 per cent immediately after Barack Obama beat John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. But one has to consider that

TRUMP ’s SURPRISE V ICTOR Y LIKE LY TO A F F E C T C O N S U M P T I O N PATTERNS

All eyes are turned towards developments in America, post the victory of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States, followed by various protests and question marks on how the economy will react in the long run. In this scenario, the outlook for holiday season sales is garnering mixed reactions, and according to many retail experts the uncertainty is likely to impact the holiday season sales this year. And even though retailers have come out in large, with various marketing tactics and a horde of promotions for their annual year-end gains, it remains to be seen whether the holiday season sales will reach its earlier forecast of an increase this year?

Dilemma looms over holiday shopping sales

About 154 million US shoppers madepurchases at stores or on e-commerce sites during the annual barrage of Black Friday deals. And though it is encouraging for the retail industry that more consumers opened their wallets this time around, it wasn’t all good news, as average spending per person was down to US $ 289.19 from US $ 299.60 in 2015.

WORLD WRAP

this dip of US $ 592.9 billion in sales over November and December in 2007 to US $ 545.7 billion came during the time when the country was on the brink of the financial crisis. And in 2012, November and December retail sales hit US $ 641.5 billion as President Obama won a re-election bid against Republican Mitt Romney, which is up about 2.6 per cent from the US $ 625.5 billion retailers sold during the same two-month period the previous year.Greg Portell, lead partner in the retail practice of consulting firmAT Kearney, noted that realistically, any personal connection felt by consumers won’t be felt until January. Trump may have won the election, but he still hasn’t won the support and confidence of a significant portion of America. In his acceptance speech, Trump made clear he wants to unite the American people. But if Trump does not succeed in doing so, retailers can expect a “brutish” next four years, according to David French, Senior Vice President of Government Relations at NRF.Notwithstanding the circumstances, retailers have gone out fully with promotions and discounts. GapInc., Macy’s and Toys R Us are blasting email subscribers with deals ranging from 15 per cent to 40 per cent off and Wayne, NJ-based Toys R Us have also promoted a two-day ‘Big Brand Blitz’ sale. Apart from this various retailers are re-strategizingsuch as Walmart by staffing stores with

holiday helpers to assist shoppers find gifts and make purchases more quickly and also boasting selfie stations and toy demos to liven things up. Also, Target’s holiday strategies include new value propositions, like US $ 10 off US $ 50 purchases for a rotating set of categories in the weeks leading up to Christmas, as well as Wondershop, a store-within-a-store concept stocked up with 2,000 new seasonal items. Meanwhile, retailers like Kmart and Toys R Us are emphasizing deals and service with special offers focused on layaway and price matching, respectively.Though retailers have put their strategies in place but the early figures by retailers such as Barnes & Noble and Gap have not been very encouraging, both of these retailers blamed their recent poor sales performances on shoppersbeing too focused on the presidential elections. There is also some evidence that stores have delayed holiday advertising because it would be waste of money as the whole nation was engrossed in the elections and subsequently its result. While the holiday season sales predictions is being closely watched by the retailers, industry experts and analysts, one thing is for sure that stores will discount more heavily if they anticipate a slow holiday period and the discounts will be especially large late in the year, practically few days before Christmas, if the season doesn’t turn out as expected.

Consumers say that 47 per cent of their holiday shopping budget will go to online spending, and 47 per cent will go toward purchases inside physical stores, as per Deloitte’s report.

The Wall Street Journal reported in early October that most analysts anticipate a fairly strong holiday season, with spending up 3 per cent to 4 per cent compared with 2015.

PwC estimates that spending will rise 10 per cent compared with the 2015 season and that digital sale will be up 25 per cent.

FACTS According to Deloitte, 74 per cent of shoppers plan to shop

online this year as against 69 per cent in 2015, with Millennials driving online sales with 88 per cent planning to do half of their shopping online and 37 per cent looking to buy all their holiday gifts online.

Fast Retailing opens ‘Denim Innovation Centre’Fast Retailing, Japan-based apparel retail holding company and owners of Uniqlo, has announced the opening of its new ‘Denim Innovation Centre’ inLos Angeles, USA. The facility is devoted to denim research and development to support the company’s denim offering. The first project for specialists will be to research jeans for Uniqlo and J Brand. The products developed for both brands will launch in Fall 2017. The Denim Innovation Centre aims to bring together specialists to developjeans through innovative techniques and materials. The Centre can also be used by contracted producers as a Research Centre, which will increase the integrity of the finished product during actual production. In addition, the facility will focus on environment-friendly processing and production methods, conducting R&D on chemicals and techniques used for fading and distressing of jeans. By establishing the Centre in Los Angeles, which is considered the global hub for information on denim, Fast Retailing will be able to quickly incorporate the essence of current trends in its designs. Focusing on the ‘3Fs’ – Fabric, Fit and Finish – the key elements in making jeans the Centre will develop fabrics with the world’s leading fabric makers, as well as conduct R&D on the latest production technologies.Cotton Inc. celebrates 10 years of ‘Blue Jeans Go Green’ initiativeCotton Incorporated, the research and promotion company for cotton, celebrated ten years of their ‘Blue Jeans Go Green’ sustainability initiative at New York City, USA on 18th and 19th November with a pop-upexperience including an art and style gallery and several collaborations with designers from apparel brandslike DKNY, Juicy Couture, Vans, Urban Outfitters, Uber, Elizabeth Arden, and Patagonia, among others. The organization tapped several US-based artists to create custom denim-focused artwork for the anniversary. This pop-up experience will also act as a call out for consumers to bring in their used denim.Cotton Incorporated launched their ‘Blue Jeans Go Green’ denim recycling programme to collect denim from consumers and upcycle it into ‘UltraTouch Denim Insulation’, a type of housing insulation that they then donate to ‘Habitat for Humanity’ to use in home building for low-income recipients. The organization has currently partnered with Saks Off Fifth, GUESS, J.Crew, Madewell, and GAP to provide discounts to consumers who bring in denim for the programme.Cotton Incorporated created the denim recycling programme in 2006 to create awareness for cotton sustainability. Since then, retailers, colleges, organizations and individuals have collected over one million pieces of denim and diverted over 600 tonnes of textile waste from landfills.

DIRECTIONS BY

he catwalks of Milan and Paris round up thefinal trends for the coming spring season. JustTwhen we thought the whole "see now,

buy now"movement had started to make things seem a bit too commercial; Milan Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week proved that creativity still rules. As expected, designers were unapologetically maximal in their approach with shiny embellishments, fabrics and prints – slogans, logos, sequins, patchwork. The ’80s continued to pick up steam as the season’s biggesttrend in the form of bold, boxy blazers. But we also saw plenty of compelling new ideas – namely XL bags, tiny bags and waist cinchers. From statement sleeves to the key silhouettes, read up on the new-season trends that will shape wardrobes in 2017…

It was Studio 54 all over again on the Milan runways, where Dolce& Gabbana and Gucci’s Alessandro Michele sent out statement-making sequined looks that shimmered like disco balls under the lights. The former presented colourful sequins placedon cocktail dresses and the latter, went with the monotone approach of putting only golden sequin on their laidback looks consisting of trousers, slouchy shrugs and tops. The ’80s returned to the catwalk in Rodarte's show by way of standout dresses,Au Jour le Jour showed off the ombre effect on his dresses via green and silver sequins whereas, Marco de Vincenzo’s version was a sultry version in copper and green.

Shinysequin

Paris

and

Milan

S/S ’17 TRENDS…

Au Jour le Jour Gucci Dolce & Gabbana

Marco de Vincenzo

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Dolce & Gabbana

Moschino Dolce & Gabbana

Dior

Blo

Soniya Rykiel

Boolldd loggooss

The best way to carry out the military trend in the coming season is to introduce a hero separate to the collection that represents the trend.In Milan and Paris, designers sent out inventive riffs on traditional officers’ jackets, decorated withepaulets, gold buttons, and all sorts of embellishments. Dolce & Gabbana’s pieces were colour-blocked andstood out for their floral appliques, at Dsquared2 it was all about the exaggerated shoulders and cropped lengths, Roberto Cavalli presentedhis fitted jackets in true blue and they boasted of immaculate embroidery and fine details. Gucci went a step further by ditching the military jacket for a military coatdress with epaulettes running from the top to bottom.

Military jackets

Dsquared2 Gucci Roberto Cavalli

Moschino Dolce & Gabbana Dior

Soniya Rykiel

Dolce & Gabbana

The best way to pledge your allegiance to a brand is by wearing an item stamped with the label's logo. The Dolcee & Gabbana finale featured a stampede of models in D&G T-shirts pairedwith ornate miniskirts. Moschino did the same. We've seen the resurgence of the logo trend permeate designers’ collections for a few seasons now, and it’s clearly continuing through spring. However, Paris did it a little differently with slogans taking over the runway. A bag at Loewe proclaimed “See U Later” while dresses at Stella McCartney said “Thanks Girls”. Christian Dior used aT-shirt statement that was guaranteed likes; “We Should All Be Feminists”.Saint Laurent brought back its iconic YSL logo, seen on earrings and the heellss of stilettos. Slogans and visible brandingg are also back for the coming spring.

Nothing quite says of high-waisted tro top and tapered at offered casual roo to match the mon defined the waist a the ankle, Alexis M were similar in sha the bottom and wo for formalwear. norm at Stella McC where the former u the fabric at the w were as voluminous be, whereas, the latt tapered fit to the s to bottom, pairing white tank top.

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Marni MSGM

Alberta Ferretti

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sho

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Prada

Stella McCartney

Dior Chloe

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Alexis Mabille

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Nothing quite says ’80s chic like a pair of high-waisted trousers – relaxed on top and tapered at the bottom. Chloe offered casual roomy pants in black to match the monochrome tops that defined the waist and were cuffed at the ankle, Alexis Mabille’s trousers were similar in shape but extended till the bottom and would be a perfect fit for formalwear. Midi lengths were the norm at Stella McCartney and Dior,where the former used strings to cinch the fabric at the waist and the pants were as voluminous as they couldbe, whereas, the latter chose a more tapered fit to the silhouette from top to bottom, pairing it with a simple white tank top.

High-waist trousers

Marni MSGM Alberta Ferretti

PradaStella McCartney Dior Chloe

Alexis Mabille

‘Bigger is better’ was the message at most of the shows that drew focus to the shoulders. Balenciaga offered boxy blazer jackets, trench coats anddresses that saw shoulder proportions reach the max. Jackets in Milan had an’80s feel, with structured and pointed shoulders for an exaggerated and strong look. Marni’s monotone looks in languid silhouettes came with roomy sleeves, MSGM’s colourful trenchcoats also boasted of spacious sleeves. Alberta Ferretti reimagined the trend by sending out models in shirts with puffy sleeves and drawing more focus on the sleeves by making them one- shouldered, whereas Prada changed things up by attaching plumes onthe cuffs.

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