Analyses

If one were to contract the value chain of the global textiles-apparel-fashion industry—for the sake of convenience and debate, the fate of much of the industry would depend considerably on the way fabrics are manufactured and traded. And, if one were to look at the big picture, it would be all about trade. Sure, the global fabrics trade has seen a swathe of changes in this millennium, but the very nature of trade is such that it is fluid. Trade wars and geo-political make it unpredictable. So...

Right from the summer of 2018 when the draft ecommerce policy was being debated by stakeholders and experts, it was almost a given that the Indian government would sooner or later make that much-needed distinction between online marketplaces and inventory-based platforms. Yet, the modified rules for foreign direct investment (FDI) in ecommerce that were announced by the ministry of commerce & industry on December 26, 2018 took many by surprise. Most had expected any such rule / guideline to be...

In mid-November came the heartening news that textiles and apparel exports had jumped—by as much as an impressive 38 per cent in October because of higher overseas demand. According to the ministry of commerce and industry, textiles and apparel exports had reached Rs 203.53 billion for October 2018 as against Rs 147.79 billion in the corresponding month last year. Textiles exports increased by 28 per cent, and that of apparel rose by 54 per cent that month. Sounded like good news. The reasons...

A year-and-half after demonetisation and twelve months after the rollout of the goods and services tax (GST), it is a nebulous state of affairs in the bustling textiles hub of Surat. Precise and reliable numbers are hard to come by, but those that are being bandied around are bleary indicators in themselves. All that one is left to go by are estimates (some random, some well-calculated), and these estimates vary widely depending on who one is talking to. In many ways, it resembles a conflict...

Only a year back, the e-commerce landscape was dominated by two players: Amazon and Flipkart. With the acquisition of Myntra and Jabong by Flipkart, it would have appeared as though a process of consolidation had set in, and that the years to come would see the two in a no-holds-barred fight. Now, with the buying of Flipkart by American retail giant Walmart in May, things have changed in a way, and yet in many ways they remain the same. It would still remain a war between two big players, only...

There are—few would contest—many aspects of the textiles-apparel-fashion business where technology holds sway. Still fewer would disagree it is the printing one that is decidedly the most colourful of them all. And when it becomes a question of what’s the latest in printing, the FESPA Global Expo is the one to visit for updating oneself on the trendiest in technologies and machineries. The annual congregation where manufacturers and suppliers from the world of print engage with those from the...

Five years is often not enough to gauge the impact of any movement. But in this case, the early signs of change are there for all to see. The Fashion Revolution movement, that first coalesced as an emotive idea and then gathered revolutionary zeal worldwide in the aftermath of the 2013 Rana Plaza tragedy that resulted in the death of over 1,000 workers, observed the fifth Fashion Revolution Week from April 23 to 29 this year. The week kicked off with the launch of the 2018 Fashion Transparency...

The ongoing hostilities between the United States (US) and China can upset existing equations and force new alignments in the global textiles and apparel industry. Assuming, of course, both countries stick to their guns till the end of May when the new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese imports set in, and the counter-tariffs of China come into play. Till then, the global textiles and apparel industry would have little to do but wait and watch the game of who-blinks-first...

It had been coming for a while. And when the Union government announced that India would now be open to 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail through the automatic route from the forthcoming fiscal year 2018–19, it was a prelude to the Prime Minister’s interactions with chief executives of top multinational companies at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Among other things, Narendra Modi was expressly there to woo investors. FDI: At a...

The Rana Plaza disaster of 2013 has been cited so often when talking about the state of Bangladesh’s garment industry, that it has almost become a cliché. It has also, for the same reason, remained a blot on the industry—one that refused to go away. But four years since the global textiles-apparel-fashion industry was shook to its very core, things are probably beginning to look up, and the bloody stains of 2013 that resulted in the official death toll of 1,134 is slowly starting to fade into...