Diversified group Raymond hopes to end this fiscal on a flat note in terms of growth prospects as most of its businesses were hit in the first six months of the current fiscal by pandemic-related disruptions. The group went through a very tough phase during the last six months as all stores remained closed due to the pandemic, resulting in zero growth this fiscal.

However, Raymond has already achieved pre-COVID-19 sales numbers in some of the business segments and even more in some other verticals. However, it expects its textile and apparel businesses to take longer time to recover. The company hopes to benefit from the recent trend change from formal dressing to causal as working from home is catching up under the new normal post pandemic. Its own portfolio has changed dramatically from the last 10 years when it only made worsted fabrics for suiting.

The group is also expanding digitization in retail and adopting omnichannel approach. However, it will continue to expand retail presence targeting the Tier III, IV and V markets besides the key cities.

Clothing brand Indian Terrain has partnered with Fairtrade India to launch a sustainable fashion line and produce over 50 per cent of its entire portfolio from sustainable sources.

As per a Fashion Network report, the brand intends to increase its use sustainable materials in its garment production including fair-trade cotton, recycled cotton, and recycled polyester as well as natural fibers including bamboo and hemp. Over the coming three years, the brand aims to continue to increase its sustainable production to make over half of its products eco-friendly and consciously sourced.

Indian Terrain opened its first retail outlet in the year 2000. The brand currently retails from over 700 multi-brand outlets, 130 large format stores, and 98 exclusive brand outlets, according to its Facebook page. The brand also retails its line of casual wear through numerous sellers online.

Mumbai-based Luxury Fashion House, Purple Style Labs (PSL) will acquire the late fashion designer Wendell Rodricks resort wear label for an undisclosed amount. The label was launched his label in 1989.

In February, internationally-acclaimed fashion designer Wendell Rodricks had passed away in Goa at the age of 59. Along with pioneering the idea of resort wear, Rodricks also advocated eco-friendly fashion and was known to have revived Kunbi - the traditional saree of Goa.

Schulen Fernandes, who started her career with Wendell and rejoined him in 2016 as the Design Head would continue in the same role for the brand.

PSL later acquired Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop, a multi-designer E-commerce platform and subsequently converted into an omnichannel brand by launching concept stores Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Hyderabad. Last year, the company had also opened its first overseas store in Mayfair, London.

Sandeep Chugh, Managing Director and Benetton, plans to introduce an online channel in the near future to leverage an omni-channel strategy. The brand has a successful buying and order campaign running with technology integration, enabling a very close preview of products online, ordering process, coupled with sending swatch-cards physically to partners, to address the touch-and-feel aspect. When operations were hit by COVID-19, Benetton decided not to dilute prices but stay true to its premium image. Also it decided to go all out to display full wares. It has a 4,800 sq ft store in New Delhi offering a premium elevated brand experience. It will continue to be a brick-and-mortar focused brand, given its wide presence across the country.

Chugh says, Bennetton’s multi-channel sourcing and manufacturing process did not get affected by the growing anti-China sentiment in the country. The company witnessed a spike in both comfort wear and sportswear. Though it witnessed a spike in kid’s wear post lifting of lockdown; now all categories have picked up substantially. Denims have become one of the best sellers in the past few months with the company increasing its offerings in lounge knit denims at higher price points.

Designer Suneet Varma will showcase a digital collection for the first time at the Fashion Design Council of India’s online India Couture Week with Archana Aggarwal jewellery on September 18.

On day one of the India Couture Week, Varma will showcase his latest women’s couture collection. The showcase will feature jewellery by Archana Aggarwal and, in lieu of a traditional runway show, present the designs with a video showcase.

This collection is very much a part of the Suneet Varma DNA, but this time the designer has stepped it ahead Varma is know for his intricately embellished sarees and lehengas, use of rich hues, and opulent aesthetics.

The FDCI took the decision to hold India Couture Week online this season due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The fashion week will also feature designers including Gaurav Gupta, JJ Valaya, Anju Modi, Manish Malhotra, and Dolly J among others.

Ashwin Sheth Group has launched its Viviana brand in Nagpur in a joint venture with Nagpur-based Sethi Group. The real estate companies have entered into an agreement to develop 1 million sq ft. of Viviana Nagpur at city’s upmarket southwestern region near Pratap Nagar.

This will be the largest retail space in Nagpur and it will be in the neighborhood of the affluent areas of Ramdaspeth, Dharampeth, Dhantoli, Pratap Nagar, Shivaji Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, etc. It would cater to the brand-aware shoppers with various options. On the other hand, it will also provide a few thousand direct and indirect employment opportunities for the local populace.

The entire project involves an investment of Rs 650 crore, which includes the land’s valuation and construction cost. A Memorandum of Understanding has been inked between both the real estate groups and a formal agreement is expected to be signed in a month.

The land parcel is owned by Sethi Group on which other than various retail sub-segments, there will also be substantial space dedicated for entertainment and food & beverage sections as it is located in an upmarket commercial street in the western region of Nagpur.

As per a report by the Hindu, Coimbatore-based KPR Mill plans to invest Rs 250 crore this financial year to set up a new garment production facility.

The plant will produce 42 million pieces of garments a year and will take the total garment production capacity of the company to 157 million pieces a year. The additional capacity produced by the plant will be exported to new and existing customers. The plant will commission production in the first quarter of the next financial year.

Earlier, the company had planned to expand its facility in Ethiopia too. However, it finally decided to concentrate only on India. It will ramp up the capacity of its new plant gradually.

There was a lot of panic and fear in the market in March-April because of the spread of COVID-19. The market started picking up in August and the company has been registering good demand for its products since.

Garment factories in Tamil Nadu have launched a collective project ‘Factory support program’ for continuous improvement of labor conditions in the state, reports Apparel Resources.

Launched with the support of Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Garments and Textile, various, the project will run for 3 years. It will improve working conditions in the factories like tackling various social themes, discrimination & gender, child labour, forced labour, freedom of association, living wage and health & safety in the workplace.

The project has seven signatories of the agreement working with their suppliers, Arisa, Mondiaal FNV and local NGO SAVE, Euretco, Fabienne Chapot, HEMA, O’Neill, Prénatal, The Sting and WE Fashion.

The Dutch Fund for Responsible Business (FVO) will help to finance the initiative. The project focuses on improving the participating companies’ business processes and on supporting the local workforce. The project partners will map the supply chain beyond the locations where garments are assembled, get to work improving purchasing and other practices, and draw up policies emphasising international responsible business conduct.

Flipkart's independent value-driven platform, 2GUD has launched '2GUD Local' aimed at extending the benefits of e-commerce to traditional retail businesses. The new format will offer offline stores, brands and shopping destinations an opportunity to unlock the benefits of technology and the social commerce hybrid retail model to reach millions of pan-India consumers, a statement said.

2GUD Local will enable local stores (single brand or multi-brand stores and other shopping destinations) and retailers to expand their digital footprint to connect more effectively with their consumers, it added.

2GUD Local has started with KLM Fashion Mall in Bengaluru. Launched in 2017, KLM Fashion Mall has expanded its reach through 17 showrooms in the last three years.

Through long-format videos shot within store premises by influencers, coupled with engaging narratives and conversations, 2GUD Local partner stores will be able to showcase their latest products and collections and offer them to online users, the statement said.

2GUD Local will assist stores in areas including cataloguing, consumer fulfilment, advertising, and marketing.

This engagement will provide retailers with an additional channel for sales and access to new geographies for consumer acquisition.