Bridal shopping fair The WedLux Show by Araaz Shows on July 10 will feature 30 womenswear, jewelry and accessories. The event will be held on July 10 at the Hotel Worli’s Four Seasons in Mumbai, reports Fashion Network.

A range of bridge-to-luxury bridal wear brands will present their latest collections for the upcoming wedding season at the show. The shopping fair will be held in partnership with Indian actress and singer Padmini Kolhapure and will follow the necessary social distancing regulations.

After having to pause its events schedule due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns across India, Araaz has restarted its events schedule. The backlog of weddings due to recent lockdowns is expected to create demand for bridal wear, despite the ongoing threat of coronavirus and the financial hardships caused by lockdowns.

The business also recently held the Indian Wedding Expo on July 4 at the JW Marriot Hotel in Juhu, Mumbai. The shopping fair featured 60 luxury and bridge-to-luxury brands including Ams Studio, Kavitta Sangghvi, Charlotte Britto, Jewelz by Anuradha, Padmasitaa, Archana Kochhar, Embellish by Bhakti Vora, Sanaa Couture, Jaiminis Jewellery Surat, and Lucknovi Kurties, etc

Through its Prime Day sale, Amazon will continue to support the recovery of millions of small and medium businesses (SMBs) from second COVID-19 wave. The event will be held from July 26-27 and will deliver deals and savings across categories, including smartphones, consumer electronics, TVs, appliances, etc. It will also include Amazon devices, fashion and beauty products, home and kitchen, furniture, everyday essentials and more to Prime members, along with new launches, entertainment benefits and much more.

Prime members can shop from millions of unique products offered by SMBs and avail offers. SMBs across the country witnessed great success during the last edition of Prime Day in India.

Over 91,000 sellers from over 5,900 pin codes saw success during Prime Day 2020; more than 62,000 were from non-metro and tier 2/3 cities across India and 31,000 sellers witnessed their highest sales.

Prime is enjoyed by more than 200 million Prime members in 22 countries including India.

Leading fashion brand Madame has launched a new Tom & Jerry inspired collection. As per APN News, the collection has been launched in collaboration with Warner Bros. It is an ode to the hilarious cat and mouse ‘frenemies’, and showcases a selection of edgy graphic tees and denim pieces featuring the timeless cartoons.

Madame’s Tom & Jerry collection is a visual representation of 90’s nostalgia, featuring a collection of striking, edgy graphic tees and denim fashion pieces featuring the two of the most timelessly playful cartoon characters to ever exist.

This iconic fashion range consists of a wide variety of casual pieces such as tees, jackets, shorts, dresses and jumpsuits – a complete range for the modern, whimsical woman who fancies a touch of mischief inspired by her childhood.

This collection aims at seamlessly reintroducing the iconic trends of puffed sleeves and elasticated hems into modern everyday wear to create a look that is effortlessly trendy and sits perfectly between the past and the present. The color palette of this range is derived by subtle, classic winter hues such as dusty pink, cream and mauve.The collection retails for Rs. 1,199 to Rs. 2,999, making it accessible to women with any budget, low or high.

10th July 2021, Mumbai.

Nissan Joseph has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer by footwear retailer Metro Brands with effective from July 1, 2021. He will be responsible for the company’s retail, brand, and expansion, reports Fashion Network. Joseph has over 20 years of experience in the footwear market with key roles at Crocs, Payless Shoes, and Hickory Brands among others.

He was earlier employed with Philippines-based MAP Active & Planet Sports Inc, a lifestyle retailer in Southeast Asia, where he was the CEO since March 2020.

He will report to the company’s founding members Managing Director Farah Malik Bhanji, and Chairman Rafique A Malik.

With this appointment. Metro aims to further strengthen its foothold in the footwear market and expects Joseph’s extensive experience to help scale in the Indian footwear market.

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The Mumbai-based company has a network of 586 stores, across over 130 cities. It houses brands like Metro Shoes, Mochi, Walkway, Davinchi and operates retail stores for Crocs.

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Zodiac has introduced an exclusive 5-piece mask set with a carry pouch that has been crafted from the finest Egyptian Giza 86 long-staple fiber cultivated in the fertile region on the delta of the river Nile.

This grade of fiber produces a silkier, glossier and extremely lightweight cotton fabric that has been woven in a fine 60’s count making the fabric permeable and offering easy breathability. This GIZA 86 fabric is then given a ‘Silk Protein Finish’ which makes the masks very soft on the skin. The double fabric layer construction offers base level safety and the masks are washable up to 30 times. Available in elegant checks and stripes, these are the stylish gentleman’s perfect accessory for dressing up in the new normal. This 5-piece mask set is priced at Rs.1,499/-

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Major apparel retail companies in India are currently in the process of restructuring their boards. As per Apparel Resources, Raymond India is in a process of appointing a new CEO as Joe Kuruvilla, current CEO, Lifestyle Business, has decided to quit from the company after eight months of joining due to personal reasons. Meanwhile Ganeshkumar S will continue as the COO of the Lifestyle Business of the company.

Snapdeal, a leading e-commerce company, has appointed former Walmart executive Saurabh Bansal as its Chief Merchandising Officer. Bansal will be responsible for the entire category management, including merchandise and assortment planning. He will also lead the management of the entire seller ecosystem, including seller excellence initiatives.

In other development, Shantanu, Senior Director, Marketing and Ecommerce, Uniqlo India has quit the apparel retailer and joined Kapiva as a COO. Kapiva is a modern Ayurvedic nutrition brand.

10th July 2021, Mumbai:

The quick rebound in demand for its jeans, tops and jackets have encouraged Levi Strauss & Co to forecast a strong full-year profit. The company has been witnessing an increased demand for its loose-fitting jeans and street clothes as customers start refreshing their wardrobes following months-long lockdowns and COVID-19-related restrictions.

Levi is also benefiting from its collaborations with a slew of brands, including Valentino, and its push toward direct-to-consumer sales that largely helped boost its adjusted gross margin by 670 basis points to 58.2 per cent in the second quarter.

Lower promotions, price increases and sourcing savings also helped the company boost profit margins.

The Denizen and Dockers brands' owner forecast fiscal 2021 per-share profit between $1.29 and $1.33, above estimates of $1.15. It also forecast second-half revenue to be above 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

Net revenue more than doubled to $1.28 billion in the second quarter ended May 30, beating Refinitive IBES estimates of $1.21 billion. Excluding items, Levi earned 23 cents per share, versus estimates of 9 cents.

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The Supreme Court will hear Amazon’s plea against the Delhi High Court verdict on July 20. The verdict had stayed the directive by its single-judge and paved the way for the multi-billion dollar deal to amalgamate Future Retail (FRL) with Reliance Retail.

On February 22, the top court had asked the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) not to pass the final order on the amalgamation.

Amazon moved the top court against the order of the Delhi High Court division bench which paved the way for the Reliance-FRL deal.

On February 8, the division bench had stayed the single judge direction to FRL and various statutory authorities to maintain status quo on the mega deal.

The interim direction was passed on FRL's appeal challenging the February 2 order of the single judge.

The high court division bench had also declined Amazon's request to keep its order in abeyance for a week so that it can explore appropriate remedies.

In August last year, the Future group had reached an agreement to sell its retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing units to Reliance.

Subsequently, Amazon took FRL into an emergency arbitration before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) over an alleged breach of contract by the Future group.

Amazon had first filed a plea before the high court (single judge) for enforcement of the October 25, 2020 Emergency Arbitrator (EA) award by SIAC restraining FRL from going ahead with its Rs 24,713 crore deal with Reliance Retail.

The country's largest association of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), India SME Forum has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to relook at the growing compliance burden for ecommerce in the proposed amendments to ecommerce regulations.

Having over 86,000 members from about 270 different industries, the association has pleaded the PM to save the MSME sector from negative trickle down impact of the proposed measures.

The new amendments proposed in the Consumer Protection (ecommerce) Rules 2020 will be counterproductive for the growth of the ecommerce sector overall and the MSMEs dependent on the ecommerce sector, it says.

Almost 70 per cent of the association’s members are engaged in selling products online with majority of them involved in B2B or business-to-business dealings while about 30 per cent of them sell their products directly to consumers through various marketplaces.

The consumer affairs ministry had on June 21 unveiled the draft proposal aimed at further tightening rules for ecommerce marketplaces, including barring entities affiliated to those marketplaces from selling on the platforms and restricting flash sales. The bill also seeks to strengthen consumer protections.

10th July 2021, Mumbai:

Tata CLiQ Luxury’s first virtual conclave, ‘The Luxe Life’, will be held from July 16-18, 2021. The event will be held in association with the American Express. It will host 24 industry stalwarts who will share global and local perspectives on movements that drive luxury with a purpose.

A series of narrations by leaders such as Aditi Rao Hydari, Bibu Mohapatra, Jim Sarbh, Sabyasachi and Tan France will focus on the confluence of fashion, accessories, beauty, and watch-making.

Spread over three days, the conclave will feature an ensemble of internationally recognized tastemakers who will charm audiences through innovative and engaging formats.

The first day will focus on the factors driving the growth of Indian luxury sector while the second day will look into holistic wellness and fostering conscious consumption.

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The event will close with a celebration of inclusive fashion and craftsmanship on Day 3. It will be hosted on the Tata CLiQ Luxury App and website.

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India’s apparel imports declined by 24 per cent to $881.08 million during FY’21 AS compared to $1.14 billion in FY’20, shows data on the Ministry of Commerce and Industry portal.

The data confirms to CMAI’s Mega Survey findings that estimated the domestic apparel retail industry shrank by around 20 per cent in FY ’21 with a total loss of Rs. 150,000 crore ($20.83 billion).

As per an Apparel Resources report, Of the total imports, the imports of knitted clothing valued fell by 21.05 per cent to $392.81 million while woven clothing import declined ng by 24.52 per cent valued US $ 488.27 million.

Though China remained the top import destination with imports worth $317.55 million coming from China, volume of imports from China declined by around 36 per cent.

In FY ’20, China constituted around 43 per cent of India’s total apparel import values which fell to 36 per cent in FY ’21 with most of these orders diverted to Bangladesh.

During the year, India’s sourcing from Bangladesh increased by 16.72 per cent to $ 272.60 million, while Spain shipped $76.49 million worth of garments to the Indian buyers.

As per a new report by brokerage firm Anand Rathi, rise in clothing sales, especially innerwear has encouraged brands to add more retail stores across the country. Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail plans to add more 300-400 Lifestyle stores in the current financial year, extending the access of retail stores to more consumers in the country. By the end of FY21, Lifestyle had 2,379 stores in India. While the retail outlet added 383 new stores during the year, it also shut down 247 unavailable stores.

Pantaloons is planning to set up 60 more retail stores. As of now, Pantaloons is catering the clothing demand of people from 346 stores. Similarly, TCNS Clothing will also be adding 60 additional stores along with VMart expected to bring in 40 more retail stores in FY22.

More people shopped for new apparels, innerwear and footwear in 2021 than last year. During the last quarter of FY21, apparel stores witnessed almost 100 per cent recovery. Retailers saw near normal consumer behavior during January- March this year; fresh merchandise was also launched by the brands during the three-month period.

Not just apparel retailers but recovery was also seen for footwear brands. Footwear companies like Relaxo and Khadim witnessed a shift of consumers to opt for value-for-money footwear. The demand among people to buy new footwear also returned to normal during the January-March period, but this was also disrupted by the Covid-19 second wave lockdowns.