01 February 2023, Mumbai

Ananya Birla and Aryaman Vikram Birla are on the board of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL).

Their nuanced understanding of new-age business models and emerging shifts in consumer behaviour is expected to infuse fresh energy into the board of the company.

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) has a bouquet of leading fashion brands and retail formats. Founded in 1997, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail is an Indian fashion retail company based in Mumbai.

The company has a network of 3,468 stores, 28,585 multi-brand outlets with 6,515 points of sales in department stores across India.

Over the years, the group has brought many global brands to India including The Collective, Ralph Lauren, Hackett London, Simon Carter, Ted Baker, Fred Perry, Forever 21, American Eagle, and Reebok.

As on March 31, 2022, Aditya Birla had a retail space of 9.2 million sq. ft. while generating revenue of Rs 8,136 crores.

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30 January 2023, Mumbai

Demand for athleisure and casual clothing is growing in India.

Athleisure is now well ingrained in people’s everyday wear. With more and more brands focusing on inclusive sizes, any-wear and all-day stylized comfort wear, this segment is poised to grow further. Athleisure as a category (apparel and accessories) has witnessed a steady growth in demand from customers including from metros as well as Tier II cities and beyond, with an increasing focus and enthusiasm for fitness particularly since the pandemic.

The growth of athleisure for women is faster than for men. Leading brands are betting big on women’s athleisure and getting a lot of colour and print elements incorporated in their assortment. Consumers are finding more comfort in casual wear and also mixing day-to-day pieces with formal clothing.

Casualization as a trend within apparel will continue to remain strong. There is a strong demand for casual wear, despite an increase in demand for wedding wear and festive clothing.The pandemic also took away the dominance of formal clothing as consumers swapped office shirts with causal T-shirts and joggers to stay at home for extended periods. Even prior to the pandemic, athleisure clothing such as leggings, tights, sweatpants, sneakers, hoodies, and jackets was established in popularity. Covid further accelerated the trend.

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 27 January 2023, Mumbai

The spinning industry in Ludhiana is tense about the demand for polyester spun yarn being hit by duty-free imports of cheaper products from ASEAN countries, mainly Indonesia and Vietnam.

Spinning mills of Ludhiana and other areas of Punjab are the largest producers of polyester spun yarn in India. It is the most commonly used yarn in the region. Businessmen want the Center to take corrective measures like imposing anti-dumping duty on imports of polyester spun yarn to save the spinning industry and feel that the free trade agreement with Asean countries has facilitated a phenomenal rise in imports of polyester spun yarn, which has caused huge losses to the industry.

They want an anti-dumping duty to be imposed on polyester spun yarn originating in or imported into the country from ASEAN countries under the free trade agreement.

The spinning industry wants to be provided a level playing field as due to the exemption of duties to exporters based in ASEAN countries, the cost of their products is cheaper than that of the local industry. During the last five years, especially, this problem has gone from bad to worse as a huge percentage of sales of locally made polyester spun yarn has been grabbed by imported polyester spun yarn due to the rate difference.

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 01 February 2023, Mumbai

Biba has opened a 5,000 sqft store in Raipur. The store retails Biba’s full selection of women’s and girls’ ready-to-wear clothing along with its accessories lines, footwear collections, loungewear, and festive sets, among others. The three-storey store also houses garments by Biba’s affordable sister brand Rangriti, which specialises in ethnic wear.

Biba was established in 1986 as a women’s ready-to-wear brand and now retails a wide range of ethnic, fusion, and casual wear as well as girls’ wear, accessories, and homeware items, among others.

Biba has a massive store expansion program. About 20 per cent of the brand’s stores are franchise-owned. The business retails from its brick-and-mortar store network across India as well as its dedicated e-commerce store and several international stores including in Nepal and Japan.

New launches by Biba include its Weddings by Biba line designed for the spring wedding season. The collection is made with Liva Fluid Fabric, a natural origin textile designed to be sustainable. Along with classic kurtas in bright hues, the collection also offers more fusion and casual style ensembles such as jumpsuits and maxi-dresses. The brand has also launched a new footwear line featuring juttis and sandals designed to be suitable for wedding wear ensembles.

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 27 January 2023, Mumbai

Techtextil will be held in Mumbai, from September 12 to 14, 2023.

This is a trade fair for technical textiles, non-wovens, fibers, yarns, and machinery. With almost eight months to go, the three-day business event has received an overwhelming response from various companies who will be seen showcasing their latest solutions and products for key application areas.

The last edition of Techtextil India in November 2021 emerged as a crucial meeting place for technical textile players.

Even though the show happened to be the first post-lockdown edition it garnered an attendance of 4,087 visitors due to the live demonstration of the latest products and technologies from over 150 technical textile brands.

The aim was to present a strong showcase of technical textile technologies crucial for the development of India across industries such as healthcare, agriculture, construction, infrastructure, sports, apparel, etc.

Covering the most demanding application areas, the trade fair attracted buyers from the fields of agriculture, automotive, building, clothing and protective clothing, environmental protection, geo-technology, housing and home, medical science, packaging, and sports, among others. The Indian market for technical textiles is growing at a CAGR of 12 per cent, three times faster than the global growth rate, indicating strong export opportunities.

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01 February 2023, Mumbai

The 76th National Garment Fair of CMAI was inaugurated on January 30 by Chandrakant (Dada) Patil, Minister of Higher & Technical Education and Textile Industry in Maharashtra."The Maharashtra government will soon announce its new textile policy and is planning to set up a garment trading hub in Mumbai, similar to China's Guangzhou and Turkey's Istanbul", said the Minister while addressing the event.

The Minister added, "The government is considering allotting a slum area, where part of the area will be used for SRA development, and the rest will be given to the garment industry to set up the international garment trading hub."

"The present textile policy of Maharashtra, which has been in effect from 2018 to 2023, is expiring on March 30, 2023. A committee of 30 stakeholders, including two representatives of CMAI, Ankur Gadia and Dinesh Nandu, has been appointed and has recommended extending the present textile policy for three more months," the Minister explained.

"The committee will submit its final report by the end of March 2023, and based on these recommendations, the Maharashtra government will form its new textile policy."

During the media interactions, Rajesh Masand, President of CMAI, announced new initiatives as the organization marks its 60th year of establishment. "We are organizing a fair for North India in May, and we will also organize a standalone trade show in Dubai in November 2023."

The ongoing fair is the biggest Spring Summer fair, with more than 950 booths and over 1000 brands on display.

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The hosiery and textile industry in Ludhiana is perturbed over the imports of cloth, machinery and finished products from other countries like Bangladesh and China in the Indian market.

It wants steps to be taken to control imports and confer benefits on the local industries. Hosiery manufacturers say imported products have gained dominance in the Indian market and that no steps have been taken to regulate this flow of imports of under-billed products.

The weak demand for clothes for the cold weather forced the hosiery industry to offer discounts in early December to attract customers at retail counters and clear the stock. Otherwise, big brands in the hosiery sector start offering discounts only in the last week of December or the first week of January. October, November and December are the key months for Ludhiana's hosiery sector.

Key markets for the hosiery industry are Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, and some north eastern states. The industry is famous for winter garments like jackets, sweaters, thermals, cardigans, pullovers, inner wear, shawls etc. But there has been a very low demand for garments in this season from wholesalers and retailers. They placed orders only once and have not come back for placing orders for a second or third time.

 27 January 2023, Mumbai

Shahi Exports has put people and the planet at the forefront of its business strategy.

Sustainability has remained a key pillar of its success over the years. Shahi is an Indian apparel manufacturer and exporter. Regarding energy and emissions, the company has a target of achieving renewable electricity of 100 per cent by the fiscal year 2026, which is currently 68 per cent, while for carbon-neutral energy, the aim is 50 per cent by the fiscal year 2026 (currently 35 per cent).

With regard to recycled water used in garment processing factories, the target is 85 per cent by the fiscal year 2024 (currently 80 per cent).

At present, recycled water used in textile processing mills is 68 per cent. In the fiscal year, 2021 1,500 kg of virgin polybags were replaced with recycled polybags and Shahi is expanding this initiative further.

As for employees, 69 per cent of permanent employees are women and 46 per cent of women are in supervisory roles. It also has 80 centers for skill training.

In the fiscal year 2021, all its applicable employees underwent performance appraisals guided by open and helpful feedback. By deploying best-in-class technologies, such as e-Flow and G2 Ozone, the material-liquid ratio has reduced from 1:6 to 1:1.

Through these measures, Shahi uses 30 liters of water on average per pair of jeans.

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31 January 2023, Mumbai

For over 9 years, Siyaram's, one of India's largest textile brands in men's fashion for over 4 decades, has partnered with the Blind Welfare Organisation to celebrate the passion of blind cricket players by organizing the annual Inter-State level "Siyaram's Cup."

Blind Cricket is a version of cricket adapted for visually challenged players. The rules are similar, but with adaptations such as using a white ball filled with ball bearings for sight and sound, 10 inch wide stumps, and the common use of the "sweep shot."

The All-India tournament was held in Mumbai from 11th to 13th January 2023, with 8 teams from different states across the country competing. Despite the physical challenges, the teams played with remarkable excitement and zeal, ending with Gujarat winning the tournament and Maharashtra as runners-up.

"Bringing the lives of such passionate people into the light from the darkness excites the team Siyaram," said Chairman and Managing Director of Siyaram's, Ramesh Poddar. Poddar stated, "People with true passion make the impossible happen no matter the hurdles."

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Aastey provides women high-quality fashionable athleisure wear across nine different sizes made from sustainable fabric blends.

This is an Indian athleisure brand. Aastey has three recycled polyester blends - aasteyflex, aasteyfirm and aasteybreeze- that are actively contributing to diverting plastic from oceans and landfills. The slow down T-shirt collection is made with 100 per cent organic cotton fabric. The earthshine yoga mat is also crafted with ethically sourced cork which is harvested from the outer barks of oak trees which ensures that no trees are harmed in this process. The club collection includes products like hand-poured soy candles, which are 100 per cent vegan and cruelty-free.

The vision is to build an environment where all women are treated as equals irrespective of their size, colour, age, body type, lifestyle or race. Since its inception, Aastey has brought together a community of over 50,000 women of different ages, colors, sizes and shapes by promoting size inclusivity. The brand works on women empowerment, size inclusivity and environmental preservation.

The Indian athleisure industry is worth Rs 54,000 crores. Athleisure is a hybrid style of athletic clothing worn as everyday wear. These include yoga pants, tights, sneakers, leggings, etc. These are flexible in nature and help absorb sweat during exercise. When athleisure initially arrived in the Indian market, it took consumers by storm and soon became a trend.

 27 January 2023, Mumbai

Akshay Kumar’s fashion brand Force IXis on Myntra.

The collection consists of durable, economical, and functional fashion staples inspired by the popular actor’s iconic sense of style.

The brand offers men more than 70 options across a range of T-shirts, sweatshirts, caps, shirts, sweatshirts, cargos, joggers, chinos, co-ord sets, boiler suits, dungarees and accessories, targeted towards streetwear and casual wear consumers across metros, Tier I and beyond cities. Women’s wear will be added soon. Myntra has a proven track record of accelerating the growth of celebrity-led brands.

Myntra offers a range of over 5,000 leading fashion and lifestyle brands in the country such as H&M, Levis, US Polo Assn., Tommy Hilfiger, Louis Philippe, Jack & Jones, Mango, Urbanic, and many more. It services over 19,000 pin codes across the country and currently houses more than ten celebrity brands such as HRX, Wrogn, Being Human, and House of Pataudi, among others. Myntra is facing orders for international brands from shoppers in Tier II cities and beyond. The marketplace has onboarded 25 international fashion labels and 50 foreign beauty brands in the past 12 months.

Nearly 40 per cent of the demand for international fashion labels is driven by shoppers in Tier II cities and beyond.

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