16 November 2021, Mumbai:

Men’s high street fashion brand Indian Terrain has launched a sustainable fashion collection. The collection features a wide range of casual, sleek, and well-fitted clothing that is ethically manufactured. The aim is to spread awareness among consumers about under-developed sustainable farming practices and the environmental impact of their buying decisions. Ranging from T-shirts, trousers to shirts, the new line-up has a piece of clothing for every man.

Indian Terrain is further strengthening its commitment toward becoming India’s first retail fashion brand that offers sustainable clothing options for consumers who are moving towards green fashion.

The brand joined FairTrade India to create an exclusive sustainable fashion line that helps protect the environment as well as to empower FairTrade farmers.

In this way, consumers get sustainable fashion options and are informed about the raw materials and the processes that go behind their purchases.

Indian Terrain hopes the sustainable collection will contribute nearly 15 percent of the festive season sale this year. Indian Terrain is now looking at adding 50 percent of the collection under the sustainable fair trade banner within the next five years.

The brand works with farmers who practice sustainable farming practices.

TOP 5:

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2. Consumers will determine growth of sustainable fashion e-comm in India

3. Myntra to offer 1 mn styles from about 7,000 brands at the 'Big Fashion Festival'

4. Maharashtra government honors VIP as 'Best Innerwear Brand' for 2021-22

5. Nike strengthens retail presences with new store at DLF Mall of India,Noida

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09 November 2021, Mumbai:

The planned GST hike on garments priced less than Rs 1,000 from January 1, 2022 is likely to increase prices of 80 per cent final products, opine experts. The government had decided to increase the Good and Services Tax (GST) rate on readymade garments and fabrics in September this year. The planned hike is likely to affect almost 85 per cent of the garment market in India, as per reports. It will create a greater stress on the working capital requirements of the industry, especially the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Majority of industry to be impacted

The government had proposed the hike to correct the problem of Inverted Duty Structure faced by a small segment of the textile value chain. The duty structure involves levying higher taxes on input and lower tax on output of the final product. Though the GST Council has addressed this issue for many other industries, it continues to persist for footwear, textiles, pharmaceuticals and fertilizers.

However, the issue impacts only 15 per cent of the textile sector while the proposed GST hike is likely to increase prices of 85 per cent products, say experts. Furthermore, the continued shutdown of retail outlets in the country is likely to force domestic garment industry to continue operating at 65 per cent of pre-COVID levels.

Effect on employment levels

The industry also faces a 20 per cent decline in employment as most units have either scaled down or shut operations due to the pandemic. Though the festive season looks optimistic and encouraging, it may not last long as the GST hike on clothes below 1,000 may severely hit the textile industry, particularly MSMEs, says Kumar Rajagoplan, CEO, Retailers Association of India.

As a solution, the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India has urged the government to impose a uniform 5 per cent GST across the entire value chain. The sharp increase in cost of raw materials such as yarn, fabric, fuel, packaging materials and transportation is likely to hit sales even more.

Sales drop as raw material costs surge

Sales are likely to drop by over 50 per cent as people have lost their capacity to spend. The prices of raw materials have also shot up significantly. In such a situation, hike in GST rates to 12 per cent will hit the industry hard, adds Sajjan Raj Mehta, Karnataka Hosiery and Garments’ Association.

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Good times are back for Indian retail as all leading brick and mortar players including Reliance Retail, Tata-owned Trent, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, and Shoppers Stop saw sales surpass pre-COVID levels this festive season.

The boom has encouraged all of them to announce new expansion plans including store expansion, launching new store formats, and adding new product categories.

Festive season boosts retail demand

Demand has come back in a big way across the country, says Dinesh Thapar, Chief Financial Officer, Reliance Retail. Increased vaccination and the festive season have given people the confidence to step out of their homes for shopping, he adds.

Sales in the company’s fashion and lifestyle surpassed pre-COVID levels in the September quarter, and it now plans to add 1,200 new stores per store for the second half of the fiscal. The fashion business of Tata Group Company, Trent also plans to expand its Westside, Zudio, and food retail Star businesses.

The company’s sales have recovered and, it is now operating at profits, as per Noel N Tata, Chairman

Shoppers Stop plans to open 20 standalone beauty stores and 10-12 eponymous departmental stores in the next two years, according to Venugopal Nair, Managing Director.

Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail (ABFRL) plans to open 100 new Pantaloons stores annually besides over 100 ethnic wear stores in the next few years. It will also launch a new menswear brand this month besides expanding further through the franchisee routes across brands.

Cash inflow leads to reduced debts

With cash flows improving, debts of most retailers have reduced and are expected to decline further in the coming quarter. This is also fuelling their expansion. For instance, ABRFL’s debt has reduced by Rs 327crore to Rs 873 crore in September.

It further reduced to Rs 450 crore in the festive season. The debt of Shoppers Stop has also reduced to Rs 62 crore in the September quarter from Rs 96 crore in the June quarter. The company expects to be free of all debts by December end.

Though a few fashion and lifestyle retailers had to shut stores in 2020-21 as sales dropped due to the pandemic and extended government restrictions including mall closures, big retailers including Reliance Retail, Tata, and Aditya Birla Group continued to expand amidst the pandemic and they are now accelerating their expansion plans.

Rising rentals drive retailers to smaller towns

However, these retailers face higher store rents which are likely to surpass pre-pandemic levels in the next few months, opines Neville Noronha, CEO, DMart, a chain of supermarkets. Most retailers plan to expand more in smaller towns as consumption in these towns recovered faster and modern retail is yet to penetrate there.

TOP 5:

1. Flipkart, an Indian e-commerce company, collaborates with PUMA on the ‘1DER' line, which features batsman KL Rahul

2. Consumers will determine growth of sustainable fashion e-comm in India

3. Myntra to offer 1 mn styles from about 7,000 brands at the 'Big Fashion Festival'

4. Maharashtra government honors VIP as 'Best Innerwear Brand' for 2021-22

5. Nike strengthens retail presences with new store at DLF Mall of India,Noida

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09 November 2021, Mumbai:

V-Mart Retail Ltd, a value fashion retailer, recorded a financial loss of Rs 14 crore ($2 million) for the second quarter ending September 2021, down from Rs 19 crore in the previous quarter.

The company's revenue for the quarter increased by 93 percent to Rs 338 crore, compared to Rs 176 crore in the previous fiscal year's similar period. V-costs Mart's for the quarter was Rs 361 crore, up from Rs 216 crore the previous year.

Lalit Agarwal, commenting on the Q2 results, said the swift market rise following Covid-19's second wave showed a significant rebound on the strength of additional operational days and festive-driven demand.

Despite the fact that the company was affected in Q1 due to the second wave, it was heartening to see operations swiftly rebound from mid-June onwards, with speedy re-opening of our stores in practically all areas."

"The planned increase in GST from 5% to 12% on clothes and footwear in the sub-1000 rupee range from January 1, 2022, might have an impact on margins and future sales, since this category accounts for 88 percent of the company's inventory and sales," Agarwal noted.

V-Mart presently has 375 locations and expects to add roughly 50 more stores each year to continue to expand in the Indian market.

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TOP 5:

1. Flipkart, an Indian e-commerce company, collaborates with PUMA on the ‘1DER' line, which features batsman KL Rahul

2. Consumers will determine growth of sustainable fashion e-comm in India

3. Myntra to offer 1 mn styles from about 7,000 brands at the 'Big Fashion Festival'

4. Maharashtra government honors VIP as 'Best Innerwear Brand' for 2021-22

5. Nike strengthens retail presences with new store at DLF Mall of India,Noida

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15 November 2021, Mumbai:

Retail sales in India grew 34 per cent in October 2021 compared to the same month last year, says Retailers Association of India (RAI’s) latest Retail Business Survey. There was 14 per cent growth when compared to the pre-pandemic levels of October 2019.

Retail businesses across regions have indicated growth in sales as compared to pre-pandemic levels with west India signaling growth of 23 per cent followed by east India at 13 per cent while north and south India indicated a growth of ten per cent each as compared to sales levels in October 2019.

In terms of categories, the jewelry segment had a significant recovery with a growth of 24 per cent as compared to sales levels in October 2019. The apparel category grew by six per cent while food and groceries, and quick service restaurants grew by 31 per cent and 29 per cent respectively as compared to October 2019.

India saw the world’s second-largest Covid-19 outbreak, necessitating back-to-back lockdowns and local shutdowns, which hit trade. The retail industry is hopeful of setting a steady pace of recovery during the ongoing festive quarter. The optimism is visible as retail chains have resumed expansion across the country. This signals a positive trend.

TOP 5:

1. Flipkart, an Indian e-commerce company, collaborates with PUMA on the ‘1DER' line, which features batsman KL Rahul

2. Consumers will determine growth of sustainable fashion e-comm in India

3. Myntra to offer 1 mn styles from about 7,000 brands at the 'Big Fashion Festival'

4. Maharashtra government honors VIP as 'Best Innerwear Brand' for 2021-22

5. Nike strengthens retail presences with new store at DLF Mall of India,Noida

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12 November 2021, Mumbai:

For the second quarter, V2 Retail’s revenue grew 76 percent. The gross margin stood at 30.8 percent for the quarter as compared to 31.8 percent for the same quarter last year. Stores were operational on an average for 86 percent days of the total days for the quarter.

The EBDITA margin stood at 11.1 percent.

Revenue for the first half of the year grew by 90 percent. The EBITDA grew by 63 percent for the first half of the year. The EBIDTA margin stood at 11.7 percent. The company opened three new stores during the second quarter.

There are 96 stores spread across 15 states and 84 cities with a total retail area of 10.15 lakh sq. ft. Same-store sales growth for the second quarter stood at 59 percent. All the stores are now fully operational with overall store operation days at 86 percent for the quarter.

And V2’s customers are leveraging the convenience of its digital platforms with the online channel. Store expansion plans are on track and barring delays due to the pandemic the plan is to open additional five or six stores in the second half of the year. The emphasis on private brands continues.

Dear Reader, we at DFU Publications are committed to providing the latest news updates on trade development and insights, to keep our readers informed. Stay tuned. Subscribe to our newsletter.  

TOP 5:

1. Flipkart, an Indian e-commerce company, collaborates with PUMA on the ‘1DER' line, which features batsman KL Rahul

2. Consumers will determine growth of sustainable fashion e-comm in India

3. Myntra to offer 1 mn styles from about 7,000 brands at the 'Big Fashion Festival'

4. Maharashtra government honors VIP as 'Best Innerwear Brand' for 2021-22

5. Nike strengthens retail presences with new store at DLF Mall of India,Noida

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09 November 2021, Mumbai:

After e-commerce giant Amazon attempted to prevent the deal, India's Future Retail has moved the country's top court to halt a Singapore arbitration panel's decision to freeze a $3.4 billion asset sale. Last year, Future Retail,

India's second-largest retailer with over 1,700 outlets, decided to sell its retail and other activities to Reliance Industries, India's largest retail firm. Amazon claims that a stipulation in a transaction with one of Future Group's firms barred the Indian company from selling retail assets to anybody on a "restricted persons" list that included Reliance.

Future Retail, which operates India's famed Big Bazaar stores, claims it has not broken any contractual agreements with Amazon. The long-running spat between two of the world's wealthiest men, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Reliance majority owner Mukesh Ambani, and could determine if Amazon can challenge Reliance's hegemony in India's massive retail industry.

According to a petition obtained by Reuters, Future Retail asked the Supreme Court to put the Singapore arbitration panel's ruling on hold, citing stress on its company if the deal goes through. The case is expected to be heard in the coming days.

Future stated in prior court papers that its bank loans and thousands of employees are still in jeopardy, and that failure to complete the Reliance acquisition might force it into bankruptcy.

Last year, the Singapore panel placed the Future-Reliance agreement on hold, and Future Retail's attempt to rescind that decision was denied in October.

Following that, a Delhi court turned down Future's request for emergency relief under Indian law to halt the panel's judgment. On Monday, Amazon didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.

In view of the arbitration panel's judgments, Future Retail has repeatedly argued that it should not proceed with the Reliance purchase.

Dear Reader, we at DFU Publications are committed to providing the latest news updates on trade development and insights, to keep our readers informed. Stay tuned. Subscribe to our newsletter.  

TOP 5:

1. Flipkart, an Indian e-commerce company, collaborates with PUMA on the ‘1DER' line, which features batsman KL Rahul

2. Consumers will determine growth of sustainable fashion e-comm in India

3. Myntra to offer 1 mn styles from about 7,000 brands at the 'Big Fashion Festival'

4. Maharashtra government honors VIP as 'Best Innerwear Brand' for 2021-22

5. Nike strengthens retail presences with new store at DLF Mall of India,Noida

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15 November 2021, Mumbai:

For the second quarter, Page Industries’ net profit was up 44.7 percent. Revenue increased 46.4 percent. The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 41.1 percent. The EBITDA margin -- a key metric -- came in at 21.5 percent in the quarter as against 22.3 percent in the year-ago period.

For garment maker Page Industries, based in Bangalore, sales momentum picked up significantly after setbacks due to the global pandemic. The company saw increased momentum in sales across product categories backed by expansion in its portfolio and its existing network.

Page Industries plans to double manufacturing capacity in India in the next five years. Its current installed capacity is 260 million pieces.

The company’s manufacturing units cover 2.4 million sq ft in total, which includes 14 locations in Karnataka and one location in Tamil Nadu.

The company is currently setting up a greenfield manufacturing factory in Anantpur, where menswear production will run. The company will also set up a new unit at Mysore for manufacturing and raw material warehousing.

The company’s workforce comes to 20,000 with manufacturing operations spread over 15 locations including Bangalore, Mysore, and Tirupur.

TOP 5:

1. Flipkart, an Indian e-commerce company, collaborates with PUMA on the ‘1DER' line, which features batsman KL Rahul

2. Consumers will determine growth of sustainable fashion e-comm in India

3. Myntra to offer 1 mn styles from about 7,000 brands at the 'Big Fashion Festival'

4. Maharashtra government honors VIP as 'Best Innerwear Brand' for 2021-22

5. Nike strengthens retail presences with new store at DLF Mall of India,Noida

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09 November 2021, Mumbai:

Puma, a sportswear company, has announced the start of a circular pilot project to explore a biodegradable version of its most famous shoe, the Suede. The "Re: Suede - No Time For Waste" experiment, which aims to improve waste management in the footwear sector, will involve around 500 workers.

What will the shoes and accessories of the future look like? The fashion industry is coming up with all kinds of ways to make the sector greener or at least less polluting with innovations designed to reduce environmental impact upstream, during, or after product manufacturing.

From 3D printing to turning greenhouse gases into biomaterials to innovative and sustainable materials, the fashion industry is coming up with all kinds of ways to make the sector greener or at least less polluting.

Puma is targeting the post-product phase, notably waste management, with its new "Re: Suede - No Time For Waste'' pilot initiative. The company has announced a new pilot to test a biodegradable Suede shoe, which was first released in 1968.

This limited edition will be manufactured from sustainable materials such as Zeology tanned suede, biodegradable TPE, and hemp fibers, and will be based on breakthrough technology.

In Germany, 500 people will be chosen to participate in the initiative, which will begin in January 2022 and allow participants to wear the "Re: Suede'' shoes for six months before returning them to Puma.

The goal is to assure the shoe's durability in real-world settings as well as its effective biodegradability. The sneakers will subsequently be delivered to the Valor Compostering B.V. recycling plant in the Netherlands, which is operated by Ortessa Groep B.V. Puma notes,

"The purpose of this phase is to see if Grade A compost can be created for agricultural use." The company plans to disseminate the findings of this study so that the whole footwear industry may improve waste management.

This isn't the first time Puma has attempted something similar. The firm previously designed and released a biodegradable shoe as part of its InCycle line in 2012. According to the company, this inaugural project was canceled after four seasons owing to "poor demand and the necessity for further research and development."

This new trial is part of the brand's "Forever Better" sustainability plan, which seeks to minimise waste by 2025 by implementing a number of measures such as expanding the usage of recycled polyester and establishing product return programmes.

Dear Reader, we at DFU Publications are committed to providing the latest news updates on trade development and insights, to keep our readers informed. Stay tuned. Subscribe to our newsletter.  

TOP 5:

1. Flipkart, an Indian e-commerce company, collaborates with PUMA on the ‘1DER' line, which features batsman KL Rahul

2. Consumers will determine growth of sustainable fashion e-comm in India

3. Myntra to offer 1 mn styles from about 7,000 brands at the 'Big Fashion Festival'

4. Maharashtra government honors VIP as 'Best Innerwear Brand' for 2021-22

5. Nike strengthens retail presences with new store at DLF Mall of India,Noida

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