12th October 2021, Mumbai:

Snapdeal’s sales volume in its first sale of the season increased by 98 percent compared to last year. Nearly 60 percent of the company’s total orders came from Tier I, II & III cities accounted for nearly 26 percent of orders, while metro buyers accounted for the balance 14 percent.

The total value of the company’s sales from Tier III towns increased 74 percent over last year. Orders from cities like Srinagar, Shimla, Alwar, Anantpur, Shimoga, Chital, Dhanbad, Imphal, Silchar, Tinsukia, etc while the total value of sales from Tier-II cities like Patna, Meerut, Jodhpur, Rajkot, Jabalpur rose by 90 percent than last year’s festive sales.

Festive season sales in men’s, women’s, and kids apparel categories increased over 224 percent last year. Home and kitchen continued to be a strong performer with more than 95 percent growth over last year’s festive sales.

Snapdeal's data shows that first-time sellers from many small cities like Baleshwar, Suri, Anupgarh, Bharuh, Dhule, Kalol, Malerktola, Sirsi, Thodupuza also registered good sales.

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8th October 2021, Mumbai:

The Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) is preparing to hold its 52nd IHGF Delhi Fair at the India Expo Centre & Mart in Greater Noida from October 28 to October 31, 2021. The event will follow the guidelines set forth by the Indian government.

The exhibition will include about 1,500 Indian exhibitors displaying home, leisure, fashion, hard goods, and textiles items, according to Raj Kumar Malhotra, Chairman-EPCH. The expo will be attended by international buyers from across the world, buying agents in India, and local retail outlets.

EPCH stated in a statement that with the world's biggest immunisation campaign (in India) in full swing and the number of COVID cases steadily declining with each passing day, the moment seemed ideal to organise a physical expo, allowing buyers and exhibitors to meet in person to transact business." Physical B2B events are the lifeline for the handicrafts industry," said Dr Rakesh Kumar, DG, EPCH.

"The aspect of touch, feel, and visual impact plays a very vital part in the decision-making of the customers."

Wearing face masks, thermal scanning, physical distancing, respiratory etiquettes, colour badge wise entry, frequent hand sanitisation, isolation centre at the venue, COVID enforcement officer, Aarogya Setu App, CCTV, F&B services with proper hygiene, and other guidelines have been laid down by the EPCH to be followed by exhibitors, buyers, and visitors at the fair venue to maintain strict COVID protocol during IHGF Delhi Autumn 2021.

For admission to the fair, the EPCH will offer three distinct colour badges. Blue (for foreign purchasers): The international protocol for RT PCR testing, as specified by the Air Suvidha portal, shall be followed by international customers.

Green: completely vaccinated with both doses (for exhibitors). Orange (for others): single-dose vaccination or no vaccination, but the entrance with a negative RT PCR test (report) performed 48 hours before the fair or a fast antigen test performed at the fair location at their expense.

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07 October 2021, Mumbai:

Global market research firm Forrester expects sales India’s online retailers to increase by 42 per cent year-over-over to about $9.2 billion during the 2021 festive month. Fashion e-commerce giant Myntra sold four million items on the first day of its festive sales.

The platform witnessed 19 million visitors, of which 40 per cent belonged to the Tier II, III cities and beyond. Women's ethnic, westernwear, beauty and personal care were the top selling apparel categories for women while for men, it was casualwear, occasion wear, workwear and sports apparel.

Myntra has partnered over 5,000 leading fashion and lifestyle brands in the country for its festive sales. Reliance Group’s online fashion e-retailer Ajio also received a tremendous response for its festive sales organized between September 30 and October 4. Multiple celebrities like Sidharth Malhotra and Sonam K Ahuja endorsed the retailer’s #BigBoldSale campaign.

Luxury lifestyle platform Tata CLiQ Luxury is hosting its annual '10 on 10' sale from October 6-15, that will have attractive offers on luxury brands across categories,

Through the '10 on 10' sale, Tata CLiQ Luxury aims to double sales across categories.

Owned by Tata UniStore, Tata CLiQ, operates in categories such as electronics, fashion, footwear and accessories.

According to Prabhu Ram, Head- Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CyberMedia Research (CMR), this is where highly niche, uber-luxe, bespoke e-commerce platforms catering to the niche consumer demographic are doing extremely well.

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12th October 2021, Mumbai:

The month-long online event dubbed the "Newhood Shopping Festival," will feature grooming and personal care products, fashion and lifestyle items, skincare, footwear, and homewares, among other categories.

MensXP's private label products, such as MensXP Mud, Fraternity, Mojama, and MensXP Basics, will participate in the sale, as will popular brands like Beardo, True Elements, Mr. Wonker, Wahl, and Neemans, among others.

"After the spectacular success of the prior version of the Newhood Shopping Festival, we are delighted to deliver the second iteration of the much-anticipated festival in its largest avatar yet," Angad Bhatia, founder, and CEO of MensXP, said in a statement about the second edition of the sale event.

We are certain that customers will appreciate festive incentives such as free delivery and additional savings on prepaid orders, in addition to the expanded selection of excellent yet cheap items."

Times Internet, a subsidiary of the Times Group, owns MensXP. Ankur and Angad Bhatia founded the company in 2009, and it now sells over 250 products across a variety of sectors.

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8th October 2021, Mumbai:

The Ministry of Textiles (MoT) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) have signed an MOU on the 'Indo German Technical Cooperation Project on Sustainability and Value Added in the Cotton Economy'.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has cooperated with the Ministry of Textiles (MoT), which is backed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, as part of the Indo-German Development Cooperation Framework (MoAFW).

'To improve the value addition from sustainable cotton production in India by focusing on sustainable cotton and enhancing downstream processing,' the project's goal states. This initiative will focus on four key cotton-producing states: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, and will work closely with the relevant agencies. In the presence of Minister of State for Textiles,

Darshna Vikram Jardosh, who presided over the event, and UP Singh, Secretary, Textiles, the MoU was signed by Sanjay Sharan, Joint Secretary on behalf of the MoT, Mohd.-El-Khawab, Programme Coordinator, GIZ India, and Dr. Rossitza Krueger, Programme Head, Sustainable Cotton Project, GIZ.

The GIZ initiative will also contribute to increased employment and women's empowerment through training and capacity building in sustainable cotton producing techniques, such as innovative cotton processing procedures and ginning, among other things.

According to Darshna Jardosh, the GIZ initiative aims to boost cotton output volume by 10% on at least 90,000 hectares with the involvement of 1.50 lakh cotton growers. This would help to improve the ability of 1.50 lakh farmers and entrepreneurs, with around 30% of them being women.

The initiative takes a 'From shelf to field' approach, with the goal of connecting customers to Indian cotton producers and working throughout the whole supply chain. The initiative also aims to increase openness about the prevalence and use of internationally recognized/accepted sustainability standards, as well as to promote water-saving techniques in cotton production.

This will assist to minimise the cotton sector's susceptibility to ever-increasing water stress exacerbated by climate change.

Through the formation and convening of the project Steering Committee for project progress assessment and guidance, the MoT, as the key partner on the Indian Government side, advises the project on primary intervention areas based on its vision for textiles in India.

According to UP Singh, the project's main goal is to collaborate with big global textile firms to generate a "pull" effect that would help farmers gain better market access for their sustainably farmed cotton. According to him, the project aims to promote sustainable cotton farming methods while also emphasising the use of excellent agricultural practises.

Notably, India is the world's greatest cotton producer and second-largest cotton consumer, with projected consumption of 303 lakh bales (5.15 million metric tonnes, or 20% of global cotton consumption of 1,505 lakh bales) (25.59 million metric tonnes).

It is vital to the livelihoods of around 6 million cotton growers and over 50 million people employed in associated activities such as cotton processing and commerce.

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06 October 2021, Mumbai:

For the past 19 months, Bengaluru garment industry employees have not been given updated dearness allowance (DA), with the businesses using a Government decision that has been stayed by the High Court to deny them their legal dues.

According to reports in the media, the DA has been amended for 2020-21 based on consumer price index points.

The Garment and Textile Industry Workers' Organization (Gatwu), a city workers' union, claimed the State Government issued an order in July last year delaying the amended DA in response to a petition from garment factory managements.

“Despite the stay order, the managements have not paid the workers the amended sum and owe Rs. 7,098 in arrears to each of the 4.2 lakh workers,” Gatwu resident Jayaram KR stated.

The union has asked that the government take quick steps to ensure that all workers get paid DA. GATWU is a grassroots union with over 5,000 active members that organizes and fights for the rights of garment workers in Karnataka.

However, as trade unions contested the government decision, it was delayed by the High Court in September 2020. Bengaluru is India's main clothing manufacturing center, with around 5 lakh employees employed in tens of thousands of garment companies.

The majority of these employees are female.

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 9th October 2021, Mumbai:

Textile Secretary Upendra Prasad Singh has informed that the government would soon issue the guidelines for the Prime Minister’s Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (MITRA) scheme in the next 30-45 days.

As per Singh, the textiles ministry will first notify the scheme and issue the guidelines in the next one to one-and-a-half months after which, states would submit their preliminary project reports.

Under the MITRA scheme, special purpose vehicles (SPVs) with a 40 percent stake of the Central Government and 51 stakes of the respective state government would be set up. These SPVs would be given on a 50-year lease to the master developer.

The master developer will execute the projects and a concession agreement would be signed with the SPV. We are confident that foreign companies too will invest,” Singh said, adding that the entire process needs to be completed by 2026.

The states would be judged on criteria such as connectivity with industrial corridors, their textile and industrial policies, and labour laws, the secretary said.

Singh said that under the existing Scheme for Integrated Textile Park (SITP), 66 parks were sanctioned, of which 10 were canceled but the rest will be completed.

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8th October 2021, Mumbai:

As per a report by Bain & Company in collaboration with Sequoia, India’s social commerce market is likely to reach $70 billion by 2030. The market is currently worth $2 billion GMV, according to the report titled ‘Unlocking the Future of Commerce in India.

’ Pritika Rao, who runs all things preloved, which has over 2,500 followers on Instagram, believes the pandemic has aided the thrift market, with people looking to rotate their wardrobes.

Another reason why thrifting has gained momentum is that people have gone through physical transformations.

They need different sizes, and getting good quality, affordable pieces from thrift stores is a big plus, she adds.

Rao held her first offline thrift sale at BKC Mumbai on March 8, 2020, where the stock sold out on the first day. Barely two weeks later, as the COVID-19 lockdown came into place, Rao moved online. She sources 95 percent of clothes on her page from personal wardrobes of people; the remaining are donated to her to be sold off further.

The pricing of these clothes depends on their condition and brand, she adds.

Dolce Vee Love, a popular thrift page on Instagram with 117,000 followers, is known for its celebrity pop-up charity closet and mass-market sales. The page was started by Komal Hiranandani, who earlier worked with IDFC Institute. It aims to promote sustainability and the circular fashion movement.

According to online consignment and thrift store thredUp’s 2021 resale report, the global second-hand market is projected to double in the next five years, reaching $77 billion. As many as 33 million consumers bought secondhand apparel for the first time in 2020, of which 76 percent of buyers plan to increase their spending in the next five years. According to the report, resale is projected to grow 5.4 percent in five years.

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4th October 2021, Mumbai:

The Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) is requesting that British people visiting India on a business visa be excluded from obligatory quarantine.

The Council is holding the 52nd Indian Handicraft and Gift Fair (IHGF) Autumn 2021 Delhi Fair in physical mode at the India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida, from October 28 to October 31, 2021, with all necessary safety protocols and SOPs for organizing B2B trade expositions issued by WHO and the Government of India, where overseas buyers from all over the world, including buyers from the United Kingdom, are expected to attend.

In reaction to a similar measure being enforced on Indian citizens traveling in Britain, the Indian government has proposed a ten-day obligatory quarantine for all British nationals entering India beginning October 4, 2021.

The recent policy decision of the Government of India to impose a ten-day mandatory quarantine for all British nationals arriving in India will have an impact on the Council's initiative of providing a physical marketing platform to handicrafts exporters, paving the way for the economy to return to a high-growth track and creating gainful jobs for artisans, according to Rajkumar Malhotra, Chairman, EPCH.

The Council made an SOS appeal to India's Prime Minister, Home Minister, Commerce and Industry Minister, Civil Aviation Minister, and External Affairs Minister, requesting that British nationals arriving in India on a business visa specifically to source from Indian exhibitions be exempted from the 10-day mandatory quarantine.

It is crucial to highlight, according to Dr. Rakesh Kumar, DG EPCH, that business exhibits are economic growth engines that work as a catalyst for boosting trade and commerce between countries.

It is a good moment to hold a physical fair like this since the general condition of the COVID-19 epidemic, which has damaged lives and livelihoods for the previous year and a half, is gradually improving.

After 18 months of the epidemic, economic operations are beginning to return to normal. The Council has received positive feedback from both international buyers and Indian exhibitors.

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9th October 2021, Mumbai:

Indian cotton prices are much above the government-set minimum support price (MSP) levels in the crop year 2021-22, posing new challenges for the Indian textile and apparel sector.

According to media sources, the price is likely to remain high due to a significant comeback in post-COVID-19 demand and optimistic emotions due to restricted supply. There have also been a few additional indicators that point to a potential price increase in cotton.

Cotton prices have touched an all-time high of Rs. 7,715 per quintal as the second picking of the raw cotton crop gets underway in Punjab.

This price is approximately 23% more than the MSP. Punjab is one of India's most important cotton-producing states. Cotton prices have also increased to their highest level in a decade, according to The Wall Street Journal.

According to trade and industry veterans speaking at a recent webinar, the Cotton Association of India (CAI) believes that, in addition to reducing India's cotton exports, high cotton prices will reduce the Central Government's cotton procurement budget to a minuscule amount, compared to the Rs. 55,000 crore spent on cotton procurement during the previous two cotton seasons.

"The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) invested a total of Rs. 55,000 crore and purchased 2 core and 7 lakh bales during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons."

Because cotton prices are now hovering at 30% to 40% over the MSP, we may not need to intervene in 2021-22," said Pradeep Agarwal, Chairman, CCI, a public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Textiles.

Despite a drop in cotton planted area from 133 lakh hectares in the previous year to 125 lakh hectares in the present year, cotton output in 2021-22 is anticipated to be between 355 and 360 lakh bales, virtually identical to last year's production of 355 lakh bales.

Cotton is in high demand from spinning mills in the United States, thanks to high profits and strong export demand. Despite the high price of cotton, mills are anticipated to acquire aggressively since demand and consumption are projected to outstrip supply. According to the latest forecast from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),

China's cotton consumption in the current marketing year is anticipated to be 41 million bales, or 8.9 million metric tonnes. This is up 24% in the last two marketing years, thanks in part to a post-pandemic spike in consumer goods demand.

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8th October 2021, Mumbai:

The approval of seven Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (MITRA) Parks in India has been hailed by the Indian textile industry as a step toward reclaiming global leadership in textiles.

The government authorised the much-anticipated establishment of seven Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks with a total investment of Rs. 4,445 crore over five years.

A. Sakthivel, Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), praised the move, saying it will help India reclaim its worldwide leading position in the textile sector.

“It would attract huge international and local investment in the industry, making it globally competitive while also assisting in the creation of lakhs of jobs,” says the report.

The government's actions will assist India in regaining its textile dominance. In the next several years, I am certain that the textiles business will grow its yearly exports to more than $100 billion.

"The industry, which is the country's second-largest employer, would play a critical role in realising Atma Nirbhar Bharat," he added.

The programme and earmarking significant amounts not only for common infrastructural facilities, but also for manufacturing units, according to Ravi Sam, Chairman of the Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA), would assist in acquiring competitiveness at the first stage.

He stated that the SIMA will work closely with state governments and the federal government to help existing big textile units in the country attract massive investments into these parks.

He went on to say that Telangana could be able to take benefit of the plan right away for the Warangal Park under the Brownfield category. He further stated that the Tamil Nadu government has already chosen a place for the MITRA Park.

He also asked the governments of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to speed up the process of identifying sites for the MITRA Park. Raja M. Shanmugham, President of the Tirupur Exporters' Association (TEA), praised the decision, claiming that the Tirupur knitwear exports cluster already contains the textile eco-system Fibre, Factory, Fashion, and Foreign excluding Farm, therefore realising the Prime Minister's goal.

He claims that this will boost the textile industry's competitiveness by allowing it to attain economies of scale, as well as provide millions of people with work possibilities.

T. Rajkumar, Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), claimed that the government will build seven mega textile parks with a total investment of Rs. 4,445 crore over the next five years, following the example of China and Vietnam.

The Indian government has taken yet another positive step. However, in addition to creating new textile parks, the government may strive to digitally map existing clusters in order to have a better understanding of the present gaps in the value chain of the goods produced and the necessary infrastructure. It will aid in the expansion of these parks as well as the expansion of existing units and clusters.

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

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

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4th October 2021, Mumbai:

The final free trade agreement or Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between India and Australia will include a chapter on the e-commerce sector, says Dan Tehan, Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment.

The proposed trade agreement would cover trade in goods and services, and investment, etc. The two countries have agreed to finalize the agreement by 2022-end. The two sides also decided to have an exchange of offers regarding the proposed CECA agreement by October.

Last year, bilateral trade between India-Australia exceeded AU$24 billion. India mainly exported petroleum products, medicines, polished diamonds, gold jewelry, apparel, etc to Australia while imported coal LNG, Alumina, non-monetary gold from the country.

In services, major Indian exports to Australia included travel, telecom and computer, government and financial services, while imports were principally in the fields of education and personal related travel.

In 2020, India was Australia's seventh-largest trading partner and sixth largest export destination, driven by coal and international education.

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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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