According to a CEPEA Brazil report, Brazilian cotton prices were recovering in early June, driven by the need to purchase in the short-term and expectation of delay in availability of cotton in the new season. “Purchasers with needs for prompt delivery, such as cotton processors in the northeastern and southern regions, were accepting asking prices of sellers,” the report said. The CEPEA/ESALQ Index, for payment in 8 days, for cotton type 41-4 (including freight to São Paulo city) increased 3.56 per cent in the first fortnight of the month. It closed at 2.1019 BRL per pound or $0.671 per pound on June 15, but if compared to its previous month, the price decreased 1.33 per cent. CEPEA calculations showed that in the first half of June, export prices for shipment between July and December 2015 averaged $0.6867 per pound, down 1.21 per cent from the average in May 2015. For shipments in the second quarter of 2016, the average stood at $0.7036 per pound, a drop of 2.6 per cent as against its previous month. Between June 8 and 12, the export parity calculated by CEPEA for Free Alongside Ship (FAS) at Paranaguá port stood at 1.9334 BRL or $0.621 per pound. This is a drop of 1.11 per cent when compared to its previous week ending June 5). In the same period, Cotlook A Index increased 0.21 per cent and the US dollar decreased 1.28 per cent vis-à-vis the real. In the same period, the import parity released by National Company for Food Supply (CONAB), based on Cotlook A Index, CIF São Paulo averaged 2.5293 BRL or $0.813 dollar per pound. The CONAB report released on June 11 upheld the last data that reduced Brazilian output by 13.1 per cent in 2015/16 compared to the 2014/15 crop, totaling 1.5 million tons. CONAB said cotton acreage is expected to decline to just under one million hectares, down 12.8 per cent from its previous season and also forecast that yield will also marginally drop by 0.3 per cent

In an effort to reduce dependency on import of fashion clothing, the country’s apparel industry has started creating brands for local market. After meeting local demand, the manufacturers also plan to export the products of locally created brands. Targeting the young customers mostly, the brands will have a native taste integrating folk arts and Bangali tradition.  The design makes a fusion of the East and the West to provide the consumers with a one stop solution to global fashion trends at affordable prices. “With the increase of local consumers’ purchasing power, the RMG makers have come up to generate local brands. This will meet local demand and reduce dependency,” said Anwarul Alam Choudhury Parvez, owner of Evince Group. He said they were making products with a combination of latest local and global patterns of fashion, which would be attractive to the consumers. Anwarul, also ex-president of BGMEA, hoped they would be able to export if reputation could be achieved. He is an adviser to local brand Noir created by his sons MS Hasan, director of Amber Lifestyle, said the imported products didn’t fit well in the body of most local people as they products were not made for Bangladesh. “We are manufacturing clothes considering the figure of local customers. They are fitting well,” he said. He said there were also family package and causal dresses which were especially made for young people. At present, Amber Lifestyle is making trendy fashion products keeping consistency with the seasons. MS Hasan claimed the response from the customers was good. Nabila Khondaker, a customer, said she was happy with the local brands. “The quality of local brands is far better than that of the imported from India, China or Pakistan. The dress of local brands fits well, which means they were specially designed for the local customers,” said Nabila. She also said the most problems with the local brands are unavailability of products with variation in designs. Faruq Hassan, manging director of Giant Group, said as they had the experience of making dresses for the top global brands like Zara, H&M, Walmart, Inditex and American Eagle, the quality of local fashion products is better than that of the imported ones. He said the local market of fashion products had been dominated by the imports, but the choice of locals had changed, which led them to produce brands. Faruq, however, said as the consumption of fashionable products was still seasonal, the growth of local brands remained slow. He urged the customers to help expand the local brands using locally made products. According to sales department of respective brands, sales were growing at 10-15% annually and the major customer group is the youth.   According to the industry people, the local market size of apparel products is over Tk22,000 crore, of which local brands account for 10% of the figure

The families of Tazreen Fashions fire victims might receive compensation as per the International Labour Organisation standards before the third anniversary of the tragic incident as the C&A Foundation, an affiliate of Dutch retailer C&A, has started its work to develop a distribution methodology. On the second anniversary of Tazreen Fashions fire tragedy, the C&A Foundation had pledged to contribute a significant amount towards full and fair compensation for those injured in the fire and the families of the dead in a deal with global union IndustriALL and the garment workers’ pressure group Clean Clothes Campaign. As per the agreement, the compensation amount will be determined based on the system already developed for the Rana Plaza victims. This system covers compensation for loss of income, provision of independent medical assessments and ongoing treatment. The C&A Foundation is going to form a co-ordination committee comprising the representatives from the government, Bangladesh Employers Federation, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Industry ALL. The ILO will act as an adviser to the co-ordination committee, people involved with the process said. Roy Ramesh Chandra, former secretary general of Industry ALL Bangladesh Council, told New Age that the process would be similar to the Rana Plaza compensation arrangement. ‘The Rana Plaza Claims Administration has already started its work on a financial support scheme for Tazreen workers. Like Rana Plaza, the compensation for the Tazreen fire victims will be estimated following the ILO convention 121,’ he said. To determine the compensation for the injured workers a medical survey will be conducted by the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed and the institute would issue report on the gravity of injury, Ramesh said. He said the C&A wants to complete the compensation process before the third anniversary of the tragedy as the retailer remained under pressure from the global trade unions. ‘The C&A Foundation is indeed working with the Rana Plaza Claims Administration, in particular with Mojtaba Kazazi, the chief commissioner of the Rana Plaza Claims Administration, on a financial support scheme for Tazreen workers,’ Thorsten Rolfes, head of corporate communications for C&A Europe, told New Age through an e-mail. Rolfes said, ‘The Rana Plaza Claims Administration developed a methodology to enable a fair distribution of financial support for the victims of the Rana Plaza collapse. This methodology, which defines the benefits to survivors and families of victims, will also apply to a financial support scheme for the victims of the Tazreen Fashion fire.’ Labour secretary Mikail Shiper told New Age that he came to know about the initiative of the C&A. ‘If they want us to make their part, we can join the initiative,’ he said. A fire broke out at Tazreen Fashions Ltd at Ashulia of Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on November 24, 2012 that killed at least 114 workers and injured 200 others, mostly women. Following the tragic fire incident, the C&A Foundation provided immediate monetary support to 112 families of those who lost their lives and established an additional fund to provide monetary support to 49 non-child dependents. Together with the Caritas Bangladesh, the C&A created a programme to support the children of the victims for a longer term and to provide salary, medical, and psychological support to the injured workers. The families of Tazreen fire victims earlier received Tk 7 lakh for each deceased from the prime minister, labour ministry, Bankers Association of Bangladesh, Li & Fung, C&A and the BGMEA. Tazreen workers produced clothing for the US brand Walmart, Kik, Spanish department store El Corte Ingles, Scottish brand Edinburgh Woollen Mill (UK), Piazza Italia, Disney, Sears, Dickies, Delta Apparel and Sean John but none of these brands paid a cent towards the compensation.

The entrepreneur, who hails from Munshiganj, now based in Tongi’s Gedu Molla road first tried the route that many in Bangladesh do-by seeking work abroad. But after seven years in Libya and Malaysia, the father of a boy and a girl had hardly made enough money to pay for his travel abroad. That is when a close relative in business gave him the idea that changed his life and fortune-making caps from garment factory leftovers, ‘Jhutkapar’ in local parlance. In the last seventeen years, Rafiq has indeed hit it big with his caps. But it was never easy because no bank financed his business or when he was seeking to expand it. He had to sell off his ancestral house to finance the factory, which now employs 40 workers on 14 to 15 machines. He had to sell his wife’s jewellery to raise Tk 16,000 to purchase his first machine employing two workers when he started “Shaon-Ripa Cap House” on advice from his nephew Abdur Rahman Pintu.  “When I started getting good returns in the first six months, I decided to expand but no bank would finance me. So I had to sell a part of my ancestral house for Tk 120 million (Tk 120,000) to buy a piece of land to start my present factory at Gedu Road (Tongi),” Rafiq told bdnews24.com. Rafiq said he now employs 40 workers and has 15 machines to stitch caps. “We make 500 to 600 caps everyday during the peak season and half of that number during off season,” Rafiq said. His son Shaon, who studies physics in a local college, also lends a hand to his parents. Rafiq procures two tonnes of garment factory leftovers and 2,000 yards of fresh yarn to produce the caps. Earlier, he would take them to retailers in Dhaka’s Bangabazar or in other cities like Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and Bogra. “But now the retailers come to me to buy in bulk after we have made a name. Even Indian importers turn up to take my caps,” says Rafiq. But opening Letters of Credit (LOC) is a bit of problem-so Rafiq uses other businessmen to do that for him and for which he needs to pay them Tk 5 to 6 per cap. “Indian importers insist on credit. Recovering that is a problem, so I use LOCs raised by other businessmen to sell my caps.” The caps are sold under different brand names-ranging from Johnson to Parachute to Net to Ayub-Baccchu and Axsar. “If the government extends help, this business could be expanded and more jobs could be created for youngsters. They would not turn to crime if they had work,” said Rafiq. With rising income, Rafiq has bought four kathas of land around his factory and has a two storey house, where he lives with his family. Fatima works in Rafiq’s factory for Tk 9,000 a month after she failed to get a job in a garment factory. Mamun works for Tk 6,000 a month. “My family survives on my income,” said Fatima. Extortion is a huge problem for Rafiq. “Often local extortionists send their goons with weapons asking for money. That scares retailers and buyers. Complaints to police had not helped,” says Rafiq. Gedu Molla Road Police Station OC Mohammed Ali denies knowledge of extortion in the area. Rafiq is not alone with his caps. Nearly 100 units making caps have come up on the Gedu Molla road. “If the government helped, this is a line of business which has potential to grow,” says Shaon Sheikh, Rafiq’s son. Bangladesh’s economic success owes much to the indomitable spirit and hard work of men like Rafiq, as he now sits back with a reassuring smile.

The Laleli quarter of İstanbul known as Turkey’s textile hub with hundreds of shops sell clothing products at the retail and wholesale level mainly to Russian buyers. In the past year and a half having been experiencing a serious Russian-based crisis. They have confronted the economic difficulties that have arisen from this crisis, and in the last few months they have been diminished. Despite a major drop in the Russian business integral to Turkey’s textile industry, the sector is hopeful that it will make up for its losses in the coming season, according to statements from industry leaders. The Turkish textile hub has a decades-long history of customers from Russia and from other former Soviet states purchasing textile products to sell in their home countries. Laleli Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (LASİAD) Chairman Giyasettin Eyyüpkoca, speaking at an iftar dinner arranged by the association late last month said that in the upcoming season they anticipate at the very least, the compensation of a large portion of their losses as Russia is bouncing back. Eyyüpkoca also added that the fourth annual Laleli Fashion Shopping Festival is slated to kick off in August, last year’s festival was attended by buyers from 27 countries. Speaking after Eyyüpkoca, the chairman of the İstanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Union (İTHİB), İsmail Gülle, shared similar sentiments. They are noticing improvements relating to Russia. Their biggest exporting problem is when prices fall as sales increase. In the second half of this year they believe that this situation will improve. It’s not easy: In around one year they have gone through three elections, with the new government, they can move forward with new projects prioritizing growth in exports, employment and industry, Gülle said. According to the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) figures, from earlier this year, exports bound for Russia declined 43 percent between January and April, compared to the same period in 2014. The biggest factor contributing to the major drop stemmed from losses in the ready-made clothing sector. Economic sanctions imposed on Russia after its annexation of Crimea, in conjunction with the devaluation of the ruble, have created a major crisis for the Russian economy. The Russian crisis has spilled over into Turkey, particularly affecting the textile and tourism sectors, as large numbers of Russians on vacation are known to flock to Turkey’s southern provinces. But Istanbul continues to attracts a number of international buying offices, trading houses and major retailers and department stores. Since Istanbul is becoming a fashion and shopping center. The World’s largest shopping centers are opening in Istanbul. Many tourist have started added Istanbu to their itinerary for shopping as a global sourcing hub for both Asia and Europe. Also most of the companies have shifted their production facilities to the inner provinces. Izmir, Bursa, Ankara, Denizli, Gaziantep, Kayseri, Tekirdag, Adiyaman, Kahramanmaras and Adana are now major cities for textile and clothing production.

A discussion on ‘Making Technology Work in Fashion’, initiated by the International Apparel Federation (IAF) in Frankfurt during the Texprocess and Techtextil fairs, concluded that return on investments in technology are often large and can be made fast. Financing the investments should, from a total supply chain perspective, not be the problem, it said in a press release. The panelists at the discussion acknowledged that benefitting from technology that reduces environmental costs, or speed up the product development process or that enable made to measure production all require collaboration of different departments within companies and longer term commitments between players in the supply chain. This requires knowledge and leadership. The panelists called for companies to take full benefit from investments in technology that requires rethinking for the entire processes and not just optimizing existing processes. They also agreed that technology is both enabling change and forcing fashion brands, retailers and manufacturers to change their businesses. This requires bold leadership and leaps of faith. The key to successful implementation of technology therefore is the management of change and the entrepreneurial courage to be a first mover. The discussion was moderated by IAF’s Secretary General Matthijs Crietee

Two funds managed by mutual fund house Franklin Templeton acquired 8.49 per cent stake in fashion retailer Pantaloons Fashion & Retail Ltd, at Rs 165 a piece totaling to over Rs 143 crore. In a BSE filing, Pantaloons Fashion said Franklin Templeton has acquired 7,879,902 equity shares of the Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (ABNL) company. Of the 7,879,902 equity shares, 4,784,239 shares were acquired by Franklin India High Growth Companies Fund and the rest 3,095,663 by Franklin India Prima Fund. Kishore Biyani of the Future Group had ceded control of the 65 store-strong retail network of Pantaloons Fashion & Retail to the Kumara Mangalam Birla led Aditya Birla Nuvo more than two years back. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, Pantaloons Fashion had posted net sales at Rs 450.51 crore, up 12.5 per cent over the same quarter of fiscal 2014. The fashion retailer also was able to reduce net loss to Rs 63.78 crore in the same quarter as against net loss of Rs 70.75 crore in the fourth quarter of its prior fiscal.

Earnings per diluted share were nearly flat in the third fiscal quarter ended May 30, 2015 at US based and NYSE listed Family Dollar Stores, Inc. Family Dollar reported earnings per diluted share at $0.70 in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 compared to $0.71 in the third fiscal quarter ended May 31, 2014. Excluding $4.7 million of expenses related to the pending merger with Dollar Tree and $24.5 million of restructuring charges, adjusted earnings per diluted share in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 was $0.74. “This compares with $0.85 in the third quarter of fiscal 2014,” a press release from Family Dollar informed. Total net sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 increased 2.6 per cent to $2.73 billion from $2.66 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Comparable store sales for the 13-week period rose 0.7 per cent as a result of an increase in the number of customer transactions, which was partially offset by a decrease in the average customer transaction value. Gross profit for the reporting quarter expanded 3.5 per cent to $943.2 million, or 34.6 per cent of net sales as against $910.9 million, or 34.3 per cent in the prior fiscal third quarter. “As a percentage of net sales, the benefit of lower markdowns and higher merchandise markups was partially offset by increased sales of lower-margin consumables in the third quarter,” the retailer explained Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 were $812.2 million, or 29.8 per cent of net sales, as compared to $767.0 million, or 28.8 per cent of net sales. “The increase in SG&A, as a percentage of net sales, was primarily a result of higher store occupancy costs, higher insurance expense, and higher store payroll expense,” Family Dollar observed. The impact of these increases was partially offset by lower corporate payroll and lower advertising expense in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Operating profit for the quarter under review amounted to $126.3 million or 4.6 per cent of net sales as against $120.8 million, or 4.5 per cent of net sales, in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Net income in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 stood at $79.9 million compared with $81.1 million in the third quarter from previous fiscal. The Company’s merchandise inventories as on May 30, 2015, increased 2.5 per cent to $1.63 billion from $1.59 billion at May 31, 2014. Average inventory per store at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2015 was approximately 2 per cent higher than the average inventory per store at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2014. During the first three quarters of fiscal 2015, the Company opened 245 new stores and closed 26 stores as compared to 355 new store openings and 25 closings in the first three quarters of fiscal 2014.