For the three months to May 31, 2015, sales at Swedish apparel retailer soared 21 per cent year over year, despite what it called challenging conditions. H&M group’s sales surged 21 per cent from a fiscal ago quarter to SEK 45,867 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2016, while in local currencies the increase was more sedate at 10 per cent. “The quarter has been negatively affected by calendar effects of approximately 2 percentage points,” H&M informed in an interim report. CEO Karl-Johan Persson said, “Sales development was again strong, if we consider the challenging conditions like unusually cold spring weather and negative calendar effects.” Gross profit for the reporting quarter amounted to SEK 27,245 million, also up a massive 18 per cent over the same quarter of previous fiscal and posted gross margin of 59.4 per cent as against 60.8 per cent. Profit after financial items grew slower at 10 per cent and totaled to SEK 8,435 million, while net profit climbed 11 per cent to SEK 6,453 million or SEK 3.90 per share. For the first half of the current fiscal, H&M group sales excluding VAT too surged 23 per cent to SEK 86,143 million from SEK 69,970 million in the same period of prior fiscal. “Well-received collections for all brands in the H&M group resulted in good sales and increased market share,” it informed. Profit after financial items in the period under review reached SEK 13,158 million as against SEK 11,129 million, an increase of 18 per cent The group’s profit after tax drove up 19 per cent to SEK 10,066 million or SEK 6.08 per share compared to SEK 8,458 million or SEK 5.11 per share in the first half of previous fiscal. “Net profits also developed well, this despite that the increasingly strong US dollar has resulted in increased purchasing costs and also an increase in long-term investments,” Persson added. “Our goal is to offer a customer experience in which online and stores are closely interwoven, which will strengthen our customer offering further,” the CEO observed. In March and April, the apparel retailer opened eight new H&M online markets, which includes Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary and Belgium. With the opening of H&M shop online in Switzerland in autumn, H&M will have a presence in 22 online markets. Parallel with its online expansion, H&M is also continuing to open brick-and-mortar stores at a fast pace and aims to open approximately 400 new stores this fiscal. In the second half of the fiscal, the retailer who operates around 3,000 stores worldwide is planning to open stores in new markets like India and South Africa.

Rising labour costs and cut-throat competition are forcing the garment industry in Dongguan to invest in robotic technology to increase the bottom line, according to reports in the Chinese media. High-tech machines from Germany, Italy, the US and Japan have been installed, along with Chinese lines, as clothing companies struggle to recruit unskilled staff in the battle against cheaper rivals from Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh, a leading Chinese newspaper has reported. Located in South China’s Guangdong province, Dongguan is known as the capital of China’s garment industry. Last year, the city’s 520 manufacturers exported $7.5 billion worth of apparel products and fashion accessories, according to Huangpu Customs. This was a rise of 3.8 per cent compared to 2013, but a far cry from 2008 when the city shipped goods worth $113 billion. In a bid to retain global market share, investment has increased and even skilled staff have been trimmed. “High-end garment machines have become popular with factory owners as they reduce spending on training skilled workers,” Chen Yaohua, chairman of Dongguan Association of Textile and Garment Industry, said. “Most of the factories in Dongguan have installed cloth-making machines imported from Germany, Italy, the US and Japan along with homegrown technology.” Even so, there are still more than 13,600 unskilled job vacancies in the sector, Li Ganqiu, spokesman for the Dongguan Economic Development, Science and Information Technology Bureau, pointed out. “Although nearly all the garment factories in the city are equipped with different types of machines and levels of technology, many are still short of hands,” Li said. Wages have also become a problem. The average monthly salary of a garment worker soared to about 3,200 yuan ($516) in March, a 12 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. Part of the reason for the increase is that factory owners need to pay employees more for working extra shifts. This comes at a time when cheaper fashion products are rolling off the production lines in India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh. To combat mounting competition, the industry, which is labor-intensive, has turned to technology. Garment-making machines can be operated by fewer workers and this can cut costs by more than 30 per cent as well as boosting productivity by 40 per cent, the report said. “By introducing this robotic technology in different workshops, a medium-sized factory can bring down its workforce from 1,200 to 800,” Chen said. “They can also help prevent material waste and increase manufacturing accuracy.” Although this rush to bring in technology will not completely automate factories, the number of workers needed will be reduced as garment companies look at new ways to survive in a changing business landscape.

The trade-promotion bill known as the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) now heads to President Barack Obama’s desk for his signature. It gives the executive branch additional powers for six years and authorizes the president, and his successor, to present trade deals to Congress for a vote on a specified timeline without lawmakers being able to amend the terms, media reports say. Although the outcome is a full-fledged victory for Obama, the acrimony along the way has raised questions about the Democratic Party’s cohesion heading into the 2016 election cycle. Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, who supported the TPP as Obama’s secretary of state, sought to distance herself from the pact more recently. Most Democrats have dismissed the strategic foreign policy benefits of the trade deal, warning instead that the TPP will cost US workers jobs in traditional manufacturing industries and exacerbate the nation’s widening income gap. “The foreign policy establishment of the executive branch has divorced itself from the domestic policy,” said Rep. Marcy Kaptur (Democrat-Ohio), who opposed the legislation. Supporters see the TPA as critical to the success of a 12-nation trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that would help the US economy maintain an edge over China. US officials expect the new authority to jump-start the final rounds of talks. Negotiators still must hammer out deals on a number of thorny issues, including new rules on access to Japanese auto and agriculture markets. In addition to lowering tariffs, the trade pact also aims to expand copyright and intellectual property protections and regulate the flow of information on the Internet. Once negotiations are complete, the administration will have to get a final deal through another vote in Congress, during which labor unions are certain to renew their opposition efforts. The whole process could take six months or more and plunge the Democratic Party into further political turmoil in the middle of a presidential campaign. Despite the political bickering, the business community in the US had been pushing for the TPA. The National Retail Federation which is the world’s largest retail trade association, has welcomed the passage of the TPA by the Senate. In a statement, NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said, “This is a landmark step toward tearing down trade barriers that stand in the way of a truly free and open global economy. TPA will help complete trade agreements that will open new markets for US companies and help retailers provide American families with the products they need at prices they can afford. This will ultimately mean more jobs for American workers and lower prices for American consumers. After weeks of partisanship, it’s refreshing to see Congress finally put good policy ahead of politics.”

The Imec and Holst Centre demonstrated an advanced smart garment which measures electrocardiogram (ECG) of the body accurately at the Imec Technology Forum (ITF) in Brussels. “The smart t-shirt also recognises body activity and calculates energy expenditure in an unobtrusive way, while allowing for maximum user comfort and natural movement,” an Imec press release said. “The t-shirt can monitor data such as the wearer’s heart rate, heart rate variability, activities performed and calories burned, and share information over the cloud via a mobile phone, tablet or PC,” Imec added. The t-shirt features Imec and Holst Centre’s flexible smart fabric interconnect technology and miniaturised electronics of a size 1.5cm x 2cm x 2mm. This is integrated into a module of the size of an extended SD card, containing Imec’s high accuracy and ultra-low power multi-sensor data acquisition chip, a battery and a Bluetooth low energy radio chip. The module including the battery weighs only 7 grams, and can be removed to wash the shirt or charge the battery. The patented flexible and stretchable interconnect technology preserves the original properties of the fabric, so that the t-shirt remains flexible, stretchable, breathable, lightweight and washable. “It also gives complete freedom in placing sensors, actuators and electronics to ensure the highest data quality,” the research centre informed. All the steps used to integrate the smart electronic functionality, including the lamination technique and interconnect technology, are fully compatible with most standard material production processes. “We want to extend the functionality of smart garments and deliver medical-grade data through everyday clothes,” said Ruben de Francisco, program manager wearable health solutions at the Imec and Holst Centre. “The power consumption of our smart t-shirt has been optimised to achieve long battery use, enabling a wearer to be continuously monitored,” Jeroen van den Brand, program manager integration technologies too said. Brand also added, “It also offers the perfect platform to integrate additional capabilities such as breathing rate measurements and dehydration monitoring.” The centre is also exploring ways to extend the functionality and to render the garment more communicative, like providing feedback of the data to wearers. “This can be done by integrating simple LED indicators, actuators for haptic feedback or, in the longer term, smart display technologies,” Brand noted. The Imec Technology Forum (ITF) brings together some of the top minds and experts in semiconductor, electronics, embedded systems, information and communications technology, energy and healthcare.

Bangladesh’s foreign currency reserves crossed $25 billion yesterday, setting a new record.

The reserve of $25.02 billion is enough to meet the country’s import bills for more than seven months, Kazi Sayedur Rahman, general manager of the forex reserve and treasury management department of Bangladesh Bank, told The Daily Star.

The reserves first crossed the $23-billion mark on February 26 and $24 billion on April 29 this year.

The central bank attributed this large reserve sum to export earnings, remittance, foreign direct investment and the private sector’s foreign-sourced loans.

Declining import bills for food grains and petroleum oils also played an important role in fuelling the reserve, according to a statement by the central bank.

Exports grew only 2.8 percent to $28.14 billion and remittances 7.21 percent to $13.87 billion in July-May of the outgoing fiscal year, compared to the same period in the previous year, according to data from the central bank.

On the other hand, imports (freight on board-basis) increased more than 12 percent to $33.46 billion during the first 10 months of the fiscal year till April.

According to analysts, the private sector’s increasing dependence on loans from foreign sources has had a major role in the country’s forex reserves figure every month.

Government data shows that the private sector took $4.89 billion in loans from abroad in 2014, up from $4.06 billion and $1.79 billion in 2013 and 2012 respectively.

The growing reserves of foreign currency have helped the central bank maintain a stable exchange rate over the last couple of years and provided a more favourable economic environment.

However, fluctuations in the exchange markets can result in gains and losses in the purchasing power of reserves.

For example, Bangladesh holds a majority of its reserves in US dollar-denominated assets, and if the dollar weakens, it will result in a relative loss of wealth.

The US apparel buyers are still dominating in fixing prices of garment items, which are declining in their market since 2000, said a US researcher in his paper, presented on Thursday.

Associate Professor Mark Anner attributed the ‘monopsony’ of the big buyers for the declining price trend of apparel products.

‘Monopsony’ is a market condition similar to monopoly, except that a large buyer not seller controls a major proportion of the market, and drives the prices down. It is sometimes referred to as buyer’s monopoly.

Mr Anner of Penn State University of US said these while presenting his research paper – “Prices and Development in the Global Apparel Industry: Bangladesh in Comparative Perspective” – at the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) headquarters in the city.

He said Bangladesh became the largest exporter of men and boys cotton trousers to the US in 2014, superseding China and Mexico.

But the price of per square meter of Bangladeshi products declined by 40.89 per cent since 2000 to 2014. The price of per square meter of cotton trouser was more than $4.0 in 2000 which stood at $2.5 in 2014, he added.

He, however, did not go through the details of the same of China and Mexico.

The paper also showed that Bangladeshi products are facing stiff competition with those of Vietnam, with a 12.36 per cent share in the US market, which was only 0.19 per cent in 2000.

China is the largest exporter to the US with 36.07 per cent market share, while Bangladesh 7.67 per cent from 6.03 per cent in 2000.

Mr Anner also suggested sharing information, creating awareness and the government’s initiatives to break the ‘monopsony’ as well as coordination among the weaker actors to address the ‘power imbalance’ in supply chain.

He, however, did not mention who will take the lead role – the supplier side or the buyer side. Executive Director of Policy Research Institute (PRI) Ahsan H Mansur said RMG prices declined for various reasons, including fall in raw material prices as well as technological advancement.

He rather recommended following the Chinese strategy of enhancing productivity and manufacturing high value added products to increase Bangladesh’s market share in the US.

BGMEA President Md Atiqul Islam said at present Bangladesh’s RMG sector is facing a very critical time.

“Cost of production has gone up by 10 per cent in recent times due to wage hike and ongoing safety initiatives by the western retailers and the government,” he added.

Additional Research Director of Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Khondaker Golam Moazzem said the US is going to sign TPP with 12 countries, including Vietnam, and so, the US government should safeguard other exporting countries.

“If TPP is signed between Vietnam and the US, Bangladesh will be affected. Both Bangladesh and Vietnam export the same top 10 products to US.” He stressed on ethical profit, so that suppliers can ensure compliance requirements. Senior Research Fellow of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Nazneen Ahmed recommended that the US government should take some steps in fixing price slabs.

The prices of Bangladesh-produced cotton trousers have declined by over 40 per cent in the US market since 2000, according to an American researcher.
Dr Mark Anner, an associate professor at Penn State University, came across this as part of his research titled ‘Prices and Development in the Global Apparel Industry: Bangladesh in Comparative Perspective’.
Revealing the findings of his research Thursday at the BGMEA conference room, Dr Anner said if constantly improved efficiency on the part of the supplier results in constantly reduced prices, then the gains in efficiency will be captured at the top of the supply chain.
Bangladesh is one of the top cotton trouser-exporting countries to the USA along with China, Mexico, Vietnam, Pakistan and Indonesia.
Dr Anner stressed the need for conducting further research on cost breakdown of buyers to assess the US market.
Associate Professor of University of Colorado Jennifer Bair, and fellow of Penn State University Jeremy Blasi also contributed to the research Dr Anner presented at the discussion yesterday.
Speaking on the occasion, BGMEA president M Atiqul Islam said the government has proposed source tax on RMG sector in its upcoming budget of fiscal 2015-16, which will force the industry into trouble.
He said if source tax is imposed amid the price decline of RMG products in US market, it will be suicidal for the RMG industry, in which at least 4 million workers, mostly women, are currently working.
The BGMEA president also said the growth rate of RMG export is less than 3 per cent in Bangladesh while the rate has reached to double digit in the competitor countries like in Vietnam, India or even Pakistan.
Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, senior first vice president of FBCCI, urged the government to reconsider the decision of imposing source tax for the long term benefit of the RMG sector.
Kandakar Golam Moazzem, additional research director of Centre for Policy Dialogue, said the governments of both buyer and seller countries should monitor the businessmen whether they are doing business in a right way or not.
Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, said the RMG producing countries can make a coalition to stop the price discrimination.

Monopsony power has apparently emerged as a major setback for the apparel makers of the country in getting hiked price of garment items against the increased cost of production.
It was referred at a study dubbed ‘Prices and Development in the Global Apparel Industry: Bangladesh in Comparative Perspective’ revealed formally at the conference room of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) building in the capital on Thursday.
A team of expert, led by Mark Anner, Associate Professor of Penn State University, USA, has conducted the study. Monopsony is a market where one buyer faces many sellers.
Analysts, however, called upon the government of retailers’ countries and apparel consumers to take steps to break such Monopsony power to help the garment makers to cope with the market competitiveness. The study mentioned that though the cost of production has increased, prices of apparel items have gone down steeply in the US market. Prices of cotton trousers, for instance, went down by 40.89 percent in US market during the timeline of 2000 to 2014, the study said.
Amount of revenue needed to pay the US government increased sharply during the period of January 2006 to January 2015, while the profit of retailers did not see such surge, it said.
Chaired by Atiqul Islam, President of BGMEA, the event was addressed, among others, by Md Shafiul Islam, First Vice-President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry and former President of BGMEA, Dr Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director of Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, Dr Khandakar Golam Moazzem, Additional Research Director of Centre for Policy Dialogue, Dr Nazneen Ahmed, Senior Research Fellow of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, and BGMEA office bearers.
The US government can play a significant role in breaking the Monopsony power resulting in helping the apparel makers of Bangladesh to cope with the international market, said Dr Nazneen Ahmed. Calling upon the government to reduce source tax in the next budget, BGMEA President Atiqul Islam said the garment industry is under many threats, including hike of cost of production, factory remediation and currency devaluation.