ECO-FRIENDLY AND SUSTAINABLE CLOTHING TO SEE RISING DEMAND, TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS TO CONTINUE IN 2008
In 2007 for USA, imports were up, employment was down, commercial rents stabilised somewhat and retail sales were all over the map- strong in some sectors and though in others. The past year was one of economic uncertainly as the US dollar deflated, while energy prices remained high. With consumer spending more of their disposable income on food, gas and electricity, 2008 is expected to be an equally demanding time for manufactures and retailers.
2008 is going to be a tremendous year for two things. The first is anything ‘eco’ as analyst foresee .at growth rates in tradition sectors, but boom in environmentally friendly fashion, Recycled cashmere will be very as it’s half or one-quarter of the price (of new cashmere), and looks new and fresh.
The second trend is that people want the retailer to edit collections. Busy people are bombarded with an abundance of products and too many choices. They don’t have time to go to 100 stores. They want to narrow down the choices. Successful retailer will be able to edit the choices with a distinct point of view
Organic and sustainable clothing has bubbled in popular culture because of several driving forces: There are high fuel prices; global warming; longing for holistic, healthier life, and education about the toxicity of traditionally grown fibers. Recent design and fabrics developments are the significant factors- that organic or “green” clothing can be design - forward in beautifully refined materials. Manufacturers have produced collections that are full-circle organic, and will continue to develop new textiles, new techniques, challenge tailoring skills offer handicraft touch, all while using organic and sustainable materials. Beyond environmental concerns, consumers are really searching for a human story in design and, of course beautiful aesthetics and lasting quality.
2008 is expected to grow with more manufacturing resources and eco- conscious products, and there will be more companies selling an eco-conscious slant.
2007 was a very uncertain time for importers, mainly because of the talk of Vietnam and antidumping quotas possibly being imposed on textiles and apparel. Also, apparel was under a watchful eye this year by US Customs and Border Patrol for transshipping. Then there was a ton of fake goods coming into the US, which was a huge increase over a previous year.
The US committee for the Implementation for the Textile Agreements is keeping all the safeguard quotas [on 34 textile and apparel categories Chinese made goods] through 2008. Expert feel, records seems to show that apparel imports are increasing, but everybody is talking about somewhat of an inventory slowdown for the first quarter and possibly into the second quarter.
Technology investments in 2008 should continue to be strong among apparel brands and retailer as they invest in the key technology such as PLM (Product Lifecycle Management), global sourcing and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). Given the realities of the time compression and shorter product lifecycle, companies are hungry for technologies that will drive new efficiencies and help them become more productive.
Global sourcing continues to become more complex, as companies face challenges in managing production; getting accurate, real-time information from the factories; controlling quality, and tracking logistics. Companies cannot effectively manage product lifecycles and global sourcing using spreadsheet and e-mail, analyst feel, there will continue to be a movement to web-based global sourcing software. ERP investments by apparel brands and private label retailer should be strong in 2008.
CBI PREDICTS A GRIM FEW YEARS AHEAD FOR THE UK ECONOMY
Growth in the UK will slow markedly next year and is unlikely to see a recovery until after 2009, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned, as the credit crunch and soaring energy prices continue to cloud the outlook for the world economy.
In its quarterly forecast, CBI said that it now expected that UK economy to grow by just 2% next year, down from its September, 2007 prediction of 2.2%. This is markedly lower than the 3% growth rate it enjoyed this year and weaker than government forecast. The downgrade is the third successive reduction to forecast by the CBI as signs mount that the UK economy is in for a grim few years. Unemployment, which the CBI had predicted would fall in 2008, is now forecast to edge up to 1.7million, owing to slower economic growth. Consumer spending growth will tumble to 1.9% from 3.1% this year as condense takes a heavy hit and the growth in investment by companies slow to just 1.8 % from 5.7%.
The CBI said the slowdown was being driven by the credits crisis. Meanwhile, oil prices, which have risen by 20% since September, 2007 were adding to inflationary pressures while squeezing profits and household spending, further fueling the economic downturn.
The CBI predicts Inflation will rise from 2.1% to 2.6% next year, owing to high oil prices. This is likely to fan concerns among policy makers, who have been cautious about cutting interest rates despite an economic slowdown. Interest rates will have to fall again in the new year, with a possible third cut to 5% following shortly afterwards, in order to soften the economic impact of financial market turmoil.
The organisation did concede there was unlikely to be a UK recession owing to demand for exports from emerging economies such as China. However, it added that if the credit crunch persisted and oil prices rose, growth forecast may have to be slashed. Furthermore, the UK is unlikely to recover until after 2009
SPANISH BRANDS FOCUS ON LICENSING DEALS
No longer are Spanish fashion brand giants Zara and Mango only interested in selling “ just in time”, reasonably priced clothing. They’re now more concerned in pushing as many opportunities as possible within a larger field of interest frame by customers which their brands have built up. Optical brands are growing by pairing with non-optical partners which specialise in clothing and other fields.
Licensing can transmit a brand philosophy beyond the product. In the case of Mango, the company has for the past few months been developing a global agreement with Endura, the licensing arm of the Swatch Group, to sell a collection of watches complimenting its range of clothes and accessories. Also, Zara has developed a collection inspired by Superman and Yogi Bear, teaming with Warner Brothers. Women’s Secret (a unit of the Cortefiel group) likewise signed a worldwide agreement to sell underwear with the adorable canary, Tweety.
The Spanish retailers have linked with companies in the licensing sector that have huge advantage, mainly by using consolidated brands to spend further resources on new brands in the market that have media impact and can boost sales
In the minds of the many CEO’s there’s no need for their Spanish brands to spend further resources on new brands for a particular market segment. In fact, the brands can extend the product range while differentiating from competitors.
Companies promoting certain products consider licensing a new marketing tool that will take them closer to their target market and expand the scope of the company to reach different markets segments.
It opens the door to Hong Kong marketing companies due to leverage opportunities for suppliers - making more of the cross-sectoral advantages and .exible production arrangements of Hong Kong’s many contractors and sub-contractors. There are several prominent companies in Spain that have used licensing in the optical sector with the aim of increasing the variety of products on the market.
This list includes some famous names such as Armand Bassi, Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, Victoria Y Lucchino, Adolfo Dominguez, Pedrodel Hierro and Lois. Brands are promoted by designers that have relied on the Optim Group to produce glasses under their particular style and image.
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Clicdesign to revolutionise textile industry
Age Technology Inc.’s Clicdesign, a plug-in module for Photoshop and Illustrator, is specially applied to Apparel and Textile design and can now be availed at a relatively reasonable price, reports Fibre2Fashion. Age Technology Inc. stated that there has been a change in the price of all the clicdesign modules and the new price structure would help self employed designers and freelancer to access the software.
Clicdesign entering into a partnership with Parametric Technology Corp has also built a specific Adobe Illustrator plug-in integration with Flex PLMTM, a PTC ® PLM solutions for retail, footwear and apparel. The Ai plug-in would communicate directly with the FlexPLM server allowing the designer to save or open Ai .les directly without leaving the Adobe Illustrator design application.
A designer using this integration would have the ability to expert each sketch within an Ai document into separate EPS .le content for catalog print out needs. The Ai Flex integration plug- in is saving a designer a tremendous amount of time.
Besides, Motifstudio Photoshop plug-in for Mac OS X, including latest Leopard release, is also made available. This tool helps create print design for textile fabric, surface design and even for home furnishing industry. In fact, by making use of this tool, the designer can have a total control over the kind of design he intends to create be it free, tossed, border, stripe or anything else.
