17th August 2021, Mumbai:

European high street brand Jack & Jones, is present in India for over a decade with a retail footprint in over 60 cities. Known for its trends-driven offerings in denim, the brand created a strong recall value amongst consumers within a short span of time. Jack & Jones continuously strives to bring the best international fashion across all menswear categories. The brand recently launched the Jack &Jones Junior range to offer a similar set of high on fashion styles and denims to younger age group.

Spotlight on individual personalities in A/W ’21

The A/W’21 collection offers four different ranges under their sub-brand. Named Core- Off Grid, Vintage-The Lone Ranger, Originals-90’s Love and Premium- Gangster in LA, these collections highlight the distinct personalities of consumers. They embrace the concept of individualism by innovating with details and shapes in the garments. Their verbose prints and concealed patterns give the garments an outdoor and technical look. Their earth-inspired colors explore unexpected shades that give them a futuristic look.

Product Innovations

The bran launched a sustainable denim range made with responsibly sourced cotton through Better Cotton Initiative. The denim range washed in recycled water has zero fresh water usage. The garments are mostly made from cotton blends and recycled polyester while undergarments are made from modal fabrics. Their colors range from autumn hues like burnt orange, amber, grey and black to different shades of blue, etc.

The brand adopted a smooth ‘phygital’ retail model that incorporates various technological concepts like virtual catalogues, AI enabled smart mirrors and convergence of offline and online channels. These concepts help consumers virtually browse through various products offerings, minimum personal contact and choosing their preferred mode of shopping.

A pioneer in street style garments and denim in India, Jack & Jones offers latest denim trends that provide a perfect mix of comfort, fashion and individuality. The brand also offers other products such as accessories, shirt, T-shirt, pants, shorts, winter wear, trousers, blazers, suits, accessories, footwear and lounge wear/ inner wear. The target consumers vary between teenagers and young adults. The brand recently launched the Jack & Jones Junior range for young boys aged 4 to14 years.

Retail Footprint

Jack & Jones has a retail space of over 2 lakh sq. ft. across India and is present in over 60 cities including Mumbai, Delhi (NCR), Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Surat and Ludhiana. Their retail network spans 74 stores and 525 shop-in-shops across the country. The brand is also available on www.jackjones.in and with leading online partners.

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13th August 2021, Mumbai:

The new initiatives by the government will benefit the textile industry, believes Sanjay Jain, Managing Director, TT Ltd. Jain says, certain segments in the industry have done well like cotton, yarn, basic apparel etc.

Compared to June 2020, price of cotton has gone up 50 per cent in 2021. Farmers and traders have gained a lot. Yarn prices too have gone up 50 per cent in tune with raw material price rise.

The man-made segment is demanding rationalization and fibre-neutral GST. Meanwhile the government plans to introduce the PLI scheme. Unlike global trends, India’s man-made fibre share is about 40-45 per cent as against the global trend of 70 per cent. It needs to grab a share from the global market. The segment is likely to get a real push from the government in times to come.

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• Dollar Industries looks to strengthen global presence with new collections

11th August 2021, Mumbai:

Cloudtail India plans to stop operations from May 2022 with the company’s joint venture partners Amazon and N.R. Narayana Murthy-owned Catamaran Ventures not renewing the seven years old partnership next year.

Cloudtail India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Prione Business Services. Prione is a joint venture between Catamaran and Amazon. The two partners are going to exit from the business at a time when there is stricter surveillance on the operations of the foreign e-commerce marketplaces in the country.

The two partners have mutually decided to not continue their joint venture beyond the end of its current term ending on May 19, 2022.

Indian rules currently prohibit a foreign entity running a marketplace as well as its group companies from equity participation in any of the sellers or having control over their inventory.

As per the RBI norms of 2013, a group company means two or more enterprises which, directly or indirectly, are in a position to exercise 26% or more voting rights in the other enterprise or can appoint more than 50% members of the board of directors in the other enterprise.

As a result, Amazon had to reduce its stake from 49 per cent to 24 per cent in Cloudtail and Appario, the two top sellers on its marketplace.

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16th August 2021, Mumbai:

Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) is scheduled to host the second digital edition of the India Couture Week 2021 from August 23-29, 2021. 

The event will be launched by designer Manish Malhotra with his couture presentation. Archana Aggarwal Timeless Jewellery will be the jewellery partner this year.

The 14th edition of India Couture Week 2021 will be attended by India’s top 19 couturiers including Amit Aggarwal, Amit GT, Anamika Khanna, Anju Modi, Ashima Leena, Dolly J, Falguni Shane Peacock, Gaurav Gupta, Kunal Rawal, Manish Malhotra, Pankaj & Nidhi, Rahul Mishra, Reynu Taandon, Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna, Shantanu & Nikhil, Siddartha Tytler, Suneet Varma, Tarun Tahiliani and Varun Bahl.

The fashion films of these designers will be streamed on all the FDCI's digital platforms -Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and FDCI website. The show will end with a presentation by couturier Rahul Mishra.

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• The anti-dumping tariff on viscose staple fibers (VSF) has been removed by India
• The extension of RoSCTL till 31 March 2024 widely hailed

13th August 2021, Mumbai:

Dollar Industries is looking at revamping its brand logo and operations. With a strong 15 per cent market share in the organized segment, the company is constantly innovating to offer newer and better products. In the pipeline is expansion of the Dollar Woman range and foray into the brasserie segment. Vinod Kumar Gupta, Managing Director, elaborates on these initiatives and the company’s future plans.

What are your product offerings?

Our product portfolio comprises a varied range of products for men, women and kids. It can be divided into five broad categories: Dollar Man, Dollar Woman, Dollar Junior, Dollar Always and Dollar Thermals. We offer over 102 shades of well-fitted leggings for utmost comfort. We have also diversified our Missy range of innerwear to add outer wear. Our products cater to consumers in the age group 18-45 years across varied income groups from economy to premium class.

Tell us about your latest innovations.

Dollar Industries believes, ‘Change’ and ‘Innovation’ are two main keys to success. The brand continues to introduce new and improved version of products based on latest global trend. Recently we installed a 4 MW solar plant at our Tirupur unit as a part of our green mission. We also launched a new athleisure/comfort wear range that blends quality with affordability.

What are the key fabric trends for the season?

Dollar Industries has constantly adapted to changing fabric trends from cotton to supima cotton to Micro Modal fabric to Egyptian cotton. Our MLM Software helps curate innovative patterns and styles as seen from the bold graphic prints in our Force Designer T-shirts, pop colors, shiny waist bands and abstract patterns in briefs and trunks.

Elaborate on your retail spread

We gave an extensive presence across 29 states and operate in over one lakh MBOs across the country. We have also penetrated the overseas market, and are as the highest selling innerwear brand in the UAE and the Middle East. We have operations across Middle Eastern countries including Oman, Basra, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen, Iraq, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria and UAE. Now the aim is to assert ourselves in the rest of the world with new market defining collections. We also have an in-house e-commerce platform known as Dollar Shoppe besides a presence across all major e-commerce platforms.

Which do you think is the most important retail channel?

We have a strong offline presence with 97 per cent of our sales generated via brick and mortar stores. However, digitization has been the key during the pandemic. We recognize the potential of online/e-commerce platforms, and are therefore, strengthening our e-commerce operations.

What are your expansion plans?

Our research and development teams continue to map changing consumer trends. With the pandemic giving rise to the new work from home culture, demand for athlesiure has grown exponentially. We aim to expand Dollar Woman range and foray into the brasserie segment.

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11th August 2021, Mumbai:

In Q1 FY2021-22 , the Bombay Dyeing & Mfg Co’s net profit declined 35.28 per cent to Rs 107.91 crore from Rs 166.74 crore in Q4FY2020-21. The company’s income declined 22.13 per cent to Rs 395.39 crore in FY2021-22 from Rs 507.75 crore in Q4FY2020-21.

On annual basis, the company’s net profit declined 16.51 per cent to Rs 107.91 crore in Q1 FY2021-22 from Rs 129.25 crore in Q1 FY2020-21. Total income surged 311.69 per cent to Rs 395.39 crore during Q1 FY2021-22 from Rs 96.04 crore during Q1 FY2020-21.

Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company is the flagship company of the Wadia Group, engaged primarily in the business of Textiles. Bombay Dyeing is one of India's largest producers of textiles.

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16th August 2021, Mumbai:

Ethnic women’s wear brand Soch has been offering fashionable wear at affordable rates for over a decade. The Bengaluru-based brand has 137 stores across 53 cities and is increasing its footprint in Tier II and III cities besides expanding in Tier I cities. Manohar Chatlani, Managing Director, talks about the brand’s offerings, new collections and retail spread.

Tell us about your collection for the upcoming season.

We aim to capture evolving fashion trends to celebrate festivities. Our new launches include clothes that make a fashion statement through their timeless appeal, elegant charm and beautiful colors. They include everything from saris, to salwar suits to lehengas and kurtas to satisfy a women’s changing fashion needs. Soch launches multiple themes for every occasion in every season. The product range encompasses casual, evening and occasion wear for a complete wardrobe solution.

What are your latest product innovations?

Comfort and elegance go hand in hand at Soch. We use soft and breathable fabrics to enhance our customers’ body shapes and camouflage their pain areas. The neck styles and side slits in garments are designed to enhance comfort. The color palette is tweaked to suit Indian skin tone and make one look fresh and elegant.

Is your brand working on value engineering to be more realistic in present times?

We aim to offer affordable and timeless fashion to reflect evolving trends. Currently, we are focusing on light and comfortable fabrics in bright colors. We have launched an entire range of super stretch pants in our work from home category. These have been engineered to provide extreme comfort with least maintenance and enhanced fashion quotient.

What are the key fabric trends for the season?

Our collection comprises multiple fabrics ranging from cotton to georgette to muslin to soft silks, linen chanderi etc. The prints and embroideries in this collection have been selected on the basis of silhouette and occasion. We refrain from using bold prints. The prints and embroideries used in this collection highlight the elegance of designs and colors. Our range includes elegant hand embroideries made with rare embroidery techniques like pearls embedded in zardozi loops and knot and sequence work.

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10th August 2021, Mumbai:

Lifestyle brand Monte Carlo’s A/W collection is themed ‘conscious clarity’ that embraces the beauty, innovation and opportunity that comes from living with less after pandemic. Monte Carlo, the brand from Oswal Woolen Mills launched in 1984 was earlier, perceived as a winterwear brand. However, over the years it has evolved to become a seasonless lifestyle brand. It went public in 2013 with an IPO that was oversubscribed eight times. Going forward the plan is to launch a new collection with minimalist design. Sandeep Jain, Executive Director, elaborates on the collections, retail operations and future plans.

Give us a peek on your upcoming collection.

Our upcoming collection will focus on comfort and durability. Made with high-quality yarns, the collection will adopt a minimalist design approach. The daily wear range will be designed with hi-tech and performance-focused fabrics for greater durability and versatility. The beauty range will offer simple and consumer-targeted garments. Though the collection will offer minimum cuts, its neck and sleeve styles will be enhanced. It will blend style with comfort through extended ribbed cuffs, rib detailing and tonal contrast trims for outerwear. The color palette will have new core colors like bold graphite, jade green, lazuli blue, bloodstone red along with lower-impact unbleached tones over optic white.

What about the A/W 2021 collection?

The theme for A/W is ‘conscious clarity’ that embraces the beauty, innovation and opportunity that comes from living with less after pandemic. Inspired by traditional tile designs, the collection uses micro-checks, twills and jacquard plaids to create tiled geometric and irregular spaced stripes. It comes in seasonless colors including lazuli blue, jade green, bloodstone red and golden harvest yellow.

The A/W 2021 collection offers five innovative ranges:

Ultra Warm Range: This includes sweats and jackets with embedded rechargeable heat pads to provide body warmth in extreme temperatures.

Featured Range: Introduces neck pillow jackets/sweatshirts and music hoodies for extra comfort while travelling.

Athlesiure: This is defined by yoga wear in two-way stretch and loungewear in sherpa fabrics.

Luxuria: This collection has been crafted from luxurious fabrics. Designed in an Italian studio, the range offers exotic designs and international styles that cater to classy tastes.

Anti-viral range: It’s made with special chemicals to control the growth of bacteria and virus.

What are your latest innovations?

From yarn to fabrication, Monte Carlo constantly innovates with its designs, fabrics and styles. We adopt latest technologies to create consumer-focused garments. Our latest innovation include, helo yarn and Wool blends of polyester and nylon to create dynamic, functional and performance-driven fabrics and products. We are also working with 3D knitted garments and Inverse plating (I- plating technology) in segments like sportswear, casual wear and track suits.

Tell us about the key product lines and bestsellers.

Our product range includes woollens, jackets, sweatshirts, tracksuits, shawls, T-shirts, shirts, trousers, denims, ladies tops, kidswear, athleisure wear and accessories. Our products target all sections of the society and are priced between Rs 800 to Rs 40,000.

What is your retail spread?

We have 294 EBOs, 1,300 MBOs and 800 large format stores across North, Central and East India. We are exploring the Southern and Western markets to expand into leisure and sportswear categories. We also plan to expand our outerwear segment.

What are your future plans?

We aim to double our turnover in next five years.

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9th Aug 2021, Mumbai:

Earlier known as the common man’s material, Khadi has now metamorphosed into a fashion fabric for the sophisticated and elite. The garment has moved away from its humble origin to acquire a new status symbol.

Most Khadi garments in India are sold through Khadi emporiums located across the country. These emporiums are known to sell some high-quality readymade kurtas for men. However, the garments for women are poorly designed. Besides, they are not always affordable even though the emporiums run on government subsidies.

Demand declines as consumers opt for softer fabrics

As per a New India Express report there is vast difference between the Khadi fabric was available earlier, and one currently sold. The khadi sold during the times of Mahatma Gandhi was entirely handwoven. Today, only Ponduru in Andhra Pradesh sells handwoven Khadi. Elsewhere, the fabric is made in a sem-mechanized way.

The Khadi available today also has polyester yarn weaved into it. These yarns make the fabric smoother more colorful. They not only retain the patriotic fervor of the fabric but also make it more elegant and versatile. However, demand for Khadi fabric in India is on the decline as consumers tastes have changed. Instead of the coarser material they are now opting for softer fabrics like mulmul that are kinder to the skin. This has limited Khadi use to the upper echelons of society.

More skill training required

Designer Nalini Sriram believes, Khadi is going the way handloom and even cotton went. Middle class consumers no longer want to wear Khadi and are opting for more synthetic materials. This makes Khadi’s survival difficult. A few designers and organizations are supporting the growth of the fabric. However, its high prices prevent these garments from percolating down to the lower sections of the society. Experts feel, the government needs to encourage more skill training in the sector. It needs to guide NIFT students to create a formidable team of Khadi designers.

Improving accessibility

However, this may not always translate into tangible results, says Bessie Cecil, a textile expert. The recruited members of the Khadi board may run successful labels and have excellent business but they rarely have a proper understanding of the subject. They need to be educated about the benefits of the material.

Khadi also suffers from government apathy as a huge stock often lies unused in emporium’s godowns. It rarely reaches stores across the country. Khadi Bhandars can help solve this problem by making the fabric available to general public, adds Sriram.

11th August 2021, Mumbai:

Iki Chic has launched a new collection of safari prints, ruched designs, a scope of denim, new age tees and tops, jumpsuits, and to wrap things up, rompers.

The clothing label has enlivened the collection through its liberal bohemian development and addresses the boho world's common patterns in the design business. The brand has partnered with renowned e-commerce websites such as Myntra, Amazon Prime, and Flipkar to tap overseas customers.

Offering the best clothing with the right amount of western touch, Iki Chic adds an Indian flair to its dresses. Procuring exact details and the best texture chosen by hand to fulfill current style necessities, the bootstrapped attire brand from Delhi is fabricated and declared by the way of thinking of Absolute Panache, which is idealistic and exquisite.

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• Welspun India kicksin Capex cycle lining up Rs. 600 crore for expansion projects
• Arvind X Textile Genesis for traceability in apparel supply chain

7th August 2021, Mumbai:

Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI) says, permitting malls to operate will not only pave the way for citizens to shop in a safe and sanitized environment but will also save jobs of lakhs of livelihoods the mall ecosystem supports,

The continued closure of malls in Maharashtra due to COVID-19 pandemic is a big blow to business and lakhs of people working there, Rajagopalan added.

He claimed there is a misconception that being air-conditioned spaces, malls could exacerbate the pandemic situation and there is no medical guideline or evidence that prohibits the use of air conditioners in view of the virus.

Malls have been diligently following all standard operating procedures (SOPs) on preventive measures issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to ensure the safety of the staff and citizens.

Malls in Maharashtra generate a business of around Rs 40,000 crore and contribute Rs 4,000 crore in GST, per month. Their prolonged closures are impacting more than 2 lakh people employed in about 50 malls in the state, he added.

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TOP 5:

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• H&M to join Influencer-based social commerce platform 'Trell'

• Mega textile park scheme waiting in the wings: Proposal with Cabinet

• FDI in textile sector: An overview