Struggling UK high street retailers will lose over 175,000 jobs as property value slides amid Amazon’s success and the popularity of online shopping. A further 23,000 shops are likely to close this year, says research by real estate advisor Altus Group. Sixty two per cent of UK property owners said Amazon’s success has disrupted the retail property market. Retailers are expected to have an even worse year in 2019 than the previous year, which saw nearly 20,000 stores close and 150,000 job lo

South Africa will soon announce a master plan to boost the textile, apparel, footwear and leather retail value chain, according to trade and industry deputy minister Bulelani Magwanishe. The plan is to create 60 000 jobs and enhance competition. He was speaking at the opening of Africa Bespoke Apparel (ABA) factory in Verula in KwaZulu-Natal province. The firm is a beneficiary of the department of trade and industry's Black IndustrialistsProgramme. The country’s future economic growth an

Courtesy: SpreadshirtSpreadshirt, the global self-expression e-commerce company, has unveiled SPOD (Spreadshirt Print-On-Demand), a new venture into print-on-demand (POD) drop shipping. Backed by its sixteen years of POD mastery, SPOD hits the ground running with a quick and easy POD drop shipping solution for both offline enterprises and online shop systems such as Shopify. As the popularity and accessibility of e-commerce point-of-sale options increase, so grows the need for fast, reliable

Dry Goods, a subsidiary of Von Maur Department Store, plans to open 19 additional locations in 2019, which will expand Dry Goods' footprint to 58 locations. The new locations are part of the boutique retailer's accelerated nationwide growth plans to showcase the latest fashion trends to young shoppers across the country. It had opened 12 stores in 2018. The announcement will expand Dry Goods' footprint to 58 locations – once opened – across the country, including introducing the brand in sev

With the 164 World Trade Organisation (WTO) members unable to arrive at a consensus over some 25 separate e-commerce proposals at the body’s biennial conference at Buenos Aires in December, 76 countries and regions recently agreed at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos to start negotiating this year on a set of open and predictable e-commerce regulations. The participating countries include the United States, Japan and those from the European Union (EU). China, which had resisted joining

Courtesy: Gucci/KeringKering has been named as the world’s second most sustainable company across all industries by the Corporate Knights’ 2019 Global 100 Index. As further recognition of its continued sustainability leadership in its own industry, the luxury group has been ranked first in the Luxury and Apparel and Accessories sectors for the second year in a row. The annual Corporate Knights’ Global 100 rating index is considered one of the leading benchmarks for corporate sustainability

The continuous rise in Turkish textile imports to Morocco has reduced the sales volume of textiles of several manufacturers in the domestic market and caused loss of nearly 46,000 jobs between 2013 and 2016, according to the country’s secretary of state for foreign trade Rakiya Eddarhem. Production meant for the domestic market fell by MAD 11-13 billion. A 200 per cent increase in imports of Turkish products between 2013 and 2017 disrupted Morocco’s textile industry destined for the domestic

Courtesy: Munich FabricMunich Fabric Start has presented the HighTex innovation award to Becker Tuche from Aachen, a leader in the production of fabric for high quality work-wear and corporate-wear. The company, based in Germany, got the award for a new product development made combining wool and Cordura with spandex, which is super lightweight and highly functional. The woven fabric features high abrasion resistance despite its low weight as well as very high water vapour permeability. Pref

Courtesy: Messe FrankfurtThe recently held Texworld USA and Apparel Sourcing USA Winter 2019 edition closed its doors to another highly successful event. Together, the two shows connected 330 international suppliers of textiles, trims and accessories, manufacturing, and private label development services and finished apparel to a host of industry buyers, designers, and experts. In attendance, collectively, Texworld USA and Apparel Sourcing USA welcomed more than 4,100 qualified buyers spanni

The Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association (SLAEA) recently urged the government to negotiate through the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) for sector-specific liberalisation so that apparel manufacturers from the country can have greater access to the Indian market. Sri Lanka’s apparel exports to India are limited, up to $40 million. Despite the request, SLAEA sees ‘a serious reluctance’ in the negotiation process, its chairman Rehan Lakhany said at the 36th annual ge