Newsletter No.34   8 September 2017

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ATF Trade Show offers opportunities for local importers and chains stores

The annual Apparel, Textile and Footwear Import Trade Exhibition which will take place from 21 – 23 November this year at the CTICC in Cape Town will offer an unprecedented opportunity for local importers and international manufacturers to meet with chain stores, independent retailers, boutiques, mini-chains, factory managers and other key industry decision makers. The event will feature manufacturers and suppliers from South Africa, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Belarus, Estonia, etc. and the China Premium Tex Trade Show will once again take place in the same hall featuring 100 reputable manufacturers from China. The 3 day trade exhibition will also focus on investment opportunities in Southern Africa.

If you would like to EXHIBIT or VISIT, register online at www.atfexpo.co.za. There is no cost to visit the show, but pre-registration necessary. Organisers: LTE – leaders in trade exhibitions,Email: atfexpo@worldonline.co.za, Tel: +27 21 790 5849

Rwanda-US talks on AGOA in advanced stage

Negotiations between Rwanda and the United States to review the US African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) to ensure continued duty-free access of Rwandan commodities to the US market are at an advanced stage. Rwanda Development Board chief executive officer Emmanuel Hategeka said they want to ensure the country is not locked out of the trade window.

As Rwanda and other East African Community (EAC) states decided to phase out and eventually ban import of second hand clothes, the United States conducted an out-of-cycle review on the eligibility of Rwanda under AGOA in July this year.

The EAC decision was aimed at backing the textile industry in the region and preserving the dignity of the east African citizens, according to a report in a Rwandan newspaper. Rwanda had last year increased taxes on used clothes from $0.2 to $2.5 per kilogram.

Exports from the three EAC nations — Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda — through the AGOA was $43 million in 2016, whereas US exports into the three nations was $281 million.

Mr Price says clothing division is stealing back market share

Clothing and homeware retailer Mr Price says it is making headway in its attempt to regain market share lost by its clothing units, MRP Apparel and Milady’s.

In a trading update for the first four months of its 2018 financial year, the company said on Friday that total retail sales were up 6.2% in the 18 weeks to 5 August.

For April, May and June, MRP Apparel and Milady’s reported sales growth of 10.1% at current prices – which Mr Price pointed out was far ahead of the 4.8% growth that Statistics SA reported for the retail sector.

Sales growth in the overall apparel segment, which includes MRP Sport, was 8.7% in the 18 weeks to 5 August.

The homeware division did not do as well, however, with sales falling 1%, thanks to a 2.1% decline in sales at MRP Home, offset by a 1.7% increase at Sheet Street.

French fashion giants ban ultra-thin models

PARIS, France – A host of French-owned fashion labels spanning Christian Dior to Saint Laurent pledged Wednesday to ban ultra-thin models from their advertising and catwalk shows following criticism that the industry encourages anorexia.

French holding companies LVMH and Kering, which own dozens of top brands between them, unveiled a charter “to ensure the well-being of models” which will also outlaw the hiring of girls under the age of 16 for adult shoots or events. In May, a French law requiring models to present a doctor’s certificate attesting to their good health was introduced to try to tackle the problem of the industry promoting thinness and unattainable beauty ideals.

The two French groups said they wanted to go beyond this requirement and would only use female models who were size 34 or over according to the French system, and men sized 44 or over. Size 32 in France corresponds to XXS, or size 6 in Britain and size 0 in the United States.

“Respecting the dignity of all women has always been both a personal commitment for me and a priority for Kering as a group,” the company’s billionaire chairman Franois-Henri Pinault said in a statement. “We hope to inspire the entire industry to follow suit, thus making a real difference in the working conditions of fashion models industry-wide,” he added.

As well as the age and size stipulations, the charter includes other measures such as banning the serving of alcohol to models under 18 and ensuring they have a guardian or chaperone present at all times.

“As the leader in the luxury sector, we believe it is our role to be at the forefront of this initiative,” said Antoine Arnault, a board member of LVMH and son of owner Bernard Arnault, in a statement. “We have the responsibility of building new standards for fashion and we hope to be followed by other players in our sector,” he added.

Speaking to AFP, Arnault explained that some unnamed designers worked with size 32 models. “That’s finished now, the size will be 34 and above, which is already quite small,” he said.

LVMH is a luxury goods behemoth that owns classic French brands Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Givenchy as well as other high-end European names including Fendi and Marc Jacobs. Kering owns Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen and Saint Laurent among others.

In 2015, Saint Laurent had to withdraw a magazine advertisement in Britain over its use of of an “unhealthily thin model” and earlier this year, it caused outrage with a poster campaign around Paris. In those pictures, a reclining woman in a fur coat and fishnet tights was pictured opening her legs, while another extremely thin model was photographed in a leotard and roller skate stilettos bending over a stool.

The head of the French advertising authority said they were part of a disturbing trend in fashion promoting “porno-chic” and the label was ordered to remove them.

Did you know………

There are over 100 fashion blogs with United States IP addresses, and that does not include sites that are sometimes used as fashion blogs, such as Pinterest or Tumblr.

Surprising as it may seem, there actually are more men at the executive level than woman when it comes to the fashion industry. Most of the CEOs and presidents of big fashion houses are men, not woman. Charles Townsend is one of those men, owning Allure, Lucky, Vanity Fair, WWD, and Vogue. Millard Drexler, another example, is the CEO of J. Crew, though many people mistakenly consider Jenna Lyons as the president.