BUDGET 2022-23 AN ENABLER FOR INDUSTRY

On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for financial year 2022-23, a Budget that claimed to focus on growth while promoting technologyenabled development. Here's how some prominent retailers and brands from across the fashion industry reacted to the announcements made during the presentation.

CIRCULAR TEXTILES: AN URGENT CALL FOR SHIFT

The fashion industry is one of the key consumers of natural resources such as water and energy. This widespread consumption due to fast fashion has devastating impacts on people and the planet. It is now more urgent than ever to shift from a linear - take, make, use, dispose - model to a circular model or circular economy where waste and pollution are designed out, products and materials are kept in use longer, and natural systems can regenerate. Mukul Agrawal, Chief Sustainability Officer, Birla Cellulose, shares his view on circular textiles and how brand Liva Reviva incorporates them in their products.

The Future Of Retail: 10 Trends

As the world enters another year of the pandemic that has re-shaped the way we spend and consume, Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, through its report titled ‘The Future 100: 2022’, brings to the fore 10 trends that will set the stage for retail and e-commerce this year and for years to come.

MSMEs & DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY: NEW PILLARS OF THE ECONOMY

Digital technology has a huge impact on all conceivable aspects of life, and it is transforming business in the global economy. It can help MSMEs expand their market reach at domestic and international levels. It is changing the shape of MSMEs at a faster pace. With appropriate digital strategies and quality products, anyone can make a big name for themselves in the market.

DIVAA BY ORRA LAUNCHES WALK-THROUGH EXPERIENTIAL STORE IN MUMBAI

DIVAA, a diamond jewellery brand by ORRA, has opened its first showroom at Palladium Mall in Lower Parel, Mumbai.

CHANGING SCENARIO OF RETAIL & E-COMMERCE

Ever since the coronavirus pandemic, the retail and e-commerce sectors have witnessed tectonic shifts in terms of commerce and business. During the pandemic, the retail industry was inclined towards necessities and basics as the coronavirus ensured that such utilities never be out of fashion, but as vaccination picked speed and the festive season came closer, consumers dedicated their spending to revenge expenditure in travel, shopping, outings and more.

How Year 2021 Panned For Businesses And Where They Are Headed In Year 2022!

Reports suggest that India’s direct selling industry would be valued at US$ 2.14 billion by the end of 2021. Brick-and-mortar retailers, too, have been growing steadily and several fashion brands are looking to open more stores in the upcoming financial year. Through this article, we take a look at how year 2021 panned for businesses and where they are headed in year 2022.

THE LAST MILE PROMISE: SUPPLY CHAIN GOES PHYGITAL

Customer behaviour has changed in the post-pandemic world and today, depending on what customers expect from a brand they are shopping from, the brand or the retailer is changing his strategy of doing business. It is all about putting the right supply chain forward, inclusive of a good last-mile fulfilment device. Experts in the field share some insights with us on the growing importance of CX in last-mile fulfilment.

PERFECTING THE ‘PHYGITAL' SHOPPING EXPERIENCE: UNIFYING THE ECOSYSTEM FOR TODAY'S HYPER-CONNECTED CONSUMER

Phygital retail is all about creating that immersive experience for your customers both offline and online through varied tools. Though the lines of divide between the two may be blurring fast, there’s much that needs to be explored. Industry experts help us understand how brands are perfecting their strategies to give customers the true ‘phygital’ shopping experience.

XYXX LAUNCHES NEW ATHLEISURE LINES - HYPE AND CODE

Men’s innerwear and loungewear brand XYXX has launched two new athleisure lines - Hype and Code. Hype offers a range of joggers and shorts in cotton-rich fabrics.

RETAIL REALIGNED: WHAT'S DRIVING BUSINESS TODAY?

Much has been said about how the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way businesses think and operate. In the fashion retail world, where product lifecycle from creation to delivery was once a long-drawn process, business are now looking to be more agile and quick, invest more in technology to make systems more automated, and lead with empathy. People and culture have taken precedence over sales generation. Experts from the sector share some key insights with us on changing yardsticks.

MICHAEL KORS ADDS FRESH DETAIL TO ITS TIMEPIECES FOR MEN AND WOMEN

Michael Kors has introduced its new range of timepieces - some reimagined and some classic.

INITIATING SECURE SUPPLY CHAINS

The digital world, like all others, has its own benefits and drawbacks. While transactions and operations are quick and more transparent, they often run the risk of not being 100% secure. In the digital world, securing the supply chain is essential in securing the business of the company. Understanding its nuances can go a long way in efficient running of the business.

Deepika Padukone Boards Adidas Bandwagon

Adidas has welcomed global superstar and youth icon Deepika Padukone to the brand.

WINTER WEAR DRIVEN BY COMFORT AND WORKCATIONS

The Indian winter wear market has grown immensely this year and demand is pouring in from all corners of the country. While part of this surge in demand post COVID is a result of people going back to office, a part is also driven by those travelling to serene locations and hill stations to ‘work from home’. The growth in such workcations has led to demand for winter wear almost all year round.

How The Cotton & Handloom Industry Is Booming

The handloom industry is a very critical component of the Indian economy due to its noncapital intensive nature, great potential for exports, the attraction of foreign currency and direct ties with the rural economy.

BEWAKOOF LAUNCHES NEW BADERA COLLECTION TO SUPPORT ARTISANS

India’s largest D2C fashion brand Bewakoof.com paid homage to heritage’, by announcing the ‘Badera’ collection with a complete range of fashion apparels for men and women. Badera collection includes close to 100 unique SKUs with a wide variety of prints, patterns and colour options.

RELAXO

LAUNCHES EXCLUSIVE BRAND OUTLET IN AGRA

DTC V/S MARKETPLACE: GAME ON

Brands that aggressively followed DTC strategies in FY21, are driving India’s online fashion retail growth with them reporting 66 per cent order volume growth as compared to the previous financial year.

Leather Fashion - Walking Towards Retail Convergence

As some consumer shifts seem here to stay, pandemic or no pandemic, leather fashion and lifestyle brands are equipping themselves with the requisite infrastructure for a future in which physical and digital worlds will converge

LENZING WELCOMES CLEAR POSITIONING OF THE EU COMMISSION IN THE FIGHT AGAINST PLASTIC WASTE

The Lenzing Group, the globally leading supplier of sustainably produced specialty fibers, welcomes the issuance of the guidelines for the implementation of the Single-Use Plastics Directive (EU) 2019/904, which took effect on June 05, 2019.

NEW-NORMAL KEYWORDS: FUNCTIONAL, OMNICHANNEL, SUSTAINABLE

As a result of the extreme challenges on toplines, in the short run, the brands will be push out their inventories at deep discounts. Moving ahead, however, leather product brands will need to up their game on Omnichannel retail, social engagement, and innovations such as conversational commerce

GEN Z AND THE FUTURE OF FASHION

Gen Z reacts strongly to how brands respond to relevant social conversations, both positively to authentic brand activism and negatively to tokenism and performative acts. Also, this generation’s fashion purchases are infl uenced by the commitments brands make to social and environmental sustainability, says ‘Futureproof’, a Depop and Bain & Company collaborative report on Gen Z behaviours and aspirations…

LEATHER ALTERNATIVES: A ‘FASHIONABLE' CONCEPT?

Luxurious leathers continue to be the material of choice not just for commercial and residential furniture but also for automotive, aviation and marine applications as well.

ATHLEISURE THE HERO OF THE POST LOCKDOWN WORLD

This shift in fashion is not just a superfi cial phenomenon but represents a shift in the social convention of out of home clothing

ADIDAS ADIZERO FOOTWEAR: EVOLVING FAST FOR THE ROAD AND THE TRACK

The collection is led by the ADIZERO ADIOS PRO 2, the latest integration of adidas’ record-breaking performance shoe. Utilising the legacy and elite race-day technology, the collection brings the ADIZERO BOSTON 10 & ADIZERO PRIME X…

THE PANT PROJECT LAUNCHES

NEW PANT20 COLLECTION

SUSTAINABILITY, GROWTH DRIVER FOR FASHION AND TEXTILES

Sustainability in the heart of fashion business helps the world to be a better place in more ways than one. Investing in sustainable practices can deliver never-before opportunities in business expansion and differentiation for products, brands, companies and all partners in the value chain.

LIVA REVIVA A BREAKTHROUGH INNOVATIONS IN RECYCLING OF FASHION INDUSTRY WASTE, FROM BIRLA CELLULOSE

The fashion Industry would need all the value chain partners to engage and work in unison to make fashion circulars. Birla Cellulose has developed its cutting edge technology for recycling fashion industry waste and transforming them into fresh fibres. Birla Cellulose is collaborating actively with its upstream and downstream partners with an aim to create a bigger and broader impact on circularity in the fashion industry.

FABALLEY'S PARENT COMPANY RAISES ₹25.50 CR IN FUNDING

Delhi-based fashion house, High Street Essentials (HSE), the parent company behind women’s fashion brands, FabAlley and Indya, has raised ₹25.50 Cr in a round of funding led by its existing investors Elevation Capital, India Quotient, Dominor Holding, and family offices.