2021年1月8日
行業報導 - 2021年1月8日
1、深圳對入境人員實行“14+7”隔離措施
記者1月4日從深圳社區網格管理辦公室獲悉，根據廣東省疫情防控組下發的《關於進一步加強集中隔離醫學觀察場所健康管理工作的通知》，所有境外入境深圳的人員在集中隔離14天后，納入7天社區管理。
據了解，相關規定即日起實施。其中，所有境外入境人員在14天酒店隔離期間，分別於第1、7、14天各進行1次核酸檢測﹔社區管理期間，在第21天進行1次核酸檢測，累計共4次。針對來自英國等發現新型變異病毒國家和地區的入境人員，在14天酒店隔離期間分別於第1、4、7、14天各進行1次核酸檢測﹔社區管理期間，在第21天進行1次核酸檢測，累計共5次。
同時，深圳此前的“7+7”“2+12”等隔離措施已取消，針對老幼病殘孕等有特殊情況的入境人士，需要向所在區指揮部進行報批。
目前，深圳各區已開始落實相關規定。在7天社區管理期間，原則上非必要不得外出，因特殊情況確需外出的，要報告屬地社區工作聯系人，並嚴格全過程佩戴口罩，不前往人群聚集場所。社區管理結束後發放解除隔離書。對於已經在隔離的入境人士，也將同步適用該規定。
甘願隔離21天搶閘過年關 香港市民迫爆深圳灣返內地
春節將至，不少香港市民提前返回內地，他們甘願隔離21天，耐心等待一家團圓日子的來臨。另外，從明日起，入境深圳的港人須出示隔離期間入住酒店的預約確認單。在新措施生效前，近四日來有近萬名香港市民經深圳灣口岸返回內地。大公報記者到深圳灣現場查看，發現關口人頭湧湧，堪比“春運”。有市民因深圳檢疫酒店短缺被分配到東莞的酒店，從香港出發到入住酒店花了近十個小時。但無論路程多麼艱辛，回家過年的人都充滿了期待：“父母在老家等咗我好耐了，一家大團圓就是好事!”
深圳市在上月29日要求經深圳灣口岸入境深圳的人士，由本月5日起，除需持有24小時內有效的新冠病毒檢測陰性證明外，並出示隔離期間入住酒店的預約確認單。上月31日起，入境人士需接受14日集中隔離及7日社區管理。
過去四日近萬人過關
不少市民為回鄉過農曆新年，都提早一個月過關。大公報記者昨日在深圳灣口岸所見，關口人頭湧湧，大排長龍。回內地公幹的許小姐及梁先生被眼前一幕嚇到，“知道有新措施，但沒想過會這麽多人，但被公司安排工作也沒辦法，只好慢慢排隊。”
從入境處數字可見，由去年12月30日到今年1月2日經深圳灣口岸過關的人數達到10227人，每日均達逾2000人次，其中1月2日更有2988人次，為四日最高，亦創下近一個月的新高。
前日回鄉的陶先生就正好趕上了過關人流的最高峰，他形容現場猶如“春運”。
陶先生早上八點從香港家中出發，從深圳灣口岸到坐上前往酒店的車就花了超過三小時，由於深圳檢疫酒店不足，他還被安排到東莞的酒店隔離，入住酒店的時候已是黃昏時分，全程花了近十個小時。但他仍覺得非常興奮：“排幾個小時不算折騰，父母在老家等咗我好耐了，一家大團圓就是好事!”
“路途再辛苦也值得”
謝女士一家四口昨日回雲浮老家過春節。她說，本來今年沒有打算回鄉，但丈夫太想念在家鄉的母親，加上明日起就要上網預約酒店才能過關，所以前日臨時決定去做檢測，一家人一起回鄉。
她指出，不同的城市有不同的防疫指引，雲浮由於沒有確診個案出現，所以在港回去的人必須到市內隔離。
在深圳隔離兩日後，雲浮市會安排車輛到深圳接他們回當地再繼續隔離。能夠回老家，謝女士覺得路途上再辛苦也值得：“一年沒有回去了，非常激動!”
“內地控疫非紙上談兵”
譚小姐上月26號從香港到深圳，入住隔離酒店，因為在深圳有住所，原本想申請7+7居家隔離，但她入住隔離酒店時才被告知，現在深圳各區已經暫停申報居家隔離，無奈只好作罷。
一兩日後，她又獲知深圳目前已開始施行入境人員“14+7”的隔離政策，而這一政策適用於之前已經入境的人員。
這個消息令譚小姐之前計畫好的待辦事項要重新調整，她擔心政策還會再有變動。“但是沒辦法，內地嚴控從不是紙上談兵，各個部門嚴陣以待，防止病毒輸入，無奈香港疫情一直控制不住，我們唯有理解、配合。”而在譚小姐隔離期間，她丈夫堅持每天到酒店樓下遙距“探望”，令她的隔離生活多了很多暖心時刻。
深圳市民劉先生則對突然之間這麽多港人湧到深圳隔離檢疫表示擔心，認為這無可避免會增加深圳的防疫壓力。“但要過年了，我們也理解、支援，也希望香港的疫情早點受控。”
提提你：各地政策不同
現時從香港到內地的入境人士都需要檢疫隔離，但各地的政策不一樣，市民出發前須瞭解清楚，事先做好準備。
廣東省 港人多選擇到深圳或者珠海隔離，從去年12月31日起，廣東省已經全部實行集中隔離14天后，再納入7天社區管理(“14+7”)的政策。
京滬閩 由於疫情原因，香港與內地很多城市的航線都暫停運營，現在仍保留的包括北京、上海、福州等城市。北京和福建全省亦實行“14+7”的隔離政策，上海仍維持集中隔離14天。有網友稱，在深圳完成14日隔離後回到海南省海口市，但當地要求他再在酒店隔離七日加居家隔離七日，返鄉路由14日大增至28日，大失預算。
話你知：“14+7”全廣東適用
深圳“14+7”的21天健康管理措施，2020年12月31日已開始實施
集中隔離14天后，納入7天社區管理
社區管理期間，原則上非必要不外出;因特殊情況確需外出的，需上報並做好嚴格防護，不得參加人群聚集性活動
“14+7”政策適用于全廣東省，珠海、東莞等地已陸續實施
對於已經在隔離的入境人士，將同步適用該規定
明日起入境深圳 須出示隔離酒店確認單
深圳市口岸辦日前表示，自1月5日起，由香港經深圳灣口岸入境深圳的人士，必須持有24小時內的核酸檢測陰性結果證明，亦必須出示14天集中隔離醫學觀察期間將入住的酒店預約確認單。“健康驛站房間網上預約系統”去年12月30日正式上線，每日開放預約時間為上午10時至晚上8時，註冊登錄系統後，可預約自1月5日起七天以內的房間名額。
預約成功 名額不能轉讓
市民可先登錄上述網站註冊，然後填報個人資訊，第三步預約酒店房間。一旦預約成功，就會生成一個確認單。預約確認單為系統生成的二維碼，可使用手機等電子設備顯示，也可自行打印紙質單現場出示。
通關現場如不能出示當日有效的預約確認單的入境旅客，將被安排返回香港，一旦被遣返，須居家隔離14天。如因特殊情況無法辦理返港手續，當事人將獲安排在現場依次候補當日剩餘未預約以及已預約但未使用的房間名額。
此外，預約成功的名額不能轉讓，如果因故需臨時調整入境日期，一定要提前兩天取消預約的房間。如果出現連續成功預約兩次但都未能按時入境，當事人14天內將不被允許再次預約。
隔離允許同住，但必須是直系親屬，且一間房最多只能有兩名成人，一共不超過四人。若有家人同住，市民一定要在預約系統內添加好同住人資訊。
如市民經珠海過關，須持有24小時有效的核酸檢測陰性證明，也要提前買好的過境巴士(金巴)車票。目前，金巴每日有六班，每班可容納40人。
健康驛站房間網上預約系統：https://hk.sz.gov.cn/
資料來源：人民網 及 大公報 (2021年1月5日)
2、健康碼無期 百港商闖關北上
（星島日報報道）本港第四波疫情持續蔓延，令籌備多時的「港版健康碼」久未能推出。隨著內地經濟活動逐漸復甦，有商會透露近月已有逾百名港商「等唔切」，即使抵達內地後須要強制檢疫十四天，也紛紛往內地處理公務，有港商花上十二小時過內地關口和核對文件等，甚至有人闖關失敗，在口岸長凳「瞓一晚」苦候，才能成功「抵壘」。有港商為求打理內地業務，不惜投資數百萬元利用遠端技術監控整個內地廠房生產過程，透過實時顯示屏監察廠房運作，減少人手及控制庫存量，並降低回內地的逼切性。協助研發系統的公司更指，接獲查詢安裝系統數量已按年大增三成。
內地疫情穩定，經濟活動逐漸復甦，商人返回內地的逼切性大增。中小型企業聯合會永遠榮譽主席劉達邦透露，其身邊有過百名認識的港商已經「等不落去」及「逼住要上去」，近月先後返回內地處理不同公務問題，包括視察工廠、與合作夥伴簽租約等。他指，業界在去年四月憧憬港府推出健康碼，惟本港在七月爆發第三波疫情，「港商都知健康碼無希望」，以至他們在近期紛紛趕回內地，故部分日子有過千人次往內地。他指，有朋友去年在人流高峰期經深圳灣口岸往內地，在關口核對文件及等待專車接送到內地隔離的酒店，整個過程就花了十二小時。
多名市民近期歷盡艱辛都才能成功「北上」，劉達邦亦指近兩日得知有朋友經深圳灣口岸回內地時，最快需花上八小時才能抵達在內地隔離十四天的酒店，他形容情況「近乎是早上八點排頭位才能這麼快」。
此外，也有港商闖關頻遇阻礙。劉稱，近一、二個月曾聽聞有朋友提到，約下午四時抵達深圳灣口岸，隨後在口岸等候病毒檢測結果及專車接送至隔離酒店，卻等到「佢收咗工都未能成功清關，最後要在口岸的長凳瞓了一晚」，翌日再繼續闖關，料整個過程都近乎用了一天時間。
除了直接返回內地，也有港商以另類方式「照顧」在內地的廠房。成立逾二十年的成興塑膠製品公司在內地設有三個廠房，包括東莞樟木頭，合共約八萬方呎，生產及銷售教育玩具到香港及內地等。公司負責人胡力恆在疫情前每周返回內地廠房三至四次視察，惟疫情下礙於兩地入境檢疫限制，他甚少返回內地。不過，胡力恆早年已未雨綢繆，約兩至三年前開始逐漸投資約五至六百萬元，並獲取政府部分資助下，利用科技協助及監察生產過程包括運用物聯網管理，並在今次直捲全球的疫情中「大派用場」。
他解釋，系統將內地生產儀器透過互聯網連接伺服器，即使自己安坐在本港公司，也可透過系統中的實時儀表板監察生產進度，板面可顯示原材料庫存、正生產的產品總類及人手分配等，同時根據實時數據做分析及決定，幫助公司暢順地營運生產，避免目前多名在內地設廠的港商經常苦惱往返內地的困境。在新系統下，內地廠房的員工現場檢測時會使用平板電腦，記錄不同問題及快速完成一份報告，然後將數據實時傳送給公司的伺服器，身處香港的管理層亦可以即時得悉產品的問題，提高生產效率。
胡力恆亦指，即使內地人口佔全世界約三分之一，但廠房屢見人手不足的問題。他解釋，「內地發展迅速，尤其是今個年代的年輕人不願意做工廠、尤其是好前線、要落手落腳做的工種，已經無人願意做」，故系統對工業很大突破，減少人手需求。但他笑言，在公司看着系統的實時儀表板的感覺相當刺激，形容「每一秒都驚心動魄，每日都坐過山車般」，因為內地廠房一旦有異常，系統會發出提醒，讓負責人即時調整問題，未來仍會繼續投資發展系統。
資料來源：星島日報 (2021年1月4日)
3、內地紡織面料服務平台百布融資1.1億美元 將與利豐合作
中國紡織面料一站式智慧供應鏈服務平台百布宣布，完成1.1億美元D+輪融資，由新加坡的普洛斯(GLP Pte Ltd.)旗下的隱山資本領投，華興資本(01911)擔任是次融資獨家財務顧問。
普洛斯於2020年完成對本港老牌進出口貿易企業利豐的私有化。本輪融資後，百布將加大與普洛斯及利豐等在紡織面料數碼化供應鏈、服裝智能智造、外貿服裝品牌、物流及供應鏈金融等領域的深度戰略合作。雙方將充分協同，發揮彼此優勢，數碼化重構紡織服裝產業鏈，建立紡織服裝產業縱向一體化互聯網大平台。
百布的母企為致景科技，綜合運用產業互聯網方式，探索多種行業賦能手段，建立紡織服裝縱向一體化的數碼化綜合服務平台。其中百布平台從流通環節切入，連接下游中小服裝製造廠，搭建布料電商平台，並積累布料現貨和期貨資源。
百布創始人兼行政總裁趙振洪表示，本輪融資後，百布將進一步加大與普洛斯和利豐的全球供應鏈與物流生態企業的戰略合作，亦會加快擴張業務版圖，從中國內地業務，快速發展為全球化業務。
華興資本投資銀行事業部董事總經理、產業互聯網領域負責人徐錕指，中國紡織服裝領域具數萬億級市場空間，而且市場較為分散。百布通過對產業鏈多個核心環節的智能化和數碼化改革，已建構數百億規模的紡織面料數碼化生產和流通體系。
資料來源：東網 (2021年1月7日)
4、港澳居民准開人幣結算賬戶 六部委優化跨境投融資政策
人民銀行近日與發改委、商務部、國資委、銀保監和外管局等6個部門，聯合發布《關於進一步優化跨境人民幣政策支持穩外貿穩外資的通知》（下稱《通知》），內容包括5部分共15條優化跨境人民幣政策和支持穩外貿穩外資的措施，當中表明境內銀行可為港澳居民開立個人人民幣銀行結算賬戶，用於接收當地每人每日8萬元人民幣以內的同名賬戶滙入資金，所有措施將於下月4日落實。
每日滙入上限8萬元
《通知》的5個部分共15條措施，圍繞實體經濟需求，推動更高水平貿易投資人民幣結算便利化、進一步簡化跨境人民幣結算流程、優化跨境人民幣投融資管理、便利個人經常項下人民幣跨境收付和便利境外機構人民幣銀行結算賬戶使用。
近年內地監管部門逐步提供便利予外商在內地投資，《通知》指出，將把出口貨物貿易人民幣結算企業重點監管名單，調整為跨境人民幣業務重點監管名單，由人行和相關部門更新名單認定標準；而跨國企業作為主辦企業的境內成員企業，可視乎需要在異地開立人民幣銀行結算賬戶，辦理經常項下跨境人民幣集中收付。
境內銀行可通過審核企業提交並具有法律效力的電子單據或電子資訊，辦理經常專案下跨境人民幣結算業務，銀行須確保內容的真實性、合規性及使用的唯一性，並在5年內留存資訊備查。
放寬外商資本使用限制
《通知》也優化跨境投融資管理，包括非投資性外商在符合現前提下，允許依法以人民幣資本金進行境內再投資；境外投資者若把境內人民幣利潤所得用於境內再投資，可把人民幣資金從利潤分配企業的賬戶直接轉至被投資企業。
《通知》強調，雖然放寬對部分資本專案人民幣收入使用限制，但境內機構資本項目人民幣收入，包括外商直接投資資本金、跨境融資和境外上市募集資金，不得直接或間接用於企業經營範圍外，或法律法規禁止的支出；除另有明確規定外，不得直接或間接用於證券投資；除經營範圍中有明確許可的情形，不得用於向非關聯企業發放貸款，以及建設、購買非自用房地產（房地產企業除外）用途。
貿易投資結算便利方面，內銀在滿足交易資訊採集及審核的前提下，可按相關規定憑交易電子資訊，為跨境電子商務等貿易新業態提供經常專案下跨境人民幣結算。
資料來源：信報財經 (2021年1月5日)
5、全球航運大阻塞 中國出口臨3挑戰 物流費上漲 集裝箱短缺 人民幣升值
新冠疫情同時帶來機遇和危機。一方面，全球需求激增，中國出口得益，推動經濟復甦。另一方面，全球航運迎來史無前例的大阻塞，中國出口商運輸成本增加，而且集裝箱供不應求。由於運費大增，有外商要求停止供貨。同時，人民幣急升也壓縮了中國出口商的利潤空間。
財新12月中國製造業PMI降至53，遜於預期。外需方面，在海外疫情仍不明朗之下，中國出口需求穩步改善，新出口定單連續第5個月位於擴張區間。不過，不少出口企業仍表示日子不好過，首先就是航運阻塞，運輸成本上升。
據《華爾街日報》報道，任職於國企紡織品貿易部門人士說，從去年8月開始就在虧損。去年12月時，一個40英尺集裝箱運到美國南部港口的花費約為7,500美元（約5.85萬港元），而4月時只需2,700美元（約2.1萬港元）。他還必須提前至少20天訂艙，較平時提前預訂天數多出一倍以上。
運費高損利潤 外商促停供貨
在運輸成本侵蝕利潤下，有汕頭玩具出口商稱，許多美國和歐洲客戶都要求他停止發貨。
同時，防疫措施降低了港口的效率，導致世界各地的交貨延誤和集裝箱滯留，而集裝箱對海運必不可少。據中國集裝箱工業協會，通常集裝箱返回中國的平均周轉時間為60天，去年12月份，這一周轉時間增加到100天。
中國商務部早前表示，將支持集裝箱製造企業擴大產能。全球第一大集裝箱生產商中國國際海運集裝箱（集團）股份有限公司去年11月份對投資者說，該公司工廠的定單已排到今年3月。
集裝箱短缺迫使更多出口商使用空運，但這樣做成本更高。重重挑戰下，有出口商計劃在有需求的市場當地採購，以減輕物流方面的壓力。
企業指6.5關是底綫 恐賺變蝕
除了運輸問題，人民幣的快速升值也在侵蝕中國貿易商的利潤。早前有內媒引述多位出口企業負責人表態，當人民幣升值到6.5關口已觸及企業承壓底綫，利潤空間壓縮至負。摩根大通分析師預計，今年人民幣仍會維持較強走勢，至少本輪人民幣升值期會持續到今年上半年。到2021年底，人民幣兌換美元的滙率會升至6.25元左右。
《華爾街日報》提到，雖然經濟學家們稱，航運問題並未破壞中國經濟的穩步復甦態勢，但此類問題對維持出口增長構成了挑戰，而出口增長是推動中國經濟復甦的動力。業內人士認為，解決這一切的真正辦法是處理好疫情和全球物流系統。
舟山修船廠生意旺 外國船排長龍
中國疫情相對較受控，吸納了不少來自海外以及由東南亞地區轉移的定單，出口復甦的同時，也帶動了船務業務。在中國沿海城市浙江舟山，修船廠生意紅火，很多海外船隻都排隊等待進港維修保養，很多船是半年前就預約。價格方面，僅小型維修或常規保養就需10萬美元（約77.5萬港元）。
外貿復甦 海外定單增
據央視報道，浙江舟山的鑫亞船舶修造有限公司是中國民營修船廠裏規模最大的船廠，許多國內外貨運巨輪正在此地排隊檢修和改裝。由於巨輪船體巨大、系統複雜，維修時間長，大部分修船工人一個月只能休息3日。
該公司工作人員介紹，國外疫情形勢嚴峻，很多船廠都停工，所以到了2020年下半年，愈來愈多的維修定單轉到國內。很多船都是提前半年就開始進行報價預約，一是因為定單比較火爆，另外還有以前還沒改完的。
值得一提是，由於國際海事組織（IMO）2020年實施了國際船舶脫硫標準，規定全球船舶大幅減少排氣硫氧化物的含量，大型航運公司紛紛迎來修船大年，鑫亞船廠的年修船量在2020年突破了400艘。至於維修價格，小型維修或常規保養需要10萬美元，像脫硫塔改裝一般需要幾百萬美元。
截至2020年11月底，寧波舟山港總體進出港船舶數量是2,060艘，按年增16.4%，預計全年可以完成2,870萬的集裝箱吞吐量。從2020年1月到11月浙江省數據來看，浙江省進出口已邁上3萬億大關，按年增16.3%，其中出口2.27萬億，按年增9.6%。
資料來源：香港經濟日報 (2021年1月5日)
6、又想跟潮流又要環保？ Z世代「道德時尚」推動 5000 億元二手市場
一場新冠肺炎疫情，改變人們消費習慣，甚至令二手電子商貿崛起。傳統服飾品牌看準「Z世代」（即 1990 年至 2000 年出生的人）傾向購買二手服飾，也開始跟二手商品電商合作，搶攻 Z世代市場，預料未來 5 年二手市場規模將增長逾港幣 5,000 億元。
二手商品電商 ThredUP 2020 年轉售市場研究報告指出，新冠肺炎疫情改變消費者習慣和零售商積極轉型的情況下，全球二手市場的規模預計未來 5 年內將增長至 640 億美元（約港幣 4,961 億元）。
當中「Y世代/千禧世代」（約指 80、90 後）及 Z 世代是推動二手市場增長的主力，他們崇尚「道德時尚」，願意支持對地球永續發展的概念，零售商為了吸引新世代消費者，積極投入二手市場。
新冠肺炎疫情令不少知名品牌倒閉或申請破產，如 Victoria’s Secret 和 J.C Penney。相反，結合二手服飾轉售和電商的 ThredUP、Poshmark 及二手奢侈品平台 The RealReal，成為零售界的新星。不少大型零售商跟 ThredUP 合作，進軍二手市場。如沃爾瑪（Walmart）在自家網站上售賣 ThredUP 近 75 萬件商品；GAP 則鼓勵客戶回收舊衣服換取積分，便可在旗下各品牌店舖獲得消費折扣。
這次轉售熱潮，連高檔百貨 Nordstrom 也搶攻，品牌在去年 1 月開設「See You Tomorrow」轉售店，回收並專賣二手衣物；家具品牌宜家家居（IKEA）在同年 11 月，於瑞典開設首家二手家具快閃店，店鋪只售賣經維修後的二手家具產品。
資料來源：香港經濟日報 (2021年1月5日)
7、Year in Review: More Than 11,000 Fashion-Related Doors Shutter in 2020
Covid-19 has accelerated a retail apocalypse years in the making.
Retailers have been purging their store base since the Great Recession. Even after all those closures, they still have too many doors for current needs, especially in a world where even more consumers—newbies, if you will, to online shopping—have been forced to migrate to digital commerce during the coronavirus pandemic.
And with customers staying home in a world where social distancing remains the mandate, retailers have even less need for their mall-based stores. After all, why bother when those locations become nonproductive due to foot traffic shortfalls. And for retailers who were teetering on the financial cliff at the start of 2020, high debt levels and nonexistent cash flow from temporary store closures certainly didn’t help. Fashion wasn’t exactly top-of-mind as consumers initially shifted their focus to purchases of essential items. Even when stores reopened, limited capacity was just one challenge. Many fashion firms had the wrong merchandise as consumers shifted their fashion focus to athleisure and more comfortable apparel.
As a result, retailers in 2020 were forced to realign their store network and cull doors that no longer fit strategies for 2021 and beyond, while those with too much debt on the books had no choice but to either shut down operations or file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection.
So where are we now?
So far, there were more than 11,000 reported fashion store closures—11,060 to be exact—in 2020 by mid-December, and that’s just for the banners that made news. That total surpassed the 9,300-plus stores that closed just in the U.S. across all retail categories in 2019. And there are many other nameplates globally that have not been accounted for. If the forecast of 100,000 retail doors that’s been projected to disappear by 2025 comes to fruition, shopping centers and strip malls could look very different in the near future. That’s especially true if we get close to the 20,000-25,000 stores that are projected to go dark this year.
Here are the fashion retail and apparel companies that announced store closures in 2020:
DSW
Number: 50 to 78
Backstory: Pointing to foot traffic challenges that may not reverse course for some time, DSW’s parent Designer Brands said it plans a 10 to 15 percent reduction of its store base. With a current store network of 524 U.S. stores, that would mean closing 50 to 78 doors. It also operates 145 stores in Canada.
Francesca’s
Number: 234
Backstory: The women’s budget chain filed its Chapter 11 petition on Dec. 4 to sell the business to TerraMar Capital. The company operated 558 stores at the time of its filing, but had already closed 137 stores last month. Days after its filing, Francesca’s said it would shutter another 97 stores.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Number: 7 flagships
Backstory: The specialty chain, which includes its teen Hollister brand, began the year with 15 tourist-driven locations and following the onset of the pandemic decided to pare down to eight flagship stores. As for its mall-based locations, it has about 60 percent of its store leases up for renewal over the next two years, so even more locations are likely to close.
Caleres
Number: 133
Backstory: The company said it will close 133 Naturalizer-branded stores by the end of fiscal 2020. On a conference call after reporting third-quarter results last month, executives said the brand had been revamped and that this was a good time to exit some locations because those doors were tied to a now outdated positioning strategy.
Furla USA
Number: 4, including one outlet location
Backstory: The U.S. subsidiary of luxury brand Furla SpA saw its wholesale accounts get impacted by the closure of nonessential retailers, as well as a slowdown in consumer purchases at its stores. Luxury brand have been hit hard as tourism declined because of the pandemic. The company filed its Chapter 11 petition to get rid of leases and lower its debt. Before the filing, it operated six full-price freestanding stores and eight outlet locations.
Chico’s FAS
Number: 63 to 88, including 10 locations in Canada
Backstory: The women’s specialty chain operates the nameplates Chico’s, White House|Black Market and intimates concept Soma. In November, it said it closed 28 stores thus far and planned to close another 25 to 50 locations. The company’s Canadian operations in August filed for bankruptcy, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The bankruptcy will result in Chico’s exit from Canada, as well as the closure of four Chico’s stores and six White|House Black Market doors in the Canadian market.
Gap Inc.
Number: 350
Backstory: The company’s three main nameplates are its core Gap chain, Banana Republic and Old Navy. In October, it said it would close 220 Gap stores and 130 Banana Republic locations by 2023. The plan is to have 200 stores closed by the end of this year and another 75 locations in 2021. The balance of the targeted locations will close by the end of fiscal year 2023.
Carter’s
Number: 200
The children’s apparel chain is closing at least 200 doors, or 25 percent of its store fleet. About 60 percent will be close by the end of 2021, and 80 percent by the end of 2022.
Century 21
Number: 13
Backstory: This off-pricer has been a long-time fan favorite of New Yorkers and tourists. The retailer said it was forced to shut down operations after insurance providers elected not to pay $175 million under policies to protect against business disruptions during the pandemic. The retailer operated 13 stores.
American Eagle Outfitters
Number: 40 to 50
Backstory: The company, which also operates the Aerie intimates nameplate, plans to shutter 40 to 50 locations for the year, with about 250 leases set to expire. It also has another 250 store leases that will come up for renewal next year, which means that more store closures could be on the agenda in 2021.
Stein Mart
Number: 281
Backstory: The 281-door department store operator had already let go of most of its employees when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection. It had been on the watch list of credit analysts for a number of years. The company’s intellectual property assets were sold to Retail Ecommerce Ventures for $6 million, a company that specialized in asset-light operations by owning retail business that sell online only. Recent acquisitions include Dressbarn and Pier 1.
Rent the Runway
Number: 5
Backstory: The company in August said it would close its five store locations to focus on online operations. It also plans to increase the number of drop-off locations.
Frye Company
Number: 16
Backstory: The company said it was closing all 16 stores, choosing to focus on its digital business.
Tailored Brands
Number: 500
Backstory: Too much debt on the books from its $1.8 billion acquisition of competitor Jos. A. Banks Clothiers Inc. in 2014 was a huge problem, exacerbated by a lack of cash flow when stores closed temporarily to help curb the spread of Covid. The plan was to close up to 500 stores, leaving it with a store base of 775 doors. The company exited bankruptcy on Dec. 1.
Ascena Retail Group
Number: 1,623
Backstory: The company had been struggling for several quarters, and had already sold a majority stake in Maurices and completed a wind-down of its Dress Barn operations. It denied that bankruptcy was even being considered, but then the impact of Covid and mandatory store closures ended up pushing the company into Chapter 11. At the time, the company said it would close 1,600 doors, with many locations connected to its decision to shutter its plus-size Catherines nameplate. Ascena later closed 23 more Justice doors.
The company has since sold its nameplates Catherines to FullBeauty Brands Operations LLC for $40.8 million in September and Justice to Bluestar Alliance for $90 million in November. On Dec. 8, the bankruptcy court gave its approval for Ascena to sell its remaining brands—Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant and Lou & Grey—to private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $540 million.
Coldwater Creek
Number: 13
Backstory: The women’s chain filed its Chapter 11 petition in Delaware, and was later acquired in September by Newtimes Group for $12.2 million. It’s 13 stores closed due to Covid in mid-March and never reopened. The online site was relaunched on Dec. 17.
RTW Retailwinds Inc.
Number: 378, including outlet locations
Backstory: The company, which operates women’s apparel chains under the nameplates New York & Co., Fashion to Figure and Happy x Nature, filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition for bankruptcy court protection in 2020. Saadia Group acquired the New York & Co. and Fashion to Figure nameplates for $40 million, and will operate them solely as online businesses.
Heritage Brands Outlet Stores
Number: 162
Backstory: PVH Corp. operates the outlet stores for its Van Heusen, Izod, Arrow, Warner’s, Olga and Geoffrey Beene brands. The company in July said it would close all locations.
Brooks Brothers
Number: 51
Backstory: The storied seller of American apparel and accessories filed for bankruptcy court protection in July, and was acquired a month later by a joint venture between Simon Property Group and Authentic Brands Group for $305 million.
J. Jill
Number: 11
Backstory: The women’s specialty chain said in July that it would close 11 locations, with plans to have 275 doors by the end of the year.
H&M
Number: 420, with 170 locations to close in 2020 and 250 in 2021
Backstory: The Swedish fast-fashion chain decided to increase the number of stores it plans to close to 170 from 130 after posting a 23 percent drop in first-half revenues, and in October said it would shutter 250 doors in 2021. But the 250 locations represent just 6 percent of total doors.
Lucky Brand Dungarees
Number: 200
Backstory: The company closed the stores as part of its Chapter 11 restructuring. The brand was later acquired out of bankruptcy by Sparc, a joint venture between brand management firm Authentic Brands Group and mall operator Simon Property Group.
G-Star Raw
Number: 57
Backstory: The denim fashion brand, based in Los Angeles, found its business disrupted by the Covid pandemic and filed for bankruptcy protection so its could reassess and restructure its store portfolio. It’s bankruptcy filing in Australia saw the shutdown of all 57 stores in August after failing to find a buyer.
Michael Kors
Number: 170
Backstory: Capri Holdings Ltd., which also owns the Versace and Jimmy Choo brands, is rightsizing its Kors store base over the next two years.
The Children’s Place
Number: 300
Backstory: The store closures are projected to be completed by the end of fiscal year 2021, although 200 of those doors are expected to take place in the current fiscal year, as the retailer places a greater focus on digital commerce. The balance of 100 doors will close in 2021.
TM Lewin
Number: 71, comprised of 66 doors in the U.K. and 5 in Australia
Backstory: The company fell into administration on June 30 and shuttered all stores.
Guess
Number: 100 stores globally, primarily across North America and China
Backstory: Sales productivity across its store network has fallen during the pandemic, and lease expirations give the company flexibility to downsize its retail footprint.
Inditex
Number: 1,200, or up to 600 stores annually in 2020 and 2021
Backstory: After reporting its first-ever quarterly loss in Q1, the Zara owner is focusing on store optimization as it works to integrate its store and online business. It’s also taking a closer focus on its supply chain to zero in on inventory management, and its using existing store networ to help with the fulfillment of online orders.
G-III Apparel Group Ltd.
Number: 199, comprised of 110 Wilson’s stores and 89 G.H. Bass locations
Backstory: The company restructured its retail operations after deciding to focus on its wholesale operation and its DKNY and Karl Lagerfeld Paris businesses.
Tuesday Morning
Number: 230
Backstory: The company filed for bankruptcy court protection in May, and shuttered 230 locations. It plans exit Chapter 11 before the end of the year with 500 stores still in operation.
J.C. Penney
Number: 175
Backstory: The mass merchant closed six department stores before it filed its Chapter 11 petition and then closed 154 during its tour of bankruptcy court. It recently exited bankruptcy proceedings when the operating business was sold to its two largest landlords, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management. On Dec. 17, the company confirmed the additional closure of 15 more doors.
J. Crew
Number: 67
Backstory: The preppy chain, along with its Madewell concept, filed a bankruptcy petition in May. While it plans to reopen nearly 500 doors after temporary COVID-19 shutdowns, the retailer is looking to get out of 67 store leases over time. It already closed eight stores during its tour of bankruptcy proceedings.
Diane von Furstenberg
Number: 18
Backstory: The fashion brand is closing 18 of its stores, leaving just one open in New York City’s Meatpacking District. The brand is refocusing its business to an e-commerce model in the U.S. and Europe, and will continue with wholesale operations in China. The DVF Studio division in the U.K. in May filed for administration, the equivalent of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in the U.S.
Nordstrom
Number: 19, comprised of 16 full-line doors and all 3 Jeffrey stores
Backstory: The retailer is restructuring its business following the impact from the coronavirus, with the closures “based on the needs of each market.” The company has also been reducing expenses by restructuring regions, support roles and its corporate organization.
Victoria’s Secret
Number: 250 locations across the U.S. and Canada, including 238 in the U.S.
Backstory: L Brands is restructuring the brand after Sycamore Partners backed out of a deal to acquire a 55 percent majority stake in the lingerie chain.
Stage Stores Inc.
Number: 738
Backstory: A bankruptcy in May had the company liquidating 550 reopened stores. The retailer, which plans to liquidate its remaining stores as they are able to reopen, was in the middle of converting its department stores to its off-price nameplate Gordmans. The company is also in the process of selling its assets.
Lord & Taylor
Number: 40
Backstory: The retailer initially closed two locations earlier in the year, but rumblings in April indicated that could be trouble ahead following a reduction in headcount. Lord & Taylor, and its parent Le Tote, subsequently filed for bankruptcy in August and the initial plan was to liquidate 19 stores as the company tried to find a buyer for America’s first department store. It later upped the number of doors to close to 24, hoping to keep 14 in operation. Failing to find a buyer, a decision was made to liquidate and shutter all doors.
Debenhams
Number: 61, including 11 in Ireland
Backstory: After closing 22 stores in the beginning of the year, the retailer declared insolvency in April, representing its second tour of insolvency in one year. It has liquidated all 11 doors in Ireland, and another 28 locations in the U.K. have been closed.
However, the company failed to find a buyer and is slated to shut down its remaining 142 stores in the U.K. Whether that actually happens is unclear. Mike Ashley‘s Frasers Group is in last minute talks to rescue the bankrupt department store chain. This week, word surfaced that American brand management firm Authentic Brands Group is also in talks to possibly take over the ailing chain.
Cath Kidston
Number: 60
Backstory: Another early victim of the coronavirus, this British fashion and homeware brand shut down all 60 stores in the U.K. Its Japanese counterpart also filed for bankruptcy protection shortly thereafter.
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof
Number: 40
Backstory: Germany’s biggest department store retailer filed for administrative insolvency, a victim of the Covid pandemic following mandatory store closures to help curb the virus. The company, which operated 172 stores at the time it filed, exited insolvency proceedings on Sept. 30.
Oasis and Warehouse
Number: 92 freestanding stores and 400 concessions
Backstory: Another early victim of the coronavirus, the U.K. high fashion brands fell into administration. Hilco Capital agreed to a deal to buy its intellectual property assets, but two months later the IP and related assets were sold to Boohoo.
Laura Ashley
Number: 18
Backstory: The British lifestyle brand filed for administration in the U.K. in mid-March. In April, certain assets including the brand’s intellectual property were acquired by Gordon Brothers, which is exploring the chain’s options.
Esprit
Number: 56
Backstory: Esprit said it would close all of its stores in Asia outside of China. The total store count for the stores in Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, plus Hong Kong and Macau, is 56.
Neiman Marcus
Number: 28
Backstory: The luxury department store said in March that it will close 20 of its 22 off-price Last Call concepts. It will keep two to move inventory from the full-price stores. Neiman’s subsequently filed for bankruptcy court protection and closed about eight doors, including its massive N.Y.C. flagship that opened in Hudson Yards in Manhattan in March 2019.
Modell’s Sporting Goods
Number: 153
Backstory: The company closed some stores and then filed a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection in March, only to shut down due to the pandemic. In June, the remaining 107 stores reopened to begin going-out-of business sales.
Pier I Imports
Number: 936
Backstory: The home furnishings retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection and ended up liquidating when it couldn’t find a going-concern buyer. It initially planned to close 450 stores before filing for bankruptcy, but then the coronavirus pandemic hit, so stores were put on pause as nonessential retailers temporarily closed to help curb the spread of the virus. But Covid also impacted its ability to find a buyer, and the retailer decided to conduct a winding down of operations.
Sears
Number: 51
Backstory: The retailer, a nameplate operating under the umbrella of corporate parent Transform Holdco, said in November 2019 that it was closing 51 stores in February.
Kmart
Number: 45
Backstory: The discounter is part of the corporate holding of Transform Holdco, which said in November 2019 that it would shutter 45 locations in February.
Macy’s Inc.
Number: 125
Backstory: The store closures are part of a routine review of the Macy’s brick-and-mortar base. Another 95 ,and possibly even hundreds, are expected to close.
Walmart Inc.
Number: 3
Backstory: The mass discounter has closed three stores, one in Michigan and two in North Carolina.
Express
Number: 100
Backstory: About 31 stores are already closed and it plans another 35 by the end of January. The company’s fleet rationalization includes the nine doors closed in 2019. Another 25 doors could close in 2022, bringing the total number to 100 locations.
Opening Ceremony
Number: 4
Backstory: Acquired in mid-January by streetwear platform New Guards Group, the label will cultivate its brand instead of operating as a multibrand retailer.
Beales
Number: 23
Backstory: The U.K. department store declared insolvency in January. A month later, it shuttered 12 of its 23 locations. However, the chain couldn’t find a buyer and the coronavirus outbreak forced the remaining 11 locations closed.
Bloomingdale’s
Number: 1
Backstory: The retailer closed its store at The Falls, a mall in south Miami-Dade, in January after 35 years in operation.
Christopher & Banks
Number: 40
Backstory: The company said last year that it plans to shutter up to 40 doors in 2020, part of a renewed focus on e-commerce. The company is now seeking strategic alternatives as their is doubt as to its viability as a going concern.
Olympia Sports
Number: 76
Backstory: The struggling athletic footwear and apparel chain was sold to sports retailer JackRabbit last year, which elected to keep just 75 Olympia Sports store locations open. That meant that the balance of 76 stores will close this year.
Forever 21
Number: 207 stores globally, including 101 locations in the U.S.
Backstory: The mall-based fast-fashion chain filed its Chapter 11 petition in September 2019. It had initially planned to shutter 350 stores globally, including 178 doors in the U.S. At the time, the chain had 549 U.S. stores and 251 overseas. Most of those locations were slated to close in 2020, following the holiday season that ended Feb. 2. The company was acquired for $81 million in February by a joint venture comprised of Authentic Brands Group and Simon Property Group–each owning 37.5 percent of the intellectual property and operating business–and Brookfield Property Partners, which has a 25 percent stake in the IP and operating company. The new owners said they plan to save about 450 doors that remain open.
Destination Maternity
Number: 90
Backstory: The maternity wear retailer filed a Chapter 11 petition in October 2019 and was slated to shutter 183 of its 436 doors. It was subsequently acquired by brand management firm Marquee Brands in December for $50 million. Part of that transaction included the closure of the retailer’s remaining 235 stores between January and March.
Source: www.sourcingjournal.com (31 Dec 2020)
8、Marks & Spencer Pledges to Avoid Xinjiang Sourcing
Marks & Spencer formally committed Wednesday to keeping its sourcing activities away from China’s embattled Uyghur-heavy region.
A coalition of 72 Uyghur rights groups and more than 100 civil society organizations and labor unions—including the Clean Clothes Campaign, Worker Rights Consortium and Anti-Slavery International—issued its “Brand Commitment to Exit the Uyghur Region” call to action in July. By signing on, companies would agree to cut all ties with suppliers implicated in forced labor and end all sourcing from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, from cotton to finished garments, within 12 months.
M&S became one of the first companies to formally sign the agreement, it announced Wednesday. The British retailer claimed it already does not work with any supplier in or source from Xinjiang and that it is committed to tackling indirect supply risks.
“At M&S, sourcing ethically and sustainably is core to how we do business and the promise we make to our customers, that’s why we do not source cotton from Xinjiang,” Richard Price, managing director of clothing and home at M&S, said in a statement. “When it comes to sustainable and ethical clothing, we can only achieve real change at scale by working with others, which is why we are proud to be formally supporting the coalition and providing additional assurance to our customers they can purchase from M&S with confidence.”
Every factory M&S works with is independently audited at least once a year, it said, with follow-up visits from a team of 19 individuals who together have more than 275 years of experience in ethical trading. Furthermore, the retailer lists all its suppliers on an online interactive map with information on more than 800 factories covering more than 700,000 workers.
“We welcome the leadership shown by Marks & Spencer today to commit publicly to the call to action, providing assurance to its consumers that M&S products will not be linked to the abuses of Uyghurs,” Jasmine O’Connor, CEO at Anti-Slavery International, said in a statement. “The call to action sets out a clear path of action for brands to follow in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and we call upon other major brands to follow suit with M&S and commit to the call to action urgently.”
The Chinese government is believed to hold at least 1.8 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in internment camps and prisons as part of a broader campaign of coercion, torture and indoctrination. A December report from the Center for Global Policy think tank indicated that more than half a million ethnic minority workers in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are forced to pick cotton by hand through a state-sponsored labor transfer and “poverty alleviation” scheme.
Xinjiang produces 85 percent of China’s cotton, which in turn accounted for more than 22 percent of the world’s supply in fiscal year 2019. Roughly one in five cotton garments sold globally contains cotton or yarn from Xinjiang, the Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region said, adding that “virtually the entire apparel industry is tainted by forced Uyghur and Turkic Muslim labour.”
Late last month, the Fair Labor Association prohibited the sourcing and productions of goods, whether directly or indirectly, from Xinjiang. The multi-stakeholder initiative counts Adidas, Fast Retailing, Gildan, Hanesbrands, Lululemon, Nike, Patagonia and Under Armour among its affiliates. Several of these brands are listed on the End Uyghur Forced Labour coalition’s website as companies the coalition is concentrating its advocacy efforts on. Both Adidas and Nike have denied selling products made with forced labor from Xinjiang.
The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a law designed to end the use of Uyghur labor in corporate supply chains by a 406-to-3 margin in September. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which would ban all imports with content from Xinjiang unless the brand importing the product could prove it was not made with forced labor, has not yet passed through the Senate.
In December, the End Uyghur Forced Labour coalition announced it had written to 17 companies, including Adidas, Amazon, Apple, Campbell Soup, Coca-Cola, Gap, Heinz, Inditex, Kohl’s, L Brands, Nike, Nordstrom, PVH, Ross, Target, TJX and Walmart, to demand “they come clean about their stance” on the proposed law. According to The New York Times, Nike and Coca-Cola are among the companies lobbying to weaken the bill.
Also last month, the United States Customs and Border Protection announced a Withhold Release Order blocking imports of all products containing cotton produced by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC). The XPCC is a Chinese government paramilitary organization that produces one-third of China’s cotton, employs 12 percent of Xinjiang’s population and generates 17 percent of the region’s gross domestic product.
“The ban on XPCC cotton products raises the stakes for global retailers and brands to disentangle their supply chains from Uyghur forced labor,” Allison Gill, forced labor program director at Global Labor Justice–International Labor Rights Forum, said in a statement. “But for companies to have Uyghur forced labour-free products, companies need to stop back-channeling to kill legislation and affirm their own standards by signing the call to action and divesting from supply chains using Uyghur forced labour.”
Source: www.sourcingjournal.com (6 Jan 2021)
9、Bangladesh RMG Sector Is Looking Past ‘Production and Profit’
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has released its first sustainability report, detailing the country’s apparel sector’s moves to become more environmentally conscious and socially responsible in a sourcing landscape that is rapidly changing.
BGMEA president Dr. Rubana Huq believes that the businesses that thrive in 2021 will broaden their focus beyond “production and profit,” and instead look to “measure and manage the impacts of a business or industry on people and planet and accordingly set goals to perform better in the coming days.”
Social change
The ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh, which was established in the early 1980s, has burgeoned into a $34-billion business employing roughly 4.1 million people—about 65 percent of whom are women, Huq said. The garment sector represents 84 percent of the country’s export business, with primary destinations for apparel products being North America and Europe.
While Bangladesh’s apparel sector was on an upswing during the period of BGMEA’s reporting, which ended in 2019, the sector has since endured a pummeling by the coronavirus, as well as the brand partners that pulled out of contracts and canceled orders in its wake. The BGMEA estimated that the country would see an “irrecoverable loss” of $5 billion by the end of 2020. Jordanian apparel factories announced a plan to take on 12,000 new workers from Bangladesh over the course of 2021, in an effort that will be fully funded by the private sector.
The BGMEA aims to continue to foster this growth, the report said, while protecting workers’ rights through partnerships with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other global groups. The cooperation aims to empower workers to advocate for their rights through collective bargaining and to help them gain access to financial aid and other services to keep their families out of poverty.
The group, which boasts more than 4,600 member factories, has various facilities to support the apparel workforce, including 12 health care centers for workers and their families, along with five schools for the children of garment workers. The group provides insurance coverage to apparel workers, along with paid parental leave.
Education will prove important for the sector in the coming years, the BGMEA alleged. According to the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) database’s 2018 numbers, the average hourly productivity for a Bangladeshi garment worker is $3.40—the lowest rate of its global competitors from China, Myanmar, Vietnam, India and Pakistan. That’s because the country’s millions of workers hail from mostly underprivileged backgrounds and have not received an education that would foster their ability to improve their skills or efficiency, the BGMEA said. The group has invested nearly $15 million in upskilling workers since 2014.
Bangladesh has also had to address rampant and persistent safety issues in its factories, with the BGMEA characterizing the country’s rise to prominence in garment production as “not rosy.” A major structural collapse at the Rana Plaza factory in Dhaka in 2013, which killed more than 1,000 garment workers, triggered a move by manufacturers to embrace more stringent safety standards and practices. Each of the country’s factories spent an average of more than $600,000 for remediation work since the disaster, BGMEA said.
Safety platforms have also been put in place by the Bangladeshi government, as well as by global brands and the ILO, that have prompted 3,800 of the country’s export-oriented garment factories to be inspected for building, fire and electrical safety—and inspection and remediation reports are posted on a publicly accessible forum to ensure transparency.
Sustainability
The BGMEA has also taken a firm stance on sustainability in recent years, Huq added, as the fashion industry grows more conscious of its impacts on the world’s ecology. The group has looked to international stakeholders like the United Nations and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in pursuing standards for Bangladesh’s garment supply chain, and signed onto the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), with the promise of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030.
According to the BGMEA, Bangladesh now boasts the highest number of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green garment factories of any country—an effort that was driven as much by the desire to reduce ecological impact as the need to ensure worker safety in these workplaces. Bangladesh has more than 140 green buildings so far, and more than 500 factories are in the pipeline to receiving certification. LEED-certified buildings use up to 40 percent less energy than conventional buildings and make use of renewable energy, and are constructed with lesser negative impacts than typical projects.
With Germany being a primary market for Bangladesh’s apparel exports, the BGMEA signed onto the Green Button Initiative—a state-owned certification program that investigates the sustainable properties of garments—on behalf of its members.
“BGMEA and its member factories are very much in line with the climate change mitigation and environmental pollution control targets of both the government and the buyers,” it wrote, adding that it recognized that sustainable production “will attract more buyers in ready-made goods sector and will contribute to the growth of export.”
To ensure that its members continue to advance when it comes to sustainability, the organization advocates for new collaborative policies through its associations with NGOs, donors and buyers. In 2019, BGMEA formed the Ready-Made Goods Sustainability Council (RSC) with other industry stakeholders, which works to improve the factories’ environmental performance and coordinate projects with global partners.
The group has also been pushing Bangladesh’s government to implement policies to support technology upgrades in the apparel industry, with some success. In 2020, the Bangladesh Bank has agreed to a funding program for the textile and ready-made goods industries, dubbed the Technology Upgradation Fund (TUF), which gives factories low-interest loans to help upgrade machinery, systems and software to help automate certain processes and improve efficiency—ultimately curbing waste.
BGMEA wrote that it is also working with industry insiders and local governments to advance water conservation initiatives to better manage use of the resource. Chemical management guidelines for the industry are in development with the help of the chemical engineering department of the Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology (BUET).
“While doing business we should not forget its impacts on people and planet,” Huq wrote, adding, “If there is no planet, there are no people.”
“This understanding drives our commitment to sustainability and take actions in line with that,” she said, adding that BGMEA will continue to take action within the industry to “transform lives for the better.”
Source: www.sourcingjournal.com (6 Jan 2021)
10、After Digital Wage Push, Why Are Bangladesh Factories ‘Sliding Back to Cash?’
Mere months after Bangladesh’s garment industry embraced digital wages for workers at the height of the coronavirus pandemic’s first wave, factories are backsliding to cash payouts, a new study has found.
Despite a “massive shift” to digital payments in May, Microfinance Opportunities, in collaboration with the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), found that mobile banking’s higher transaction costs coupled with workers’ unwillingness to receive digital payments have halted and even rolled back progress.
Not all factories behaved the same way, however. Several were already digitized, others never digitized and some digitized and then reverted to cash. One “striking driver” of a factory’s response to the digitization trend, the report found, is whether it is brand-facing—that is, it appears on a brand’s supplier list or is named as a supplier to a brand on the open-source Mapped in Bangladesh or Open Apparel Registry platforms—or not.
Brand-facing factories are more likely to have paid their workers digitally before May 2020, and if they weren’t doing so, were more likely to transition from cash to digital between April and May, the report said. Though factories in both categories have since turned back to cash, nearly 75 percent of those that are brand-facing were still paying digitally in September compared with 40 percent of their non-brand-facing counterparts.
Before the pandemic, Bangladesh lawmakers, in partnership with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, were pushing to bring 90 percent of the South Asian nation’s 3.6 million garment workers under a digital wage system by 2021. Using digital and electronic payments instead of cash has the “potential to empower workers” by improving their access to financial services, savings, credit and insurance, according to the United Nations-based Better Than Cash Alliance, a multi-stakeholder initiative that includes fashion retailers such as Gap, H&M, Marks & Spencer and Zara owner Inditex.
Nonprofit BSR’s HERproject initiative also found evidence that digital wages can help factories increase business efficiency by reducing processing costs and lost worker production time, prevent wage theft and promote financial inclusion and economic empowerment for women.
“So our data present[s] a puzzle: why are factories sliding back to cash? We need to do more work on this, but one possible explanation is that many factories never fully abandoned cash, they simply added digital payments to their cash processes,” Microfinance Opportunities and SANEM’s study said, noting that workers have been reporting some payments in cash and others digitally. “This was especially the case in July when many workers received their regular salaries digitally but other, Eid-related payments in cash.”
The data suggests that policy makers who seek the digitization of payments through third parties should not assume that factories are able or willing to make the shift, “even if incentives are high,” the report said, noting that the government’s stimulus package to support temporarily laid-off workers during the country’s Covid-19 lockdown in April was distributed digitally, giving the trend its temporary boost. Nor should it be a given that the benefits of digitization will be “immediately apparent,” particularly if digital payments are being made in conjunction with cash payments rather than completely replacing them.
The groups, which conducted the study under a project known as the “Garment Worker Diaries,” obtained their results by surveying 1,377 workers employed in factories across the main industrial districts of Chittagong, Dhaka City, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Savar between April and October.
Source: www.sourcingjournal.com (4 Jan 2021)
11、Renewable Energy Would Give Vietnam ‘Competitive’ Sourcing Advantage, H&M and Nike Say
H&M and Nike want Vietnam to make it easier to purchase green energy.
The brands are part of a consortium of 29 businesses that is urging the Southeast Asian nation to fast-track a policy that would allow commercial and industrial organizations to more easily tap into renewable energy in the form of direct power purchase agreements (DPPA). At present, companies can only access electricity through the national grid or via small-scale projects such as rooftop solar panels or wind farms.
“Without the DPPA we believe renewable energy development will plateau and fall short of meeting the growing energy needs of Vietnam’s industries,” the consortium said in the Dec. 15 letter, which Nikkei Asia obtained.
Brands are facing mounting pressure from consumers and stakeholders to reduce carbon emissions in their supply chains. Switching from fossil fuels to renewables in Vietnam, the world’s third-largest textile exporter after Bangladesh and China, would help them achieve their targets at a faster pace.
Most of the letter signatories, including Target, Mulberry, PVH Corp., Ralph Lauren and VF Corp, are members of the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, a United Nations-led initiative to help the fashion industry collectively achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Some of them are also part of campaigns such as RE100, which The Climate Group developed in partnership with CDP to urge businesses to commit to sourcing 100 percent of their electricity from renewable suppliers by 2050.
“The success of the DPPA pilot in Vietnam will…send important signals across the region as to the possible national actions available to meet the renewable energy requirements,” a spokesperson for H&M, which has signed both the UN charter and RE100, told Nikkei Asia.
The consortium said it had anticipated a DPPA pilot in Vietnam in 2020 to no avail. Vietnam currently draws on renewable energy for roughly 10 percent of its power supply, a number it plans to ramp up to 15 percent to 20 percent by 2030 and to 25 percent to 30 percent by 2045. Most of its energy stems from coal. A DPPA mechanism, experts say, would help renewable-energy developers marshal private capital to build new solar and wind farms.
“A bankable PPA is a key factor in opening the door to capital investment at the levels needed to build a mature renewables industry in Vietnam,” McKinsey & Company analyst Matt Rogers said in 2019.
The brands noted in the letter that implementing the DPPA would allow Vietnam to hit its renewable energy targets “years ahead of other countries in the region,” handing it a “strong competitive advantage” as companies decide where to source their goods.
The letter follows a similar missive, dispatched by brands such as Adidas, Gap and H&M to the Cambodian government in August, expressing concerns about the latter’s plans to nearly triple the amount of power it derives from coal.
“Electricity decisions made today will lock Cambodia into a future that appears to be the opposite of global and regional trends and less attractive to our industry,” the letter said. “Countries that today prioritize [renewable energy] and a green future will avoid wasting money on outdated technologies that will soon be obsolete and expensive.”
Source: www.sourcingjournal.com (7 Jan 2021)