2021年1月15日
行業報導 - 2021年1月15日
1、珠三角疫情防控最新倡議暨2021年春節返鄉的安排
2021年春節將至，各地出臺2021年疫情返鄉最新公告。其中，1月8日上午，廣東省在召開的第70場疫情防控發佈會上，有關春節疫情返鄉作出以下指示：當前疫情防控形勢嚴峻複雜，鼓勵企事業單位根據生產、工作情況和職工意願，靈活安排休假，引導職工群眾在春節期間儘量在粵過節。建議廣大民眾非必要不離粵，非必要不到中高風險地區，非必要不到境外，如必須出行，要合理安排行程，提前瞭解當地的疫情形勢和防控政策，瞭解目的地近期是否有病例或疫情發生，同時要備好口罩、手消毒劑等物品，用於路上使用。
為協助企業了解珠三角各地及潮汕地區的情況，協會收集整理了有關倡議資訊如下：
深圳
深圳市新型冠狀病毒肺炎疫情防控指揮部發佈通知，支持各類用人單位採取錯峰放假、增發節日津貼等鼓勵性措施，盡最大努力讓更多在深員工留深過年。
東莞
東莞市新型冠狀病毒肺炎疫情防控指揮部提出，行政事業單位和國有企業幹部職工帶頭在莞過節，廣大來莞建設者和群眾儘量留莞過節。家庭私人聚會聚餐等提倡控制在10人以下，合理控制聚會時長，保持社交距離。加強個人防護，注意食品安全，還要關注個人健康情況。
廣佛肇
廣州：廣州市商務局印發《廣州市春節期間餐飲服務業新冠肺炎疫情精准防控工作指引》，要求控制餐廳（館）就餐人數，鼓勵提供訂制化年夜飯外賣服務和團餐預訂配送服務。婚喪嫁娶等習俗活動原則上控制在150人以內，提倡家庭私人聚會聚餐等控制在10人以下等。
佛山：鼓勵企業留住職工在順過年。鼓勵企業根據生產計畫和職工意願，制定激勵措施，通過發放過年紅包、在崗津貼、靈活放假等方式，儘量留住職工在順德過年。鼓勵職工參加職業技能培訓，對留順的外來務工人員，在2月期間通過鑒定考核並取得專項能力證書的，根據證書工種目錄按每證400-1600元給予個人補貼。非必要不出市，非必要不離粵，儘量選擇在就地過節
肇慶：暫未發佈詳細指引，按照廣東省疫情常態化疫情防控規定
中山
中山暫未發佈詳細指引，按照廣東省疫情常態化疫情防控規定
惠州
惠州暫未發佈詳細指引，按照廣東省疫情常態化疫情防控規定，企業做好跨省流動人員登記統計。
江門
江門市新型冠狀病毒肺炎疫情防控指揮部辦公室發佈通知，呼籲市民春節期間儘量減少流動，非必要不出行，鼓勵留在當地過節。無特殊情況不要前往境外或國內中、高風險地區。
珠海
在珠海市疫情防控和經濟社會發展新聞發佈會上，元旦春節假期非必要不出境（澳門除外）、不跨省，要加強個人防護，有出行需要的市民需隨時關注最新公佈的全國疫情中、高風險地區名單，如非必要儘量避免前往。
潮汕
汕尾：合理安排出行，錯峰出行。如非必要，建議不要出境和前往中、高風險地區；儘量減少前往人員密集的場所。
揭陽：非必須不要出行，儘量不到境外以及國內中、高風險地區。減少室內聚集性文娛活動。各類聯歡會、音樂會一律採取錄播形式舉行，錄播期間要合理確定現場觀眾人數，嚴格落實防控措施；劇院等演出場所觀眾人數原則上不得超過座位數的75%。
汕頭：假期出行應認真做好出行準備，切實增強疫情防護意識，帶足口罩、消毒濕巾等防護用品，自覺遵守當地疫情防控管理規定。
綜上所述，按照廣東省疫情常態化疫情防控指示，鼓勵企業根據生產、工作情況和職工意願，靈活安排休假，引導職工在春節期間儘量在粵過節。另返鄉人員節前能否返鄉主要根據返回目的地防疫政策，節後回程需要按廣東省及相關地市鎮的防疫管控政策執行（尤其是跨省流動）。建議各企業根據廣東省各地政府疫情防控的最新倡導，結合企業自己的實際情況，做好員工2021年春節返鄉相關的妥善安排。
資料來源：香港工業總會珠三角工業協會 (2021年1月11日)
2、UNIQLO母企迅銷集團首季盈利跌0.75% 中台等大中華業務溢利增
UNIQLO、GU母企迅銷集團 （06288） 公布截至去年11月底的第一季度業績，季度錄得純利703.8億日圓，按年減少0.75%。季內綜合毛利率52.4%，較上年度同期改善2.2個百分點。
迅銷下午1時起停牌，以公布季度業績，停牌前報70.35元，升1.4%，成交27.3萬元。
季內，迅銷收入6198億日圓，按年跌0.6%，綜合經營溢利總額則按年大增23%至1,130億日圓，主要受惠於日本及大中華地區UNIQLO業務經營溢利大幅增長，而GU的溢利亦錄得增長。
以地區劃分，日本UNIQLO季內同店銷售淨額按年增7.3%，而網店銷售淨額亦勁增48%至367億日圓。海外UNIQLO方面，首季收益雖跌7.2%但經營溢利按年增9.5%至414億日圓，主要反映中國及台灣市場的大中華地區溢利大幅增長，以及南韓業務扭虧所帶動。
GU業務錄得季度收益765億日圓，按年升4.9%，經營溢利增9.9%至136億日圓。
第一季度業績
https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2021/0114/2021011400369.pdf
https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2021/0114/2021011400370_c.pdf
資料來源：香港經濟日報 (2021年1月14日)
3、ZARA母企Inditex三大品牌關閉中國所有分店 加強網上銷售
疫情打擊零售業，根據外媒報道，西班牙時裝品牌ZARA母企Inditex，將關閉旗下年輕品牌Bershka、Pull&Bear和Stradivarius在中國的所有分店，預計將於今年年中前完成，但保留官網、天貓旗艦店等電商渠道，銳意轉戰網上銷售。
Inditex回應稱，旗下的年輕品牌將加強其電子商貿的發展，包括線上店舖及運用直播、微信等社交平台，相信電商業務將會快速增長，並強調始終看好中國市場。
與此同時，Inditex在中國市場亦進一步加強創新和科技技術，如去年底Zara於北京開設亞洲最大的旗艦店，加入了不少科技元素，包括互動式產品展示觸摸屏，為消費者帶來最新的購物體驗。
受歐洲疫情拖累，Inditex早前公布11月收入按年下跌19%，並於12月首10日下跌13%，去年財報亦曾透露，集團計劃關閉旗下1,000至1,200家門店，關閉實體店成為集團調整業務的策略之一。Inditex在中國線下門店僅保留Zara、中端品牌Massimo Dutti、內衣品牌Oysho和家具品牌Zara Home。
資料來源：香港經濟日報 (2021年1月8日)
4、威富重整亞太業務 營運中心由港遷滬
近年愈來愈多國際奢侈品牌把地區總部由香港遷移至內地，美國休閒服飾集團威富公司（VFC）昨公布其亞太地區業務轉型計劃，包括將品牌營運中心由香港遷往上海，全球供應鏈營運基地亞洲產品供應中心則從香港搬到新加坡，並會在吉隆坡設立亞太區共享服務中心；轉型計劃將於未來12至18個月分階段進行，首階段預計今年4月展開，惟公司未有交代受影響的本港員工數目。
市值逾2600億元的威富公司，旗下服飾品牌包括潮牌Dickies、Supreme、Vans、運動品牌THE NORTH FACE、Timberland等；目前公司在上海約有900名辦公室及門市員工，威富公司董事長Steve Rendle解釋，今次的業務轉型計劃，再次體現威富投資亞太區的決定，從而幫助公司達成以消費者為導向、以零售為本及高度數碼化的企業目標。
產品供應中心移師星洲
他又說，公司將品牌營運中心移師上海是希望能與內地消費者建立更緊密、更公平的聯繫；至於把產品供應中心搬遷至新加坡，將有利於威富將部分人才和資源，重新部署到公司在亞太區的主要採購國家，以加強與重要供應商緊密合作，提高效率。
威富公司大中華區總裁馬文認為，此舉是積極應對國內市場的快速變化，主動把握重要機會。內地服飾及鞋履市場非常獨特，且消費者偏好變化快；為把握未來市場潛力，公司須更靠近消費者，包括透過擴展零售業務，以及與數碼科技夥伴進行良好合作，以便能更迅速地應對消費趨勢變化，並助力品牌為消費者打造更優質的產品和服務體驗。
資料來源：信報財經 (2021年1月12日)
5、申洲國際：柬埔寨成衣廠擴大招工
金邊特別經濟區(PPSP)最近與中國針織服裝製造商Marvel Garment簽訂了租賃協定，額外徵用3.7公頃土地。
PPSP主席Tan Kak Khun上個月與中國領先的服裝製造商申洲國際集團控股有限公司當地分支機搆Marvel Garmen的總經理閆德林簽署了交易。
PPSP位於金邊經濟特區(PPSEZ)後面，該工業區是一個工業園區位於首都郊區坎博爾區的Kantaok公社。
漫威服裝有限公司是中國領先的針織服裝製造商，于2019年3月在金邊經濟特區動工建設工廠。該公司於2020年10月初就已經招募逾3000工人，並計畫在2021年02月下旬招募約6000工人。
PPSP新聞稿稱，隨著更多生產線的建成，PPSP表示，Marvel Garment正在加緊準備宿舍和周圍設施，以在年底之前容納其10,000名工人的目標。
隨著專案日益發展，工人也不斷增加。目前公司正在儘快建造住所，預計2021年給逾1萬名工人提供足夠宿舍。
PPSP於12月21日在一個新的租賃倉庫破土動工，該倉庫預計將於7月投入運營。施工計畫在七個月內完成。
資料來源：紡織網 (2021年1月11日)
6、誰能取代中國的「世界工廠」地位？哈佛教授話係佢…
這幾年中美大打貿易戰，中國的關鍵零部作被美國切斷，加上去年新冠肺炎疫情全球爆發，製造業發展受挫，亦令全球意識到供應鏈過於集中單一市場的風險。到底誰能取代中國的「世界工廠」地位？外媒引述哈佛甘迺迪學院經濟學教授Gorden Hanson預測，答案暫時仍是個謎，但他推論，若勞動密集型工業從內地大城市往內地其他地區擴散，取代中國的，可能就是中國本身。
他的分析重點集中在10種勞動密集型產品，包括紡織品、服裝、鞋、體育用品、踏板車、玩具、衞生、照明、供暖、家具。他發現中國在這些商品的出口上，2013年達到最高峰，佔全球39.3%，此後逐步下降；2018年是31.6%。而考量到經濟增長趨緩、勞動人口年齡中位數上升、高等教育比例攀升，中國勞動密集型產業不太可能再增長。
他指出，中國希望轉型到高端製造業，利用內需消費來成為經濟成長新引擎，如果計劃奏效，勞動密集型生產工作勢必外移。誰來取代中國的問題仍然令人困惑，填補空缺最明顯的競爭者可能是亞洲新興出口經濟體，包括印度、孟加拉、柬埔寨、印尼、緬甸、巴基斯坦、斯里蘭卡、越南。
惟觀乎過去20年來，這些經濟體中，只有孟加拉、柬埔寨、越南在勞動密集型產品出口所佔份額有顯著增加。孟加拉由於成本低，已經成為全球第2大服裝出口國；越南眾所周知已經成為代替中國生產運動鞋、紡織品的首選。
他認為，孟加拉和越南成長最快。如果不得不選出下個中國。問題是，這些新興經濟體規模還不足以像中國在1990年代，能完全取代東亞其他國家來生產，其中人口合計僅約2.6億，還不及中國20%。至於亞洲之外，候選列中的羅馬尼亞、波蘭、摩洛哥、突尼斯亞、土耳其，規模就更不能相比。
故他提到另一個可能性，就是由於中國內地發展並不平衡，目前這些製造業都集中在大城市，往後很可能會向其他區域擴散，類似第二次世界大戰後美國由於公路網擴展，製造業從大城市往全國各地小城市疏散。在這種情況下，中國最後會取代的是它自己！
歐美和日本企業確實開始推動分散供應鏈，但更多人發現要放棄中國存在困難，因為中國基礎建設條件難有匹敵國家，品質已經穩定，而且價格具有競爭力，因此催生「中國+1(China Plus One)」策略，將大部分業務保留在中國，但部分分散到越南等國家。
他認為，新的模型(paradigm)可能要花上一段時間才能弄清楚，但只要出現，就會很快接掌全局。他總結，現在還不清楚下個中國是誰或在哪裏，但不代表答案永遠不會出現，時候到了產業就會有反應，當初中國也是像這樣在非常短的時間內從一個小製造國變成世界工廠。
資料來源：東網 (2021年1月11日)
7、港產品輸美受打壓影響微 內銷和東盟市場成香港品牌出路
香港製造的輸美產品近年受到打壓，令人擔心「香港品牌」的優勢會被削弱。廠商會全新節目《論述縱橫》首集討論香港品牌處境及出路，專家均認為美國的「制裁」對港商的整體影響不大，中國內銷市場和東盟亦將是香港品牌的出路。
香港生產力促進局總裁畢堅文表示，美國的「制裁」只是單一事件，廠商亦非一定要出口至美國，現時BUD專項基金的適用範圍已增至20個國家及地區，過去一年申請數字急升，反映企業要發展多元市場的需求殷切。
香港恒生大學市場學系副教授鄧子龍指，研究顯示中國人最喜歡購買由中國製造的產品，全國各地當中，國內消費者對香港產品最有信心，所以香港品牌在打入國內市場絕對有優勢。
他又認為，產地來源標籤主要用來滿足法律上的要求，廠商可以善用包裝設計來凸顯產品的香港製造、設計或香港品牌身份。他又建議，企業可以借助香港獨特的文化背景，按目標客户的喜好，建立品牌故事。
資料來源：香港經濟日報 (2021年1月8日)
8、港設計師網上直播吸客 款多量少突出品牌風格
不少品牌在新型冠狀病毒疫情下面對經營困局，轉戰網上尋找出路。本港時裝品牌Oplus2（O+²）因應疫下的直播網購熱，開始嘗試網上營銷，包括以網上直播方式向客戶介紹新系列，早前亦參與由香港貿易發展局舉辦的CENTRESTAGE（香港國際時尚匯展）虛擬時裝展，開拓新客源。
Oplus2面對疫情下本港門店幾乎「零人流」的情況，仍堅持做好設計，每季推出新系列，盡量維持收入來源，以應付租金支出，加上款多量少的經營策略，亦不會有太多存貨壓力。
推出自家製搓手液贈客人
Oplus2創辦人鄧曉滔表示：「不論是順境或是逆境，總要前進。作為一個時裝設計師，我堅信要打造一個好品牌，必須以設計為本，不應考慮太多。先做好設計，自然便會吸引客人到來。」
鄧曉滔於2015年創辦個人品牌Oplus2，他從攝影出發，以「捕捉生活剪影」為品牌理念，將攝影作品化為影像印花融入時裝設計中。鄧曉滔是一位勇於嘗試的設計師，總想挑戰不同事情，例如早前開展了全新的可持續時裝系列，實驗不同環保物料的可能性。
隨後他再下一城，推出天然美容用品系列，在這基礎下亦讓他可在疫情初期，比其他品牌更早一步為客人派發自家製的酒精搓手液。「2020年初疫情剛開始，我們恰巧存有一批原材料，加入酒精便可製作成本不算高的搓手液，於是便決定生產一批，送給我們的客人和VIP客人，當作一份心意。」
受到疫情影響，全球各地不少時裝店相繼結業，在香港長大的鄧曉滔曾經歷沙士，見證過師傅Lu Lu Cheung如何在絕望中奮鬥，捱過難關。這些經歷造就他不易言敗的工作態度，即使面對疫情下門店幾乎「零人流」的情況，亦堅持每季推出新系列的傳統。
他指：「如果暫停推出新款，即是白繳租金。我認為店內需要定期有新貨，幸好有VIP客人的支持，銷情還可以接受，加上我們的經營策略是款多量少，一款服飾只會生產十多件，不會有太多存貨。」
CENTRESTAGE虛擬展拓客源
品牌新系列以「晨曦」為主題，靈感源自一張攝於清晨時份的相片，相中的雲朵受到陽光折射，為本身灰暗的天空擦出一道曙光。作品貫徹品牌風格，著重可穿性及合身效果。鄧曉滔指：「新系列特意用上色彩繽紛的色調，希望打造一種清新愉快的感覺。」
他特別帶同這系列於2020年9月參加香港貿發局的CENTRESTAGE虛擬時裝展，「這次是我第一次以個人品牌身份參與時裝展，所以想從香港出發，在港參展。」
他認為，虛擬時裝展勝在畫面豐富，可以加入不同視覺效果襯托作品，突破環境上的限制，而且不論行內或行外的觀眾亦可在網上欣賞，「網上展讓更多行外觀眾可欣賞到我們的新系列，從而更了解我們的品牌，對拓展B2C市場絕對有利。」
初試網上直播反應不俗
除了參加虛擬時裝展外，鄧曉滔有見市面興起直播網購熱潮，亦初次嘗試拍攝網上直播片，與相熟的客人分享，介紹新作。另外，他早前亦參與了K11購物商場的直播活動，分享服裝配搭等貼士。
他指，品牌一向以經營實體店為主，網上直播等新銷售方式值得一試，「網上營銷的力量無法想像，所以應為此作好準備，雖然未有收成，但仍會繼續嘗試。」他透露未來計劃打造一個融合時裝與教學的空間，每季按主題開辦手繪衣工作坊，加強與客人的互動性，同時可以利用自身的設計經驗回饋社會。
閱覽更多主題：成衣│紡織及配件│香港│成功故事│商貿平台
資料來源：hkmb.hktdc.com (2021年1月8日)
9、just-style’s online magazine
Time for change: How might apparel supply chains reset post-pandemic?
Issue 08 - December 2020
https://juststyle.nridigital.com/just-style_magazine_dec20/issue_8
Source: www.just-style.com (8 Jan 2021)
10、Outlook 2021 – Apparel industry challenges and opportunities
2021 should be a year of winners and losers. The fallout from the coronavirus pandemic means there will be continued volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, with fewer retail brands, stores and malls……
Source: www.just-style.com (14 Jan 2021)
11、Without Government Aid, Bangladesh Garment Sector Could ‘Collapse’
Garment manufacturers in Bangladesh have demanded that the government extend the moratorium on the salary stimulus package by six months and delay repayment terms by a year, saying that the failure to do so would push the industry past the brink of destruction.
In an open letter published Thursday, Rubana Huq, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the country’s largest trade group of factory owners, wrote that the central bank of Bangladesh has asked commercial banks to arrange repayments by the third week of January, despite the “deep plunge into uncertainty” triggered by the unabating Covid-19 crisis. Without the additional assistance or deferment of repayments, she said, “the industry will collapse.”
Overall exports for ready-made garments tumbled 9.6 percent in December, according to the Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh, contributing to what Huq described as an “unprecedented” decline of 16.9 percent for 2020. Woven garment exports slid 18 percent, resulting in the worst performing month since June. Only knitwear exports maintained a “relatively stable position” with -0.5 percent growth because of buoyed demand for home goods, she said. Shipments to the United States, the single largest export market for Bangladesh’s products, stumbled 12.6 percent year over year, trade data showed.
“So, given the effect of lockdowns in Europe and U.S.A. and their impact on retail and demand, the worst-ever Christmas sales the world has seen and, most of all, the effect of price decline (which is around 5 percent since September 2020), it was a dark year for the industry that we have seen,” Huq wrote. “As the uncertainties and stresses caused by the second wave still persists, coupled with the unavailability of [a] vaccine, and the impact on global economy it would leave, this downtrend in export will probably continue till April of this year.”
With the jobs of Bangladesh’s 4.1 million garment workers on the line, the perception that the industry is on the mend and “getting all the favors from the government,” she added must “kindly be reassessed.”
Factory owners borrowed 10,500 crore taka ($1.2 million) from the stimulus packages announced last March to pay workers’ wages for the months of April, May, June and July on the condition that they would repay the amount at 2 percent interest in 24 monthly installments beginning this month. In October, the BGMEA asked the finance ministry to draw out the repayment period to five years.
A survey published in December by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) contended, however, that 42 percent of the garment workforce, or 1.4 million workers, have not benefited from the stimulus payments despite the fact that the vast majority do not have savings. Factory owners employed some 84 percent of the incentives to address their own financial needs, TIB said. The report also claimed that 21,000 workers in 64 factories that accepted incentives did not receive their owed wages due to layoffs.
“The stimulus package was given from the public money, but the interests of the workers were not considered as a priority,” Iftekharuzzaman, executive director at TIB, said at a virtual press conference. Huq has refuted the report, citing the accuracy of TIB’s data.
Bangladesh was particularly hard hit at the outset of the pandemic. Amid the first wave of the coronavirus, Western brands and retailers canceled or suspended $3.1 billion in orders, roiling a country that counted on apparel for 84 percent of its overall exports. Besides the pared-back orders, factories have had to grapple with new post-coronavirus buyer behaviors, such as demands for steep discounts and extended payment terms that leave suppliers front-loading all of the costs of production.
In June, Huq estimated an “irrecoverable” loss of $5 billion due to the economic fallout.
Source: www.sourcingjournal.com (11 Jan 2021)
12、JCPenney Is Working to Clean Up its Fashion Supply Chain
JCPenney is partnering with the Apparel Impact Institute to improve its supply chain sustainability performance.
The work with the institute (Aii) will help improve performance related to energy, water and chemicals in 2021 and beyond.
“We are pleased to see JCPenney take this leadership position by recognizing the serious environmental impacts of wet processing activities in Tier 2 production by joining our Clean by Design program,” Lewis Perkins, Aii’s president, said. “As the world seeks to build back with better solutions, JCPenney is ‘leaning in’ to this opportunity to improve existing facilities in the ways that will have the most positive impact for both sustainability and production cost.”
Aii is a strategic partner of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), an industry collaboration of brands and retailers. SAC’s Clean by Design program helps members like JCPenney, Target, Gap and Levi Strauss provide strategic suppliers with subsidized environmental engineering support. The support is aimed at improving energy efficiency, as well as the transition to more sustainable fuel sources, such as biomass and solar energy. Costs of programs are shared between the company, supplier and Aii.
JCPenney has been a participant in the Clean by Design program since 2015. It began working with a select group of Chinese suppliers and is now in collaboration with Daysun, Masood, Nishat and Soorty to enroll four additional facilities into the program in Pakistan and Vietnam. The mass merchant said in a company blog post on Thursday that the selected mill and laundry facilities are strategic production partners for the retailer’s private brands, and are located in “high water stress communities.” These facilities “have demonstrated a commitment to improving their sustainability performance. These types of Tier 2 facilities often represent the largest emissions hot spots, making them prime candidates for Aii’s Clean by Design program,” JCPenney said, adding that enrollment in the program will continue on a yearly basis.
JCPenney’s retail operations are now owned by Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management, and the retailer is searching for a new CEO.
Source: www.sourcingjournal.com (14 Jan 2021)
13、M&S to Sell Jaeger Fashion Online After IP Deal
Marks & Spencer has acquired the upscale fashion brand Jaeger out of administration.
Terms of the transaction for the intellectual property assets were not disclosed, but U.K.’s Evening Standard has estimated the purchase price to be in the neighborhood of 5 million pounds ($6.8 million). Since M&S is buying only the IP, the Jaeger stores shut due to lockdown restrictions in the U.K. will likely stay closed as they have been since the brand collapsed into administration in November. Staff who worked at the company will likely lose their jobs as well. About 63 stores and concessions were left after the closure of 13 locations once Jaeger entered into administration. The company had nearly 250 employees on its payroll.
Jaeger and sister company value-chain Peacocks both fell into administration in November. The brands were part of the retail empire of Sir Philip Day. His Edinburgh Woolen Mill Group already saw the collapse into administration of Edinburgh Woolen Mill and the Ponden Home business near the start of November. The expectation is that M&S will sell the Jaeger brand on its website, but probably not open standalone stores.
“We have set out our plans to sell complementary third-party brands as part of our Never The Same Again programme to accelerate our transformation and turbocharge online growth,” Richard Price, head of the M&S clothing and home division, told Sky News on Monday. “In line with this, we have bought the Jaeger brand and are in the final stages of agreeing the purchase of product and supporting marketing assets from the administrators of Jaeger Retail Limited. We expect to fully complete later this month.”
M&S last week provided an update on third quarter sales, noting that although apparel sales were down, sleepwear and leisure apparel were standouts during the November and December holiday period.
Source: www.sourcingjournal.com (12 Jan 2021)
14、2021’s First Bankruptcy: Christopher & Banks to Shut Hundreds of Stores in Chapter 11 Collapse
Christopher & Banks Corp. has become the first fashion bankruptcy of 2021 after filing a voluntary Chapter 11 petition Wednesday that will close hundreds of stores.
The filing in a Newark, N.J., federal bankruptcy court comes after the women’s fashion chain warned last month that it faced the possibility of going out of business. In a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Christopher & Banks blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for its financial misfortunes, and said it might not be able to repay its loans.
A statement on its website Thursday says the retailer plans to close a “significant portion, if not all, of its brick-and-mortar stores.” Christopher & Banks has already started as liquidating stores but said operations will continue in the “ordinary course” in the near term. A seller of value-priced apparel and accessories, the company is in talks with potential buyers to sell its e-commerce business and related assets. Retail Ecommerce Ventures, known for scooping up and digitally relaunching bankrupt retailers from Stein Mart to Dressbarn, would seem to be a good suitor for Christopher & Banks.
Meanwhile, liquidation expert Hilco Merchant Resources said it will be conducting store closing sales at all 449 locations, and will offer a variety of fashion merchandise in misses, women’s and petite sizes at 40 to 60 percent off original prices. “Christopher & Banks online sales will continue. Closing discounts will not apply to online purchases,” Hilco said.
Christopher & Banks president and CEO Keri Jones said chain has “taken aggressive steps” to steer the business through the Covid-19 storm and had hoped to fend off a bankruptcy.
“Despite the tremendous advancements we have made in executing our strategic plan, due to the financial distress resulting from the pandemic and its ongoing impact, we elected to initiate this process and pursue a potential sale of the business in whole or in part to position the company for the future,” Jones added. “I want to extend my deepest gratitude to our dedicated associates, loyal customers and supportive partners for their commitment to Christopher & Banks throughout these challenging times.”
The company last month hired B. Riley Securities Inc. as investment banker and BRG, LLC as its financial advisor.
Based in Plymouth, Minn., and in operation since 1956, the retailer in its Chapter 11 filing listed total assets of $166.4 million and total debts of $105.6 million. Among the top dozen on its unsecured creditors list was a combination of landlords and vendors from China. It also listed as a contingent liability a $10 million PPP loan. Simon Property Group was listed as being owed $2.1 million, with Brookfield at $1 million and Tanger Property at $831,022. It owes Blueprint Clothing Corp, factored with CIT, $2.2 million, and Letys Fashion Design Inc., factored with Rosenthal & Rosenthal, $989,718. Also on the list was Salesforce.com, owed $1.2 million for the retailer’s e-commerce site, and FedEx, at $830,532, for freight services.
In a declaratory statement filed as part of the bankruptcy case, Jones said the debtors are the “latest victims of the retail apocalypse that was first created by a customer migration away from brick-and-mortar stores and most recently, the Covid-19 pandemic.” She said the pandemic provided the proverbial “nail in the coffin,” following years of adverse market trends. While Christopher & Banks took action to increase liquidity, such as reducing operating costs and negotiating lease concessions and deferrals, “given the continued operating losses, decline in sales and the limited runway, the debtors were unable to execute on any out-of-court solution for their liquidity constraints,” Jones said.
Jones said that based on market feedback with advisors, the company determined that a sale of the traditional brick-and-mortar business wasn’t viable or achievable under current circumstances.
At the date of its bankruptcy filing, Christopher & Banks reported 2,991 employees, comprised of 1,044 full-time salaried staff and 1,947 hourly employees.
Source: www.sourcingjournal.com (14 Jan 2021)
15、Xinjiang Cotton Faces Sweeping New Western Sanctions
The United States has imposed a sweeping regional ban on all cotton products and tomatoes from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwestern China, where authorities are widely 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 religious and cultural oppression.
The move, announced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Wednesday, is just the latest salvo in a series of sanctions targeting Beijing and its use of extrajudicial imprisonment, torture, forced sterilization, forced labor and other repressive measures to mold ethnic minority groups into model Communists—claims the Chinese government has vociferously denied. A recent study by the Center for Global Policy, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, estimates that half a million Uyghurs are forced to pick cotton by hand through a state-sponsored labor transfer and “poverty alleviation” scheme.
“CBP will not tolerate the Chinese government’s exploitation of modern slavery to import goods into the United States below fair market value,” acting commissioner Mark A. Morgan said in a statement. “Imports made on the cheap by using forced labor hurt American businesses that respect human rights and also expose unsuspecting consumers to unethical purchases.”
Importers will be responsible for ensuring that the products they plan to import do not exploit forced labor at any point along their supply chain, including the production or harvesting of the raw material.
Ken Cuccinelli, acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told reporters at a briefing that “‘Made in China’ doesn’t just indicate country of origin—it’s a warning label.” He used the same turn of phrase in October, when the CBP issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) on cotton merchandise from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a 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.
This more encompassing ban formalizes what Morgan had described at the time as “almost akin to a regional [WRO]” because of the scale of the XPCC’s operations. With Xinjiang accounting for some 85 percent of China’s cotton, the regional ban will effectively impact 20 percent of the apparel industry’s global cotton supply.
In January, the Fair Labor Association, a multi-stakeholder initiative whose affiliates include Adidas, Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing, Gildan, Hanesbrands, Lululemon, Nike, Patagonia and Under Armour, blacklisted any sourcing and production of goods, whether directly or indirectly, from Xinjiang, citing the “unique human rights and labor violations that defy conventional due diligence norms.”
The United States imported $9 million in cotton products from China in 2020, Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner at the Office of Trade, said in the briefing. Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), a labor-rights group and member of the End Uyghur Forced Labour coalition, estimates that U.S. brands and retailers import more than 1.5 billion garments that contain Xinjiang cotton every year, accounting for more than $20 billion in retail sales. These include items exported from countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam, as well as the rest of China—every one of which is “now barred from entry.”
“CBP’s action is a high-decibel wake-up call to any apparel brand that continues to deny the prevalence and problem of forced-labor produced cotton from the Uyghur Region,” said Scott Nova, executive director at the WRC. “This ban will redefine how the apparel industry—from Amazon to Nike to Zara—sources its materials and labor. Any global apparel brand that is not either out of Xinjiang already, or plotting a very swift exit, is courting legal and reputational disaster. The days when any major apparel brand can safely profit from Xinjiang cotton are over.”
It’s now up to the incoming Biden administration and new Congressional leadership, Nova said, to “up CBP’s game on enforcement.”
“The complexity and opacity of the brands’ supply chains create major challenges and CBP’s track record on enforcement is mixed, but it can be done,” he said. “The effective and transparent enforcement of this order should be among the immediate regulatory priorities of the new administration.”
Likewise, the Uyghur Human Rights Project, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that promotes human rights and democracy for Uyghurs, also welcomed the decision.
“This is the right decision, and more steps are needed,” executive director Omer Kanat said in a statement. “UHRP has been calling for a complete ban on imports tainted by China’s atrocity crimes against Uyghurs. With the genocidal campaign that is soon to enter its 5th year, Uyghurs don’t understand how ‘business as usual’ has continued as long as it has.”
In a joint statement, the American Apparel & Footwear Association, National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association and the U.S. Fashion Industry Association said that the announcement dovetails with its members’ “accelerated commitment in this region,” and it looks forward to working with the new Congress to develop a “holistic approach that provides all stakeholders a clear, effective, and enforceable path forward.” It urged CBP officials, however, to share the evidence they gathered, and the evidentiary thresholds they employed, that resulted in the decision.
“The industry is pioneering and implementing new technologies and innovative approaches to decipher where supply chains are susceptible to forced labor, particularly as it relates to XUAR,” the statement said. “We look forward to working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to make sure enforcement is smart, transparent, targeted and effective. … Additionally, we ask CBP to share enforcement actions so that industry can further inform their due diligence and amplify and expand CBP’s enforcement efforts.”
The National Council of Textile Organizations said it is closely reviewing the scope of the Xinjiang cotton and cotton product ban and the “associated enforcement mechanisms announced by DHS today.”
“The abuses against the China’s Uyghur Muslim population are well-documented, having spurred both congressional action and several withhold release orders in recent months by U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” said president and CEO Kim Glas in a statement. “It is critical that forced labor in China and the systemic abuse of the Uyghurs and other minority groups is abolished and systematically addressed.”
The news came just as the British government announced new measures to ensure that U.K. companies do not profit from forced Uyghur labor, including “new, robust and detailed guidance” about the specific risks faced by companies with links to Xinjiang and the challenges of conducting effective due diligence in the region. It will also introduce fines for firms that fail to disclose imports tied to Xinjiang.
“Our aim, put simply, is that no company that profits from forced labour in Xinjiang can do business in the U.K., and no U.K. business is involved in their supply chains,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab wrote in a statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday. The government will also be conducting an “urgent review” of export controls as they apply specifically to Xinjiang to prevent exports that could directly or indirectly contribute to human-rights violations.
“Let me say that we in the United Kingdom–I think rightly–take pride in the overwhelming majority of British businesses that do business, do so with great integrity and professionalism right around the world. That’s their hallmark, it’s part of our USP [unique selling point] as a Global Britain,” Raab said. “It is precisely because of that, that any company profiting from forced labor will be barred from government procurement in this country.”
Venerable British department store Marks & Spencer said earlier this month that while it has neither suppliers in nor sourcing relationships with Xinjiang, it backs a call to divest from the region entirely.
“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, its managing director of clothing and home, 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.”
Source: www.sourcingjournal.com (13 Jan 2021)
16、SPINEXPO B2B event HONG KONG @D2 Place - Spring/Summer 2022
To discover the exhibitor’s list, please visit: http://registration.event-reg.biz/HkparisE/elist/elisthk.aspx
Pre-registration: http://spinexpohk.event-admin.biz/
[Deadline: 20 Jan 2021, Wednesday]
More details: http://www.spinexpo.com/hongkong2021
Source: www.spinexpo.com (12 Jan 2021)