2021年7月2日
行業報導 - 2021年7月2日
1、全球服飾商 疫下大洗牌
儘管疫情反覆，但全球疫苗接種速度理想，民眾已開始重拾以往的消費模式，尤其當消費者轉向網絡購物之際，部分服飾商亦因而冒起，吸引全球投資者的青睞。雖然預料中美貿易戰、關稅等問題或持續影響零售商，但亦有中資跨境電商因而受惠，成為全球時尚巨頭。
休閒服熱潮退 日Uniqlo銷售跌
日本快速時尚品牌Uniqlo母公司迅銷（Fast Retailing）在今年2月時，受惠於亞洲市場的強勁復甦勢頭，市值一度超越歐洲同業Zara西班牙母公司印地紡集團（Inditex）。不過，由於次季亞洲疫情反覆，如今市值大幅落後，反觀西方經濟體的民眾接種疫苗後，已開始採購新服飾，迎接疫情後的生活。
外媒分析指，截至6月9日，英國的接種率是每100人接種103劑疫苗；美國每100人接種91劑；德國則為66劑。相較之下，亞洲地區如南韓，每100人僅接種20劑疫苗；日本14劑；馬來西亞更只有11劑。
不過，內地有效控制疫情，經濟已開始復甦，因此迅銷在主要市場內地仍維持強勁表現。然而，迅銷在東南亞的情況相反，因疫情再度爆發，已暫時關閉馬來西亞全部共49間Uniqlo門市，越南的8間Uniqlo門市也有5間停業。
截至目前為止，迅銷日本上市股份的市值約8.9萬億日圓（約804億美元），在港預託證券(06288)市值292億港元（約37億美元）；印地紡市值則超過939億歐元（約1,118億美元）。回顧在疫情初期，亞洲市場的表現顯著優於西方國家，但隨着西方主要市場展開疫苗接種，形勢開始轉變，迅銷的市值亦因而受壓。
迅銷的日本業務陷入困境，5月份Uniqlo同店銷售按年減少約一成，為12個月以來首錄負增長。若和2019年5月相比，同店銷售更下滑18.6%。日本摩根證券分析師稱，迅銷的室內和休閒服飾在疫情期間表現雖強勁，但全球經濟重啟讓高檔時尚戶外服飾的需求回升。
時尚服需求升 印地紡生意倍增
日本摩根證券分析師稱，Zara西班牙母公司印地紡（Inditex）受惠全球經濟重啟。該公司第一季收入激增48%，淨利潤為4.21億歐元，而去年同期虧損4.09億歐元，主因疫情相關限制措施已鬆綁。公司指，到6月6日為止，98%的門市已恢復營業，但營業時間因各國的防疫措施而平均縮短約10%。雖然受門市關閉和防疫措施影響，印地紡上季整體營業時間減少24%，但網絡收入按年增66%，毛利率為59.9%，高於一年前的58.4%，並優於市場預期。
另有分析指，印地紡本季的銷售大幅改善，可見消費者被壓抑的高檔時尚服飾需求釋放後所帶來的效益。公司從5月1日至6月6日期間銷售按年增逾一倍，也比2019年同期增加5%，即暗示着解封後消費需求會隨即飆升。
中資電商Shein美國下載量撼贏亞馬遜
疫情促使網購逐漸普及化，而一直被視為網購「一哥」的亞馬遜（Amazon），在美國本土竟被中資服裝電商Shein打破壟斷局面，並取代亞馬遜成為美國iOS和Android平台下載量最高的網上購物程式。
那麼，Shein是怎樣在美國冒起的呢？該品牌成立於2008年，主打女裝，同時也有提供男裝和兒童服裝等。Shein雖是中國品牌，但一直主攻國際線，現時不僅打入美國市場，同時向香港、德國、沙特阿拉伯、印度等共220多個國家及地區提供服務。
受惠中美貿戰稅收漏洞
Shein在去年12月發布其2020年公司業績，其中收入接近100億美元（約780億港元），同時也是公司連續第8年實現超過100%的收入增長，年活躍用戶逾2,000萬，吸引全球知名投資者IDG資本和紅杉等紛紛湧入投資。
2020年8月，Shein已經完成E輪融資。一位熟悉公司資金情況的人士表示，Shein的估值目前已高達300億美元。據悉，公司去年已為潛在首次公開招股（IPO）聘請高盛、美國銀行和摩根大通擔任顧問。
雖然公司澄清有關報道，並稱其估值去年僅為數十億美元，短期內沒有IPO計劃，但從其投資可見，公司有發展下去的野心。今年1月，Shein參與競投英國標誌性服裝零售商Topshop，最終僅輸給出價達2.95億英鎊的ASOS。
Shein為快速時尚服飾市場提供新動力。公司除了結合高超的供應鏈、數據驅動的服裝設計外，同樣不得不提公司受惠於中美貿易戰期間的稅收漏洞。
由於中國在全球時尚界的名氣遠不及意大利、法國或日本，故公司幾乎不向客戶透露產地，比如公司從哪裏獲取材料等，消費者在網站上亦無法搜尋到有關資料。不過，公司之所以能取得成功，中國實在是功不可沒，特別是因貿易戰令中國稅收條例產生變化，大大減低了公司及供應商的成本，並使公司能夠以低於競爭對手的價格銷售產品。
隨着2018年世界兩大經濟體貿易關係開始惡化，中國對跨境電子商務零售出口企業免除出口稅，以應對美國新一輪關稅，剛好Shein的大部分訂單都是從中國倉庫發貨，於貿易戰之前在美國已經處於有利位置。自2016年以來，800美元以下的包裹亦可以免稅入境，雖然後來美國前總統特朗普政府對中國產品徵收關稅，但對於網購服裝這類型的小額貨物仍然免稅。
美國的稅收漏洞，加上中國的稅收支持，對公司來說絕對是「漁人得利」。資料顯示，去年因疫情而困在家裏的消費者增加，Shein的銷售額按年增長250%，達到100億美元，遠遠超越Zara去年網上渠道的銷售額。
該公司既不用為其大部分產品支付出口稅，又不用在美國支付進口稅，可見極具競爭優勢。不過，當市場消費者趨向網購，相信Shein不會是唯一一間得益於貿易戰的服飾商，也不會是最後一間。由於有政府支持，中國2018年跨境電商出口總額增長67%，該行業的規模已經超過2,650億美元，增長速度比貿易戰前還要快。
開發科技拓「實時時尚」
Shein不只在稅收方面擁有優勢，而且還有完善和成熟的供應鏈。據外媒報道，公司要求簽約的供應商距離其廣州採購中心不超過5小時車程，而且供應商必須在10天的時間內完成由設計至生產的過程，推翻了傳統服裝製造商需要3至6個月的付貨時間。
此外，公司亦開發了專利科技，透過收集客戶的瀏覽數據並與供應商分享，繼而協助供應商生產和設計過程，甚至可提供有關原料及購買地點的建議，加上毋須擔心商店庫存，可即時對消費者的偏好作出反應等，整個過程被稱為「實時時尚」，這也是行業面臨的一大挑戰與機會。
國際服裝股缺催化劑難爆升
香港股票分析師協會副主席郭思治指出，對服裝板塊的看法較為保守。雖然體育用品股如李寧(02331)和安踏體育(02020)，早前因為爆發新疆棉事件，使民眾願意購買更多內地品牌而爆升，但其他國際服裝股，如迅銷(06288)等缺乏催化劑，未必會有爆發性增長。
他認為雖然在疫苗推出後，民眾消費意欲會有所回暖，但國際品牌仍然要視乎大環境的實體經濟狀況，暫時距離經濟回復正常所需時間仍未明朗，一些傳統工種甚至已經消失。他預料，民眾對日用品的需求將會更大，而時裝需求最快要到第三季後才開始有復甦迹象。
資料來源：東方日報 (2021年6月30日)
2、土耳其開鑿運河 變相助攻一帶一路？
本欄上周說到，土耳其要開鑿伊斯坦布爾運河。果然，土耳其總統埃爾多安周末正式宣布運河動工。這項目確是雄心勃勃，但其對亞歐咽喉地緣格局的衝擊，也許會加速中國一帶一路在巴爾幹建一條更大的運河，一招推翻土耳其算盤。
土耳其博斯普魯斯海峽現時受公約所限，不能像埃及蘇伊士運河一樣，令自己荷包因為經過的船隻脹起來。
土耳其於是想在伊斯坦布爾西郊開鑿45公里運河，宣布公約不適用並收費，並在仍然免費的博斯普魯斯海峽嚴格執行「環保衞生檢查」……
京醞釀大運河 繞過伊斯坦布爾
別以為土耳其海峽和運河只能從地中海通往黑海。黑海雖是半封閉海域，但也是歐洲一大河流多瑙河的出口。亞洲貨船由黑海駛入多瑙河逆流而上，可到布達佩斯、維也納、德國南部等人口中心，再經1992年已開通的運河進入萊茵河，最後在歐洲最大港鹿特丹直出北海。貨船運力與成本優勢非貨車或飛機能比，土耳其不惜花150億美元也挖條運河來收費，無疑是看準了背後龐大市場需求和商機。
然而，土耳其的棋局再大，也要遭一帶一路比下去。中國與巴爾幹多國正在醞釀，將多瑙河與地中海直接連起來，繞過伊斯坦布爾這數千年戰略要地。
具體計劃是這樣的：從希臘第二大城市塞薩洛尼基（Thessaloniki）出發，沿瓦爾達爾河進入北馬其頓，經過全新開挖的運河航道，轉入塞爾維亞境內摩拉瓦河，在塞首都貝爾格萊德外圍滙入多瑙河。
這雖借用了兩條現有河流，但考慮到要挖深和擴闊河道，運河工程總規模有650公里。這條運河一旦成真，貨船不用再繞土耳其，馬上節省近千公里航程及一周時間，令伊斯坦布爾運河白費心機。
這些改寫地緣版圖的謀劃，自然多少有政治成分。俄羅斯近期借助敘利亞基地，恢復冷戰時期的轟炸機地中海巡航，並在途經的英國航母附近演習。
這除是懟回英軍在俄羅斯家門黑海耀武揚威，亦可說順帶協助中國減壓，滅一滅遠赴南海「刷存在感」英國航母等歐洲軍艦的威風，讓歐洲人在對中國重新搞起炮艦外交習以為常之前想清楚。
政治難關重重 地區衝突恐升溫
土耳其現在主張，伊斯坦布爾運河不受海峽公約約束，也許意味西方國家軍艦今後可不受噸位和數量限制進入黑海，踩了俄羅斯尾巴。中國又會否加速推動多瑙河-地中海大運河，曲綫助回俄一把？
當然，中歐大運河要成事，還需克服一些政治難關。
希臘、北馬其頓、塞爾維亞等國雖與中國關係友好，但希、北向來是冤家，而且運河還要經過科索沃爭議地域外圍。可以想像，如運河計劃熱起來，這些地區衝突，
資料來源：香港經濟日報 (2021年6月29日)
3、海運成本飈5倍 加劇全球通脹壓力
【明報專訊】環球通脹預期升溫之際，全球海上航運價格飛漲。由汽車零件、電子產品，以至咖啡、日用品及玩具等，都面臨加價壓力。航運顧問公司Drewry Shipping的數據顯示，由上海經海路運送一個40呎貨櫃到荷蘭鹿特丹的成本，已漲至破紀錄的10,522美元（約8.2萬港元），較過去5年的季節性平均水平高出547%。由於超過八成的貨物貿易是通過海上運輸，運費成本飈升將加劇全球的通脹壓力。
英國玩具店The Entertainer創辦人格蘭特（Gary Grant）說：「運費會影響零售價格嗎？我認為肯定會。」他表示，從事玩具零售40年，在貨品定價方面，從未遇過如此嚴峻的挑戰。他說，已停止從中國進口巨型泰迪熊，因為計入運費後，零售價要上調1倍。
廉價家具運費佔零售價62%
運送大型玩具、家具等體積大、價值低的貨品，目前成本高昂。因為當每件貨品也佔據大量空間，意味貨櫃無法裝太多東西，這將對貨物到岸價格（landed price）產生巨大影響。丹麥數據分析公司Sea-Intelligence表示，對一些生產廉價家具製造商來說，運費現在佔零售價約62%。
以往運費通常只佔貿易成本的一小部分，現在卻對通脹有不可忽視的影響力。匯控估計，過去一年貨櫃運輸成本增加了205%，可能導致歐元區生產者價格上漲2%。環球經濟活動重啟後，對各種貨品的需求飈升。與此同時，貨櫃短缺、港口飽和，加上碼頭工人不足等因素，導致每條貨運航線的運力都受到擠壓。路程愈長的貨運航線，價格升幅愈大，例如由上海到鹿特丹的運費，較前往美國西岸的運費高67%。
ESC：星巴克咖啡豆成本上漲
代表約10萬零售商、批發商和製造商的歐洲托運人委員會（ESC）策略關係經理Jordi Espin稱，在零售層面，供應商面臨3種抉擇：停止貿易、提高價格，或暫時承受增加的成本在稍後轉嫁消費者。由於運費上升，歐洲的橄欖商人已負擔不起向美國出口的成本。秘魯的鯷魚（Anchovies）基本已停止出口到歐洲，因為與歐洲本土的鯷魚相比，秘魯的鯷魚已失去競爭力。運輸瓶頸也令星巴克選用的阿拉比卡（arabica）咖啡豆，以及用於製作即溶咖啡的羅布斯塔（Robusta）咖啡豆，運輸成本上漲。
商界試圖解決運費上漲的問題。英國顧問公司Drewry Supply Chain Advisors的創辦人達馬斯（Philip Damas）表示，部分企業已停止向某些地區出口，部分商戶則改為在鄰近地區尋找貨品或原材料。達馬斯稱，極端運費持續的時間愈長，就會有愈多公司採取措施縮短供應鏈。很少公司能承受國際貿易貨品的總交付成本增加15%的影響。
歐公司試從陸路由中國運送汽車零件
歐洲一些公司正訴諸極端方法，例如出動貨櫃車隊，從陸路由中國運送汽車零件、單車、踏板車等。業界人士普遍預期，海上貨運成本短期內不會顯著回落。丹麥諮詢公司Vespucci Maritime表示，海上運輸系統已沒有任何閒置運力。
由於貨運航期延誤，歐美零售商已開始為年底聖誕購物旺季提前入貨。傳統上，貨運旺季第三季才開始。不過歐美零售商已開始為旺季囤貨，以致航運業近期一直處於旺季。法國達飛海運集團（CMA CGM）第一季淨收入為21億美元，相比去年同期為4800萬美元。該公司預計，市場對消費品的運輸需求將持續全年。
商戶一般與航運公司簽訂年度合同，把成本鎖定在即時價格以下。匯豐貿易經濟學家Shanella Rajanayagam指出，雖然5月的合約談判受到即時貨運價格上漲的影響，但長期的合約費用，仍低於即時價格。不過若運輸成本持續上漲，生產商將傾向把增加的成本轉嫁給消費者。
部分經濟學家指出，即使將運費上升的成本完全轉嫁給消費者，對整體通脹的影響也不會很大。不過，德國政府經濟顧問委員會成員維蘭德（Volker Wieland）警告，運費影響可能被低估，因為若這趨勢持續逾年，將會對物價產生重大影響。
資料來源：明報 (2021年6月20日)
4、飛達帽業顏寶鈴：美賽事恢復帶動訂單需求 「有幾多產能客戶立即排隊照霸」
飛達帽業 （01100） 此前發盈喜，預期今年上半年綜合純利不會少於6500萬元。副主席兼董事總經理顏寶鈴表示，上半年表現將會創歷史新高，訂單差不多滿到10月份，「有幾多產能客戶立即排隊照霸」，更指訂單「唔洗憂」，相信下半年生意亦會直線上升，料全年表現會相當理想。
除了去年積壓的需求，顏寶鈴指出，美國大部份賽事於下半年將會恢復，現時95%的訂單來自美國，相反，英國的訂單則跌了逾一半。她續指，於孟加拉生產的成本低，沒有25%的稅項，加上公司多年來的人手培訓，生產質量佳，其他國家難以相比，同時，公司亦可做到4天出貨及提供個性化生產。
問及會否上調訂單價格，顏寶鈴指，「呢個時間不是加價的時候，等到明年真真正正經濟全球復甦時，我才考慮」。現時公司的毛利率仍可維持與去年相若的雙位數。
不過，她認為，現時最大不確定性是疫情，孟加拉當地的疫情不樂觀，惟飛達鎮均為「自己人」，相對容易控制。她又指，現時當地員工增至6000人以上，直言「工人要幾多有幾多」，但目前在員工招聘培訓時會更小心。
資料來源：香港經濟日報 (2021年6月30日)
5、Garment factories in Bangladesh stay open despite new lockdown
Dive Brief:
A rapid rise in COVID-19 infections linked to the delta variant of the virus led the Bangladesh government to call for a weeklong lockdown across the country to abate spread of the disease.
"While primarily a human tragedy, the renewed spread and resulting lockdown will also have an impact on industrial supply chains as factories will likely have to close and may suffer reduced productivity," Christopher Rogers, a senior researcher at Panjiva, wrote in an S&P Global Market Intelligence update.
The government of Bangladesh gave garment factories a special exclusion from the "hard lockdown" that will allow them to stay open, according to the Dhaka Tribune. But the lockdown may yet decrease productivity as public transit will be limited, making it difficult for workers to arrive at factories.
Dive Insight:
Garment factories in Bangladesh and the apparel brands that rely on them were hard hit over the past year, as rises in COVID-19 infections linked to the alpha variant led to prolonged lockdowns in 2020.
Factories were closed for nearly a month during the first lockdown in Bangladesh, which began in March 2020 and did not end until May 3. The closures led to significant economic damage, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association.
"With the immediate impact of COVID-19, 1150 of factories reported US$ 3.18 billion worth of order cancellations, and since four months of post COVID we have lost US$ 4.9 billion worth of apparel," the association wrote in a July 2020 statement.
Canceling orders was a predominant strategy used by fashion brands last year as companies prepared for a potential cash crunch from declining sales revenue. Buyers in the U.S. and European Union canceled at least $16.2 billion worth of apparel orders from April to June 2020, according to an October 2020 report from the Workers Right Consortium and Penn State Center for Global Workers' Rights.
But the cancellations disproportionately affected manufacturers in Bangladesh, which exports the third-most apparel products to the U.S., according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The economic toll of the first lockdown led the garment industry to seek out strategies that could allow it to retain production during future lockdowns. Industry groups pleaded with retailers to pay for canceled orders, and sought to keep factories open at limited capacity after the initial month-long lockdown.
Data from Panjiva suggests the strategy worked, to a degree. Rogers wrote that apparel exporters in Bangladesh "remained more resilient than peers during the pandemic," as exports to the U.S. from Bangladesh decreased just 1.6% YoY in the first quarter of 2020, compared to drops of 10.1% and 6.4% in India and Sri Lanka, respectively.
But in recent weeks, the rapid surge in COVID-19 infections linked to the delta variant led the Bangladesh government to call for a full weeklong lockdown again.
At first, it seemed factories would close too — and garment industry leaders were outspoken in opposition.
"If the factories close again, exports would go down again like last year," Mohammad Hatem, vice-president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association told Dhaka Tribune. "There is also pressure from buyers to ship the finished products on time. Our work orders increased recently, but if our factories shut down, all our efforts to increase those orders would go down the drain."
The news led Rogers to publish the S&P Global Market Intelligence note, warning of potential supply disruptions for brands like H&M and Levi Strauss. (H&M and Levi Strauss declined to comment on potential disruptions.)
Dhaka Tribune later reported the government of Bangladesh had granted an exemption to garment factories to continue operations despite the country-wide lockdown. However, as public transport would be limited, workers would have to walk.
"Only those who live in close proximity to the factories will be able to come to work," said BGMEA President Faruque Hassan, according to Dhaka Tribune. "We want to implement the government's plan. At the same time, we want our factories to continue production even if on a limited scale."
Kalpona Akter, president of the Bangladesh Garment & Industrial Workers Federation, said as of Thursday morning, workers living near the factories are arriving at a regular time, but workers who live far away are in a more difficult situation.
"We have checked with many [factory workers] who informed us that their employers haven't provided any transport," Akter said in an email. As a result, many workers are using whatever means they can to arrive at the factories, because they perceive a "high possibility to losing their pay or some cases jobs" if they do not arrive.
Source: www.supplychaindive.com (1 Jul 2021)
6、Uniqlo jumps into in-house production with new 'made in Tokyo' line
Factory near headquarters enables fast-fashion company to move even faster
TOKYO -- Uniqlo is rolling out Friday its first made-in-Tokyo clothing, a limited release heralding a new design process and business model for operator Fast Retailing.
The three new items, which include a 2,990 yen ($27) 3D-knit cotton crewneck sweater, will be available at a Uniqlo flagship store in central Tokyo and online.
Fast Retailing plans to produce just enough to meet customer demand -- a model made possible by the first foray into manufacturing by a company that had relied entirely on outside suppliers to make roughly 1.3 billion pieces of clothing a year.
The centerpiece of this strategy is a building in a manufacturing-heavy area of Shinonome on Tokyo Bay, with no signs outside connecting it to Fast Retailing. In this tidy space, machines from Fast Retailing partner Shima Seiki Manufacturing steadily churn out seamless knit fabric. Operating around the clock, this facility produces 1,000 pieces of fabric per day.
The plant, started up in April, is operated by Innovation Factory, a joint venture with Shima Seiki that was a subsidiary of the knitting machine maker before Fast Retailing boosted its stake late last year to 51% from 49%.
"Having a factory that we lead ourselves will enable closer cooperation between our headquarters in Ariake [in Tokyo] and production," Innovation Factory CEO Tomoya Utsuno said.
The usual development cycle for Fast Retailing products has had issues with disconnect between physically distant teams.
It starts off with planning by a team at the Ariake office, which works out numerical specifications for the new item. Once preparations for mass production get underway, the Ariake team then coordinates with the Innovation Factory, which was previously based in Wakayama, northwest of Tokyo.
But such details as texture cannot be quantified, according to Fast Retailing, and changes would sometimes be needed close to the start of the production run if the item turned out differently from what the development team had envisioned.
And because of the long distance between the Ariake headquarters and the Innovation Factory in Wakayama, staff rarely went so far as to travel there to check prototypes and make adjustments in person.
"Fast Retailing wasn't involved enough, and there were issues with product launches and the like being slow to get off the ground, " Utsuno said.
Since the launch of the Shinonome facility in April, product development personnel from Ariake have visited in person once a week, according to Utsuno. The shorter distance makes it easier to coordinate, improving communication between the teams. Fast Retailing looks to cut the time from product design to preparing for mass production from three months to one month or shorter.
The plan is to make new products from the Innovation Factory available at the Tokyo flagship store for limited runs, letting Fast Retailing gauge demand.
"We'll observe consumer trends, then switch to larger-scale production overseas" if products turn out to be hits, Utsuno said. This will help the company cut down on unnecessary production and unsold inventory.
Chairman, President and CEO Tadashi Yanai has said for some time that the Shinonome facility would be a global "mother factory" for 3D-knit products.
By having the facility coordinate with the research and development division at Fast Retailing's headquarters and share information with suppliers in Vietnam and China, the company will be able to roll out products from Shinonome simultaneously outside Japan as well.
Source: asia.nikkei.com (2 Jul 2021)
7、The Hong Kong fashion tech incubator that is looking to make the industry green
Nan Fung’s The Mills Fabrica incubator provides a 12-month incubation programme for start-ups and invests in early stage companies
Greenhouse-gas emissions by the fashion industry accounted for about 4 per cent of the global total, according to a McKinsey report
From the site of its historic textile mills dating back to the 1960s, Nan Fung Group’s innovation hub is aiming to transform the fashion industry by nurturing start-ups that reduce waste along the supply chain.
The Mills Fabrica, based in the Hong Kong conglomerate’s revitalised project in Tsuen Wan, has been helping to grow start-ups that use new technologies to drive sustainability in the apparel sector.
“The mission is to accelerate innovation for sustainability,” said Alexander Chan, co-director of The Mills Fabrica. “The goal is really to help these companies grow, then make an impact on the industry.”
The garments industry makes a sizeable contribution to climate change, emitting about the same quantity of greenhouse gas emissions per year as the entire economies of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom combined, according to the Fashion on Climate report by McKinsey and the Global Fashion Agenda last August. The sector was responsible for around 2.1 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions in 2018, about 4 per cent of the global total.
The fashion industry can reduce around 61 per cent of the carbon emissions by making changes to the production cycle and supply chains, McKinsey said.
One of the areas that The Mills Fabrica has zeroed in on for innovation is the supply chain. Besides providing a 12-month incubation programme for start-ups, it also makes direct investments in early stage companies, from seed to series B funding, through the Fabrica Fund set up by Nan Fung. Investments typically range from US$100,000 to US$2 million, according to its website.
One of the Mills Fabrica’s first investees was Unspun, a fashion technology company based in Hong Kong and San Francisco that produces denim jeans on-demand using 3D-scanning technology. It provided seed funding in 2018, becoming the firm’s first institutional investor.
“There’s a massive waste problem within the fashion industry,” said Walden Lam, chief executive and co-founder of Unspun. He noted that not much had changed in the way garments are produced and there had hardly been any innovation before Unspun started.
He said that the company’s on-demand manufacturing model ensures that they “have zero inventory, so we never throw garments into the landfill.”
Unspun also plans to launch jeans made using their 3D weaving technology in the fourth quarter of this year.
“Instead of starting with the piece of fabric and cut the pattern you want, we essentially weave the pant leg from the ground up, so the yarn goes directly into the garment. So from a material standpoint, we get quite close to a zero-waste process,” said Lam.
Another start-up in The Mills Fabrica’s portfolio, Renewcell, also reduces the amount of garments thrown into landfills. The Swedish company uses chemical recycling to generate cellulose pulp from recycled cotton garments.
“We add a vital link in the value chain to make it circular,” said Harald Cavalli-Björkman, chief marketing officer of Renewcell. “We can take on waste, collect and sort it, and convert that into a virgin quality raw material for the fashion industry.”
The Mills Fabrica invested in Renewcell’s series A funding round in 2019. Renewcell listed on the Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market last November, becoming the first in The Mills Fabrica’s portfolio to go public.
The IPO raised about 800 million Swedish krona (US$93.5 million) to finance the construction of its commercial-scale recycling plant in Sweden. The plant is expected to commence operations in the first half of 2022, with an annual production capacity of 60,000 metric tonnes of pulp, or the equivalent of recycling 300 million T-shirts each year.
Last July, apparel maker Levi’s collaborated with Renewcell to produce a new pair of jeans in its sustainable WellThread line, using recycled materials including organic cotton and worn-out jeans.
“The long term kind of utopian vision is to really close the loop of materials for fashion with no waste,” said Cavalli-Björkman. “It is within the realm of possibility now.”
Source: www.scmp.com (2 Jul 2021)
8、Why Hong Kong should resuscitate its garment industry
Its role as a trendsetter of sustainable fashion, with superior R&D capabilities in textiles and apparel, and good networks in East Asia, are all competitive advantages the city would be foolish not to leverage
Sustainability, technology and innovation are key to building a smart city. While these buzzwords appeared in Hong Kong’s latest policy address, the new initiatives were mostly concentrated in a limited number of areas, such as fintech, biotech and ecosystem integration in the Greater Bay Area.
There seems to be a lack of due consideration of their application in upgrading Hong Kong’s traditional industries. One such industry is textiles and apparel. As we navigate out of the pandemic, we should rethink the future of this industry, which once epitomised the city’s economic rise.
Hong Kong should leverage its role as a trendsetter of sustainable fashion, its research and development capabilities, and its networks in East Asia.
While what was once the most important sector in Hong Kong’s manufacturing industry now constitutes only a tiny percentage of the city’s GDP, let’s not forget it still has strong potential to become a brand builder in the region.
The city is known for both its high-quality products and high-end R&D capabilities. Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s Institute of Textiles and Clothing, for example, is ranked at the top globally for its research performance and impact on industry.
And at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva 2021, the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel won seven medals, including a “gold medal with congratulations of the jury” and two gold medals for its environmentally sustainable inventions.
Hong Kong should continue to invest in R&D in the industry, to sharpen its competitive edge in the design and production of high-quality, environmentally sustainable textiles and apparel products. While it might be a tall – if not impossible – order for Hong Kong to build a clothing brand that can rival market giants such as Uniqlo, the city remains a major trendsetter in the region.
Hong Kong’s continuing significance as a market for high-end fashion, with a deep pool of international talent, was seen in the launch of Vogue Hong Kong in 2019.
Notwithstanding the criticism of the government’s failure to foster a favourable environment for innovative, non-financial start-ups, local labels such as Harrison Wong and Sau Lee have been internationally recognised for their design and quality.
With a strong talent pool and R&D capacity, Hong Kong’s textiles and apparel industry is in a better position than many of its competitors to navigate a changing regional and global economic order. Hong Kong remains an attractive business destination with extensive trade and production networks in East Asia.
Hong Kong’s free trade and investment pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations took effect in 2019 and has created new opportunities and facilitated Hong Kong’s commerce with a dynamic region of more than 600 million people.
Further, the signing and ratification of the 15-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) presents a timely opportunity for Hong Kong to strengthen its role as a “super-connector” in East Asia.
Hong Kong is a leading international sourcing hub for textiles and apparel products. By removing trade and investment barriers between regional markets, the mega trade deal not only creates new market space for Hong Kong’s textiles and apparel manufacturers when commerce with the US and the European Union has been badly hit by the pandemic and geopolitical uncertainty, but it also provides an opportunity for them to restructure their supply chains.
With Hong Kong’s middleman role in hosting trade fairs and expos, the city could further innovate by, for example, developing new and upgrading existing e-commerce platforms to facilitate information exchange, verify buyers and suppliers, and provide transactional support.
Hong Kong is once again at a crossroads of change. While some want the city to cling to what has worked in the past, others want it to abandon whatever is deemed to belong to history.
However, change and continuity should never be seen as a binary opposition. Hong Kong should be confident in its human capital and research capability, while leveraging its existing and expanding international connections to reinvigorate its textiles and apparel industry. Such a move will help diversify the economy away from its reliance on finance and property development.
Source: www.scmp.com (30 Jun 2021)
9、Fung Business Intelligence: Asia Sourcing Update - Southeast Asia (June 2021)
12-month Sourcing Outlook
Positive: Vietnam
Slightly Positive: Cambodia
Neutral: Indonesia, Thailand
Slightly negative: The Philippines
Click here to read the full report.
For more Fung Business Intelligence publications, please visit: https://www.fbicgroup.com/?q=reports
Source: Fung Business Intelligence (28 Jun 2021)