Apparel Buzz

Sri Lanka’s largest manufacturer of knitted fabric, Textured Jersey, has made history by receiving the award for the best ‘Green Report’ in the country at the inaugural awards of the National Green Reporting System of Sri Lanka.

Bodyline was one of the first factories set up by Sri Lankan apparel manufacturing giant MAS Holdings in partnership with Victoria's Secret and Triumph. Looking back over the past 20 years, the company's CEO Dilan Gooneratne tells Petah Marian about the challenges Bodyline faced, and how the business was turned around in the midst of the economic crisis.

Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) has devised a five year plan to support the country’s textile sector.

The exports of textiles and garments from Sri Lanka fetched US$ 364 million in November 2012, showing a year-on-year growth of 4.6 percent, according to the data released by the Central Bank.

YAKKALA – Two progressive apparel factories run entirely by disabled soldiers are gearing to enter the international export market.

December 22, 2012  |  Daily FTWomen leaders from over 200 Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) in Sri Lanka’s water sector have been provided with new knowledge and advice through the ‘Jalavahini’ program launched by top apparel exporter Brandix in June this year as part of its CSR agenda.

December 20, 2012  |Daily FTTextured Jersey PLC (TJ), Sri Lanka’s largest manufacturer of knitted fabric, took a pioneering step to support Sri Lanka’s emerging ethical fashion labels. Ethical fashion that utilises industrial fabric waste and trims, hence preventing from this waste going into landfills and the environment, is a dominant trend in the current world market.

Amante launched its Autumn Winter 2012 collection with five ‘a la mode designs to suit the taste of the modern enterprising Sri Lankan woman. The collection brings together sophisticated lace prints, luxurious satins and lavish designs augmented in style by intricate details, targeting a demographic of women who are increasingly influenced by quality and brand value of the product. With the launch of amante in Sri Lanka, luxury and comfort has taken center stage in a market space that was once cost oriented.

Featuring the success stories of using ‘design’ as the value addition for industry, the Sri Lankan apparel industry put up a special fashion show at SLDF last month. It was a compilation of the very best of creative talent of the design studios of local apparel makers, their updated capabilities and specialty strengths.

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, one of the world’s largest logistics providers and Sri Lanka Design Festival’s Official Logistics Partner for 2012, promotes Green Fashion Logistics through closer supply chain integration.

Dialog Axiata PLC and the Brandix Group, two of Sri Lanka’s largest corporate entities, have joined hands to support the inaugural Sahasak Nimevum National Exhibition for innovations which will help local inventors to showcase their creations to potential investors.

Global retailer upbeat after first Lankan sourcing trials

Sri Lanka’s Industry and Commerce Ministry and its Department of Commerce have earned glowing praise from the world’s third largest retailer TESCO. "I am impressed with the professionalism of Sri Lanka’s Industry Ministry and its DoC. From day one of our arrival, everything went smoothly with top coordination and we achieved our mission in Colombo quickly thanks to their sleek professionalism and organisational focus of DoC," praised the highly pleased Mark Kenneth Astley, the Haryana based General Manager of Tesco Hardlines, under Tesco International Sourcing, Hong Kong, on 07 December.

Welcome

Welcome to the one hundred and twentieth (120th) edition of this regular column. Here, we discuss a wide range of topics around Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), many aspects of Business, SME Development, Agriculture, Education, Entrepreneurship, Creativity, Innovation and the Society at large.

Sourcing insights: South Asian Apparel Leadership Forum

Sustainable production is seen by Sri Lankan textile and apparel manufacturers as an attractive selling point when competing for orders from Western buyers.

The 9th Annual General Meeting of the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) was held on 28 November 2012 which marked its 10th Anniversary and will now be managed by a new team. The following members were elected unanimously as the Executive Committee members of the JAAF:

MAS Holdings said it was investing US$ 70 million in automated knitting technologies, fully renovating a 200,000 sq. ft. facility to accommodate the largest, automated knitting plant in the region. With an envisaged investment of just over USD 70 million backing the revolutionary plant, MAS Fabrics (Private) Ltd, becomes the Group’s single largest investment in the history of its 25 years of operation, the Board of Investment said in a statement yesterday (29).

• Exports decline by 5.8% to $ 7.3 b from Jan-Sept 2012
• Industrial exports decline by 6.9% and agriculture by 8.2%

Exports crashing
Sri Lanka is feeling the heat from the downward trend in the global economy and the withdrawal of GSP+, with overall exports declining by 5.8% to $7.3 billion in the first nine months, the apparel business declining by 9.2% in September, and overall industrial exports crashing at 11.6%.

When track and field athletes from eleven countries donned the world’s lightest, fastest and greenest speedsuit ever created by Nike to run the race of their dreams at the London Olympics, Sri Lanka too triumphed, given that it was Bodyline that worked with Nike under the banner of Project SWIFT on those Pro TurboSpeed suits. The suits boast of being upto 0.023 seconds faster over 100 meters than Nike’s previous track uniform, resulting from twelve years of research studying hundreds of textures, aesthetics and aerodynamics. Nike calls it, "an expression of data-informed and body-led."

Mega 7,500 square feet, three-storey UK-style showroom opening today under exclusive deal with famous global brand

Softlogic Holdings Plc is boosting its profitable retail business via an exclusive deal with world renowned brand Mothercare of UK.The diversified blue chip will launch a mega 7,500 square feet three-level UK-style Mothercare showroom and affiliated brand Early Learning Centre at No.7, R.A. De Mel Mawatha, Colombo 5.The move is part of Softlogic’s strategy of further enhancing the retail offering to better harness opportunities in tandem with the rising per capita income as well as tourist inflow.