Author: Sandeep Agarwal

H & M Countrywise Sales in 2012

Unmindful of the not so inspiring economic situation in Europe, H & M is steaming ahead with continuous growth . It is conquering new territories with stores opening in different countries at rapid pace. In 2012, it opened 304 new stores (29 more than planned)Â and now totals over 2776 stores in 48 countries. The new markets it entered like Bulgaria, Latvia, Malaysia, Thailand and Mexico seem to have brought good response to the retailer. The giant retailer will be opening 325 new stores in 2013 with most aggresive expansion in China and USA. New markets like Chile, Lithuania, Serbia and Indonesia (through franchise) will be explored this year. Moreover, the retailer will try to increase its sales through an online shop in USA .

With salesÂ touching $21 billion in 2012 , it is the second largest apparel retailer in the world after Inditex and is on a high growth path.

In the table below, we will try to understand the main markets of H & M and and how it is faring in the older and the new markets. It would be interesting to see that German maket leads other maketsÂ of H &M by a huge margin. US comes a distant second and other markets like UK , France, Sweden , Netherlands etc follow. It is also interesting to to see that Germany gives the highest per store sale to H &M followed byÂ Switzerland and Austria â€“ all countries in very close physical proximity .

H&M Sales In Different Countries/ Store Wise Sales : 2012

Country	No. of Stores	Sales in US$ (million)	%Sales by country	Sales per store ($ million)
GERMANY	406	4634	21.51	11.41
USA	269	1919	8.91	7.13
UNITED KINGDOM	226	1592	7.39	7.04
FRANCE	182	1525	7.08	8.38
SWEDEN	177	1258	5.84	7.11
NETHERLANDS	124	1023	4.75	8.25
SWITZERLAND	82	890	4.13	10.85
SPAIN	146	888	4.12	6.08
NORWAY	111	859	3.99	7.74
CHINA	134	827	3.84	6.17
ITALY	104	743	3.45	7.14
AUSTRIA	68	731	3.39	10.75
DENMARK	94	657	3.05	6.99
BELGIUM	70	506	2.35	7.23
CANADA	61	478	2.22	7.84
POLAND	103	450	2.09	4.37
JAPAN	22	383	1.78	17.41
FINLAND	53	371	1.72	7.00
RUSSIA	37	325	1.51	8.78
PORTUGAL	23	132	0.61	5.74
GREECE	25	128	0.59	5.12
CZECH REPUBLIC	31	117	0.54	3.77
ROMANIA	19	97	0.45	5.11
HUNGARY	26	95	0.44	3.65
CROATIA	11	93	0.43	8.45
SOUTH KOREA	11	91	0.42	8.27
IRELAND	16	88	0.41	5.50
SLOVENIA	12	74	0.34	6.17
TURKEY	11	67	0.31	6.09
SINGAPORE	2	62	0.29	31.00
LUXEMBOURG	10	57	0.26	5.70
SLOVAKIA	13	52	0.24	4.00
BULGARIA	4	18	0.08	4.50
MALAYSIA	2	13	0.06	6.50
MEXICO	1	7	0.03	7.00
LATVIA	2	5	0.02	2.50
FRANCHISE	88	293	1.36	3.33
	2776	21548

For the future, US and China are getting to be important for H & M and it is targeting a number of East European nations as mentioned above. All in all, H &M looks like unstoppable at the moment and on a high growth trajectory . It is spreading its risks by being present in a large number of regions and countries and the future looks not too bleak for the retail giant.

July 20, 2013

Matching Threads For Overdyed Denim Garments

Colors in denim have been quite strong in the last few seasons with all kinds of shades from pastel to very bright and neon colors. While some of the these fabrics have been yarn dyed , most of the colors have been achieved with overdyeing of ecru fabric. The process of garment overdyeing provides the flexilibity of achieving any kind of color in the garment with smaller lots. The manufacturer does not have to depend on the limited fabric colors provided by the fabric supplier.

However, one of the important requirement for such overdyed garments is that the cotton threads be used so that they can be overdyed along with the garment and achieve similar color . Many times these garments go through complex dyeing and finishing processes which tend to degrade or destroy the 100% cotton sewing threads which are typically used.

A & E (American & Efird) brings out a core spun thread â€“ D:Core RFD – specially for the purpose of garment overdyeing by the garment manufacturer. This thread has a core polyester with cotton wrapped outside.

As per the A & E team

â€œTo assist our customers with enhancing the quality of their garment dyed products, we developed D-Core RFD which is a Cotton Wrapped Polyester Core thread, with an enhanced cotton wrapper which is prepared for dyeing. Traditional Cotton Wrapped Polyester core threads do not have sufficient cotton content to cover the filament polyester core, which does not take the dye during the garment dyeing process. This leads to a speckled seam appearance.
Our D-Core RFD is available in light and dark versions, which allow our customers to select a version which will best blend with the final garment color. We always encourage our customers to sample both Light and Dark versions, as often the dark version looks good in light colors.â€ In many cases D-Core RFD is used in both the needle and the looper position. In some cases, where a customer may dye and finish a garment "inside-out", they will use our 100% Cotton Anecot Plus RFD (A&E’s 100% Cotton thread offered especially for garment dyeing) in the needle, and use D-Core RFD in the looper (the inside of the jean sees the most abrasion during the dyeing and finishing process when the garment is processed inside out. Both combinations have helped customer reduce or even eliminate repairs, increase the range of dyeing and finishing options, and offered customers an improved experience.

Contact A & E team for more info

July 15, 2013
Frankie B Fall Winter 2013 Lookbook

Frankie B is a denim brand for the edgy and unabashedly sexyÂ body-confident woman. Based out of L.A, the brand launched by Daniella in 1999 is a quintessential low rise denim brand.

The Fall winterÂ â€˜13 lookbook has some great pieces in skyscraper and star prints, coated sheens, a touch of colors, super dark blacks, greys and more. Studs and embellishments have been used liberally to add style to the jeans. The common thing among allÂ Â is the classic Frankie B. cut, their signature ultra low rise that covers just enough to allow coverage without sacrificing the rockâ€™n’roll vibe .

Frankie B Fall Winter 2013 Lookbook from Denimsandjeans.com

July 13, 2013
Lucky Brand Fall Winter 2013 Lookbook

Lucky brand jeans brings about theÂ ‘Made in America’ touch withÂ cool fitted jeans, baggy, military print ones and stylish casual denim shirts, military print jackets, casual jeansuits, leather jackets, women’s patent jeanleggings, denim skirts, denim jackets with patent sleeves and fitted sweaters. The denim used is mainly super dark indigo, some prints and a sprinkle of colors and leather looks.Check out some the looks below:

Lucky Brand Fall Winter 2013 Lookbook from Denimsandjeans.com

July 7, 2013
Mavi Fall Winter 2013 Men’s Denim Lookbook

Further to our last article on Mavi F/W â€˜13 Womenâ€™s Lookbook, here is the menâ€™s lookbook as well. Colored, coatings and twills dominate. Here is a presentation as well as images from the collection.

Mavi Fall Winter 2013 Men’s Denim Lookbook from Denimsandjeans.com

July 5, 2013
Indonesia Denim Fabric Exports–A Report

Indonesia has a decently developed textile industry and is one of the important countries in the South East Asia producing and exporting textiles and apparel. Indonesiaâ€™s garment and apparel sector is highly concentrated on the island of Java, particularly that of West Java and the island of Batam which is a free trade zone. The sector employs 1.3 million people as of 2011 making it one of the most important elements of the countryâ€™s manufacturing industry. Some 61% of manufactured garments are exported to international markets as various leading international apparel brands use Indonesia as a manufacturing base for their global exports. USA remains Indonesiaâ€™s largest market for garments and textiles accounting for 36% of total exports followed by the EU with 16% and Japan with 5%. The most popular export items from 2007-2011 were woven clothing, underwear and knitted or crocheted clothing which together made up nearly 60% of the total value of textile exports over the aforementioned period (Source: ASEAN Quality Textiles and Garments).

Denim : Indonesia is a country which always had a number of denim mills operating in the country. With a good combination of fabric mills and apparel production capabilities, the denim mills always enjoyed the attention of the world brands and retailers. Now with China getting more expensive, Indonesia is getting a boost in its apparel exports.

In this report we will have a look at some details ofÂ denim fabrics exported out of Indonesia to various buyers around the world. The report gives details on exports of denim fabrics from companies in Indonesia to buyers around the world for a period in 2013 including :

a) Details of buyers , their addresses, contacts , emails etc (whereever available).

b)Details of kind of denim fabric exported.

c)Their indicative prices.

d) And quantities.

[private_special]
Download the report by clicking on this link below:
Indonesia Exports
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July 1, 2013
Mavi Fall Winter 2013 Women’s Denim Lookbook
Mavi, the famous Turkish brand revealed their latest Womenâ€™s Denim Lookbook for Fall Winter â€˜13/14. The Lookbook has includes some cool
- Fun prints
- Coated denims with a shiny essence andÂ in a number of colors.
- Embellishments – including studded and moto-inspired items with zippers.
- Lots of distressing .
- Dark grey looksâ€¦.
Check out the images below or see the online presentation herebelow:

Mavi Fall Winter 2013 Women’s Denim Lookbook from Denimsandjeans.com
June 27, 2013
Denim by PV : A/W 14-15 Trends -II

rFurther to our previous report on Denim by PV trends Part I, we are now updating the second part of the report.

First of all check out this presentation which will gives looks from the trend area and then we check out further what other companies have been doing.

Denim by PV A/W 14-15 Collection from Denimsandjeans.com

We missed Candiani , Italy, at the show as they had set up their own show very nicely on a boat on the Seine riverÂ on the occasion of their 75th anniversary!

Some of the trends which have been reinforced are :

a)Knit denim effect : The dobby structures are creating waves with a softer feel and higher stretch capabilities and not to speak of Knit like effect.Â Knit denims are adding much desired alternative looks for denim.

b)Laser techniques : Lasers are now being extensively being used on fabrics as well as garments to bring out real special effects â€“ including print looks. It becomes difficult to sometimes understand whether the garment is printed or lasered.

c)Flocked and jacquard denims: Floral and other patterns were created using jacquard weaving techniques and also flocking on the fabrics.Â A number of companies have introduced the jacquard woven fabrics in their collection to cater to high end and fashionista brands.

d)Multi- hues : Multiple shades on the fabric using double, triple dye colors and with a mix of coating, overdyeing techniques have been created to give that pop up of contrasting colors and to enable garment to take on different hues on different levels of washing.

Lasers by Jeanologia , Spain

Jeanologia came out with some real amazing garments looks created by laser techniques. The garments had laser cut patterns mixed with different kinds of print / distressed and other looks and it made it difficult to find if the jeans / garment was actually laseredâ€¦

Invista

Invista displayed their premium denim related products including Tough Max â€“ which helps in creating denim twice as strong as 100% cotton, Super stretch looks with Lycra and T400, black T400 wefts and other products. A video here will give more details about their products.

Orta Anadolu- Turkey

Orta came out with some interesting concepts:

Winter Blues :A celebration of one of the worldâ€™s oldest dyes, this fabric is yarn dyed, over-dyed and indigo coated, yielding deep blacks and dark blues with rich and vivid contrast while maintaining a natural hand-feel in rigid and stretch variations.

Dare Denim : Made with environmentally friendly processes and high-tech fibers, this fabric is sustainable and highly functional, sporting tough durability, thermo-regulation, abrasion resistance, water-repellent finishes and anti-bacterial properties.

Fits Well– Performance stretch offering both flexibility and high recovery in denim .

Hantex â€“ Pakistan

Hantex – Denim clothing company – from Pakistan, came out with a number of knit looks including prints ,Â besides some novel and interesting washing patterns on jeans.Â Â

Check out the following two presentations which give denim looks from different companies at the show.

Autumn winter 14-15 Denim trends from Denim By PV – Part 1 from Denimsandjeans.com

Autumn winter 14-15 Denim trends from Denim By PV – Part 2 from Denimsandjeans.com

June 23, 2013
Diesel Fall Winter 2013 Men’s Lookbook

Diesel has come out with some exceptional looks for the Fall/Winter 2013/14 season. The treatments given to the jeans are very fashionable and not so each to achieve.Â Lasers have been used extensively to achieve the right looks. Multiple layering of colors and the wash treatments like bleach have been used to achieve stunning effects. New coating and waxing techniques have been used to achieve special vintage effects.Â Tailored looks have been given to some pieces with cool pleatings and urban looks. Ombre gradient washes create stunning effects on the jeans ..

Diesel Fall winter 2013 Lookbook from Denimsandjeans.com

Check out some cool looks from the denim brand in images and presentation below:

June 21, 2013
Siwy Denim Fall Winter 2013 Lookbook

The latest Fall-Winter 2013-2014 lookbook offers tough, feminine and authentic styles. Siwy has developed a cult style that can be seen on such celebrities and style icons as Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, Nicole Richie, Selma Blair, Rachel Bilson and others.Â The new fall designs areÂ are modern and have ultimate figure-flattering fit. The prints , double denim looksÂ and super stretches are strongly used by theÂ brand which follows woman’s natural curves, so that all lines in the jean accommodate the body and its characteristics.

June 15, 2013
Largest Denim Store In the World ?

The Denim Studio, which officially opened yesterday at Selfridges on Oxford Street â€“ London, is the first and the largest space of its kind in the world at over 26,000sqft. Bigger than two Olympic swimming pools, or over half the size of a football pitch, the space has been conceived to address the specific needs of women looking for the perfect denim fit. Its launch also proves that the denim market is set to bounce back for good. Even the appetite for niche designer denim, with pairs of jeans averaging Â£220each, is proving insatiable.

The healthy increase in sales in the denim category at Selfridges over the past four years, of more than 50%, prompted the store to launch an expansion plan two years ago, which led to the opening of the Denim Studio today – an investment well in excess of Â£6M. It is now five times bigger than the previous denim department, with double the number of brands. Selfridges forecasts that it will now be selling at nearly two pairs of jeans every minute during its daily trading hours.

With over 11,000 pairs of jeans available, the Denim Studio offers the largest selection of denim styles under one roof with services created specifically to make the search for the perfect jeans the easiest and most pleasurable experience ever. The Denim Studio will be the only place in the world to choose jeans from as little as Â£11 and as much as Â£11,000, as well as casual and sportswear collections to best compliment a denim look. Every brand housed in the Denim Studio has been asked by Selfridges to create world exclusive pieces to celebrate the opening of this pioneering new retail environment.

As well as the extraordinary product selection to include J Brand, Hudson Jeans, Stella McCartney and Victoria Beckham Denim, the denim stalwarts such as Lee and Levi’s and emerging labels such as 3×1, Black Denim and Kill City, the Denim Studio will introduce the most dynamic specialist denim services ever. From a denim self-service checkout for customers in a hurry, to the Fit Studio, which consists of 18 ‘total vision’ fitting rooms and the first denim dedicated Personal Shopping suite with stylists on hand for expert advice, the services extend also to a Denim Tailor, offering alterations done within a guaranteed two-hour period.

The Denim Studio also has an advanced digital service called the Jeanius Bar, where customers are able to consult relevant style information, expert advice and thousands of visuals available from a giant touch-screen electronic tablet. The Jeanius Bar doubles up as a social space where women are encouraged to share, interact and enjoy the shopping experience with other women, within and outside the store.

The Denim Studio is above all a testimony of the absolute resilience and timelessness of what is widely considered the most iconic and democratic style in the history of fashion.

.

June 6, 2013
Denim by PV : A/W: 14-15 Trends–I
During our recent coverage of Denim by PV- Denim CIRCUS – show held at Paris , we met a number of important companies displaying their new Autumn Winter â€“14/15 Collections . A number of prime trends emerged from the show :
- Dobby Structures
- Printed denims
- Advanced coatings
- Neppy Denims
- Different casts
- Laser prints
- Jacquards
- Saturated Colors
In this first part of the report, we will cover few companies from the companies and their products from the show.

Arvind Mill â€“ India

Arvind is one of the largest denim companies in the world. . First of all, here is a video on a chat with Mr Aamir Akhtar- CEO Arvind â€“ which gives us some idea about what Arvind is doing and what type of products they brought out.

With a focus on design, sustainability and innovation , ArvindÂ brought out someÂ technological concepts like:
- Neo Denim â€“ A new way of dyeing denim which is much more sustainable as per Arvind and hardly uses any water in the process of dyeing and maintains a deep dyeing look. This includes indigo and color dyeing on corduroy fabrics .
- Mink Finish â€“ A finish which gives very soft handle to stretch denims.
- Gloss finish â€“ bringing out high sheen and gloss on the fabrics.
- Spice denim â€“Â 100% cotton Ecru fabric which can be dyed to bring out the warp dyed look in garment dyeing.
Here are some pictures from the company products

Isko â€“ Turkey

Isko introduced new concepts like :

New Book â€“ Leather textures..
PJ Soft â€“ Modal fibers used to create very soft touch. Also with a high elasticity
Recall fabrics â€“ with very highÂ recovery and softness.
Blue Vision â€“ WIth Spectra finish which gives shiny and leathery effects.
X-Mens– With more than a comfort elasticity but still gives look of a rigid raw fabric.
Phantom coat- Textural printing and layered color coatings to create multi dimensional artistic look .
Ferra Colors: Alternative to traditional indigo providing a palette to the color range.
Smashed : A process that gives fabrics a shiny look and lighter feel .
OverDarks:Also fabric like saturated and shiny blacks were seen in the collection.

Bossa â€“ Turkey

A video below shows a chat with Sedef Unku â€“ Marketing Manager â€“ from Bossa in which she explains the new concepts introduced by Bossa.

Bossa Denim – Turkey

Pure Blue: Pure indigo colors enriched with shiny coatings and raw and unwashed looks.
Up inÂ the Woods : Name comes from color used in this palette. Inspired by sand, ocean, woods etc and the colors are used in warp and weft of the fabrics.
More than skin : Super stretches with modal cotton blends .
Ultranero : Super dark blacks which stays blackÂ . Period !
Weft Games : A lot of playing with the wefts to bring out tech products.

The company also brought out niche selvedge products with focus on special finishes, coatings, shiny treatmentsÂ and colored wefts to give a value addition to these fabrics.

Tavex â€“ Spain

A chat with Richard Tobin from Tavex gives an idea of the new collection in the video below.

Tavex came out with
- Saturated black colors .
- Super shiny looks
- Multi color looks with various production techniques including
  colored fills, deep colors with casts – fabrics which bring out different character after wash downs.
- Super softs and supple fabrics
- Coatings – the company plays with a lot of coats in the front and the back – on different fabrics . The coatings are also breathable .
Soorty â€“ Pakistan

Participating for the first time in the PV and recently certified to produce the X-Fit fabrics, the company came out with the following concepts .
Sustainable collection: Collection based on recycled fabrics and other waste reducing processes.
Candy Floss : Different hues in fabrics with overdyeing and other processes.
Cowboy : They are rugged and dipped in the shades of western culture. Deep dark, heavy weight fabrics made for western.
Elite: Elite is a fabric which stands out in terms of shine, look and texture. Targeted for the high end segment ..
Natureâ€™s Beauty : Character of fabric changed by giving a different casts.
X-fits : Dual stretches.

Artistic Milliners â€“ Pakistan

Artistic Milliners , the group from Pakistan which is coming out with a LEEDS certified factory shortly ,Â came out with denim products including :
- Micro Modal â€“ for that super soft feelingÂ for the ladies apparel . The micro modal fibre is derived from peach trees. Produced by Lenzing , the fibre is used in over 50% weight of the fabric to give that super soft touch which women are looking for.
- Lolita : Designs and printsÂ with PU, glitter , pigment and others.
- X-fit : Dual stretch, the company is X-fit certifiiedÂ to bring out
- Structures and jacquards : A mix of weaves of jacquards and dobbies.
- Love by : Again lots ofÂ lyocellÂ fibers in this collection.
ITV â€“ Italy

Flock, prints , super softsÂ and the Wine dyed (sustainable) fabrics were some of the items inÂ ITV collection which they focused on . We are also presenting a video on a chat with the ITV team.

The company had a lot of prints, shiny looks, coatings, and other treatments to cater to high fashion brands.

Calik â€“ Turkey

Calik from Turkey had come out with the Lokum Coffee concept . The company worked on a design concept which movesÂ from garment styling backwards to fabric development.Â Collection has been developed on a pop up concept where the collection would changeÂ every few months. Fabrics included ones inspired by Marine Coffee colorsÂ including colored wefts, super darks with brown tones.

The part II of this report folllows â€¦â€¦â€¦
June 5, 2013