RYU Apparel to Expand Store Offering With Guesst - WWD

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• RYU Apparel to Expand Store Offering With Guesst - WWD
• Apparel Might be Moving Out of China. What's Your Plan? - Apparel Magazine
• Charles River Apparel Announces Additional Building Location - Promo Marketing
• China's apparel sector weaves rags-to-riches growth story_70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China - Xinhua

RYU Apparel to Expand Store Offering With Guesst - WWD Posted: 02 Oct 2019 02:08 PM PDT Forever 21 is newly bankrupt, but the fast-fashion retailer has had legal troubles for years.⁣ ⁣ Designer and other brands continually dragged the retailer into court for churning out knockoffs of runway looks and trademarks. ⁣ ⁣ Wherever the line between design inspiration and outright theft is, Forever 21 regularly tiptoed up to it, legal experts said. For more than a decade, Forever 21 has faced off with challengers of all stripes, including Gucci, Anna Sui and Puma, and it was still facing litigation with Adidas and Ariana Grande at the time of its bankruptcy. Most ongoing civil suits against a company are usually paused when it files for Chapter 11 protection.⁣ ⁣ Tap the link in bio for more. ⁣ ⁣ Report: Sindhu Sundar and Evan Clark⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ #wwdbusiness ⁣ #forever21⁣ #bankruptcy

Apparel Might be Moving Out of China. What's Your Plan? - Apparel Magazine Posted: 02 Oct 2019 06:51 AM PDT As the Trade War with China continues with no resolution in sight, many American apparel companies are faced with a dilemma of whether to continue outsourcing production and materials from China and risk the impact of higher costs or look for suppliers elsewhere and risk a disruption to their supply. Currently, billions of dollars in imports from China are taxed as high as 25 percent. The increased tariff, when coupled with consumer pressure on cost, can cause a decline in apparel businesses' margins.  According to The Wall Street Journal, 40 percent of all clothing and 70 percent of shoes sold in the United States are made in China, and though there are alternatives to Chinese suppliers, changing vendors is often easier said than done. Switching to a new vendor can require significant time and effort and could disrupt normal operations which will lead to cash flow challenges. On a positive note, changing vendors could present the business with an opportunity to refresh its collections and designs and source new and higher quality materials. To minimize the negative impact on cash flow, it's important to ensure a smooth transition from the incumbent supplier to the new one through careful planning. Avoid changing vendors during a seasonal peak This may seem quite basic, but it's actually fundamental. Switching a vendor in high season can lead to delays in order fulfillment and to the business receiving lower quality merchandise as a result of taking too little time to do proper due diligence on the vendor. Both of these negative results can put an unnecessary strain on cash flow, as customers who receive their orders late may deduct a penalty fee, cancel the order altogether, or return goods that don't meet their quality standards. If you have already paid the vendor, you will be out the cash but still need to cover the cost of day-to-day business operations. Stockpiling merchandise in case something goes wrong with the new supplier is expensive and ties up the business's cash Stockpiling merchandise as insurance in case something goes wrong with the new vendor is not an attractive option. Trends in the fashion industry can change quickly and apparel businesses can find themselves with merchandise on their hands that they cannot sell. Excess inventory not only ties up cash needed for the business to operate, but it also creates a cash drain due to increased carrying costs. Apparel businesses that find themselves in this situation should look into liquidating their slow-moving inventory rather than running the risk of the inventory becoming obsolete. Build quality control stipulations in the letter of credit A commercial letter of credit is perhaps the most useful tool for doing business with a person or company that you do not know well. Buyers will have the comfort of knowing there is documentation in place verifying the quality and characteristics of the goods before they are obligated to pay, while sellers are guaranteed payment as long as they comply with the terms of the letter of credit. As a buyer, you would want to ensure that the goods are inspected and signed off on by your quality control agent before funds of the LC are released. It's always good practice to avoid paying vendors up front or putting a large deposit on an order so you're not limited in what you can do if the goods don't meet your quality standards. An LC provides that assurance and you can be as specific in terms of the quality as required. In the end, given the enormous volume of goods imported from China, it will be difficult for American businesses to shift their procurement to other markets overnight. Asian countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and India, as well as countries in Eastern Europe, offer good alternatives for apparel companies to source materials. However, as many businesses turn to suppliers in these markets, prices of materials are probably going to increase. Sourcing domestically is also an option, especially when it comes to small lines of production, as the higher cost of production is often offset by a much lower cost of shipping.  It also allows apparel businesses to control the quality of their finished goods more closely while giving them the flexibility to increase or decrease quantities as required. David Ciccolo is President and CEO of North American Operations at Bibby Financial Services (BFS). He has more than 30 years of experience in commercial banking, factoring, and asset based lending (ABL). BFS provides funding to apparel businesses worldwide from start-ups to well-established mid-sized companies. For more information, visit www.bibbyusa.com.

Charles River Apparel Announces Additional Building Location - Promo Marketing Posted: 02 Oct 2019 07:10 AM PDT Charles River Apparel has secured a long-term lease for additional space in Sharon, Mass., to support its business growth. The new space is strategically located next to its corporate headquarters, and will provide additional warehouse, office and showroom space, allowing for a Charles River Campus setting. The company also plans to use the new space to support "Charles River Cares," its philanthropic division, through charitable fundraising pop-up events. The first pop-up event will be launched on Giving Tuesday, Dec. 3, when the company will officially open its doors to help support Christmas in the City, a key charitable partner. More details will be announced prior to the event. Charles River Apparel has leased an additional space next to its Sharon, Mass., headquarters. Christmas in the City is a nonprofit organization run by volunteers that strives to lessen the impact of homelessness on families and children living in shelters. With the help of thousands of volunteers, the charity hosts an annual Christmas party for thousands of homeless children at the Boston Convention Center, where children and families receive gifts and participate in a variety of activities. Charles River has been a sponsor of the event for the past several years through employee volunteerism, apparel donations and other financial support. "We are excited to add this new space to help support our current and future growth," said Charles River CEO Barry Lipsett. "This will give us the flexibility to further expand our distribution center and office needs, as well as support our charitable efforts under Charles River Cares." For more information on Charles River Apparel, visit www.charlesriverapparel.com.

China's apparel sector weaves rags-to-riches growth story_70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China - Xinhua Posted: 02 Oct 2019 11:52 PM PDT BEIJING, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Although he is the chairman of one of China's most well-known apparel brands, 52-year-old Zhang Jiangping still remembers and relishes the joy of having new clothes in the 1970s. In the early years of New China, people would struggle to afford enough clothing for warmth. Chinese children born during that period craved the Spring Festival partly because it was one of the rare occasions to get a new set of clothing. Urban residents spent about 33.1 yuan (about 4.65 U.S. dollars) on clothing on average in 1956, only enough to buy about 38 feet of cotton cloth, less than one foot of woolen and satin cloth and one pair of shoes. Farmers' average spending on clothing only stood at 7.8 yuan in 1954, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed. Patches were a common on clothes, while colors were rare. "Almost all clothes were in gray, blue and green," Zhang recalled. "We could only buy cloth with ration coupons." Supply of clothing was boosted after China kicked off reform and opening-up in 1978, so was the taste for fashion. Overseas garment styles and fabric such as jeans were followed by avid Chinese fans. Zhang began his apparel career by becoming an apprentice at a garment factory in 1984. At the call of the market economy, Zhang later left the factory to dig gold in the fast growing apparel market. Starting from selling popular clothes at roadside, Zhang's business kept growing bigger amid surging demand for clothes of various patterns and fabric. Inspired by an overseas business trip in 1995, Zhang and his associates registered the brand "PEACEBIRD" to tap the country's emerging casual wear sector. China's apparel market soared after 1978, becoming one of the world's largest garment producers and exporters. Urban residents spent about 1,808 yuan on average in 2018, surging 53.6 times compared with 1956, while that in rural areas reached 648 yuan, up 82 times over 1954, NBS data showed. Powered by the country's continuous garment consumption upgrading, Zhang's company has risen to a fast-growing household Chinese apparel brand with more than 4,000 stores across the country and billions in annual revenue. Besides rising purchase power, Chinese consumers are showing growing appreciation of domestic brands, which now boast innovative designs and creative storytelling of Chinese culture, tradition and history. Three-quarters of Chinese consumers reported preferring or somewhat preferring local brands of apparel and footwear over foreign brands, a survey from McKinsey & Company showed. Zhang attributed the preference shift to Chinese people's increasing self-confidence over the country's economic rise and profound history and culture. "Young Chinese are confident and open-minded." After following suit for decades, Chinese garment brands such as Li-Ning are seeking spotlight on the global fashion stage. PEACEBIRD made its first high-profile international appearance by attending the New York Fashion Week along with other Chinese peers in 2018. This year, the company attended the event and the Paris Fashion Week within just one month to break cultural boundaries and integrate the latest youth fashion trends to showcase "Chinese Design." "China does not see its future in the lowest-margin parts of the value chain, acting as the factory to the world. It is moving up the ladder to more valuable production and broadening its focus beyond exporting finished goods to advanced economies," McKinsey & Company and the Business of Fashion magazine said in a joint report. "I have confidence about that," Zhang said. "Someday our label will not be 'Made in China,' but 'Designed in China.' "

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