FDI Logbox Blog | News, trends, market studies

Italian Shoes in France

Véronique Revet Servettaz — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:52:46 +0000

More than 40 Italian footwear manufacturers will exhibit their products in Paris at the first shoes showroom called “Chaussures d’Italie”. It will be organised by ICE -Istituto nazionale per il Commercio Estero (Italian Institute for foreign trade), ANCI-Associazione Nationale Calzaturifici Italiani (Italian Manufacturers Association), MICAM (the famous shoevent from Milan), and The Italian area of “Marche”. It will take place during Fashion Week at Paris in Pavillon Gabriel from 1st October to 3rd October 2010.

More information on Fashion Daily News website

Emergent countries: a good target for fashion exports

Véronique Revet Servettaz — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 08:18:12 +0000

A press article published in ‘Le Journal du Textile’ dated 22/06/2010, introduces 4 emergent countries which present good potentialities for fashion exports.
First, China : clothing Chinese market increased from 50 thousand million Euros in 2005 to 70 thousand million Euros in 2008. A large part is dedicated to women clothing (30 thousand million Euros): foreign brands are well appreciated by Chinese women.
India is a smaller market, it is more complex but it’s growing little by little. Fashion brands must keep an eye on this market; especially South India.
Brazil market has already come to maturity. Fashion is very important in Brazil, the clothing market is estimated to 30 thousand million Euros, and local designers started to develop their brands in Europe and in the USA.
South Korea market has also come to maturity. This country has less suffered from the economic crisis than other countries. The good development of the women clothing market is interesting (estimated to 10 thousand million Euros).

www.journaldutextile.com

Designers & Agents will come soon to Paris

Véronique Revet Servettaz — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:13:25 +0000

In the order to expand on the European market, Designers & Agents has decided to organise a new session in France during Paris fashion week, next autumn.
The event will take place from October 1st to October 4th , Place des Vosges.
The organisers, Barbara Kramer, Meryl & Ed Mandelbaum, benefit from their experience (13 years in Los Angeles, 8 years in NY). They don’t want to compete directly with the other fashion trade shows occurring in Paris, that’s why they will invite American designers who never exhibited in Europe before.
For the moment, 40 American brands are registered, among them are Calleen Cordero (jewels brand), Tracy Watts (hats brand) and Rozae Nichols (high-end apparel brand).

>> For more information, read the article published on www.fashion-dailynews.com
>> Visit D&A website : www.designersandagents.com

Retailers’ payment behavior is improving in Europe

Véronique Revet Servettaz — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:45:48 +0000

According to a press article published in the French economic magazine “Le Moci” dated 27 May 2010, payment delays have decreased in the retail distribution these last months.
Globally, in Europe, average payment delays registered in the retail trade are around 15 days. But notable differences can be observed. The average payment delays in Germany are 7.3 days, 10.8 days in France and it rises to 23 days in Portugal, 22.4 days in the UK and 19.8 days in Italy.

Facts and figures about footwear market in France

Véronique Revet Servettaz — Mon, 17 May 2010 09:44:48 +0000

According to an article published in the French magazine ‘Le Journal du Textile’ dated 11 May 2010, the French footwear market suffered less than the French clothing market in 2009.
France remains the first European market concerning shoes consumption.
The French footwear market was estimated at € 6.9 billion in 2008.
Sales decreased by 1% in 2009 and increased by 2% during the first quarter of 2010, according to Jean-Pierre Renaudin, President of the ‘Federation Française de la Chaussure’ – the French Federation of Footwear.
Jean-Pierre Renaudin notes that the distribution market of footwear has evolved these last years: in fact the weight of clothing stores among all the stores selling shoes is more and more important: it represents now 8% in France (compared to only 3% 15 years ago), not far from the weight of clothing distributors in the total shoes market in Italy (8-10%) and in Germany (more than 10%).
Among the most famous French brands of shoes, some of them going on manufacturing their product in France, such as Weston, Heschung, Arche, Paraboot, Royer, Robert Clergerie, Repetto, Parallèle…

Read more on page 20&21 of Journal du Textile N°2043 : www.journaldutextile.com

New : Munich Fashion Week

Véronique Revet Servettaz — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:22:31 +0000

From 13th to 15th August 2010, for the first time in Munich, national and international designers will be showing their spring/summer trends for the coming year.
Around 25 shows will take place on the catwalk in the BMW Welt auditorium in the Olympiapark. On the first two show days, hip and famous designers will be presenting their new spring/summer creations to invited guests, VIPs, and members of the press.The last day will be dedicated to young up-and-coming designers and graduates from international and local fashion schools, who will be presenting their collections to a wide public.

BMW Welt in Munich

The organisers declare that their intention is not to compete with Berlin but rather to further strengthen the fashion industry in Germany. Munich is proud of its fashion designers, its three fashion design schools, and its internationally reowned shopping streets.

More information in the press on Journal du Textile (4 May 2010), on Fashion Mag www.fashionmag.com

About the organisers:
The organiser is Fashion Week Munich GmbH, whose managing partners are Katja Hornuf and Walter Klein.
E-Mail contact : FWM@agenturstadtgespraech.de

White Paper

Dominique Chatelin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:32:24 +0000

Regularly, I am meeting with senior executives, leaders of the fashion industry. They face critical challenges to grow their business, improve their cash flow while retaining their best clients and partners. They are sharing with me their strategy to increase their flexibility in order to adapt faster to ever changing market conditions and improve their competitiveness.
Through these discussions about what it takes to be managing successfully a fashion company worldwide, one of the key subject that comes back over and over is about the challenge of balancing sales growth, working capital and credit risk. Some have already outsourced non-mission critical activities, some considering this opportunity.
I’ve decided to summarize these findings in a White Paper about business development in a difficult market environment.
In this White Paper, I introduce Business Process Outsourcing of Financial Relationship Management function as a key lever for success: how FRM BPO solutions can contribute to increase flexibility, improve performance and access to markets, reduce needs for working capital and provide better control of risks.

If you are interested, you can download this white paper on FDI Logbox website.

I hope that these solutions experienced by others can provide you with options to improve your ability to exit the current period as a winner.

Paris Fashion week: 11 trade fairs from 5 to 8 March 2010

Véronique Revet Servettaz — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:53:38 +0000

After New York, London, Milan, it’s time for Paris Fashion Week!
This second session of trade fairs will allow buyers to discover new brands. Multibrand retailers will often visit these trade fairs to find selective brands synonymous of “creativity”.
Among all these trade fairs, such as well-known Tranoi, Atmosphère’s, The Box or Première Classe, the most difficult is to choose which one to go!
You can read the press article published this week in the French fashion trade magazine ‘Fashion Daily News’ page 16 and 17 which explains the brands policy of selection.
www.fashion-dailynews.com

UK comes out of recession

Véronique Revet Servettaz — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:37:35 +0000

According to a press article written by Nicola Harrison and publicated on 26 January 2010 in Drapers, the UK has exited its most severe recession since the 1930s as data this morning showed the economy grew by a weaker-than-expected 0.1% in the last three months of 2009. The economic growth brings to an end six consecutive quaters of contraction.
The UK had been the last major economy in recession, with Germany and France - Europe’s two biggest economies - exiting last summer. The US and Japan also came out of recession last year. There have been recent signs of recovery in the UK economy, with retail sales showing signs of growth, and unemployment falling for the first time in 18 months last week.

To access to this article, please click here.

On the same subject, you can read the article in French publicated on 27 January 2010 in Les Echos : “La Grande Bretagne sortie de récession, mais de justesse“

THE DECLINE IN CONSUMPTION SHOULD ABATE SLIGHTLY IN 2010

Véronique Revet Servettaz — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:45:24 +0000

After an unprecedented fall during the third quarter, (- 9.1 % in value in comparison to the same period in 2008), consumption of fashion and textile articles started back on a positive course in October 2009 in France. The slight increase recorded (+ 0.2 % in value in comparison to October 2008), should be interpreted first and foremost as the market catching up after the sharp declines during the preceding months.
In total, for the year 2009 as a whole, a 4 % drop in value in French consumption of fashion and textile articles is to be expected.
The situation in some other European countries is even worse than in France.
In Spain, for example, according to the CITYC (Centro de Informacion textil y de la confeccion), consumption may drop as much as 5 % in value in 2009.
According to IFM estimations, in the United Kingdom and in Germany the drop in value in 2009 should be - 1.5 %.
Finally, in Italy, according to the Sistema Moda Italia, during the eight first months of 2009, sales decreased by 1.6 % in value in comparison to the previous year.

What are the prospects for consumption of fashion and textile articles in France in 2010?
After the recession in 2009 —when the Gross Domestic Product fell by 2 %— growth in France should once again start picking up in 2010. Various forecasting institutions all concur; they are all banking on an increase in the GDP in 2010, though the range of these organisations’ forecasts is rather wide.

Extract of an editorial written by Gildas Minvielle and published in the “Lettre Economique” of December 2009, from the Institut Français de la Mode’s economic observatory.

Read the whole article
>> In French
>> In English

Enjoy 2010 and forget 2009!

Dominique Chatelin — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:09:36 +0000

With the sales season starting, it’s really the ability of the fashion industry to rebound which is at stake.
Some invoices of the season will only be paid if the cash goes from consumers’ wallet to the retailer cash register and then from the retailer to the brand bank account. 2009 is indeed a year to forget for many retailers and their suppliers, the fashion brands. 2010 seems to be starting under better auspicious, despite the unresolved economic problems and rising unemployment.
In order to enjoy 2010 and forget 2009, everyone must regain confidence, not just for one year, but for the future. Facing this harsh reality, there are optimistic and pessimistic people. Reality doesn’t change, but optimists live better because they accept reality as it is and they see every challenge as an opportunity, while the pessimists are more inclined to see only difficulties in upcoming opportunities. Let’s be optimistic for the future. FDI Logbox teams are here to help to convert each of the current challenges into opportunities for our customers.

Fashion Christmas Trees event at Intercontinental Paris Le Grand

Véronique Revet Servettaz — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:46:30 +0000

For the third year, christmas trees are ‘fashion dressed’ in Paris!
Students from design school Ecole Supérieure des Arts appliqués Duperré unveiled 30 festive creations.

Made in various materials, from books to plexiglass to cloth, and in majority in white and silver, the trees were judged by an expert panel from the French fashion, such as designers Jean-Claude Jitrois, Franck Sorbier, and Gaspard Yukievich.

Students Floriane Leblong and Milane Pujolle gained the top price for their joint design, Fusion Glacée, a brillant plexiglass creation that evoked snowflakes falling to form the silhouette of a tree, with a tiny tree embedded in each snowflake.

The exhibition will last till 5 January 2010.

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/locations/paris-legrand

THE DROP IN CONSUMPTION AMPLIFIES THE CRISIS IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY

Céline Tercier — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:40:31 +0000

According to IFM studies, French textile production dropped a whopping 25 % during the first eight months of 2009. There is nothing exceptional about France’s performance in Europe, as on average, European Union member countries have seen their textile production deteriorate 20 % this year in comparison to 2008. Textile producers, faced with competition from China and Turkey, are also heavily impacted by the crisis their customers in manufacturing are enduring.

Extract of an editorial written by Gildas Minvielle and published in the “Lettre Economique” of November 2009, from the Institut Français de la Mode’s economic observatory, a monthly Economic Trends Newsletter which is an informational monitoring tool aimed at professionals in the sector, that detects and analyses changes and trends in the sector.

Read the whole article:
http://www.ifm-paris.com/asp/fr2/econ_obse_4_1_lettreconj.asp

XI TEXTILE INDUSTRY FORUM in Portugal

Véronique Revet Servettaz — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:02:59 +0000

The XI TEXTILE INDUSTRY FORUM will take place at Citeve (Vila Nova de Familicao) on 25th November 2009. It will gather all the experts from the textile and clothing industry in Portugal.
This event takes place once a year and has as main objective the debate of the biggest issues that fear but at the same time mobilize the entire sector.
This year, the main subject will be ‘Entrepreneurship : Opportunities after Crisis’. Several conferences will be organized to debate about the Portugal and Textile sector facing the gloabl crisis. About 250 visitors are expected. This event is organised by ATP - the Textile and Clothing Association of Portugal - with many sponsors. Among them, FDI Logbox, to offer its credit customer management solutions to the Portugal companies who want to secure their international sales.

More information about XI TEXTILE INDUSTRY FORUM

One in 10 UK retailers shut up shop in 2009

Céline Tercier — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:32:25 +0000

According to an article published on Retail Week, on October 27, 2009, one in 10 retailers closed their doors between January and September this year according to research released today by the Local Data Company.

From a survey of 251,462 firms across more than 705 centres in the UK, 25,090 had closed their doors.

The worst hit sector was the multi-brand sites, with some 21.6% of department stores, mail order and shopping centres closing in the nine months to September 30.

Fashion and footwear was one of the worst casualties of the recession with some 17.9% of stores in the womenswear and kidswear sectors and 12.4% of menswear stores shutting their doors in the first nine months of this year. Footwear also fared badly with 14.9% of stores closing.

Some of the most resilient sectors include chemists, toiletries and opticians, which had a 6.8% closure rate; and food retail, including grocers and supermarkets, which saw 8.3% of stores going out of business.

Shorter payment terms in France

Véronique Revet Servettaz — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:17:34 +0000

As of the 1st January 2009, the LME - Law on the Modernisation of the Economy calls for the decrease of payment terms to 60 days net or 45 days end of the month. A temporary special dispensation is possible for specific industries : decrees have been published for sectors such as toys, jewellery, for instance.
In December 2008, eight professional textile organisations, including the Fédération Française du Prêt à Porter Féminin and the Fédération Nationale de l’Habillement, signed a temporary dispensation agreement concerning payment terms : that sets the payment terms at 75 days end of the month as of 2009, to be progressively reduced to 45 days end of the month from 1 January 2012, as stated in the LME.
The dispensation has been revised in August 2009 to precise specific points such as the date which will be considered as depart point to fix the payment terms : it will be the date of issue of the invoice (not the date of delivery like it was said in the previous dispensation).

More information : http://www.federation-habillement.fr/f/vie-de-la-fnh/a-la-une.html
Read the press articles of Journal du Textile (15-09-09) and Fashion Daily News (14-09-09) about this subject

STILL TOO SOON TO TALK ABOUT RECOVERY

Céline Tercier — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:35:30 +0000

During the month of July, spending of fashion and textile products in France dropped 8.8% in value in comparison to July 2008. Not a single retail channel has remained unscathed by the despondency of the market.

The slump in consumption has led to a serious decrease in business for producers upstream in the industry. Retailers have taken to clearing out their stocks and increasing their sourcing in Asia to maintain their profit margins when faced with dwindling demand. Moreover, today price stands out as a crucial criterion in consumption behavior, which makes long-distance imports ever more attractive. Consequently, during the first two quarters of 2009, textile production in the European Union has plummeted 22%. Most member countries have been affected: Italy has seen its production figures drop 25% and in France production has nosedived 27%.

This fall in consumption of fashion and textile articles will probably continue through the end of the year, as only real improvement in the jobs market will provide the solid base necessary to build recovery on.

Extract of an editorial written by Gildas Minvielle and published in the “Lettre Economique” of September 2009, from the Institut Français de la Mode’s economic observatory, a monthly Economic Trends Newsletter which is an informational monitoring tool aimed at professionals in the sector, that detects and analyses changes and trends in the sector. Read the whole article: http://www.ifm-paris.com/asp/fr2/econ_obse_4_1_lettreconj.asp

WHO’S NEXT & PREMIERE CLASSE : AFTER PARIS…DUBAI !

Véronique Revet Servettaz — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:36:25 +0000

The organisation team of Who’s Next was very satisfied and positive at the cloture of the exhibition last week in Paris. They announced the good results concerning the number of visitors who came to Who’s next & Première Classe : More than 57.000 (+5% compared to September 2008 and + 36% compared to January 2009).

WHO’S NEXT and PREMIERE CLASSE will launch for the first time a similar trade show abroad, exactly in Dubai, from 11 - 13 October , 2009. This professional fashion trade show will be a real event in the Middle East, and will gather 250 international brands of accessories and apparel for men and women.
More information : www.whosnextindubai.com

The Middle East’s economic dynamism together with the fast growing retailing network these last five years has lead to great business opportunities for the fashion market. Moreover, this region is less affected by the crisis than Europe and North America.

That’s why other organisations have already launched fashion trade shows in this area. It’s the case of Footwear Expo, which will be held for the second time in Dubai from 2 - 4 November, 2009.
More information : www.orangefairs.com/foot

The Parisian fashion trade shows bring forward their events at the beginning of 2010

Céline Tercier — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:39:21 +0000

The fashion trade shows Prêt-à-Porter Paris, Who’s Next, Eclat de Mode, Accessoire Avenue will take place in Paris-Porte de Versailles from Sunday, 24 till Tuesday, 26 January, 2010. The international underwear trade show will be held at the same place from 23 to 25 January.

It will be a busy period for the buyers because 4 important German events, Bread & Butter, Premium, Jam and Berlin Fashion Week, will take place a few days before Paris events in Berlin, from 20 to 22 January.

Will 2010 see an upturn for Italian textiles?

Céline Tercier — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:44:28 +0000

According to an article published by Fashion Mag on August 26, 2009, the Italian bank Monte dei Paschi has published results of a study of the Italian fashion and clothing markets which show little to be optimistic about in 2009, but forecasts improved conditions in 2010.