Redwave Global collaborates with Under Armour

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This article was supplied by Redwave to Fibre to Fashion
Redwave Global, a Pittsburgh-based science technology company, has entered into partnership with fitness conglomerate Under Armour to provide restorative apparel nationwide. The collaboration brings state-of-the art athlete recovery sleepwear to the market, available on the Under Armour website. Redwave has provided the technology for the sportswear design.

From lounge pants to comfortable Henley shirts, each piece restores players to their full potential in preparation for the next performance. Chairman of the board Dr. Shannon Vissman understands the importance of athletic drive, stating, “It’s not about the sport, but the ability to push the human body to the edge that turns a person into an athlete.” Redwave emphasises the essential healing process, helping players to practice self-care.

Chair of the Technology Committee of the board, Dr. Alan Letton, explains the forward-thinking and innovation behind this wearable technology. “By harnessing the physiological benefits of Far Infrared, we created therapeutic apparel able to improve health as it’s worn – making recovering from an all-out effort faster, easier, and more efficient,” states Letton. The first wave of wearable recovery products officially launched in January 2017 at the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Dr. Vaugh McCall, who specialises in psychiatry and health behaviour at the Medical College of Georgia, attests to the technology’s further ability to improve sleep. “How one sleeps at night affects focus, performance, and overall functioning during the following day. Using Redwave’s technology, this new line works to restore the body, assuring you’ll rest easy and wake up refreshed.” (SV)

Source : Fibre to Fashion

Trade expo brings textiles, apparel and footwear to Cape Town

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Are you in the business of clothing, footwear, textiles and fashion accessories? Get ready to network and explore at the China Premium Tex – Apparel, Textile & Footwear (ATF) Trade Exhibition, taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from November 21 to 23.

At the exhibition, buyers from chain stores, independent retailers, boutiques, importers, distributors, factory managers and other decision makers can meet 140 international manufacturers and suppliers from China, South Africa, Indonesia, India, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Belarus and Estonia.

More than 100 manufacturers from China will display a range of products exclusively to Southern African buyers. These will include fashion garments and footwear, sportswear and sports footwear, safety boots, denim, home textiles, fashion fabrics, yarn, interlinings, trims and fasteners, fashion accessories such as bags and scarves, and much more.

Don’t miss this opportunity to snap up new lines, agencies, products and services!

The China Premium Tex opening ceremony will take place at 10am in Hall 4A on Tuesday, November 21, and anyone in the industry is welcome to attend.

Presentations and trend talk
To book your seat at any of the insightful business presentations or the trend talk, email atfexpo@worldonline.co.za. There is no cost to attend, but space is limited and seats are allocated on a first come, first served basis. Open to trade only.

Tuesday, November 21 – 12pm–12.45pm
Trend talk by Nicola Cooper of Nicola Cooper & Associates

Topic: Sociopolitical, technological and environmental trends shaping the mindset of the current and future African consumer

Cooper, a senior fashion, lifestyle and pop culture trend analyst, will focus on explaining trends from global-to-local, local-to-local and local-to-global perspectives. In this explorative, illuminating and insightful talk, learn about pioneering African trends and the effect these will have on lifestyle, fashion, advertising, retail and emerging consumer markets in 2017­–18.

Wednesday, November 22 – 9.30am–10.15am
Presentation by Dave Nemeth, owner of Trend Forward

Topic: The future of business and retail

The only certainty in business today is the death of business as we know it. This presentation, based on a year’s research, will look at the disruptions that businesses and specifically retailers are facing. It will cover areas such as macro trends affecting business and retail; current consumer attitudes, technology and the retail space; the future of retail; the changing face of corporate culture; and evolving company structures.

Thursday, November 23 – 9.30am–10.15am
Presentation by Brett Kaplan, independent retail consultant, Choppies Superstores

Topic: The changing apparel retail landscape in SA

Kaplan was the MD of clothing and general merchandise at Woolworths for 37 years. He was instrumental in building that business into the success that it is today. He will talk about the globalisation of retail, where both hemispheres are taking advantage of the “untapped African opportunity” with South Africa at the centre of this development. Retailers learn that a “cut and paste” approach does not always deliver results in South Africa, as consumers’ fashion appreciation is unlike that of other regions, including Australia, albeit a southern-hemisphere lifestyle. Kaplan will look at the challenges of and opportunities in apparel retail in South Africa.

Pre-register for FREE entry online today to visit the event and/or presentations, and receive a complimentary copy of the 2018 African Clothing & Textile Trade Sourcing Directory valued at R100 and a show catalogue on arrival at the show.

For more information, visit www.atfexpo.co.za, call Tel: +27 21 790 5849 or email atfexpo@worldonline.co.za.

Please note, this is a business exhibition and not open to the general public. Persons under the age of 18 will not be admitted.

Woolworths sales feel the squeeze

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By Michelle Gumede for Business Live

Woolworths is battling a tough economic environment in both Australia and SA, putting pressure on sales.

After posting its trading update, which showed a 2.6% growth in overall sales, the group’s share price declined as much as 5% before recovering to close 2.41% lower at R53.75.

Woolworths has three operating subsidiaries — Country Road Group, Woolworths and David Jones, which was acquired in 2014 for R23.3bn.

Its David Jones sales declined by 5.3% in the 20 weeks ended November 12, the group said.

The company was struggling because of its “questionable business model”, Vele Asset Managers equity analyst Matthew Zunckel said.

Consumers globally were trending towards online and specialty retail, yet David Jones remained a department store, Zunckel said.

The management of Woolworths could tweak this over time with the introduction of food, but that would take a lot of time and investment, he said.

In Australia, the group opened eight new Politix locations within David Jones stores and said it was “seeing positive results from this initiative”.

However, Zunckel said it was a matter of concern that Woolworths continued to grow space quite aggressively despite significant volume pressure.

The company fared slightly better in the local market. On Wednesday, Statistics SA reported that retail sales were up 1.4% in the third quarter from the second, while retail trade sales had increased 5.4% in September from a year earlier, to R74.12bn.

The food division grew sales “ahead of the market” by 9.3%, double its internal inflation of 4.5%, the retailer said, with sales in fashion, beauty and home division slightly up by 0.7%. Zunckel warned that it could be losing market share in SA as the clothing performance was quite disappointing and the retailer did not seem to be benefiting from the recent uptick in apparel retail sales.
Author: Michelle Gumede

TFG looks to further grow sales on internet

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By Nick Hedley for BusinessLive

CEO Doug Murray says the 6% contribution from online sales will ‘definitely’ grow

TFG expects to see a rising contribution from online sales — which now account for 6% of group-wide turnover — as it invests in its e-commerce operations, says CEO Doug Murray.

“The UK is just over 28% [online sales], Australia is a bit less because it’s only been included for two months, but their online sales are about 2.5% of what they do, and in SA, we’re edging up to 1%,” Murray said.

“Considering that America is around 8.5%, we’re going in the right direction and we’ve got a lot of focus on that in terms of investments in all territories.”

The 6% contribution from online sales would “definitely” grow, Murray said.

The clothing retail company reported that turnover in the six months to end-September rose 9.2%, or 12.6% on constant currency terms, to R12.5bn. Headline earnings grew 5.6% to R1.1bn, excluding costs related to the acquisition of Australian company Retail Apparel Group.

Credit turnover growth rose to 6.2%, which was “in line with expectations, as the negative impact of the affordability regulations is now in the base”.

TFG, Truworths and Mr Price took the Department of Trade and Industry and the national credit regulator to court in August over the affordability regulations. The retailers have argued that the rules, which require credit providers to validate customers’ income, are forcing them to deny credit for many shoppers.

TFG said the rules “have had and will continue to have a negative impact on the group’s credit turnover”.

“A lot of things that went on in that court case we see positives from, but we await the ruling,” Murray said.

The national credit regulator is also probing TFG for allegedly charging a club fee on its credit agreements. TFG believed that the regulator had an incorrect view on club fees, Murray said. “We’ve got several senior counsel opinions that make us very confident on that. We feel that we are totally compliant there.”