Sun Chemical, world’s largest producer of printing inks and pigments, has decided to present its portfolio of world-class inks and innovative ink chemistry platforms optimized for applications ranging from textile and soft signage, sign and graphics, décor and industrial applications at FESPA 2017, slated to be held from May 8-12 in Hamburg, Germany.
The exhibition, largest international wide format event, will see more than 700 exhibiting brands during the four days.
Sun Chemical will also present print demonstrations, showing the excellent performance of Sonata DTE inks at its booth. The printer will also showcase the latest ECOPROISU ink pouch system developed to enable extended running and greater economy.
German sportswear brand, Adidas, has announced its financial report for 2016 fiscal year. During the period under review, net income from continuing operations climbed 41 per cent to € 1.019 billion. Its sales reached € 19.3 billion, up 18 per cent on a currency-neutral basis while operating margin improves 1.3pp to 7.7 per cent.
In 2016, despite severe headwinds from negative currency effects, the company’s gross margin increased 0.3 percentage points to 48.6 per cent (2015: 48.3 per cent), as a result of the positive effects from a significantly better pricing, product and channel mix as well as lower input costs.
During the fourth quarter, Adidas continued to deliver a strong top- and bottom line performance. Its revenues increased 14 per cent on a currency-neutral basis.
In the fourth quarter of 2016, the company’s gross margin increased 1.6 percentage points to 48.8 per cent compared 47.2 per cent in 2015. More favourable pricing, product and channel mix as well as lower input costs more than offset the negative effects from currency headwinds.
For 2017, the retailer expects sales to increase at a rate between 11 per cent and 13 per cent on a currency-neutral basis. In 2017, the gross margin is forecasted to increase up to 0.5 percentage points to a level of up to 49.1 per cent (2016: 48.6 per cent).
“2016 was an exceptional year for Adidas. We have improved the desirability of our brands and products around the globe. As a consequence, we were able to increase revenues strongly and achieve a record net income of more than € 1 billion for the first time in the history of our company,” Kasper Rorsted,CEO, Adidas was quoted as saying while commenting on the results.
Texprocess 2017, the leading international trade fair for processing textile and flexible materials, slated to be held on 9-12 May, 2017 in Germany, will showcase a digital textile micro factory to make a live demonstration of the entire networked production of clothing items – from the design stage to digital printing, automatic cutting out and fabrication.
“Especially when it comes to fast fashion, micro factories offer the opportunity to put ideas into practice immediately and to try out new business models, based on specific customer requirements. They facilitate a type of production that is responsive to the market and, as an additional bonus, ensure optimised use of material, so as to contribute to greater levels of sustainability in textile processing,” said Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles and Textile Technologies, Messe Frankfurt.
The first stage in the micro factory is the CAD/Design area. Texprocess partner for the Design area is Assyst, a company in the Human Solutions Group. The next stage (printing) demonstrates large-format inkjet printing, involving sublimation printing on polyester and pigment printing on cotton and mixed fibres. Texprocess partners in the software and hardware business Ergosoft and Mimaki, as well as Coldenhove and Monti Antonio. After this comes the cutting area. Texprocess partner in this area is Zünd.
The next section of the production process (assembling) partnered with Dürkopp Adler. Finally, in the last step (labelling) the garments will be provided with logos and graphic details that will be washable, can be ironed and are suitable for dryers. Partner in this area is Seripress.
“The demand for individualized products necessitates making the entire production process more flexible. Serial production with, at the same time, smaller and smaller batches, right down to batches of just one, is only possible with industrially manufactured individual products. These fully automated and networked processes can now be implemented through the use of digitalization,” commented Elgar Straub, General Manager –Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies Division, VDMA.
Hugo Boss, one of the world’s largest fashion company, has expressed hope to note stable development in 2017 after sales decreased by 4 per cent in 2016 to Euro 2,693 million (2015: Euro 2.809 million).
Retail sales in local currencies in 2016 were 2 per cent higher than in the previous year. On a like-for-like basis, sales fell by 6 per cent. In the fourth quarter, however, the development in all regions improved compared to the previous quarters, so that the decline on a comparable area could be limited to 3 per cent.
The Hugo Boss has initiated measures like integration of BOSS Green and BOSS Orange, to push digital transformation of the business model further to get first positive impact on earnings development in 2017. The full impact will be visible from 2018 onwards.
In 2017 HUGO BOSS expects a largely stable sales development on a currency-adjusted basis. As in the group as a whole, sales in Europe should remain stable. Although the Americas and the US in particular are expected to see a trend improvement compared to the previous year, sales growth is expected to be slightly negative as a result of the changes in distribution in the wholesale business.
In Asia, sales, supported by growth in China, are expected to be slightly positive. Sales in the Licenses segment should also grow strongly due to growth in the fragrance sector.
US-based X-Rite Incorporated, a global leader in colour science and technology, and its subsidiary Pantone LLC, have bagged the world-renowned ‘iF DESIGN AWARD’ – One of the best-known labels for design excellence – for their Total Appearance Capture (TAC™) Scanner.
A team of 58 judges, made up of independent experts from all over the world, reviewed a total of 5,500 entries and selected TAC7 version as a winner in the product discipline. ‘iF DESIGN AWARD’ night will take place on 10th March 2017 at BMW Welt in Munich, and the jury will hand over the award to X-Rite in the official ceremony.
It’s worth mentioning here the TAC7 scanner is part of a full ecosystem that addresses a key challenge in product design thus provides comprehensive solution that brings a new level of accuracy and realism to the capture, communication and digital presentation of physical materials in the virtual world.
Expressing his delight on winning the award, Dr. Francis Lamy, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, X-Rite, commented, “We’re thrilled to win the prestigious iF Design Award. This award recognizes the dedication of the X-Rite product development team to expanding our solution portfolio beyond colour to address the more significant challenge of capturing and managing appearance.”
The TAC7 scanner has passed all the eligibility criteria formed by iF DESIGN AWARD’s jury such as, Innovation & Elaboration; Functionality; Aesthetics; Responsibility; and Positioning, to win the award for the year 2017.
The company explains that using the TAC ecosystem, product designers, 3D artists, material specifiers and marketers can scan in physical material samples and create vendor-neutral Appearance Exchange Format (AxF™) files to digitally communicate and share consistent appearance-related data with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Computer-Aided Design (CAD), and state-of-the art rendering applications.
Riding high on exceptionally high 2016 financial year, German sportswear brand Adidas has decided to accelerate strategy execution.
Under its long-term strategic business plan, ‘Creating the New’, the company intends to strongly accelerate sales and earnings growth until 2020. It now expects currency-neutral sales to increase at a rate between 10 per cent and 12 per cent on average per year between 2015 and 2020 (previously: to increase at a high-single-digit rate).
Net income from continuing operations is projected to grow between 20 per cent and 22 per cent on average per year in the five-year period. “Our 2016 results and our positive outlook for 2017 are proof that our strategy is paying off. After the first full year of ‘Creating the New’, we have exceeded our original plan,” said Kasper Rorsted, CEO of Adidas AG.
Adidas revenues increased 18 per cent on a currency-neutral basis in 2016. In Euro terms, revenues grew 14 per cent to Euros 19.291 billion (US $ 20.391 billion).
The focus of Adidas’ strategy ‘Creating the New’, which was presented in March 2015, remains on significantly elevating brand desirability and thus achieving strong improvements in sales and profitability.
‘Creating the New’ is based on the three strategic pillars Speed, Cities and Open Source, with which the company has made significant progress in the past two years.
As part of plan to accelerate sales and earnings growth, these three strategic pillars has now been supplemented with a special focus on the topics Corporate Culture, Digital, One adidas, North America and Portfolio.
A. Monforts Textilmaschinen’s Techtextil Division is all set to exhibit the company’s full range of new coating units for the first time at the upcoming Techtextil 2017, an exhibition for technical textiles and nonwovens, which will take place in Frankfurt, Germany this May. Coating range texCOAT powered by Monforts, incorporating knife over roller/air system, magnetic roller system and printing head systems, will be displayed at the fair.
“Single sourced solutions ranging from single sided applications of finishing agents such as, outdoor clothing and functionality of textiles in the home textiles sector, through to sophisticated lightweight construction using innovative textile-based coated materials for the automotive and aerospace industries are the features of this range,” says Monforts.
In Techtextil, Monforts will be up to display new applications and references of the coating units as well as membrane and filter applications. The coating modules can be used with or without a magnet system with working widths above 240 cm. To achieve this width the use of a magnetic doctor blade is recommended, according to the manufacturer. The coating systems are available in four versions – basic, multi-functional (two positional), universal and multi-functional (three positional).
Designed for constantly changing technical textile coating process applications, the systems coating modules can be quickly and easily changed by a specially designed undercarriage from the side of the unit; allowing it to be adapted for different applications to offer simple and user friendly PLC techniques with on-screen visualisation for all operating modes, the company explains.
Leading Japanese flat knitting machine manufacturer Shima Seiki Mfg. Ltd. is all set to exhibit at the upcoming CeBIT 2017, an international exhibition for digital business, on 20th March – 24th March, in Hannover, Germany.
As a part of the Japan Pavilion hosted by Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Shima Seiki will demonstrate the latest in WHOLEGARMENT® knitting technology – compact SWG061N2 WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machine that offers great flexibility with the capability to produce a variety of items such as gloves, socks, leggings, hats, mufflers, childrenswear and even technical textiles. Its versatility makes the SWG-N2 series ideal for a range of applications from production in large-scale knitting factories to sampling in design studios as well as R&D and educational facilities.
In combination with WHOLEGARMENT® knitting is SDS-ONE APEX3 3D design system that supports recent consumer trends. Ultra-realistic simulation capability on APEX3 allows Virtual Sampling to minimize the time and cost compared to current sample-making process, thus shortening production cycle. In addition, virtual samples can be used effectively for on- and off-line retailing in gauging demand prior to production.
Around 70 Italian machinery manufacturers will take part at the upcoming edition of Techtextil Frankfurt, a leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens, to be held from 9-12 May in Frankfurt, Germany.
Out of these, 25 are Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT) associated members, namely 4M Plants, Beschi, Bianco, Bombi, Bonino, Canalair, Carù, Cogne, Cubotex, Dell’orco & Villani, Etv, Fadis, Mesdan, Monti-Mac, Noseda, Pmt Ribbons, Ratti, Rollmac, Sariel, Saspe, Sicam, Textape, Toscana Spazzole, Unitech, and Zappa.
“A testament to the dynamism that characterizes the Italian textile machinery industry in the technical textiles sector comes from the sheer number of Italian manufacturers who will be exhibiting in Frankfurt at the upcoming Techtextil,” as per ACIMIT.
The association has also mentioned that the number of participating Italian companies has grown over the years, representing the interest Italy’s textile machinery sector places in the technical and innovative textiles market. It also estimates that more than 100 of its member companies are now working in technical textiles sector.
A pay hike of 4.4 per cent has been announced for textile industry workers in Germany, according to Reuters. This was confirmed by Germany’s trade union IG Metall. Around 100,000 workers employed in textile and clothing industry in west German will get the benefit of this move.
Wages would increase 2.7 per cent by August 1, 2017 and then by a further 1.7 per cent by September 1, 2018, sated the trade union. They will also be given one-off payments worth a total of Euro320 for the months February to July 2017. For workers retiring from 2017, they will get a premium of Euro 10; andthose retiring from September 2018, the amount will be increased to Euro 535. Holiday allowance will be improved by 2.5 per cent this year and 2 per cent by 2018.
The new wage agreement has a term of 24 months and ends on 31 January, 2019. The wage hike – agreed by the union and employers overnight – comes at a time when domestic demand has overtaken exports as the main source of growth for the German economy.
Europe’s leading online fashion platform for women, men and children Zalando hopes to continue outperforming the fashion retail market again in 2017 and grow in terms of revenues by about 20-25 per cent, following a strong 2016 performance.
Driven by a systematic focus on consumers and suppliers, as well as further investments into the company’s infrastructure, Zalando’s 2016 revenues grew by 23 per cent to Euros 3,639 million (2015: Euros 2,958 million).
The adjusted EBIT margin increased 5.9 per cent, which corresponds to an adjusted EBIT of Euros 216.3 million (2015: Euros 107.5 million, 3.6 per cent). For 2017, Zalando expects an adjusted EBIT margin in the range of 5-6 per cent.
The retailer is considering to acquire multi-channel basketball retailer KICKZ and planning to to create more than 2,000 jobs in 2017.
“Strong growth requires nonstop investment. We are proud to have significantly progressed in expanding our business profitably,” said co-CEO Rubin Ritter, adding, “As we build the technology and operating system to transform the European fashion industry, we will further invest into a unique and flawless consumer experience and a stronger supplier proposition to continue to drive growth ahead of the market. At the same time, we plan to expand our team by creating more than 2,000 new jobs this year.”
Additionally, with an increase of 11 per cent, Zalando witnessed about 20 million customers in 2016.
Stäubli – the leading textile machinery manufacturer – will exhibit Magma T12 warp tying machine and UNIVAL 100 single-end control Jacquard machine, at Techtextil 2017, a leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens, to be held from 9-12 May in Frankfurt, Germany.
The Magma T12 warp tying machine has been developed for technical yarn ties monofilaments, coarse multi-filaments, PP ribbons, bast fibres, coarse staple fibres, and many other fibre types. Its rigid design includes an optical double-end detection system. Another machine, the UNIVAL 100 single-end control Jacquard machine is said to offer more benefits for sophisticated technical textiles, such as automotive and aeronautic textiles, technical textiles in the sports, industrial, medical sectors, and new fabric constructions, even with glass fibre, carbon, and Kevlar.
Furthermore, on display will be a selection of technical fabrics including spacers and multilayers with variable thickness that have been produced in conjunction with Stäubli products, such as TF weaving systems.
The new TF weaving system provides individual system configuration and maximum flexibility. It is designed to offer virtually unlimited weaving possibilities, whether for flat, spacer, or complex multi-layer fabrics and 3D fabrics, the company reports. Featuring latest shedding machines in combination with the double-rapier weft insertion system and a special slaying motion this system is said to allow high-volume production of up to very thick and/or dense fabrics.
