Industry has to move beyond the Covid-19 crisis as the reality is that we all are not going to get back that ‘old normal’ system, but instead have to get going, accepting the ‘new normal’ way of life. As the period of social distancing increases, it will soon become a part of our lifestyle and it is this change in lifestyle that will be the ‘new normal’. 

In Vietnam, the debate before the calamity was the growing interest in Africa by many retailers, as labour cost increased substantially among garment manufacturing hubs across Asia, and more so in Vietnam. Team AOV when spoke to some industry experts, opined that year 2019 was not a very good year for Vietnam’s garment and textile industry. One of the reasons for this dull performance was rise of African nations, like Ethiopia, Kenya and Madagascar, which captured a large chunk of orders from China. But AOV’s analytic team believes that Vietnam may soon emerge as the largest apparel exporter to the USA once Covid-19 subsides based on apparel trade trends in the first 2 months of 2020. 

The issue also gives a detailed guideline for running a garment factory under Covid-19 dictate. Also industry veteran Ram Sareen gears up to uplift the fashion and medical industry sensing shortcomings that the units would face amid Covid-19 crisis.