Textiles NewZ - 27th September 2011

A Message from Elizabeth Tennet, CEO Textiles NZ

I wish to advise I have been offered a job as CEO of the new national body Community Law Centres O Aotearoa, working in the Social Justice area with the 26 Community Law Centres around NZ, and I have tendered my resignation from Textiles NZ. This is my last week of work with Textiles NZ and I wish to express my thanks for the privilege of working with you all. I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges and camaraderie from so many of you. I wish you all the best with your business.

The Board of Textiles NZ has appointed Claire Cilliers as my replacement and I’m sure she will enjoy working with you as much as I have. Claire has strengths in marketing, business growth and regional development. She has worked in the Manawatu Bio Commerce Centre promoting angel investment, as a business consultant and a Project Manager working extensively with businesses. I am confident Claire will do an excellent job on behalf of all members.

All Textiles NZ business will continue as usual and I trust you will give your support to Claire. The Textiles Symposium 2011 and AGM is the next big event on our calendar and will provide a boost to the industry, an opportunity for you to network with other industry businesspeople and a means to be “up with the play” with the latest innovations. Register early and take advantage of the discounted accommodation.

Textiles Symposium 2011 – Manufacturing a Future

Come to the future-looking textiles symposium on 10 and 11 November 2011 in Wellington. Speakers will explore successful manufacturing, becoming more competitive, future innovations, future Government procurement opportunities and leading by design. Network with the rest of the industry, attend the Fashion Show and enjoy some conviviality!

Speakers include Davey Hughes from Swazi, John Heng with years of manufacturing and exporting experience, Mike May form Jaedon Enterprises, Dave Vukets from Cambridge Clothing Company, David Lilburne from Yakka, Stewart Collie from AgResearch, Peter Heslop from the Textiles and Design Laboratory, Ian Cuthbertson from WRONZ talking about wool R&D and commercialisation, and Sandy Heffernan and Deb Cumming from Massey University’s Design School.

Bring a couple of your own samples to the Textiles Symposium and talk with other companies about how you might work together to increase your sales.

Kathmandu Bullish, Looks to US

Outdoor adventure wear retailer Kathmandu will maintain a presence in Britain despite its six stores in the country still failing to turn a profit, and will use the overseas experience to prepare the group for a potential push into North America in the next three to four years.

Kathmandu chief executive Peter Halkett announced this morning while unveiling the retailer’s 2011 financial results that the board had decided against closing its UK stores but would not open any more at this time. Instead Kathmandu would work to restore profitability to the six British stores, using multi-channelling to drive online sales and leveraging resources from its New Zealand and Australian stores to cut costs.

Halkett said the British experience would put Kathmandu in a good position to eventually open stores on the west coast of the US and Canada, regions which traditionally have high participation rates in the types of outdoor activities that the company’s clothing and adventure gear specifically caters to.

‘‘For the next two to three years we have got plenty of our growth in New Zealand and Australia, and a move like that [to North America] would be on the horizon as a possibility and we are using the UK as a bit of a test bed and that is why we are hanging in there.’’

Kathmandu has turnover of roughly £4 million a year in the UK and Mr Halkett said if more sales could be generated from an online site - rather than a physical store - it would help to manage costs and open up opportunities in other overseas regions such as North America.

‘‘[It's a] really big outdoor markets, western North America, but that’s a long-term vision rather than a strategy we are intending to proceed with in the next two to three years.’’

Kathmandu announced a 55 per cent increase in net profit to $NZ39.1 million, in line with previous guidance, as sales rose 24.5 per cent to $NZ306.1 million.

“We have achieved double-digit same-store sales growth in both Australia and New Zealand, and improved margins despite the well-publicised difficult economic environment and the resulting impact on consumer demand in all our markets,” Halkett said.

“Our 14 new stores opened during the year have all performed very well and we see continued growth opportunities for Kathmandu as we expand our retail footprint and introduce new products and an updated brand identity to the market over the next year.

He said the Christchurch earthquake resulted in the closure for an indefinite period of Kathmandu’s central city Cashel Street store, which was located close to major Christchurch office and hotel tower blocks currently being demolished.

In 2011-12 four new stores are already confirmed to open, two each in New Zealand and Australia, and four existing stores in major cities are in the process of being relocated to new and larger premises.
Halkett confirmed that most of this year’s targeted 15 new stores to be opened will again be in Australia.

Latest Textile & Fashion News Digest created at: 22/9/2011

Target in Search of New Leader

Target has announced that its managing director, Launa Inman, plans to step down from the role.

The company said yesterday (19 September) that Inman would remain in the role until a replacement could be found, which is expected to be early 2012.

After almost seven years in the role, and a transformation program to position Target for long-term success Inman said she felt the time was right time to move on.

"I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to lead Target and I am very proud of what the team and I have achieved together during my time as managing director," Inman said.

Richard Goyder, managing director of parent company Wesfarmers, said Inman, who took up her position as managing director of Target in 2005, had done a praiseworthy job in her role, bringing Target "seamlessly" into the Wesfarmers Group following its takeover of the former Coles Group in 2007.

The company reportedly plans to undertake a global search for a new leader for the Target brand.

Latest Textile & Fashion News Digest created at: 22/9/2011

Synthetic Fibres an Increasing Threat to Marine Environment

Synthetic clothing could be a significant source of tiny pieces of plastic that are accumulating in the marine environment, an Australian study has shown.

Researchers found that a single garment cleaned in a domestic washing machine could produce more than 1900 fibres per wash, which could end up in sewage. Mark Browne, from the University of Sydney, said microplastic contamination posed a health threat to marine organisms and was likely to increase.

''To tackle this problem, designers of clothing and washing machines should consider the need to reduce the release of fibres into wastewater,'' said Dr Browne, from the Centre for Research on the Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities.

His team tested sediments from sandy beaches at 18 sites around the world, including Port Douglas in Queensland and Busselton Beach in Western Australia. Beaches in Japan, Oman, the Philippines, South Africa, Britain and the US were also sampled.

The team found contamination with microplastic - fragments less than a millimetre in size - varied from eight fibres a litre of sediment in Australia to 124 fibres a litre in Portugal and Britain.
The more densely populated the area was, the more microplastic was present.
Dr Browne said that apart from textiles, other possible sources of microplastic were the breakdown of large pieces of plastic, small plastic particles used as abrasives in cleaning products and spills of plastic powders and pellets.
To determine the main source of microplastic contamination on the beaches, Dr Browne's team tested sewage sludge disposal sites in Britain, as well as effluent from the sewage treatment plants at west Hornsby and Hornsby Heights in Sydney.

They also washed synthetic clothes and blankets, finding that all garments released more than 100 fibres a litre of effluent.

The proportions of polyester and acrylic fibres in clothing were found to resemble those in effluent on the beaches and at sewage disposal sites.

This suggested that the washing of clothes - rather than fragmentation or cleaning products - was the main source of the debris.

Latest Textile & Fashion News Digest created at: 26/9/2011

Benefits of Joining Textiles NZ

We always welcome new members and believe you will benefit from our services. Over the last year substantial benefits have been delivered to members of Textiles NZ:-

A very successful Textiles Sector Trade Show and Conference
Strong Government advocacy to assist companies working with government procurement
Industry advocacy with Government Officials on Free Trade Agreements
Strong Government advocacy to assist wool and possum/merino manufacturers, including gaining membership of the Government’s Ministerial Wool Group
Partnership with the Campaign for Wool to promote New Zealand natural fibres
Successful export market promotion, including a market visit to Russia with 7 member companies and reciprocal Russian buyer visits to members companies
R&D assistance to members
An informative weekly newsletter to the industry, Textiles NewZ
ATITO benefits:-
More than $140,000 in training subsidies to Textiles NZ members
Companies assisted to fund Productivity Assessments
Subsidies to firms to engage Competitive Manufacturing
Industry support to deliver Block Courses for Cadets
Membership profiles on the Textiles NZ website that promote B2B, www.textilesnz.org.nz/sitedocs/search/search.aspx
An Energy Efficiency Programme providing savings up to $45,000 to individual members
Vodafone discounts
Budget Rental Car discounts
Shell Fuelcard 5 cents per litre discount
CourierPost discounts
OfficeMax discounts
Cullen The Employment Law Firm 20% discount
Fashion Uniforms discounts
Hipah Consulting and business advice discounts
New Zealand School of Export – distance education for exporters – 50% discount for eligible companies using an NZTE Capability Development Voucher
American Express assistance to importers

We are a membership based organisation for the NZ textiles industry with our fees commencing at $100 per year for a company with no employees, and $200 per year for a company with 5 or fewer employees. The rates increase for larger businesses.