Report: Apparel business update, 3rd quarter 2008 TOC

four US industry associations have criticised US government plans to monitor imports of clothing from China
Growth in China' s textile and clothing exports slowed during January-July 2008
key Indonesian garment manufacturers enjoyed record levels of business with large international brands during January-July 2008
The signing of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Sri Lanka has been postponed
Vietnam was the second largest supplier of clothing to the USA during the 12 months to May 31, 2008

Global sales of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and systems for apparel are forecast to increase almost 15-fold by 2013
Japan' s annual domestic sales of men' s wear have fallen for the first time in three years

Onward holdings has entered into an agreement to buy the luxury fashion house Jil Sander
Redcats USA has completed the sale of its missy apparel division to Monomoy Capital Partners
CWC, a yarn manufacturer, has acquired Natural Colour Cotton

Benetton will open a Sisley store in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Berghaus has signed a licensing agreement with Symphony Resources, a Hong Kong-based brand management and retail distribution company, and will open 200 stores in China
Camuto Group and G-III Apparel have agreed licensing rights for a Jessica Simpson Clothing Range
C&A has signed an agreement with prologis to build a distribution facility in France
Elmec Sport has secured distribution rights for Kitson la and Rerock products in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Romania
Fast retailing has completed the consolidation of three of its subsidiaries

Iconix has launched a Chinese joint venture company called Iconix China
J.Lindeberg has formed a joint venture in the USA with People' s Liberation
Lectra has opened a subsidiary in India
Optitex has joined forces with a high performance graphics company to add complexity to its design software
Orka group will open new stores in Asia in 2009 Shikibo will relocate its Chinese shirt-making factory to Vietnam
Singapore' s Textile and Fashion Federation (TAFF) has launched a national apparel brand to help to boost clothing exports
The Thai beer producer Singha has expanded into the apparel sector
Zara has opened a flagship store in South Korea

American Eagle Outfitters has won a trademark infringement lawsuit against Payless ShoeSource

La Maison Simons, a Canadian fashion retailer, has withdrawn its catalogue following complaints that the models were too thin
Marks & spencer (M&S) and Oxfam have raised £1 mn (US$1.89 mn) for charity
Nike has confirmed that it has found serious breaches of its code of conduct at a Malaysian factory
The president of the Garment Manufacturers' Association of Cambodia (GMAC) has warned that factory strikes are damaging the country' s apparel industry

Abercrombie & Fitch has reported a 5% increase in total net sales during the second quarter of its 2008/09 financial year
Benetton Group has reported a 2.9% increase in net revenues during the first half of 2008
Gildan Activewear has reported a 31% increase in sales during the third quarter of its 2007/08 financial year
H&M has posted an 8% increase in total sales excluding value added tax (VAT) during the second quarter of its 2007/08 financial year
Second quarter 2007/08
First half 2007/08
JC Penney has reported a 2.5% decline in sales during the second quarter of its 2008/09 financial year
Levi Strauss & co has reported an 8% fall in net revenues and a 98% decline in its net income during the second quarter of its 2007/08 financial year
Marks & spencer (M&S) has reported a slight rise in total sales during the first quarter of its 2008/09 financial year
Perry Ellis has reported a 0.8% drop in total revenues for the second quarter of its 2008/09 financial year
Second quarter 2008/09
First half 2008/09
Outlook
PPR has reported a 4.5% increase in sales during the second quarter of 2008
TJX Companies has reported a 7% rise in net sales during the second quarter of its 2008/09 financial year

Suzhou Deylon Textiles has become the first company in asia to be certified under the environmental standard Öko-Tex Standard 1000

Columbia Sportswear has announced that its anti-counterfeiting programme has been successful
Ebay has been fined Euro38.87 mn (US$58.2 mn) for allowing Fake Luxury Goods to be sold on its online auction site

Apparel business update, 3rd quarter 2008