FROM ANDREW SIA & IAJ TEAM
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FROM THE DESK OF
THE PUBLISHER
& IAJ TEAM
Opening Remark
For this January issue, we are pretty much catching up with the publishing of the articles. We continue to try to publish in the different blogs to capture different readers. We will still maintain our website for the readers to browse easily.
We hope that we can maintain our value to the readers and hopefully that we can receive some feedback in order that we can improve.
Without further delay, we enter into our introduction for each of the writeup. This can give you the direction for the contents at first glance.
Preview all articles
of this Issue !
Special Report
Global Fashion & Exhibition Calendar – January to June 2026
| By Andrew Sia
We are trying to keep ourselves updated with the report of the fashion and exhibition calendar. We can’t stress enough the importance of this report as it is useful for everyone who is in the business of fashion especially in the intimate apparel and swimwear industry. Altogether we have listed 32 exhibitions which we consider as the most important of all.
This time our world is being threatened with tariffs which are disrupting our supply chain. The manufacturers would need to have the wisdom to take the work to the less volatile countries where the geopolitical situations are not that severe and critical. My heart goes out to those who are struggling and have to find the stable environment to run their business.
I urge everyone not to give up but to get ourselves more ready for the next opportunity to come. I hope that this dark moment will be soon over.
Footwear Tradeshows Calendar
January to June 2026
| By Andrew Sia
In this report we have listed more than 30 shows around the world in countries like the US, Turkey, Brazil, Vietnam, Australia, Italy, Spain, Brazil, and China.
It is very interesting to learn from these tradeshows that there are conferences and seminars discussing the sustainability. We read that organizers have raised question about the uncertainty around the impact of tariffs and it is critical to meet with the vendors to understand any changes to pricing and inventory management. There are significant influences that have caused the ineffectiveness of the supply chain, and also inflation is inevitable under this situation.
We hope that with the effort we spent on the footwear sector can bring us readers from this industry. We would like to have more interaction among the industry.
Extra, Extra, Read All About It
| By Andrew Sia
The two shows that we report at this eleventh hour was our overlook for the importance of their show time. We tried to catch up at their last minute and we apologize for this.
In my youth, we only have newspapers and radio, and if there was a “breaking news” and the newspaper boy would go around the neighborhood and yell at the top of his voice: “Extra, Extra, Read All About It.”
The newspaper boy was able to grab the adults’ attention and most of them would come out and buy the newspapers from him even if it was only a page. I recalled that during our early days.
The Global Race for Fusion Energy
| By Andrew Sia
With global warming intensifying and the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is far slower than the world’s need. Fusion energy appears at exactly the right moment. If we succeed, fusion can provide the clean, abundant, and reliable power that our modern world, especially our demanding universe of AI data centers urgently requires.
We will soon find fusion energy as the center for the energy conversation as it is the solution for us during this crucial moment. The world needs a new clean baseload source.
When Global Branding Meets Cross Culture Naming
| By Andrew Sia
The piece is divided into two parts. In its introduction, we brought out the culture shock between China and the Western world. The difference of the cultures play an important role. In another article, we listed many consumer categories, and the brands are not easy to produce in many instances. We feel that eventually this can be overcome.
Then we entered briefly into the U.S. consumer market, without question, it is the largest market, and the market is open for competitions.
Although India is the third most populous market, it is still far from being a significant market because most of the consumers are still living in rural areas. It is still a very much developing country.
We ended our report talking about the consumer market of Europe. The market in well established but because of its low birth rates, it has many challenges such as the labor cost, and its energy market is too much depending on Russia for instance. Europe has to reform and come out from its old mentality and become more dependent as it has the best people and the most friendly social structure.
The Unpopular Squeaky Sneakers
| By Andrew Sia
I was about to change the title to “The Popular Squeaky Sneaker – On” but on second thought I stick to the first title I have given to this article.
I also mentioned that this squeaky sound is not only restricted to On, but also to Adidas and Nike for certain brands. It ought to appear only on certain models. I recalled that many years ago we produced a bra which squeaked, and we called it jokily as “talking bra.”
We have seen more wearers of On in the market as its hollowed sole is very recognizable.
We will continue to feature sneakers as it is catching on with the footwear like wildfire.
Competitiveness of China Market
| By Andrew Sia
China is the second-largest consumer market, only second to the United States. Its market has slowed down because of its depressed housing market and also its job market has weakened.
Chinese market is also congested with international brands, and they are all gearing up for competition, not only among themselves, but also with those Chinese homegrown brands.
We show an example in the electric vehicle market, where BYD, its local brand is taking over the market, both local and international, and yet Volkswagen is going for their strategy — “In China, for China.”
The last we heard that VW is going into partnership with XPENG, and manufacturing will begin in 2026. It is also going to develop its own chips for advance driver-assistance systems and autonomous driving through a joint venture with a Chinese company.
An Overview of Hydropower
| By Andrew Sia
The piece opened by pointing to the drop of hydropower due to the extreme weather. It resulted more governments are rushing to build more dams. China is building the world’s largest hydropower project in Tibet, and it raises concerns from India and Bangladesh as it is taking the water flowing from Tibet to their rivers, India’s Brahmaputra, and Bangladesh’s Jamuna.
There is also the situation in Brazil where it is affecting the Amazon.
But hydropower is affected by climate condition. Its project impedes rivers, endanger wildlife, cause deforestation, and drive out indigenous inhabitants. Its further development may sound ambiguous in some cases.
To sum up energy sources globally we can look at the following:
Oil – 30%
Coal – 26%
Natural gas – 24%
Hydropower – 6%
Nuclear – 4%
Wind – 4%
Solar – 3%
Bioenergy – 3%
Fossil fuels altogether still supply about 80% of global energy. We have not to forget that for electricity, it is only accounted for 20% of energy use. Transport, heating, and industry are accounted for 80%. We ought to know about this very important knowledge.
Rapha the Cycling Fashion Group
| By Andrew Sia
I came across an article reporting about a cycling fashion brand, Rapha, and I made some research and came up with this writeup. I learned that during the Covid pandemic, cycling happened as the sport surged. At that time gyms were closed and pools, team sports, and indoor studios were stopped. Cycling was classified as solo outdoor exercise to allow the participants to move freely and safely. It is considered the low-infection risk because it is outdoor, keeps the distance, and can be solo participation.
Cycling also avoids public transportation like trains and buses. We saw that in the cities they have expanded temporary bike lanes. It becomes a practical commuting option and also the way to train our physical condition. It has also brought along the digital fitness social media platforms like Strava, Zwift, and Peloton, that track activities for users for cycling, running, GPS data, heart rate, and power output. It is becoming a trend.
I want to emphasize that cycling grew during Covid because it was safe, mentally restorative, socially flexible, and encouraged by the community. It grows alongside with running, hiking, at-home fitness and virtual sports.
Going forward, I’ll explore the opportunities that the cycling sport can bring us for the sports fashion. We can explore deeper into the performance of the fabrics and the benefits that this sport can bring us.
The World of Anta Sports
| By Andrew Sia
A Chinese manufacturer in the 1990s, relatively unknown in the sportswear business, was doing OEM for Nike and Adidas. They gathered the experience and started to sell the sportswear in the China market. In 2009, they acquired the exclusive right of Fila for the China market, and since then they never looked back again.
Their acquisitions for the international sports brands have been very successful, but their brand is still unknown in the international market. Their sponsorship of NBA’s basketball player, Kerie Irving, and the opening of the flagship store in Beverly Hills is helping the international awareness of its brand.
In fact, at this time Anta is already the world’s third-largest sportswear company by revenue. With a 2024 revenue of $9.9 billion, it is following closely to Nike and Adidas and overtook Puma.
Thou Shalt Not Kill
| By Andrew Sia
When I tried to put this report together, my heart has been very heavy. I tried not to take side to say who is right or wrong, I only want to point out that for any war there is no winner or loser. In the end, we all lost, and the hardest part is the loss of life. As of now, Iran has launched drone and missile attacks against at least 10 to 12 countries in the Middle East and beyond. Key targets have been Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Azerbaijan, Oman, Israel, Turkey, and Lebanon.
Attacks have targeted critical energy infrastructure in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. Brent crude oil prices have surged in the last two days and reported to have raised to $112 to $119 per barrel. Analysts are already suggesting prices are threatened to go higher if supply disruptions in the Middle East continues. The situation doesn’t look good.
Off-Price and On-Point
| By Terri Fisher
This time the off-price retailing is really on demand as the world is heading for inflation because the war in Iran is still on. Consumers are watching their money which is understandable. Terri is writing about the key players — TJX Companies, Ross Stores, and Burlington Stores — all have been the lead players in this retail segment.
Her in-depth report has help us to understand this industry and can be useful for retailers in general to correct their courses to navigate in this volatile water.
You are welcome to contact our retail correspondent/specialist for more ideas.
Stop the World, I Want to Get Off
| By Andrew Sia
It all started as a young boy’s fantasy, I grew to like the title of the movie and noticed the sarcasm behind. It came out one day when I was listening to the woes of a young person. I noticed my shortcomings.
I went into deep thoughts and created a prose to capture my thoughts. I have given it more thinkings as where I would categorized this writeup and decided to include it under “Affection & Compassion.” In the following days I have encountered more similar situations that were calling for my reflection. I would further expand it into a booklet and have it published in my e-publication.
The whole thing is calling our generation to hear from our children. Through this learning process, I also learned to refrain myself from jumping into any conclusions without considering their challenges. I have to learn how to listen instead.
The writing began with frustration, then entered into reflection, reconciliation, and become optimism. I began with “Stop the world – I want to get off,” and finally my tone became, “I’ll stay on – differently.”
Market Intelligence | By Andrew Sia
Market Intelligence Short Read - Part 1
There are three parts in this writeup. The first part is dedicated to the sports brands which we should all be very familiar. The second part is dedicated to the most popular brands in lingerie. We are no strangers to many of these famous brands. The most important part comes the third part. It is talking about all those smaller brands and they all have very creative designs. You can discover that they are coming from all over the places—the U.S., UK, the Netherlands, France, Minsk, Australia, and Moscow.
I hope that this report can inspire us to be more creative and also look for the niche.
Market Intelligence Short Read - Part 2
When I was composing these titles, more and more I am feeling that I have been writing business studies instead of reporting the glamours out there. Indeed, it is very sad for a veteran like me to have seen the closing of those remarking department stores. I can remember the weekends that we frequented them with our families and friends to enjoy the shopping and browsing through the clothing racks.
It was told from the 1980s through early 2000s, luxury department stores expanded across American malls, but they have all been declining as the United States simply has too many retails space.
To have reached to the point like so many of these retailers out there, it took a lot of talents, long hours of dedications, collaborations, going through so many debates and various trials and errors. Let’s don’t give up so easily.
E-commerce, fast fashion, cheap marketeers, copycats, don’t give us the pleasure in shopping, and certainly provided less for our appreciation of the products we have shopped. The world needs to change, but it needs to change for better and not worse. I ask you to listen to my plea.
Market Intelligence Short Read - Part 3
Without question that the retail industry is reinventing itself after the market emerged from the Covid pandemic. During the time, a group of the aspirational shoppers were developed, but now they have to come to the reality and decide what are really the necessities that they would need to focus.
We spent some space to report the reinvigoration of Nike and have found that they are now back again in the sporting world where they are picking up the leading role.
I would say that the fashion arena is still full of opportunities disregard with all the challenges that we have been reading. I believe that soon these will be over and only with those with the sober mind will survive.
Fashion & Design
Spring/Summer 2027 Trend Report
| By Genevieve Redding
This time our Fashion & Trend correspondent, Genevieve Redding, introduced the four fashion trends—Modern Romanticism, Stitched Blossoms, Soft Grudge Glam, and Retro Gym.
For the 4 themes, Genevieve is using catwalk models wearing Christine Dior, Alexander McQueen, Erdem, Simone Rocha, Diesel, No. 21, 7 For All Mankind, Avavav, and GCDS for presentations.
For the lingerie brands, her selections are Skims, Darily Underwear, Bordelle, Fleur du Mai, Kiki de Montparnasse, Perilla, Maison Close, Maria Lucia Hohan, Gilda & Pearl, Noblesse Oblige, Sasha la Mer, Dolce & Gabbana, Miu Miu, Carine Gilson, Bondon
Lingerie, Dita Von Tesse, and Wild Lovers London.
For the sports, her selections are Casablanca, Addidas Originals, Nike, The Upside, Splits 59, Staud, Sporty & Rich, and Tory Sport. Although Casablanca can be considered as the “après-sport,” the after-sport aesthetic.
I hope that the readers would find the piece useful and inspiring.
Fashion Quote by Valentino
| By Andrew Sia
We read that at Valentino’s age of 17, his parents indulged their son’s passion and sent him to Paris. He studied in a number of schools and studios. He began his apprenticeship under Jean Dessès, a Greek designer famous for classical draped evening gowns worn by the European royalty and film stars. He joined Guy Laroche afterwards. On a holiday in Barcelona in 1949, he was fascinated to see so many beautiful women in the audience at an opera house wearing red. He went crazy for the color and later became known for designing with Valentino Red. He used both red and black as basic colors—color and noncolor.
In 1959, he was funded by his father to start a couture house in Rome, soon the money was exhausted. Luckily, he had his acquaintance, Giancarlo Giammetti, joined him and Giancarlo abandoned his architecture and managed the business and turned it is into a viable business. The rest was all history.
Met Gala 2026
| By Genevieve Redding
This report is made by Genevieve, it is her second piece of this issue under the Fashion & Design.
Met Gala is the annual charity event for the Metropolitan Museum of Arts and Costume Institute. It is chaired by Anna Wintour.
Its theme is “Costume Art” and it is showing the museum’s curated pieces dated back to 5,000 years.
The exhibition last from May 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027.
Please take the opportunity for your visit.
Market Report | By Andrew Sia
Market Report Short Read - Part 1
We have some lengthy pieces here talking about the trade deal between the U.S. and the rest of the world after its Supreme Court ruled out Trump’s tariffs to 10%. The very next day Trump moved it up to 15% and threatened for more severe terms. This is going to make the global trading more complicate.
We wrote about the Paris Climate Agreement with 194 states and the European union after the ten years of its adoption. We commented in the most important areas about the progress.
You can refer to the rest interesting areas and I hope that we can receive some comments.
Market Report Short Read - Part 2
This writeup is a mix of everything, ranging for what is going on in the Arctic region, to the latest events like the World Economy Forum, the Winter Olympics, the mentioning of the war in Iran, the En Niño, and even a report about an organization playing the lead for the kidney transplant in the U.S.
We found out that the world is remaining challenging is we don’t find a way to coexist. We have found that: Ukraine has been under the attack from Russia since February 22, 2022. It is already four years now.
Israel has been under the threat from Hamas since October 7, 2023.
Now the latest war started by the U.S. and Israel against Iran was on February 28, 2026.
In fact, there have been continuous conflicts in recent years, and what we have mentioned are only the latest. We haven’t seen any intervention by the United Nations, and it is to our regret.
Market Report Short Read - Part 3
This piece has brought up some important topics. With the war still going on in Iran, and it is entering into its fourth month, and no sight of coming to terms with the U.S., Israel and Iran. This is not helping the world’s economy at all.
Germany used to be the number one industrial country is quickly sliding. We know the precision manufacturing that the Germans have been leading the world for a very long time.
We also have seen Bangladesh slipping away from the number one garment manufacturing country.
With China we made several writeups about its supply chain, its robot installation, and most important the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan.
We also come to know that from now until end of the year, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping would have three more meetings, once in the U.S., then the APEC in Shenzhen, China, and G20 in Miami, Florida. We hope that we don’t have to hold our breath in these occasions.
The last we wrote the history of El Niño which we hope that you will find it informative. We have to cross our fingers and hope that it will pass us uneventful.
China the Giant Juggernaut - Part 23| By Andrew Sia
We have prepared this writeup with various headlines. We tried to present them in bullet-points for easy reading. It is important to understand China in order that we can work better with this country. It is not going to be easy as the principles and the values are different, somewhere and somehow, we have to make compromise. Hopefully that China can also make adjustment and show the world its friendliness.
Perhaps in some areas, especially for the development of the new technology, it is undeniable that the support from the state, and both financially and governmental support are needed. Those projects can use the government’s initiative, the universities’ research study, and the private sectors dedication to make them, not only faster, but also more successful.
Especially at this moment we can consider that it is the revolution for the introduction of artificial intelligence follow by many things that can develop together with it.
I have listed the titles and the subtitles of this writeup to entice you about the contents:
*- All About China’s Unreliable Data
– We Read that the IMF’s 2024 Grade for China’s Data: “C” – What Does that Really Mean?
– How Far Can We Trust China’s GDP Numbers?
– It Is Driven by Incentives that Lead to Data Manipulation, That Means It is Top Down
– Why GDP Reality is Especially Weak in China
– How Economists Really Measure China’s Economy
– Why Are China’s Numbers becoming LESS Reliable?
– Conclusion: How Far Can We Trust China’s GDP
– Foreign Direct Investments ((FDI) in China
– Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in China from the U.S.
– US. Investment in Chinese Securities
– US. Financial Exposure to China is Shrinking, that Led to
– EU’s Investment in FDI in China
– EU Investment in Chinese Securities
– Total EU Exposure to China (FDI + Security)
– Which EU Countries Invest the Most?
– Recent Investment Trend
– Japan Was Once One of the Largest Investors in China
– But Japan is Now Leading the Global Exit from China
– Why is Japan Leaving China Faster Than the West?
– What Do We Learn from Japan?
– Summing Up for the Investment of the U.S., EU, and Japan
– Xi Jinping’s Belt Road Initiative
– Reasons Behind to Drive the Belt Road Initiatives
– To Export China’s Surplus Capital and Industrial Overcapacity
– To Build Global Companies for Chinese Companies
– China Wants to Secure Its Strategic Supply Chains
– Key BRI Projects
– BRI Massive Initiative Momentum
– BRI Recent Momentum
– Future Prospective of BRI
– China’s Outlook for 2026
– China’s Technological Ambition vs. Reality
– Latest for What Happened in the World that Can Affect China
– China’s Oil Supply Has Been Disrupted by Venezuela’s Crisis
– A Promising Note to China and the World
ENVIRONMENTAL & SUSTAINABILITY
Progress Report on the Paris Climate Agreement - Part 28
| By Andrew Sia
In this writeup, we talk about this winter pattern — La Niña, which is colder, wetter, and snowier in the northern hemisphere. While the southern hemisphere will be drier and warmer than normal.
Then we talk about the cost of electricity which the cost has been going higher, and our demand is increasing because of the use of artificial intelligence.
We can see the world is going into three directions, the U.S. is favoring coal, but China is increasing their capacity with renewable energy, while Europe is lagging.
Mentioning of fusion as the future of energy should be considered as the center piece of this writeup. I would suggest the reader to read through it carefully.
Then we entered the underfunding of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would lead to more climatic disaster due to the Trump’s new policy from his Department of Government Efficiency (DGE). I want to use the infamous quote of Donald Trump, “The global warming is the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.” And I also want to say that because of the takedown of hundreds of federal websites related to climate change for what he initiated as his Department of Government Efficiency (DGE), and I would like to mention that for every dollar cut from forecasting becomes ten dollars lost in damage in the weather forecast.
Last and not the least, Trump is pulling us back into coal generation which is the most polluted and outdated energy which even King Edward I of England discarded.
SUPPLY CHAIN
Globalization 2.0 A Journey of Faith, Hope & Gratitude
| By Andrew Sia
Globalization is challenged this time by the geopolitical situation in the Middle East. Right now, there is a conflict between Iran with the U.S. and Israel that led to the bombing on Iran on multiple countries in the Middle East. For shipments going to the European market, it has to reroute through the Gape of Good Hope, Atlantic before entering into the Mediterranean. This has taken up 10-14 days and higher shipping cost.
Middle East plays the important role of providing the sea route into the Mediterranean. It is not a manufacturing destination and having said that it is still very important to assure the shipment to arrive to the European market where it is also a very important global economy.
For the Globalization 2.0 we want to promote faith, hope and gratitude the world, and we have observed fair trade can bring us together.
We will continue to write about globalization and encourage this concept, and we emphasize “No man is an island.”
We wish the world in the Middle East can stop and the world cam ne at peace. This morning, I heard that the oil has hit $100 a barrel, but Trump said that it is just a “blip.”
Entrepreneurship & Business
Fencing of Wilson and McDonald – A Case Study in the Post-Founder Tension
| By Andrew Sia
Here we are telling the story of the founder and the executive. It is known that founders build companies from passion, and executives build companies through discipline.
In the early years, the founder’s intuition is the engine, decisions come from instinct and identity, the brand is a personal story, and success often grows out of obsession, personality, and vision. But when the company needs to be fine-tuned, systems replace personality, governance replaces instinct, global markets require stability, and leadership must be accountable to shareholders, not to the founder’s emotion.
The founders often feel sidelined, misunderstood, betrayed by their own creation, and frustrated when the brand evolves away from their original vision. Professional CEOs, on the other hand, feel constrained by founder interference, pressured by public expectations, responsible for stabilizing the business, and accountable for growth, not nostalgic.
This piece of writing is the fencing between Chip Wilson and Calvin McDonald. It is a leadership lesson, every big organization must learn how to honor its past while embracing the demands of its future. Founders ignite the flame, but professional leadership keeps it burning. Companies that fail to balance these forces become victims of their own success; companies that succeed turn this tension into strength.
BOOK REPORT
Influencer – Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of Social Media
| Reported By Andrew Sia
An influencer is someone who can motivate others to change, who can change people’s behavior, and who can make things happen.
As a publisher of a journal since April 2014, I have published articles to inspire readers and hopefully that they can take the ideas forward. In another word, it is a kind of influence that I have tried to bring to the people. Previously I had the chance of traveling, and I kept my annual visit to Hong Kong, once a year, to meet with the schools and the trade. In those meetings and conferences, I was able to share my ideas and hear back from the industry which was most valuable.
After the COVID pandemic, I was grounded for two years, and eventually I lost the interest of traveling and lost the chance for the interaction.
I like the idea to change the journal into a blog to share my ideas to a bigger group out there. Since then, I was looking for books to introduce the role of the influencer, and hopefully that I can learn the skill in expanding my contacts.
This piece can be useful for those who wants to do the same and the covers from end-to-end and operate it like a business. I would probably take a smaller approach and try to fit the journal into the blog for reaching a bigger audience out there. I believe that “different strokes for different folks” and let’s do things that we can feel comfortable.