2023 JANUARY
iApparel Journal Quarterly Issue
Share this post !
FROM THE DESK OF
THE PUBLISHER
FROM ANDREW SIA & TEAM
Remarks for 2022
At the end of this eventful year, we have to remember some major events that have affected almost everyone of us.
Russia’s Invasion in Ukraine
On February 24, 2022, Russia set foot in Ukraine on multiple fronts and started the war, it has been going on since then. The world has also came to realize the brutality of Vladimir Putin and learned about his misjudged decision as the defense from the Ukrainians could be so resilient.
If we looked back, it was on December 26, 1991 USSR collapsed, since then Russia began a series of campaigns to try to restore its former power. In 2014 when Russia occupied Crimea and pressed into Donbas but was unsuccessful.
This time the war has created massive loss of human lives for both sides but we have noticed the followings:
- Russia’s military has been humiliated and its arsenals have revealed the inferiority.
- Its Central Asian alliances have collapsed as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have openly opposed the Ukraine war and detached themselves from Russian influence.
- Its use of oil and gas as weapon has not sufficed to bring Europe to heel.
- The Russian economy suffered from sanctions.
- Hundreds of thousands of the young people fled the country to avoid being drafted.
- Stirred the profound change in European attitudes toward Russia led to the expansion of NATO with Finland and Sweden joining as members.
- Ukraine’s determination to forge a democratic nationalism and expressed intention to join NATO.
- Russia has not found support as expected from sympathizers in Africa and Asia, and risk of being the vassal state of China.
- North Korea’s support can be seen as something initiated by China from behind, and even Iran isn’t that keen.
- Failed to form the Axis Power with China, Iran and North Korea in mind.
- Instead it has strengthened the NATO which is more organized than before since its founding in 1949.
China and the U.S.
Right now the two are caught in a competitive down spiral and if this is not play out correctly it can drastically damage the two countries and also affect the rest of the world. We can look at the differences as the following:
- The two super powers constitute 40% of the world economy and it is already taking a toll on each other’s innovation and growth.
- Technology has been the focal point of strategy competition with fear and mutual distrust led both countries to safeguard their own interest.
- Already the semiconductor has been banned for supplying China and even the machinery for production has been taken out of circulation.
- It is the fear of losing on the innovation and the use of those chips to weaponize China’s military power.
- Joint program in technological development has been stopped.
- Institutions have turn away research students from China to participate in the scientific arena.
- The U.S. has convinced other nations to join the effort in blocking China’s access to any advance technology.
- The U.S. has expressed their intolerance of China’s different political system and enforcing human rights has been made openly.
- Diplomacy has been went from bad to worse, especially after China introduced the “wolf-warrior diplomacy.”
- No significant progress at the international level, such as the climate change which the two have taken their own separate ways.
- Different approach during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic which the U.S. and the rest of the world took the open approach by introducing the mRNA vaccine and allow global traveling.
- China applied the close border zero-Covid policy since the beginning when the pandemic started. Now China cancelled the policy on December 7 and advise the country to develop its own immune system by allowing the virus to spread and declared it as flu virus rather than Covid virus.
- The West has yet to react to this and protection at the borders has yet to be determined and the restriction to Chinese travelers.
- China’s president Xi Jinping changed the intraparty rules and ignored those precedents after the two terms. Instead he grasped the third term and purged rivals.
- Xi Jinping cracked down on internet companies and other private entities and turn towards state-owned enterprises that changed the course for the last 40 years.
- The U.S. confrontational approach against China for the two administrations for six consecutive years have failed to amend the relationship of the two nations.
- Biden’s administration may feel that to win bipartisan support for his legislative agenda for the national self-strengthening with the tough stance against China.
- This may backfire when compromises are needed to stabilize what would become a dangerous adversarial relationship.
- Not to forget the threat of China to take Taiwan across the strait by force has stirred up the fear of instability in the region when there are presence of Japan, South Korea and some ASEAN countries.
- Without denying that for the past six years there have been too many huff-and puff.
- The negotiations for give-and-take at this moment can moderate the situation and create the win-win situation between the two great power.
Covid-19 Pandemic
It is not over yet and in three months we will enter into the fourth year with our collective Covid-19 experience. We will look at it as the following:
- It is killing about 9,500 people around the world in every week.
- Very soon we are expecting China to undergo another record outbreak as they have just discarded their zero-Covid policy.
- China’s vaccines are ineffective as it is not the mRNA strand and although the U.S. has offered them the support but it was being turndown for the third time.
- People need to take the booster shots and not just the two shots.
- More people are returning to their routines, like going to work, attending school and joining public events.
- The lack of protection, such as wearing the mask, knowing that this is also the flu season now.
- People with long term health issues that weakened the immune systems should take most precaution.
- In case of any doubt, test kits should always be available and handy for the Covid-test.
Cryptocurrency Needs Legislation
One of the tools for investment in recent years is the cryptocurrency. This has been operating under the radar of SEC and it is time to do something and to regulate.
- It has always been mystified and also been used for money laundry and by extortioners for illegal activities.
- It is until this 30-year old, Sam Bankman-Fried, whose FTX got imploded or exploded, but the result is the same, it was disastrous.
- Digital assets should be regulated just like any financial products and services.
- Basic regulating by using compliance rules should bring the transparency to the crypto products.
- It is the tip of the iceberg only.
Climate Change
It is part of the agenda for any international meetings, the G7, G20, APEC, the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, and even the United Nations General Assembly. Global warming has caused a lot of attention and in the year of 2022 we have seen a lot of things that have taken place and it is continued to affect our daily life. We can refer to the following.
- The Biden administration has taken the climate change as part of his agenda and set up goals to achieve in the years to come.
- The U.S. passed its $369 billion climate and tax legislation under the Biden administration to help it to achieve its goal.
- Because of the war in Ukraine, Russia has been using oil and natural as its weapon, has push some countries to reactivate their coal fire electric generation. It is still the largest source for generating electricity. The reduce of the carbon emissions has been put aside for the time being.
- Methane has caught our attention as it is the primary ingredient in natural gas.
- COP27 took place in November in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt in 2022.
- China, being the world’s largest emitter, whose carbon emissions will reach its peak before 2030, and promised to reach carbon neutrality before 2060.
- The U.S., the world’s second largest emitter, set its target to cut its carbon emissions by 52% below its 2005 level by 2030.
- Europe targeted to cut its carbon emissions by 62% based on its level in 2005. It will phase out by 2034.
- The “loss and damage” agreed by the UN to help those poorer countries for their sufferings caused by the climate change.
Preview all articles of this
Quarterly Issue !
About this January 2023 Issue
This brings us to give you a general introduction for this quarterly issue. Please enjoy your reading and most important for us to hear your thoughts and suggestions.
Special Report
Global Fashion and Exhibition Calendar - January 2023 to June 2023 | By Andrew Sia
The tradeshows have come back and once again we have seen people traveling. Hope that this will boost the business and also lift us from this crisis that has been haunting us since year 2020.
We are trying our best to promote the trade and hope that the people can apply once again the positive attitude to create the business opportunities.
Footwear Trade Show Calendar - January to March 2023 | By Andrew Sia
This is our first attempt to explore into the shoe industry and try to draw our readers’ attention. It is something that is gaining the market’s interest as the sneakers are gaining their popularity across all genders and age groups.
This is an opportunity that we would want our youngsters to pay attention and to develop in their future career.
Saga of FTX and Its Founder Sam Bankman-Fried | By Andrew Sia
This article is written to record the biggest collapse of the of the crypto exchange of a very young person, Sam Bankman-Fraud, only 30 years old, but has the power of managing a crypto exchange of $32 billion. For whatever had happened, it is now history and it will be in the hand of the prosecutors who will use the crime that he had committed including fraud
related that led to the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange to charge him. Almost all of the investors who invested in FTX will end up losing everything.
For whatever amount and arrangements exchanged between hands of Binance and FTX will be brought out in the open for the prosecutors to judge if there were misbehaviors.
Since it was founded in Hong Kong in 2018 and only moved to Bahamas in 2021, that has put Hong Kong into a very disputable situation. Knowing that the crypto trading has been commonly traded in that region since 2009, and Bitcoin was created by a pseudonymous developer, Satoshi Nakamoto, and traded broadly in Japan and Korea. It has attracted other crypto traders from around the world to jump on the bandwagon.
Unfortunately there is no monetary compliance like the financial institutes and this is the fraud waiting to happen.
SBF donated huge sums to the Democrat Party and also started what is known as effective altruism, a philanthropic act. But after the collapse of FTX, everything he did was considered as the deed of the scoundrel.
A Prose About Sneakers and Marathon | By Andrew Sia
This piece is related to the piece about the sneakers. It is so inspiring that one thing leads to another, we started to pay attention to the marathons around us.
It is becoming a very important event, and some of them have drawn marathon runners from across the world.
Running is the sport that you are competing against yourself. It can become addicted as moving from breaking the personal record is something that motivates the running.
We are beginning to notice that there are more and more people around us that take part in the marathon, whether it is regional or international.
Market Intelligence | By Andrew Sia
Market Intelligence Short Read - Part 1
In this writeup of the Part 1, we have mentioned in three articles about Kayne West, a young rep singer and fashion designer, who fall out with Gap, Adidas and the luxury brand, Balenciaga.
It is such a pity as we have found out that he is suffering from bipolar disorder that leads to his mental disorder. We pray that he will receive the proper medical treatment and recover eventually. After all, it is such a waste to see a talented person who lost his way which is really a loss to the fashion industry.
We continue to write about the sustainability that the fashion industry is taking it seriously this time. We have found not only resell, but also repair, to prolong the lifetime of a garment is an attitude that should be encouraged. But the best is to buy less and to buy better products that can be worn over and over again and still be trendy. Perhaps this can be more important.
We like to mention about the founding family of Patagonia, led by its founder, Yvon Chouinard, who donated the company for fighting the climate change and also to protect those underdeveloped land across the globe. It is something rarely seen in today’s world and this ought to lead us into deeper thoughts for what we can do with our people living on this planet Earth.
Market Intelligence Short Read - Part 2
In this piece of write up, we focused on the retailers at this time of the holiday season where the business is the most important during the year. If we look back, 2022 is perhaps the most “normal” when we have to compare with 2020 and 2021. For those two years we were under the siege of the pandemic and they had dimmed the spirit of the holiday.
We have seen the brands and the retailers exited from the aftermath but their future is still unclear.
Lately, we came across a lot of news about the sneakers. Their engagement with the celebrities and the top athletes have proved to be rewarding for their publicity. But their misbehaviors and inappropriate comments are toxic to the brands and we have seen several examples that have happened. The situation is most unfortunate.
Market Intelligence Short Read - Part 3
This time we have spent more effort in reporting the luxury brands.
Overall the luxury brands are doing well, especially with the recovery of the U.S. market. It is most important that they are not as dependable on the business in New York City as it has started to go westward and become more nationwide.
It started with the priciest retail cities in the world and we have reported that New York’s upper Fifth Avenue has overtook Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui area.
Gucci’s has to look for the new director to take over the loss of its current one, Alessandro Michele. Gucci’s is the luxury group, Kering’s leading brand, and this appointment will be very important.
You will read about the succession plan of Prada and it is still an independent brand.
We wrote about Shein’s success and within ten years they are posting a threat to Zara as their turnover will overtake them soon. They have already overtook H&M.
Fashion & Design
Special Feature: Introducing Cass Bird A Fashion Photographer
| By InDesign
Cass Bird is an independent fashion photographer working in New York. In this article we can browse through her pictures. She is able to show limitless beauty and reveals the most real emotions through the body language. This takes a lot of talent.
Brand Intelligence: Brassieres in AA Cup Sizes With Their Unique Handwritings
| By InDesign
This piece of writing is telling us that we have to accept women with the smaller breasts, knowing that women have an unique body curvature and what can be considered as beauty can be the eyes of those beholders.
This piece of writing is quite educational, with the measuring of the body to understand it better; knowing the importance of the shoulder straps; avoiding the push-up styles and choosing the right cup materials. It is known as the four tips for choosing bras for the small breasts.
Metaverse and NFT in Fashion and Other Arena | By Angie Lee & Ng Tsz Ching, Natalie
NFT, a non-fungible token, is a cryptocurrency traded in digital space tracked by the Blockchain system, has been used for investment in many areas.
We can find it in fashion and we have seen brands have expanded in this arena.
We have found it with Barbies and Balmain and even Gucci’s SUPERGUCCI has fetches a value among the Gucci fans.
Nike RTFKT has gained its affinity for the trending pop culture of virtual assets already.
NFT is closely associated with Metaverse. But lately the cryptocurrency has earned a bad reputation as it has been severely affected by the bankruptcy of FTX. We don’t know the damage yet as it would bring to the Metaverse.
The History of Sneakers - Part 1 | By Andrew Sia
We read that sneakers are used for marathon runners. We found that our forefathers began with walking and running 13,000 years ago. They survived through migration and they walked from African continent to the four corners of the world without shoes to protect their feet.
Running became a sport in 776 BC and it was the first Olympic Games.
This article took us through the history until we have seen breakthrough and the first pair of running shoes was born. They laid the foundation of the sneaker industry and most important the sport that came along with it.
We were able to read a lot about those pioneers. The story is in two parts and we will release part 2 in April.
Trend Report: Spring/Summer 2024 | By Genevieve Redding
In this issue, Genevieve made the trend report for Spring/Summer 2024 in the four themes—ruffles, sheer layers, 3-D florals and filigree.
She brought out the top brands in the lingerie business and each of them have their devoted and dedicated clienteles.
Very exciting to see that Genevieve has maintained her sharp eyes and the great talents in her appreciation.
FASHION QUOTE BY
Agnès b.
Written By Andrew Sia |
Illustrated By Elita Lam
Agnès b. the French designer born in 1941 and already opened her first boutique in 1975. According to the record that she has three stores in New York City. Her designs are definitely not high fashion but can be worn by almost everyone.
Actually she is quite popular in the Asian countries. And again it has to do with her designs that have democratized and the price range is also quite affordable.
Perhaps her quote, “Fashion, no. I prefer clothes. One can always be in fashion,” is what she is trying to promote her fashion. She wants them to be very wearable.
Market Report | By Andrew Sia
Market Report Short Read - Part 1
Our report focused on the economic situation and the tension over the supply of semiconductor. This is a very uncertain moment with the war still fighting in Ukraine by Russia which has been close to 250 days at this writing.
The U.S. dollar has remained as the de facto currency, and its rising in exchange rate has added burden to the emerging economy.
The meddling of Russia in the OPEC+1 will add burden to this winter for the oil price. Already it is threatening the European countries for the natural gas supply.
We are not very optimistic with our next report.
Market Report Short Read - Part 2
November was the month where the world leaders were busy attending summits, namely,
COP27 from November 7-18
ASEAN 2022 Summit in Phnom Penh from November 10-13
G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia from November 15-16
APEC Thailand 2022, Bangkok from November 16–19
We have successfully reported them and we hope that many of these summits would help the mankind for going forward.
Then there was the firing spree with the big tech companies, we have noticed Meta, Tweeter, and even with some big corporations like Walmart.
We also saw the collapse of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, run by a bunch of very young people without the sense of self-discipline.
We have experienced a very volatile month which would perhaps damper our festivals.
Market Report Short Read - Part 3
Without any doubt that China is vital in the global supply chain. It plays an important role in renewable energy for solar power and wind farm. But we have to know that all the knowhow and IP were coming from the West, and because of China’s abundant resource and the workers, and they have initially their domestic market to serve, make them the most efficient and cost competitive than the others.
We wrote about the advantage of China’s supply chain in one of the articles here to better explain the opportunities there in China for your consideration.
The using of robotic in garment production of which the company as introduced is a startup only. The investment it raised is inadequate for Sewingtech to become a serious player.
When we further researched for this article, we have found a sewing machine known as Highlead HLK-3020 Series. And we were taken away by its price of $17,599 which is the highest price we have ever seen for the sewing machine.
For the purpose of the research, we will look into this and other options for automation in our next issues.
Market Report Short Read - Part 4
The subject surrounded are the Covid and energy, but the most important information that we want to bring out is the shifting of the port of call in the U.S. from the West Coast to the East Coast. This has been after the dominance of the Port of Los Angeles since China become the world factory from the 1980s. After this time of the change of supply chain, the Port of New York and New Jersey are regaining their importance.
We can look at it as an alternative or something as a backup going into the future. Once again, this fits into our series under the supply chain with the title known as “Globalization Needs Reinvigorate.”
The piece about the German chemical company, BASF, can be used as a case study for further exploration. We have to admit the resilience of the German industry as there are so many things to learn from them.
China the Giant Juggernaut - Part 13 | By Andrew Sia
In these three years, we have read a lot about the situation of China and its position in the world platform has been more dire than before. Today its challenge is the supply of semiconductor which is required in almost everything that it is trying to build, as simple as the electrical appliances to the intercontinental missiles, semiconductors are applicable.
China realized that to become less dependent on the West but to rely more on its technology to become a state-led and self-sufficient techno-superpower is very vital. Self-reliance on its demand for semiconductor is the only way to go.
In the past year, Xi Jinping has been seeking for reelected to be China’s paramount leader. He succeed in his attempt although his team is the least to be desired.
We have noticed that China has been on the rollercoaster as he has spent a lot of effort on China’s leadership by breaking all the rules set by his predecessors; his zero-Covid policy has earned very bad reputation globally; he knocked over the fintech with the value of $2 trillion; property crash that damage the financial structure; toppled Hong Kong and damaged its reputation as one of the global financial hubs; and created political tension with the neighboring countries.
As the world’s most populous country and also the world’s second largest economy, Xi Jinping should know that China’s social stability is depending on its economy growth. But keeping a friendly relationship with the other world leaders is very important.
ENVIRONMENTAL & SUSTAINABILITY
Progress Report on the Paris Climate Agreement - Part 18 | By Andrew Sia
Every year around this time the United Nations would hold the Paris Climate Conference – COP27 to discuss about the progress of the work of the member nations in reducing their carbon emissions.
This year with many countries suffered from the natural calamities such as heat waves, droughts, typhoons and hurricanes, and flooding. During this climate summit, question about “loss and damage”, a matter that the developed countries should provide for the poorer countries have entered into deadlock.
We reported about coal, it is the single biggest source of CO2 emissions and also the single biggest source of electricity generation worldwide. The world has to work on this and replace coal with renewable energy and this is the top of the agenda.
We discussed about the Russian’s war in Ukraine is holding Europe as hostage for their supply of oil and natural gas. In the short term, this is not going to improve and it is a hurdle for the free world to go for renewable energy as well.
There are many areas that we have to take note and the report will help us to organize our planning for the going forward.
Patagonia - An Evergreen Company | By Caroline Kopas
This piece was prepared by Caroline Kopas and the research she did for Patagonia is very knowledgeable. Its founder Yvon Chouinard is not only unprecedented in donating his company, but also continuing in the fight against climate change. Patagonia has also been the frontrunner in sustainability for a very long time.
The company’s effort in connecting individuals with organizations to fight against the climate change is very encouraging.
Throughout the writing of this article, there are several links that can be connected to learn more about this meaningful act. And we have also found out that Patagonia has the “Worn Wear” model for garment recycle.
We suggest to the readers to read this article thoroughly as there are so many things to learn about sustainability.
SUPPLY CHAIN
Globalization Needs Reinvigorate - Part 7 | By Andrew Sia
Many of us have benefitted from the globalization, and I have seen a lot of businesses were built having this in mind. We have used the supply chain to connect all the points and have brought the merchandise to the hands of the consumers.
I have witnessed the veterans from the production lines being recruited for the brands and the retailers, they used their experience to build the supply chain in the most efficient way.
I experienced working relationships with them who, at one time were responsible for their production roles in England and Japan, the two countries were most famous with their industry. The soaring production costs had obsolete their operation. They used their talents in managing the operation and turned their skills into servicing.
This time the supply chains have caught in several glitches, the global pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the climate change have all brought the disruptions.
It is time for us to rewrite some of the procedures and get ready to receive some as the new normal.
Entrepreneurship & Business
Franchise Opportunity Part 2 | By Andrew Sia
The purpose to put this article together is to help those who would want to have a startup with their life knowing that there are hundreds of thousands of those who are leaving Hong Kong, and would like to put their roots somewhere.
Franchising will take a lot of determination and hardworking. There are hundreds of thousands out there for the choice. There must be something that can suit the candidates.
If we are successful, we can also be the franchisors to sell the business ideas to the franchisees. It can be done in a circle.
The first thing that we have to do is to attend one of the franchise shows near us. We can gain a lot of experience from the visit.
BOOK REPORT
Book Report: Burn Rate | By Terri Fisher
It is a memoir from an entrepreneur, it is unconventional, the subject rarely touched, perhaps never by people from the business world, although we have started to find them in the sports and the artist fields. It is something to call for our attention to.
The person in question is Andy Dunn, founder of Bonobos, known for its men’s pants. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but in his case he tended to turn into violence which was the scary part.
In his final days, he sold the business to Walmart. He is now under treatment and has a wife and a child and lives in Chicago.
Terri is reminding us to treat those with this disease with compassion and love. There can be so many out there and lately we have seen the failure of the second largest crypto currency—FTX—and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried. We have seen the radical behavior of Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. Last and not the least, Elon Musk’s behavior in Twitter, is like a bull in the crystal shop.
2022 Coronavirus Regional Report
OCTOBER | NOVEMBER | DECEMBER
Coronavirus Regional Report - OCTOBER
We have entered into October and found that the new cases have dropped and also the new deaths have subsided. But for the world as the whole, we have seen 635 million cases that have taken place and deaths have exceeded 6.6 million already. It is the most severe global pandemic in the human history.
In view that we are in autumn now and winter will begin on December 21, it is important for us to take the necessary precaution and protect ourselves against the Omicron and the flu.
Coronavirus Regional Report - NOVEMBER
We have entered into the flu season and together with the Covid-19, it is very confusing as the symptoms are very similar. One thing that is good as the new cases for the Covid-19 have been dropping. And because of this, many countries have opened their borders and started to accept tourists.
But we found that China has continue to enforce its zero-Covid policy and because of its heavy-handed policy, it has created an uproar with the people living in the country. It has already paralyzed the country’s economy and begin to affect the people’s livelihood.
Coronavirus Regional Report - DECEMBER
The coronavirus pandemic is entering into its fourth year, but with the announcement from Xi Jinping on December 7 for the abandon of his zero-Covid campaign, this has caused a Tsunami for the Covid cases. Its further announcement for all travelers to enter or to leave China after January 8 will exempt from all the necessary protocols. More and more countries come to realize the seriousness of this threat and precaution at the borders are taking place, such as the refusal of entry for the Chinese travelers in their countries.
In fact, this will need to be strictly observed as it can remind us for what happened in January 2020 where hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens traveled to the four corners of the globe and brought with them the Wuhan virus as it was called during the time. Since then the world has been thrown into turmoil and its scope has never been seen in human history before.
We are uncertain for what is in front of us now as the coronavirus will be very likely to mutate before it can be controlled. Entering into its fourth year, we have to take once again the precaution, and this time perhaps more strict than ever.