🌎 India, Brazil and South Korea under threat from Trump’s tariffs. Donald Trump’s chaotic approach to tariff policy may be akin to a “psychodrama,” as Canada’s foreign minister described it following the sudden announcement of a one-month reprieve for some US imports of Canadian and Mexican goods, but the US president shows no signs of changing tack. In addition to China, whose retaliations against US tariffs have escalated the trade war, and the European Union, which has long been a target, Trump now seems to have his sights set on India, Brazil and South Korea. The three countries got a special mention in Trump’s recent address to US Congress in which he suggested that reciprocal tariffs could be introduced on April 2. The US imports textiles and clothing worth $12.4 billion and $1.6 billion annually from India and South Korea respectively, according to 2022 WITS data from the World Bank, making them America’s third and eighteenth largest source countries. At $119 million, Brazil accounts for a significantly lower proportion of US fashion imports. Given the characteristically vague nature of Trump’s latest threats, it is unclear how new tariffs might impact the global fashion industry. But if they do eventually come into effect, there is clearly a lot at stake for suppliers and manufacturers in these countries as well as retailers and consumers in the US. [The Independent, Valor International, Reuters]
🇨🇳 Cotton prices fall to four-year low after China’s retaliatory tariffs on US. Prices for cotton fell 3.5 percent on Tuesday to the lowest level since mid-2020, following China’s 15 percent retaliatory tariff on the US in categories including the fibre (the US is a major cotton exporter with China a major buyer). Indian firms might benefit though, suggested an official from India’s Cotton Textile Export Promotion Council (Texprocil). “Most of India’s imports of cotton from the US is in the ELS (extra-long staple) category and if US cotton prices decline due to reduced demand from China, Indian textile manufacturers might find it economically viable to increase imports of US cotton.” [Wall Street Journal, Economic Times]
🇮🇳 Trump’s reciprocal tariffs could dent Indian jewellery exports to the US. If the US does follow through on Donald Trump’s threats to impose reciprocal tariffs on India, American buyers could shift sourcing to countries like France, Italy, Switzerland, Jordan and South Korea where tariffs are lower or not applicable under free trade agreements, said Adil Kotwal, president of the SEEPZ Gems & Jewellery Manufacturers’ Association, which represents exporters in the Santacruz special economic zone in Mumbai whose exporters contribute most of India’s outbound diamond-studded jewellery trade to the US. [Economic Times]
🇵🇦 Panama distributor Grupo David reaches 300 stores across Latin America. The Panama City-based group which operates stores for partners like Tommy Hilfiger, Victoria’s Secret, Adidas, Clarks and LC Waikiki hit the milestone for its store network across markets including Argentina, Aruba, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curazao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The David family business, whose origins go back to the May’s and D’Gala stores in Colombia and Venezuela respectively during the 1970s, is looking to increase turnover by 25 percent this year, said operations director Gerardo Marcano. [Modaes]
🇨🇳 Adidas expects Greater China sales to increase 10% or more in 2025. The German sportswear giant has forecasted a lower-than-expected operating profit for 2025, anticipating sales growth will slow slightly from a strong 2024, and flagged increased volatility due in part to US tariffs. In the key Q4 holiday shopping quarter, the company reported sales growth of 15 percent in North America and 16 percent in Greater China. Adidas expects sales in North America and Greater China, among others, to grow by more than 10 percent this year. [BoF]
🇨🇱 Chile-based retail giant Grupo Falabella sees surge in Q4 revenue. The group with 26 department stores in Colombia, 35 in Peru and 44 in Chile and other interests across Latin America including shopping malls, home retailers and supermarkets, has reported a 13.5 percent annual increase in revenue in the fourth quarter of the 2024 financial year, reaching $3.5 billion. CEO Alejandro González described it as “a solid quarter” in which the company maintained “momentum for revenue and profitability growth, reaffirming the consistent performance we have maintained throughout the year.” [FashionNetwork, Modaes]
🇨🇳 Walmart asks Chinese suppliers for major price cuts on Trump tariffs. Some the American retail giant’s Chinese suppliers, including producers of clothing and kitchenware, have reportedly been asked to lower their prices by as much as 10 percent per round of tariffs, essentially shouldering the full cost of Trump’s duties. So far, few have acquiesced with Walmart facing strong push back from Chinese firms whose margins are already razor thin due to Walmart’s strategy of procuring goods cheaply. [BoF]
🇲🇽 Mexico’s El Puerto de Liverpool sees double-digit profit growth. The group that was founded in 1847 in the Mexican capital and today operates 124 Liverpool department stores, around 115 stores for partners like Gap and Banana Republic and over 180 stores for its own fashion brand Suburbia across the country has reported an 18.8 percent increase in annual profit to 23.1 billion Mexican pesos ($1.1 billion) in the 2024 financial year, against revenues of 214.8 billion Mexican pesos ($10.6 billion), up 9.2 percent. [Modaes]
🇨🇱 Revenues up, profits down at Chilean retail giant Cencosud. The Santiago-based company, one of South America’s largest retailers operating 48 department stores including the Paris chain and 33 shopping centres in Chile alone, reported that net income fell 20 percent to 233.6 billion Chilean pesos ($248 million) in the 2024 financial year, due to the devaluation of the Chilean peso and the economic situation in Argentina, against a 15.9 percent increase in revenues, reaching 16,493.8 billion Chilean pesos ($17.4 billion). [FashionNetwork]
🇮🇳 Levi’s taps Indian musician Diljit Dosanjh as its global ambassador. The American denim brand has appointed the singer and actor who became the first Indian Punjabi artist to perform live at the US festival Coachella in 2023. Dosanjh, who has over 25 million followers on Instagram, has had a string of hits in India over a music career spanning more than two decades. [BoF Inbox]
🇨🇳 Versace appoints Chinese actor Hou Minghao as brand ambassador. The Italian luxury brand has inked an endorsement deal with the actor and singer also known as Neo Hou, who has appeared in numerous films and drama series and amassed over 18 million follower on Chinese social media platform Weibo. [BoF Inbox, Jing Daily]
🇮🇳 India’s Priyanka Gill launches lab-grown diamond brand Coluxe. The venture partner at Kalaari Capital and co-founder of Good Glamm Group, parent of makeup brand MyGlamm, has secured early-stage funding from friends and family investors and is in discussion with venture capital firms. [CNBC TV18]
