The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the textile industry hard around the world, to the point that even a giant like Zara is considering closing stores. The drop in production of the Serbian textile industry caused by the coronavirus in April amounted to 62 percent, according to the data of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, which is transmitted to Sputnik by Nemanja Jovanovic from this organization.
From the beginning of May, textile production, as Jovanovic points out, began to return to normal, so that currently all producers would work at full capacity. During the state of emergency, internet sales increased by two hundred percent.
Jovanovic adds that there are still no data for May and June, but that the PKS predicts that the decline was a maximum of 15 percent.
The coronavirus pandemic also affected the business of global textile brands, so the company “Inditeks”, which owns the Zara brand, recorded a net loss of 409 million euros in the first quarter. In May, the total turnover was reduced by 51 percent, while online shopping on the other hand increased significantly, which is why this giant decided to close over 1,200 stores, among which there are currently no facilities operating in Serbia.
Our interlocutor points out that the decline in textile production in Serbia did not affect the decline in sales, which in itself could not function due to the closure of shopping centers and indoor facilities that did not function due to state measures in the fight against the coronavirus.
“The official data is that the drop in production in April was 62 percent, referring to industrial production in textiles. Which means that it is a drastic drop, however, we have not yet received data for May and June, but it can be seen that it has improved. What is interesting is that already on May 11, all the companies we were in contact with had already started working at full capacity. So that they return to normal”, explains Sputnik’s interlocutor.
According to the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, Internet shopping during the state of emergency in some companies amounted to over 200 percent compared to the same period last year, but that, according to Jovanovic, is still negligible since there is still little online trade in Serbia.
An interesting finding that they came across in PKS is that the corona virus has caused a global trend in Germany, which implies the transfer of textile production from Asia to Eastern Europe. This has to do with the problems caused by the pandemic in terms of handling costs, communication, numerous logistical problems due to which the goods are late, and the assessment of the German association DTB, which gathers ten thousand manufacturers and traders in the textile industry, is that the autumn collection is six weeks late.
Sputnik’s interlocutor points out that PKS sees a chance to strengthen domestic textile producers who sell their goods in Serbia in the new project “Cuvarkuca”, which is part of the national campaign for the purchase of domestic products:
“Textile projects are also included, so some manufacturers of socks and underwear are already applying. We will see to include manufacturers of domestic collections. However, their products are not sold in retail stores, but have their own stores where they sell collectibles. So we will see that they are branded in a different way. So, with the help of that national campaign, we are trying to raise the awareness of consumers to buy domestic products, and we hope that this will have an increase in part, among other things, of our well-known brands and some manufacturers of socks and underwear that are not so well known,“ Sputnik News reports.
