The country had shipped sportswear worth $***.*** million in the first seven months of last year. Outbound shipments have been on a continuous decline since ****, according to sourcing intelligence tool TexPro, signalling persistent pressure from slower consumer spending and increasing competition from Southeast Asian producers.

Shipments to Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Africa followed the same downward trend. Exports to China’s largest market, Europe, dipped to $***.*** million in the first seven months of ****, accounting for **.** per cent of total shipments. Trade with Europe slipped *.** per cent from $***.*** million in the corresponding period of ****, largely due to soft retail demand and cautious restocking by European brands.

Finnish lifestyle design house Marimekko celebrates the official opening of a flagship store in Hong Kong on 16 October 2025. Located in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay, a bustling epicenter of premium fashion and lifestyle brands serving both local and tourist shoppers, the Leighton Road Marimekko store originally opened in 2012 has found a new, refurbished home on the same street and re-opens as a flagship store. The store is operated by the established fashion and lifestyle retail specialist Sidefame Ltd, Marimekko’s loose franchise partner in the Hong Kong and China markets since 2011.

“We believe that even in a digitalized world, creative and emotionally engaging physical retail concepts play an important role as the hearts of brand culture, fueling omnichannel growth. We are excited together with our esteemed partner Sidefame to take this next step in Hong Kong to build up the Marimekko phenomenon. The experiential and modular flagship at Leighton Road follows our most updated store concept and acts as a window to Marimekko’s optimistic lifestyle philosophy and art of printmaking, inspiring both new and existing customers,” says Natacha Defrance, Senior Vice President, Sales, Region East at Marimekko.

Marimekko has opened a flagship store in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay on October 16, 2025, in partnership with Sidefame Ltd.
The refurbished Leighton Road location features the brand’s latest experiential concept, showcasing fashion, accessories, home products, and fabrics.
The store highlights Marimekko’s Unikko print and supports the company’s Asia-focused 2023–2027 growth strategy.

The new flagship store’s exterior highlights Marimekko’s celebrated Unikko print, whereas the interior design is inspired by Marimekko’s own textile printing factory in Helsinki, Finland. The store features a curated assortment of Marimekko’s lifestyle products ranging from fashion, bags and accessories to home items, including printed fabrics.

During the strategy period of 2023–2027, Marimekko is focused on scaling its business, with Asia as the most important geographical area for international growth. The company approaches its market areas through key cities, such as Hong Kong. Renowned as a major hub for creativity, fashion and design, Hong Kong provides an opportunity to build brand awareness and positioning with a wider impact in Asia. Marimekko operates in Asia mainly through a loose franchise partnership model.

Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RM)

Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani recently met Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York and expressed his country’s commitment to the finalisation of the India-European Union (EU) free trade agreement (FTA).

In a post on X, Tajani termed the meeting ‘important’ and said he would be visiting India in the coming months.

Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani recently met Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York and expressed his country’s commitment to the finalisation of the India-EU FTA.
In a post on X, Tajani termed the meeting ‘important’ and said he would be visiting India in the coming months.

“In New York, I also had important meetings with the Indian Foreign Minister @DrSJaishankar and the Commerce Minister @PiyushGoyal,” wrote Tajani.

“Italy and India share a strategic political and economic partnership that we intend to strengthen with my further visit to India in the coming months,” he added.

“I confirmed Italy’s support for a rapid finalisation of the Free Trade Agreement,” he concluded.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)