Fashion
India’s textile & apparel exports grow 3.8% to $12 bn in April-July
According to an analysis by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), India maintained mild growth in textile and apparel exports during the period, compared to $11.728 billion during the first four months of the previous fiscal year 2024–25. Apparel exports rose by 7.87 per cent from $5.127 billion during the corresponding period, while textile exports inched up from $6.600 billion.
India’s textile and apparel exports grew 3.87 per cent to $12.18 billion in April–July FY26, with apparel up 7.87 per cent and textiles 0.77 per cent.
July saw apparel gains but textile declines.
Cotton exports stayed flat, while man-made and carpets rose.
Imports of raw cotton surged 60.81 per cent, highlighting rising dependency.
T&A share in India’s exports climbed to 8.17 per cent.
In July 2025, apparel exports increased by 4.75 per cent to $1.338 billion, up from $1.277 billion in July 2024, whereas textile exports fell by 5.84 per cent to $1.761 billion from $1.664 billion.
The share of T&A in India’s total merchandise exports rose to 8.17 per cent during April–July 2025, according to the latest trade data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Within the textile segment, exports of cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups, and handloom products eased by 0.17 per cent to $3.880 billion in the first four months of FY26. Exports of man-made yarn, fabrics, and made-ups rose marginally by 1.13 per cent to $1,588.84 million, while carpet exports increased by 3.57 per cent to $503.88 million.
In July 2025, exports of cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups, and handloom products rose by 5.17 per cent to $1,020.72 million, while exports of man-made yarn, fabrics, and made-ups gained by 4.05 per cent to $422.04 million. Carpet exports grew by 8.05 per cent to $133.04 million.
Imports of raw cotton and waste surged by 60.81 per cent to $383.22 million during April–July 2025, compared to $238.30 million in the same period of the previous fiscal. Imports of textile yarn, fabrics, and made-ups rose by 11.44 per cent, from $765.50 million to $853.08 million. In July 2025, imports of raw cotton and waste increased by 39.43 per cent, from $86.29 million to $120.31 million. Imports of textile yarn, fabrics, and made-ups rose by 11.86 per cent to $233.48 million.
In FY25, the country’s apparel exports rose by 10.03 per cent to $15.989 billion, while textile exports grew by 3.61 per cent to $20.617 billion. Imports of raw cotton and waste surged by 103.67 per cent to $1.219 billion, and imports of textile yarn, fabrics, and made-ups increased by 8.69 per cent to $2.476 billion.
In FY24, India’s T&A exports stood at $34.430 billion, marking a 3.24 per cent decline from $35.581 billion in FY23. Imports of raw cotton and waste were valued at $598.63 million in FY24, down 58.39 per cent from $1.439 billion in FY23. Imports of textile yarn, fabrics, and made-ups also fell by 12.98 per cent to $2.277 billion.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
Wholesale revenue dropped 12.8 per cent on a currency-adjusted basis to €4.9 billion, while direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales increased 3.4 per cent, lifting the DTC share to 32.4 per cent from 28.9 per cent.
Regionally, sales fell 6.9 per cent in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), 7.4 per cent in Asia-Pacific and 10 per cent in the Americas, with North America driving much of the decline.
Puma has reported sales of €7.3 billion (~$8.61 billion) in FY25, with currency-adjusted revenue down 8.1 per cent amid strategic reset actions.
Wholesale declined while DTC share increased.
Margins contracted and EBIT turned negative, leading to a net loss.
Q4 saw sharper declines across regions and categories.
Puma expects further sales softness and negative EBIT in FY26.
By product segment, footwear sales decreased 7.1 per cent, apparel declined 9.7 per cent and accessories fell 8.5 per cent, although selective growth was observed in running, training and premium sport style lines, Puma said in a press release.
Profitability weakened significantly during the year. Gross margin contracted 260 basis points to 45.0 per cent, impacted by promotional activity, inventory reserves, unfavourable mix and currency effects. Adjusted EBIT turned negative at €165.6 million, while reported EBIT declined to -€357.2 million after €191.6 million in one-off costs related mainly to the cost efficiency programme and goodwill impairments.
Loss from continuing operations widened to -€643.6 million, translating to earnings per share of -€4.37 versus €1.88 in the prior year.
From a balance sheet perspective, inventories rose 2.3 per cent to €2.06 billion as inventory takebacks from wholesale partners supported distribution clean-up. Working capital increased 20.2 per cent, while trade receivables and payables declined sharply in line with reduced sales and purchasing activity. Puma ended the year with additional financing capacity, including €1,202.2 million in unutilised credit lines.
Fourth quarter (Q4) performance reflected the peak impact of the strategic reset. Currency-adjusted sales declined 20.7 per cent to €1,564.9 million, with reported revenue down 27.2 per cent due to currency headwinds. The decline was driven by deliberate reductions in wholesale exposure, inventory clearance actions and lower promotional intensity.
Wholesale sales fell 27.7 per cent in Q4, while DTC revenue decreased 8.0 per cent, although DTC share increased to 41.1 per cent from 35.5 per cent. Regionally, sales dropped 12.6 per cent in Asia-Pacific, 22.2 per cent in the Americas and 24.3 per cent in EMEA.
Across product divisions, footwear sales declined 25.4 per cent, apparel fell 13.7 per cent and accessories dropped 18.2 per cent, with selective resilience in training and performance running categories.
Profitability deteriorated sharply. Gross margin declined to 40.2 per cent from 47.7 per cent due to promotions, inventory provisions and currency effects. Adjusted EBIT fell to -€228.8 million, while reported EBIT reached -€307.7 million following one-off costs linked to restructuring and impairment charges. The quarter ended with a loss from continuing operations of -€335 million.
Arthur Hoeld, CEO of Puma, said: “2025 was a reset year for us. We want to establish Puma as a top 3 sports brand globally, return to above-industry growth and generate healthy profits in the medium term. It is crucial to make the Puma brand less commercial and ensure we once again excite our consumers with attractive products, compelling storytelling and distribution in the right channels. I am satisfied with the progress we have made so far. We cleaned up most of our distribution by reducing promotions in our own channels and cutting our exposure to those wholesale channels that damage our brand’s desirability. To better position our product icons and our performance offering and tell more engaging product stories, we created the right structures inside our company. We also addressed operational inefficiencies and further optimised our cost base.”
Looking ahead, Puma expects currency-adjusted sales in fiscal 2026 to decline in the low- to mid-single-digit percentage range, with EBIT projected between -€50 million and -€150 million. Capital expenditure of around €200 million is planned as the company continues investments in brand repositioning and digital capabilities, added the release.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
Nominal GDP, or GDP at current prices, is estimated to grow at 8.6 per cent to reach ₹345.47 trillion in FY26 against ₹318.07 trillion in 2024-25.
India’s real GDP is estimated to grow at 7.6 per cent to ₹322.58 trillion (~$3.54 billion) in FY26 compared to the first revised GDP estimate of ₹299.89 trillion for FY25 (7.1 per cent growth).
It released the new series of annual and quarterly national accounts estimates with FY23 base.
Real GVA is projected to grow at 7.7 per cent to reach ₹294.40 trillion in FY26 against ₹273.36 trillion in FY25.
Real gross value added (GVA) is projected to grow at 7.7 per cent to reach ₹294.40 trillion in FY26 against ₹273.36 trillion in FY25 (a 7.3-per cent growth rate).
Nominal GVA is estimated to grow at 8.7 per cent to hit ₹313.61 trillion during FY26, against ₹288.54 lakh crore in 2024-25.
Robust economic performance in FY26 is primarily on account of robust real growth observed in the second quarter (8.4 per cent) and third quarter (7.8 per cent).
The manufacturing sector has been the major driver of resilient performance of the economy the consecutive three fiscals after rebasing, a release from the ministry said.
Both private final consumption expenditure and grossed fixed capital formation exhibited more than 7-per cent growth rate in FY26.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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