Fashion
Jo Whitfield is new BRC chair, first woman to take the role
Published
August 28, 2025
The British Retail Consortium is getting a female chair for the very first time with former Matalan and Co-op exec Jo Whitfield to take over from Andy Higginson in early October.
Whitfield has a quarter of a century of experience in retail and is currently a non-executive and audit chair at Asda, a non-executive and chair of the ethics committee at Factory International, and host of the Manchester International Festival.
She also played a leading industry role campaigning alongside the BRC to achieve better safety recognition and a change to the law to protect retail shopworkers.
She’ll be joined by Eve Williams, as a new non-executive director on the BRC board. Again, she’s hugely experienced and is VP and general manager of eBay UK as well as having held executive marketing and customer roles in both eBay and at ASOS, before being appointed to her current role.
Whitfield said: “I’m honoured to be joining the BRC as its first female Chair, and to be supporting Helen and her team at such a pivotal time. Retail is an incredibly valuable industry, employing over 3 million people who support their families through their work. It’s also uniquely inclusive and many of us have built our careers from the shop floor or from working-class backgrounds, rising into leadership roles and enjoying fulfilling careers.
“Retailers are at the heart of communities, and we’re acutely aware of the many government policies currently under consideration that could either support or hinder our industry. This is a critical moment for us all and now more than ever, we need a strong, united voice. I look forward to working closely with Helen and the team to ensure the interests of our industry are championed and protected.”
And Helen Dickinson, BRC CEO, added: “Jo and Eve join the board as we deal with multiple public policy headwinds and more to do on big issues like climate change, inclusion, and creating the right environment for growth and investment. I know how passionate they both are on these areas and particularly on people so it’s great to welcome two more women to our board and our first female chair.
“It has been a pleasure working with Andy and I would like to thank him for his pragmatic, down-to-earth advice, leadership and support over the past two-and-a-half years. We are a stronger organisation for it.”
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Global growth is projected to remain broadly steady over the next two years, easing to 2.6 per cent in 2026 before rising to 2.7 per cent in 2027, an upward revision from the June forecast.
World economy is proving more resilient than anticipated despite persistent trade tensions and policy uncertainty, the World Bank said.
Global growth is projected to stay broadly steady over the next two years, easing to 2.6 per cent in 2026 before rising to 2.7 per cent in 2027.
Global inflation is projected to edge down to 2.6 per cent in 2026, reflecting softer labour markets and lower energy prices.
The resilience reflects better-than-expected growth, especially in the United States, which accounts for about two-thirds of the upward revision to the forecast in 2026.
Even so, if these forecasts hold, the 2020s are on track to be the weakest decade for global growth since the 1960s.
The sluggish pace is widening the gap in living standards across the world, the report says.
In 2025, growth was supported by a surge in trade ahead of policy changes and swift readjustments in global supply chains. These boosts are expected to fade in 2026 as trade and domestic demand soften.
However, the easing global financial conditions and fiscal expansion in several large economies should help cushion the slowdown, a World Bank release said citing the report.
Global inflation is projected to edge down to 2.6 per cent in 2026, reflecting softer labour markets and lower energy prices.
Growth is expected to pick up in 2027 as trade flows adjust and policy uncertainty diminishes.
In 2026, growth in developing economies is expected to slow to 4 per cent from 4.2 per cent in 2025 before edging up to 4.1 per cent in 2027 as trade tensions ease, commodity prices stabilise, financial conditions improve and investment flows strengthen.
Growth is projected to be higher in low-income countries, reaching an average of 5.6 per cent over 2026-27, buoyed by firming domestic demand, recovering exports and moderating inflation.
However, this will not be sufficient to narrow the income gap between developing and advanced economies.
Per capita income growth in developing economies is projected to be 3 per cent in 2026—about a percentage point below its 2000-2019 average.
At this pace, per capita income in developing economies is expected to be only 12 per cent of the level in advanced economies.
These trends could intensify the job-creation challenge confronting developing economies, where 1.2 billion young people will reach working age over the next decade, according to the World Bank.
Fibre2Fashion (DS)
The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) expects the upcoming Budget to futureproof India’s textile and apparel sector through measures that will make the arena more resilient, innovative, and globally competitive.
CITI has urged the Union Budget to futureproof India’s textile and apparel sector through reforms on raw material pricing, competitiveness, sustainability and trade facilitation.
Seeking duty-free cotton, technology and green schemes, and export support, CITI said that high US tariffs threaten jobs in a sector vital to GDP, exports and livelihoods.
“Our optimism that the forthcoming Union Budget will significantly move the needle on policy and regulatory reforms is bolstered by the government’s steadfast commitment to the growth and development of India’s textile and apparel sector,” CITI chairman Ashwin Chandran said.
“The Budget enabling the creation of a stronger growth ecosystem for the Indian textile and apparel sector can also have a positive ripple effect on the Viksit Bharat (developed India) goal,” Chandran added.
India’s textile and apparel sector is the second-largest provider of jobs and livelihoods in the country. It is also a significant contributor to the country’s GDP and exports.
Some of the specific measures that the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) would like to see in the coming Budget are:
1. Raw material and price stability-related:
- Removal of import duty on all varieties of cotton fibre.
- Change in MSP formula for cotton to align with international benchmark prices.
- Launch of a Cotton Price Stabilisation Fund.
- Ensure availability of man-made fibres (MMF) at globally competitive prices.
2. Competitiveness, technology, and sustainability-related:
- Launch of a Green Technology Scheme to support MSMEs’ transition to clean energy and sustainable practices.
- Launch of an alternative scheme to the erstwhile Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme.
- Launch of a scheme to promote indigenous textile machinery manufacturing.
- Address high power costs and industrial cross-subsidies.
- Establishment of a National Textile Fund.
3. Trade Facilitation-related
- Extension of RBI’s Trade Relief Measures to cover the entire textile value chain.
- Increase in Basic Customs Duty on all types of knitted fabric to curb imports at unviable prices.
- Reintroduction of the MEIS Scheme.
- Extension of the facility of Duty-free Import of specified items/goods to exporters of made-ups.
“Combined, these measures could increase the resilience of India’s textile and apparel sector and help it become a more powerful force globally, while also contributing towards realising the national target of creating a $350 billion textile and apparel industry in India by 2030,” Chandran said.
India’s textile and apparel sector has been hit hard by the 50 per cent US tariff on Indian goods, effective August 27, 2025. The steep US tariff has adversely affected numerous Indian textile and apparel companies, thereby increasing the risk that millions of people working in this sector may lose their jobs and livelihoods.
The US is the single-largest market for India’s textile and apparel exports, contributing almost 28 per cent to the total revenue of the country’s textile and apparel exporters. India’s exports of textile and apparel products to the US were valued at nearly $11 billion in the fiscal year 2024-25.
“India’s textile and apparel exporters have stepped up their diversification efforts, but it is tough to quickly make up for potential business losses in the US. Also, while existing and upcoming FTAs would create new opportunities for India’s textile and apparel sector, these benefits will require time to materialise,” Chandran said.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)
Asian stocks today: Markets trade mostly in red; Nikkei sheds 1%, HSI remains flat – The Times of India
World growth to ease to 2.6% in 2026, rise to 2.7% in 2027: World Bank
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