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Lycra-based apparel products to feature on online aggregator by spring 2019
For next April, Lycra is setting up an online aggregator showcasing the products of all the apparel brands which use Lycra fibres, with links to the various partner brands’ e-tail sites. At a time when trade shows like Première Vision are creating e-marketplaces, major textile manufacturers too are beginning to tap the possibilities offered by e-commerce.
The announcement was made at the ‘Lycra Fiber Moves’ hosiery industry workshop held on October 18 and 19 in Como, Italy (read our report here). The aggregator will only include Lycra-based products whose brands will have given their consent.
“The aggregator is something on which we have been working for a long time,” said Karie Ford, global brand & communications director at Lycra. “We currently have a site accessible by the general public, Lycra.com, as well as a B2B site. The idea is to start off by combining them, so that our business can be understood more clearly from the outside,” she added.
There will be two advantages for Lycra. On the one hand, the aggregator will highlight, for the general public and young consumers in particular, the huge variety of products and brands using Lycra fibres, while at the same time strengthening Lycra’s brand image. On the other, through the aggregator, Lycra will be able to handle first-hand the communication of its brand name to end-consumers, something which Lycra-using brands don’t always manage well.
This eagerness to put the Lycra brand centre-stage coincides with a change of ownership for the Lycra corporation. The A&AT (Apparel & Advanced Textiles) division of Invista, which owns Lycra, has been involved in an acquisition bid by giant Chinese textile group Shandong Ruyi for nearly a year. A change of ownership which for the time being is still awaiting the approval of the Chinese authorities.
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