GLOBAL RETAIL NEWS Bella+Canvas to invest US$11.9m in new fabric-cutting facility in Alabama Bella+Canvas is planning a major investment of US$11.9 million in Wetumpka, Alabama. The company intends to open an advanced fabric-cutting facility which is expected to create over 550 jobs and establish the operation in a portion of an 890,000 square-foot building vacant since 2013. The jobs being created at the new Alabama facility include spreaders, general cutting labourers, forklift operators, shipping and receiving clerks and administrative staff. Average annual wages for the new positions are US$46,000,Alabama’s governor Kay Ivey stated in a press release. “We are thrilled to be part of the community and look forward to creating jobs and opportunities for many in Alabama. After a comprehensive search, we ultimately concluded that our new location in Wetumpka, Alabama was not only optimal to enhance our manufacturing footprint and technologically advanced operations levels, but also ideal in terms of support from the local government and access to great new team members,” said Chris Blakeslee, president of Bella+Canvas. In 2020,Wisconsin-based Phoenix Investors, a national private real estate firm, announced that an affiliate had acquired the former Russell Brands building in Wetumpka. Bella+Canvas is leasing a portion of the building at 3145 Elmore Road from the firm for their fabric-cutting facility.
IMPRINT CANADA Source: Fibre2Fashion.com
(logoed sports bras and tapered leggings), the brand said in a media release. The crocodile has been redesigned and pixelated by the Minecraft Creative Studio and iconic quotes from both brands are featured on the collection’s key pieces.
Rising freight rates put more pressure on strained global supply chain
The pandemic has wreaked havoc on global supply chains, and now the Russia-Ukraine war is severely disrupting shipping and air freight. As Russian forces cut off shipping routes, logistics firms are suspending services and as as a result, air freight rates are rising rapidly. In South Korea, government data showed outbound container shipping costs shot up in February from a year earlier, posing a big burden to exporters. There is usually a build-up of vessels seeking to enter China following the Lunar New Year holidays, but volumes this year are being exacerbated by lockdowns aimed at curbing outbreaks of the novel coronavirus. There’s also a growing backlog of vessels off the ports of Shanghai, Ningbo and Zhoushan. Shipping lines like AP Moller-Maersk have canceled services to Russia and halted some rail shipments from China into Europe. A continuing surge in global oil and gas prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine are adding to inflation risks in China as factory costs remain elevated. The average rate for a 40-foot container from South Korea Lacoste collaborates with Minecraft for new to the European Union rose to USD $11,300 in February this collection year, up by 261.5 per cent from a year earlier, according to the Lacoste has collaborated with Minecraft to launch the Lacoste data from the Korea Customs Service. Compared with the x Minecraft collection of new essentials designed for Spring/ previous month, the cost was up by 9.5 per cent. Summer 2022 featuring both digital and physical pieces. The The average freight rate for a 40-foot container from South collection is a 360° wardrobe for men, women and children, Korea to the US west coast also surged by 188 per cent year where the ready-to-wear and accessories are adorned with on year to US $12,800 in February. the pixelated graphics of Minecraft. Industry experts are concerned that container shipping The Lacoste x Minecraft collection mixes mythical pieces from rates could rise further due to increased economic volatility the crocodile brand (printed polo, monochrome sweatshirt, Emblemtek_Imprint_March-April-2022-1.pdf 1 02-18-2022 10:38 AM stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. cap featuring a big crocodile) and more sportswear elements
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IMPRINT CANADA | March/April 2022
THE MARKETINGMarch/April AND INFORMATION SOURCE FOR IMPRINTABLE PRODUCTS 2021 - Volume 29, Issue 2
ONLINE EDITION
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GOLF & BUSINESS: THE PERFECT COUPLE CONTʼD PG 12,14
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MILLION DOLLAR CONVERSATIONS
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EMPOWER YOUR BRAND WITH ENCHANTMENT
NEW PRODUCT SPOTLIGHTS 20 28 32
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