GENEVA — Greenfield investments in the global textile and apparel industry, spearheaded by major outlays in the retailsegments in key markets such as the U.S. andChina, posted a sharp rise in 2013 to reach a historic high in excess of $24 billion, more than twice the 2012 level, a United Nations report said.
New investment projects in the textile and apparel retail businesses globally totaled $17.7 billion, while new investments in textile and apparel manufacturing reached $4.5 billion, while logistics, distribution and transportation came in at just over $1 billion, according to the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development’s “World Investment Report, 2014.” Greenfield is a form of foreign direct investment where a parent company starts a new venture in a foreign country by constructing new operational facilities from the ground up. In addition to building new facilities, most parent companies also create new long-term jobs in the foreign country by hiring new employees.
The surge in retail commitments reflects a focus on “market-seeking investments focusing on consumers in big markets,” Richard Bolwijn, analyst at UNCTAD’s Investment and Enterprise division, told WWD.

The U.S. attracted the largest outlays in new projects with $6.7 billion, of which retail accounted for $5.8 billion, manufacturing $558 million and investment on headquarters $371 million, the report data show. New investment in the U.S. retail segment in 2013 included a $1 billion investment by the Saudi Arabian investor company Fawaz Al Khobar Group with 3,000 jobs created and $49 million by Australia’s Lorna Jane, generating 185 jobs, while similar funds were earmarked by U.K.-based Burberry, Topshop and J. Barbour & Sons.
New investments were also made by major French, Italian and Swedish brands. These included Yves Saint Laurent, Hermès International, Sandro, Alexander McQueen, Giorgio Armani, Prada, Valentino, Versace, Canali, Hennes & Mauritz, Acne Jeans and Zara.

Investment activity was robust in U.S. textile manufacturing by investor companies from around the globe. China-owned Keer America outlayed $218 million to create 500 new jobs, Canada’s  Gildan Activewear invested $200 million to establish 700 jobs and India’s ShriVallabh Pittie Group put in $70 million to create 250 jobs.
China last year attracted $2.2 billion in greenfield investments in textiles and apparel, with retail accounting for nearly $1.7 billion; logistics, distribution and transportation $272 million, and manufacturing $255 million, UNCTAD said. Brands and global retailers that unveiled new investments in the country included Hollister, H&M, Marc Jacobs International, Prada, Valentino and Geoxx.
Large new investments were also made in the retail segments in France, worth nearly $1.2 billion; the U.K. $1.1 billion; Hong Kong $615 million; Canada $595 million; Japan $525 million; Italy $434 million, and India $330 million, the report said.
In textile and apparel manufacturing, the biggest outlays were made by Turkish-owned companies. This included a $900 million project in Algeria that will generate 3,000 jobs by Taypa Tekstil, a $700 million investment in Russia creating 3,000 jobs by Nergis Holdings, and a $500 million project in Egypt establishing 1,500 jobs by Eroglu Holdings.
Overall, the UN report said global FDI rose 9.1 percent to $1.45 trillion in 2013 and projects that global FDI flows will increase 11.5 percent to $1.61 trillion this year. In 2013, the U.S. was the top host economy and attracted FDI inflows of $187.5 billion, up on the previous year’s $160.5 billion, followed by China with $123.9 billion compared to $121 billion in 2012.

WASHINGTON — Cambodia andBangladesh are beginning to feel the bite from the upheavals taking place in their apparel-manufacturing industries.

On Wednesday, U.S. Labor Department officials held a conference call with fashion industrytrade groups about instability in Cambodia’s garment industry, according to industry sources. At the same time, the Commerce Department released its monthly trade report, showing that apparel imports from Cambodia and Bangladesh tumbled in April.

The heightened scrutiny follows months of protests and strikes by Cambodian garment workers and union leaders who have been calling for an increase in the country’s minimum wage to $160 a month from the current rate of $100 a month.

A nationwide strike in Cambodia turned deadly on Jan. 3, when Cambodian security forces opened fire on thousands of workers, leaving five dead and injuring more than 40 people.

Nate Herman, vice president of international trade at the American Apparel & Footwear Association, said Obama administration officials have been in conversations with the Cambodiangovernment to address the issues.

“A lot of the focus has been on labor laws in Cambodia and the treatment of unions…and moving industrial relations forward to try to improve labor laws,” Herman said.

A series of meetings in Cambodia last week and a court’s decision to convict — then free — 23 people arrested after the demonstration left brands and retailers uncertain and without a path forward, he said.

“Most Western buyers were hoping one of the events last week would set the stage on how to move forward on the wage issue and other outstanding issues in Cambodia,” Herman said. “But it just created a lot more uncertainty than they already had and didn’t seem to resolve anything.”

Apparel imports from Cambodia to the U.S. fell 7.9 percent to 88 million square meter equivalents in April compared with April 2013, largely a result of the disruptions caused by factory shutdowns in January, industry officials said.

For the year-to-date through April, apparel imports from Cambodia were down 0.2 percent to 370 million SME.

While the recent announcement of a pullback in Cambodia by Levi Strauss & Co. will not hit import data for several months, industry officials said they expect a decline in apparel imports in the near term.

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Herman said he does not expect a “massive pullout” from companies, but noted that several firms have said they are going to pull back from placing new business in Cambodia in the short term. By the same token, Herman said another company, which he declined to name, plans to open up three new factories in the country.

Julia Hughes, president of the U.S. Fashion Industry Association, said, “As long as we are continuing to see the protests and the dispute between the government and unions and workers, it is not a surprise that imports are down.”

Hughes said she expects the disruption to continue at least in the short term.

While two major industry-backed initiatives aimed at improving fire and building safety in Bangladesh in the wake of fatalities there have helped lead to some stability in the country, apparel imports fell in April, compared with a year earlier. Apparel imports from Bangladesh to the U.S. fell 5.3 percent to 131 million SME. For the year-to-date through April, apparel imports from Bangladesh declined 3.5 percent.

“While there are still concerns about Bangladesh, we are getting very positive feedback for the long run and companies expect Bangladesh will deal with these problems,” Hughes said. “I don’t think we will see a crash in imports from Bangladesh, although we are seeing this dip.…What we are seeing now are orders that would have been placed potentially a year ago or nine months ago after Rana Plaza happened, so it is not a surprise to see a bit of a dip for some companies that were uncertain and diversified their sourcing beyond Bangladesh.”

Bangladesh garment industry trade groups, government officials and representatives from the industry initiatives are poised to visit Boston, New York and Washington next week. The delegation is planning to meet with administration officials and U.S. lawmakers here to discuss improving working conditions in the hopes of restoring trade benefits the U.S. rescinded last year, as well as attend a conference at Harvard University on globalization and sustainability in Bangladesh’s garment industry on June 14, according to industry officials.

Vietnam, the second-largest apparel supplier to the U.S., has also just been through a period of turmoil, in which anti-Chinese protesters set fire to factories in mid-May, causing some major apparel and footwear companies to temporarily halt production there.

While apparel imports from Vietnam in April rose 13 percent to 217 million SME, some expect to see a downturn in future imports, reflecting the instability there.

Herman said the widespread unrest reportedly left a dozen apparel and footwear factories burned down and another dozen damaged.

“I think you could see a little slowdown in imports from Vietnam, which have consistently seen double-digit growth,” Herman said. “There is at least a hesitation now [in placing new orders there].”