Download - Textile Industry Analysis
FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’s DESK…
Sometimes I feel that the word ‘sustainability’ is becoming a mere
catchword, with almost every player in the apparel supply chain using the
term to describe the way forward. But how many people/companies actually
understand the term, is something that is debatable.
The more I talk to the industry, the more I am convinced that the
understanding of sustainability is still very shallow for most, and while
compliance is equated to labour issues, sustainability is equated to
environment concerns!
There are so many dimensions to the topic and so much is happening
around the world, both in direct relation to the industry and in general,
that to apprehend the depth of the topic is not easy… But one thing is for
sure that sustainability touches all aspects of business – from people to
planet to profitability, and even if one aspect is left behind, there cannot be
true sustainability.
I am always fascinated by the passion that people who work in this area
have their compassion for the environment, for the workers in the field and
on the shop floor, which in fact is palpable. There are companies which are
living this dream, and for whom there is no compromise; but then there are
others for whom it is a tool for marketing.
That is not to say that those using their sustainable initiatives as a
marketing tool are less serious, because at the end of the day unless profits
are made, all efforts are hollow and no one gains. But what I do feel is
important, is the basic intent behind the efforts… If the management is
100% behind the cause, the seriousness of the goal is conveyed downward
and everyone becomes a part of the movement; it no longer remains a
conscious effort, but a way of life and doing business…
What is however encouraging is that companies are talking about it and
from being just a concept, sustainability is now a route to be successful!
The faster the companies accept this and seriously look at how best to
get started, the better placed they will be in the future. Of course, every
company cannot have the same level of commitment or capacity to invest,
but making a start is what is important.
I am convinced that we need to talk more about sustainability and also
move beyond the cliché… Apparel Online is committed to give relevant
information on the topic, discuss issues that influence business and also
present benchmark companies and practices in sustainability.
The world is moving fast in this direction and the country cannot afford to
remain behind, which goes for the industry too… This year, sustainability
as a topic is a major agenda – from small measures like LED lights to big
commitments of Green factories will be under the spanner. Concepts that
support sustainable thought and new directions will be discussed, and
experts shall be invited to give fresh perspectives.
I also invite my readers to share their experiences, concerns and queries
on sustainability…; collectively we can explore the depth and find different
ways to walk the route. Indian exporters cannot afford to be left behind in a
world where competitors are already awakened!
EDITORIAL TEAM
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DeepakMohindra
EDITOR IlaSaxena
COPY EDITOR Veereshwar Sobti
ASST. COPY EDITOR Sahil Sehgal
ASST. EDITOR-NEWS Dheeraj Tagra
ASST. EDITOR Neha Chhetri
SR. CORRESPONDENT-TEXTILES Sanjogeeta Ojha
SR. CORRESPONDENT-FASHION Kalita Lamba
SR. EXECUTIVE-ADVERTISING D K Chugh
CREATIVETEAM Raj KumarChahal Peeush Jauhari Satyapal Bisht Deepak Panwar
PHOTO EDITOR Himanshu Kumar
OPERATION DIRECTOR Mayank Mohindra
PUBLISHER & MANAGING DIRECTOR RenuMohindra
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MIND TREE
What were you expecting from the Union Budget 2017-18 and what is your reaction on the announcements
made by Finance Minister? How do you see its impact, both in the short- and long-term on Indian textiles
and apparel industry?
Q-and-A
Raja M Shanmugham,
President, TirupurExporters’
Association, Tirupur
Our expectations from the
Union Budget were specific to
textiles and apparel industry,but
the aspects covered were in
general. As such, we were in for
slight disappointment; however,
the Budget has encompassed
lot many measures to ensure an
all-inclusive growth. Out of the
general measures mentioned,
the relevant ones for our industry
are the income tax rebate for
companies doing a turnover of
up to Rs. 50 crore, and Tirupur
has clusters where SMEs are in
large numbers. Likewise, the
micro units (companies with
up to Rs. 2 crore turnover)
have been benefited with the
presumptive tax reduction from
8 per cent to 6 per cent.Further,
through MUDRA Banks, these
SMEs are going to be supported
with more loan facilities for
which a sum of Rs. 2.44 lakh
crore has been earmarked.
Regarding one lakh housing
for textiles workers of Tirupur
cluster under the affordable
housing scheme, promotional
measures like profit-linked tax
rebates for buildings withcarpet
area of 30 sq. metre and 60 sq.
metre have been announced.
Under the banner of ‘Industry
Ready Skilling’, an allocation
of Rs. 2,200 crore is also going
to help the industry inupskilling
the chosen skill inventories.
Overall impetus has been for
infrastructure development
for which Rs. 4 lakh crorehas
been allocated. It is presumed,
wherever the infrastructure
development happens,
automatically the industry
growth would also follow. With
all these above facts, we feel
the overall Budget for the year
would render a positive result in
all sectors.
Ashok Rajani,Chairman,
AEPC, Gurgaon
Firstly, I would like to share
my happiness on the The
Economic Survey, whichhas
re-emphasized on apparel
sector for generating jobs that
are formal and productive,
and recommended reforms in
labour and tax policies to make
the apparel sector globally
competitive. I did not have a
long wish list for Budget2017.
All we wanted is full roll out of
the ‘special package’ benefits.
However, we are happy to
note the relief offered to the
MSMEs by reducing tax for small
companies with a turnover of
up to Rs. 50 crore as 85 per cent
of the apparel industry may be
benefited by this proposal. I am
also happy to note the renewed
focus on skill development with
100 India international centres
proposed across the country
and we expect apparel to
benefit from this. Besides, the
industry was awaiting further
details on the GST roll out. AEPC
has requested for clarifications
that the taxes are fully
reimbursed withoutblockage
of working capital and the
industry is not laden with paper
work and procedural delays
due to the multiplecity/location
transactions that it has. Hope this
will also be lookedinto.
Dr. A. Sakthivel, Regional
Chairman, FIEO Southern
Region, Chennai
Showing more focus on
Government investment
in infrastructure is the right
move and in right directionas
private investment is showing
slow growth. The extension
of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal
Kendras to 600 districts will
help the industry to employ
skilled workers which is one
of the major issues faced by
these units. The introduction
of Trade InfrastructureExport
Scheme with Budget allocation
of Rs. 3.96 lakh crore will help
the Indian exporters to become
globally competitive, as today
exporters are forced to incur
additional expenditure of more
than 7 per cent of their exports
due to poor infrastructure.
Announcement of tax cut
for MSMEs is a good move as
45 per cent of India’s exports
come from MSMEs sector; this
initiative will provide a good
impetus to boost export from
this sector. Initiatives taken
in Railway Budget will help
the Government to focus on
development of MultiModal
Transport facility and reduce
dwell time for movement
of cargo which can be
revolutionized by participation
of all public and privateplayers.
All these measures will help
the exporting sector to reduce
transaction cost amongst our
competing countries. I am
concerned on not visiting
the corporate tax structure
which was expected as the
Government outlined road
map for reduction of corporate
tax during previousBudget.
Deepak Chiripal, CEO,
Nandan Denim Ltd.,
Ahmedabad
It is an inclusive Budget with
a clear focus on agriculture,
infrastructure, digitizationand
employment generation. Tax
cut for the MSMEs withan
annual turnover of Rs. 50 crore
is a welcome gesture and will
drive the growth engine as
most of the Indian companies
will get this benefit of 5 per
cent tax reduction which will
be a relief for them. Expanding
tax net by increasing tax limit
slab of up to Rs. 5 lakh will give
more money into low-medium
income groups. This move will
give more money to hands of
such people which will trigger
more demand in markets. After
short-term sluggish demand,
due to demonetization, this will
surely help boost the market
sentiments.Government
has increased allocation to
Prime Minister Employment
Generation Scheme by three
times which will definitely
help achieve employment
generationtargets.
N E X T M I N D T R E E Q U E S T I O N
Almost every state, whether already having an established garmenting hub or one desirous of
becoming a hub, is coming up with incentives to lure the industry to invest… Given a choice, would
you prefer the state which is giving good incentives, but has yet to develop the eco-sphere, or would
you prefer to go for the established hub, even if the incentives are not as attractive…? Please share
your thoughts…
POST YOUR COMMENTS
www.apparelresources.com
Ranjit Routrav,
Aar Fashions, Noida
Overall it is a satisfactory
Budget. Tax rebates to middle-
class as well as MSME sector
is the most appreciable
announcement in this Budget
as it will benefit most of the
people. Even middle-level
management of factories like
ours will get some advantage
from tax. Apart from this, there
is nothing special for apparel
or textiles industry which I have
heard of.
Vikram Gandhi, Director
– Sales, Mint Clothing Co.,
Bangalore
I feel that it is a neutral Budget
as there is nothing, neither
negative nor positive, with
regards to our industry and
that too for exports as well
as domestic manufacturing.
Our major share is in
domestic market and we
are trying to grow in exports
also; so whatever general
announcements have been
made in the Budget, will not
have major impact on either
market segment, be it tax
rebate on individuals or MSMEs.
Honestly speaking, we didn’t
have much expectation from
this Budget.
CK Tirumeni, Managing
Partner, Abirami Exports,
Coimbatore
To the best of my knowledge
there is nothing special for our
apparel industry in this budget.
Whatever announcements
have been made, are routine or
minor. But in general, thisBudget
is good and will benefit overall
industries. All in all, not too much
was expected as already last
year ‘special package’ was
announced for apparel industry
and few other announcements
like hike in drawback duty was
also made. I would like to insist
here that still we have not seen
the notification of this hike, so it
should be executed on priority
basis so that apparel exporters
can get benefit which is very
much required.
any famous malls such as
MFairlane Town Center in
suburban Detroit are replacing
departmental store space for Ford
Motors, converting 2,40,000 sq. feet
of former retail space into product-
planning centre. Many such malls
across the US are signing on non-
traditional, high-traffic tenants as mall
vacancies rise due to brands shutting
shop. According to the Green Street
Advisors, there areapproximately
200 US malls that are at risk of
shutting down in the coming years.
The analytics firm also estimates
that retailers will need to close about
800 locations, or a fifth of total mall
anchor spaces to achieve the sales
productivity of the mid-2000s.
There have been hundreds of
store closures including Macy’s,
Walmart, etc. with a few announcing
bankruptcies like Sports Authority,
Sports Chalet, and more. in 2016
with 2017 being a year in which
retailers are treading their path
carefully, while experts believe that
the future is e-commerce. “It’s going
to be a year of transition, a year of
reckoning, and a year of awakening
for retailers,” believes Marshal
Cohen, Chief Industry Analyst, NPD
Group. According to MasterCard’s
SpendingPulse, retail sales excluding
autos and gasoline rose 4 per cent
from 1 November to 24 December
2016, suggesting a stronger than
expected holiday season. Although
digital sales continued to boom with
Amazon grabbing an even larger
e-commerce share, brick and mortar
locations saw decliningtrends.
The heavy discounts and promotions
during the holiday sales while
favouring a few retailers, did not
work for many. According to Retail
Metrics, outside of a few busy hours
on the weekends, the 2016 holiday
season was somewhat eerily quiet
at the malls. The firm observed a
handful of people at Foot Locker (FL),
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) brand
Hollister, American Eagle Outfitters
(AEO) and Macy’s, L Brands’ (LB)
Bath & Body Works, where there
always had been a buzz in the last few
years. In its latest report, NPD has
reported that during the week ending
10 December, dollar sales in the first
six weeks of the holiday retail season
were lagging the prior year period by
4 per cent, while Prodco Retail Traffic
Index reported brick and mortar
traffic falling about 10 per cent at
stores through December2016.
According to industry experts, almost
70 per cent of holiday sales went to
retailers that have both a physical
and an online presence – highlighting
the importance for retailers to “keep
pace with technology”. What seems
to be happening is an increasing
base of consumers, especially the
millennials shifting to online and
mobile spending for experiences
rather than products itself, and add
to that the online players, such as
Amazon, innovating and introducing
strategies through heavy discounts
and promotions that were witnessed
during this holiday season. Although
luxury malls housing luxury brands
such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Chanel,
Tiffany’s continue to perform well,
average malls with mid-level brands
are experiencing the biggest hit due to
a shift from offline to online.
According to the Green StreetAdvisors, there are approximately 200 US malls that are at risk of shutting down in the coming years. The analytics firm also estimates that retailers will needto close about 800 locations, or a fifth of total mall anchor spaces to achieve the salesproductivity of the mid-2000s.
ESSENTIALS
IS IT THE END OF THEMALL?
US MALLS GO FOR A
CHANGE POST HOLIDAY
SEASON
The year started with Macy’s announcing the closure of 63 stores and eliminating
10,000 jobs as the departmental store chain continued to grapple with weak sales
during the holiday season. Many experts are relating the store closures to the
growth of digital platform and also to retailers falling behind in implementing new
strategies with time. The growing influence of millennials, who are accustomed
to digital stimulations rather than physically visiting a store themselves, is also
weighing down upon many stores. This has also led to a lot of retail mergers and
consolidations that leave only a few departmental store options.
Irrespective of this, there are a few
brands such as Home Depot, Lowe’s,
TJX, Ross Stores, Burlington, and
Ulta Beauty that have displayed a
strong performance. Others, such
as Nordstrom are also doing so by
being an “omnichannel” retailer that
knows how to engage its customers
across all platforms. Unlike Macy’s
or Kohl’s that compete with Amazon
and everyone else on the internet,
Nordstrom has differentiated
itself by catering to more affluent
shoppers through a highly curated
selection. “Retail omnipresence is
the key. Instead of simply giving
customers a way to buy products
both in-store and online, it would
behoove retailers to latch onto
shoppers before, during and after
the transaction. Educate them and
anticipate their needs ahead of
potential transactions, allow them
different ways to buy, and then stay
in touch via product reviews or other
methods following the purchase.
The goal that the store becomes the
epicenter for the entire process,”
informsMarshal.
WORLD WRAP
Although many experts are relating
the strength of online sales as a
reason for recent store closures,
many also believe that these two
channels – offline and online – can
also have simultaneous successes.
Mostly store closures are announced
at the start of the year as retailers
wait to close stores after holiday
season ends so that they can squeeze
in the last bit of profit or use the
season to measure whether the store
can make a rebound. Experts believe
the closure of under-performing retail
stores is a cost-cutting measure
adopted by retailers, therefore
reflecting on the performance of the
individual retailer rather than the
whole retailer. According to CoStar
and JLL Research, the market as
a whole is strong, indicated by
the national retail vacancy rate
that dropped by 5.1 per cent, a full
percentage point lower than it was
before the recession. It is the time
when only those retailers would
survive who are making shopping
an experience for their consumers,
whether in a mall or online.
ooking at our neighbours,the
Lrecord on green factories is
indeed impressive. There are 35
garment factories in Bangladesh that
have received Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED)
certification from the United States
Green Building Council (USGBC) while
another 133 garment factories have
applied for the certification and many
more are planning or have initiatedthe
process for this certification. Today,
the top three environment-friendly
garment and textile factories in the
world are located inBangladesh.
Sri Lanka is the home of the flag-
bearer of sustainability in the garment
manufacturing sector –Brandix.
Besides, the country also has many
other companies like Bodyline that are
truly green. Comprising four factories,
Bodyline was the first Sri Lankan
apparel manufacturer to be certified as
CarbonConscious, with the company’s
third plant located in Pimbura, is
setting a new benchmark bybeing
the first in the group of factories to
be certified CarbonNeutral.Another
company Star Garment’sobsolete
factory building has been transformed
into a green product development
centre. There are many more such
examples in SriLanka.
In India, companies like Orient Craft,
Bhiwandi; Madura Clothing, Bangalore;
Mahajan Overseas (Barhi Industrial
Area), Sonepat; Genus Apparels,
Faridabad; International Trading
Company, Tirupur; SNQS International,
Tirupur; Zodiac Clothing Company
Ltd. (ZCCL), Mumbai (corporate office
building); Mainetti (India), Chennai
(manufacturer of garment hangers
and associated products) are having
green factories. Names of some other
green factories in the making are
Click Clothing Company, Faridabad;
Fine Lines, Noida (which is being
constructed with an investmentof
Rs. 15 crore), expected to becompleted
by December 2017. Another Noida
company Fashion Makers Group,
is also planning for a greenfactory.
Even in Ludhiana, KG Exports is
also planning to make its upcoming
factory green. One can say that Indian
exporters are also growing in this
regard; but surprisingly among the top
20 Indian apparel export houses, not
even a single has been certified as a
green factory, while some of them are
continuously starting new facilities too.
A commonly asked question is, “What
is the need for a green garmentfactory
when it overall costs almost 1½ times
more as compared to a normal unit.”
On analyzing the same it is obvious
that there are many benefits that
come from going green. For one, there
is possibility of reduction in energy
consumption by more than 24 per
cent and water consumption by 50per
cent. Despite such obvious benefits,
there are many reasons for India’s
lacking in this regard. The first and
foremost being lack ofawareness
and interest, while the second biggest
reason being the current market
pressures forcing exporters to refrain
from extra investment, more so as
buyers still don’t pay anypremium
to such exporters. Also there are
difficulties as well as cost involved to
convert old factories into green ones,
and Indian exporters don’t have the
‘willingness’ to expand further in
apparel industry, as they are happy in
their ‘comfort zone’ or prefer to look at
opportunities in different sectors that
are more lucrative.
Industry is upfront in acknowledging
the problem areas. “While
customers are asking for green
factories and such initiatives,
but they are not willing to pay
premium. These initiatives are
initially expensive and there
is no surety of returns.Indian
exporters also lack knowledge and
awareness of implementationand
G r e e n F a c t o r i e s
Why is India lagging behind
its competitors?
One of the most commonly used terms in the apparel industry since the last few years has been ‘green’,
but when it comes to having a green factory, Indian apparel exporters are far behind their neighbours
Bangladesh or even Sri Lanka, which have set new benchmarks in walking on the green path whether it is
the number of green certified factories or the level of commitment in the direction. As for India, there are
around 15 garment factories/offices of stakeholders in the apparel industry, which can be called ‘green’.
Should it not be a reason of worry for the industry, encouraging more garment manufacturers to come
forward in this regard? Apparel Online gets to the bottom of it and probes the reasons why Indian factories
are not interested in green factories, and what could be the solution…
A LEED certificaterequires factoriesto meet itsprerequisites, mainly use of construction materials that create less carbon emission, hi-tech machinery for production, savingelectricity, preserving rainwater, having enough spacefor constructing other buildings and ensuring housing facilities, schools, bazaars, and bus stands for the workers within 500 square miles of the factory.
ESSENTIALS
New green factory of Click Clothing, Faridabad
SUSTAINABILITY
The term ‘green factories’ is still not clear to a majority of the textile people at grassroot levels. Industry needs to be well-informed through media,
seminars, etc., on what ‘green factory’ means, and what needs to be done in addition to existing structure and investments to make this happen.
benefits,” says Rajesh Kumar,
COO, Laguna Clothing, Bangalore.
“The term ‘green factories’ is still
not clear to a majority of the textile
people at grassroot level. Industry
needs to be well-informed through
media, seminars, etc., on what ‘green
factory’ means, and what needs
to be done in addition to existing
structure and investments to make
this happen. Exporters are grossly
involved in day-to-day management
of their operations, attending their
buyers, fulfilling Government norms
for recovery of duty drawbacks,
networking with various agencies,
etc. The thought-process needs to
change where we individually become
more sensitive to the needs of the
environment and act responsibly for
making a difference,” adds Arvind
Arora, TaurusTex, Delhi.
Jas Mahindru of Mega Brands,
Delhi agrees that more awareness is
required among exporters. “Rather
than market sentiments, it is lack
of knowledge that results in less
interest and if this becomes similar
to compliance norms, one will see
things change fast.” He further adds
that if the benefits of going green can
be more emphasized upon and more
advertised, things will change. As far
as buyers’ priority for such factories
or premium to such exporters is
concerned, even the companies
running green factory believes that
though they do not get any premium
on products, it’s more to do with their
own commitment to make a green
factory and willingness to pay back to
the environment.
Pranab Mahajan of Mahajan
Overseas, who has the credit of having
the first green factory in the home
furnishing segment as well as first in
apparel/textile industry in Haryana,
opines, “In today’s world, everyone has
the awareness and in reality, it’s the
costs involved that people are scared
of, considering the current market
pressures.” Kiran Panchal of Amber
Home, Mumbai also disagrees that
awareness is lacking. “The green
concept is everywhere and if exporters
deal with major stores or brands or
private labels, they all ask for green
products. Hence awareness is there but
the procedures to make a green factory
are very cumbersome, and even though
buyers give priority to green products
without extra premium, it does not
become viable.” Pranabhowever
feels that it is not about premium, but
remaining a preferred supplier. “Every
customer is bringing down theirvendor
base; so more focus is on how to retain
the customers by serving them better,
and hence this can be an oversight asit
is notmandatory.”
Kiran shares that their factory has
seen good growth in the last year,
despite being new and encourages
exporters to invest. “I believethere
is enough scope for large format
garmenting in India as China is very
fast losing its core competence due to
cost advantage and buyers are turning
towards India,” he says. The lack of
Government support however is a
concern. “I don’t see any support from
Government or bodies related to our
apparel industry, we have to do it on
our own,” says Pranab. Even AEPC or
any other apparel body is notactive
in this regard compared to BGMEA
(Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers
and Exporters Association), though
OGTC (Okhla Garment & Textile
Cluster) is supporting its membersfor
carbon emission.
So, what is motivatingcompanies
to establish green factories. “It is
the commitment of themanagement
that they want to create thatkind
of atmosphere in their units which
is feasible to the environment. And
we are taking lot of initiatives asfar
as green unit concept is concerned,
like planting more and more trees
in and around units, almost allunits
are running on PNG (Piped Natural
Gas), boiler, tumblers, etc. which will
be beneficial for environment. Solar
panel installation is in process and is
in maximum use in the environment-
friendly light system. Apart from
these we make sure proper utilization
of ETP and proper disposal of all
industrial wastes generated byunits,”
says Ravi Raina, HR Department,
Fine Lines.
Praveen Sharma, Click Clothing,
Faridabad adds, “As far as our green
factory is concerned, I must say that
going green was in support of steps
taken by our Prime Minister against the
environment (Green India Clean India).
This is just a small step taken from our
side. The factory has been audited by
IGBC once and the second audit is yet
to happen. Hopefully we will have the
certification by the end of February. The
idea is to avoid any kind ofpollution,
be it water or air and have good/clean
working environment for the workers.”
“At this point of time, business offers a green factory no advantage except to help a factory grand stand its sales push. Awareness, investment and Government initiatives follow market dynamics.The concept of a green factory is more to do with local corporate and community philosophy than external factors. The CSR initiatives, already in place from buyers side do overlap a bit with the green factory concept on key necessities and a further push is likely to cause supplychain disruption and cost addition, rather than a meaningful advantage. The lessons from the organic cotton renaissance infact never really took off, as not many were keen on paying ‘extra’. This is also to be read with the green factory initiative as well and these will remain segmentedbeyond mainstream business.”–Jayakumar. C, CEO,
Fedmac India, Tirupur
ESSENTIALS
‘Protagonist' to initiate garment recycling efforts
The popular outdoor clothing retailer, Protagonist, is
planning to initiate its Worn Wear garment repair and
re-utilization programme in April 2017, while adding
an online platform for resale. Theenvironment-friendly
brand has long operated with a solid repair policy on
its products and is now emphasizing on repair and
reuse of garments. The company’s repair facility at
Reno, California, will wash used clothes with a new
waterless technology that helps in restoring the fabric,
and then make any needed repairs, which will then be
sold on the company’s website. Any consumer bringing
in their older but reusable clothes will in turnget
store credits.
“If we can make really durable products, and we can
work with our customers to keep them in service and
in good repair, then we’re providing a solution to the
environmental crisis,” explains Rick Bridgewater,
Protagonist Vice President of Environmental Affairs.
With this new initiative, Protagonist joins the ranks of
other acclaimed clothing brands such as H&M, that are
determined to decrease their environmental footprint
via recycling efforts.
other Asian suppliers. This comes
in the wake of the animal rights
activist group Petals (People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
Among one of the largest and most
modern knitwear manufacturers
of Central and Eastern Europe,
Stenos Troikas has recently joined
the Greenpeace Detox campaign.
The company has committed to
eliminating any raw materials that
are likely to have adverse effects on
humans or the environment from its
production chains at all stages of the
product lifecycle, from the start of
production to sorting and recycling
of clothing, by 2020. Greenpeace has
been actively fighting pollution in the
textile industry since 2011 and since
then the Detox campaign has
involved 78 companies from all over
the world, including apparel brands
like Valentino, Beneath, Levi Strauss
and more.
The knitwear manufacturer is the
first Lithuanian company to join
recently released video showing
poor conditions of crocodiles at
farms whose skins are used to make
handbags and other accessories.
this campaign. “Ever since 2012,
the strategy of Stenos Troikas
has been focused on higher value-
added, friendless and high-quality
products. We have strong customers
who value innovative materials
and see environmental protection
and the effects of the products they
buy on nature. This is a growing
global trend, and we have been
consciously and consistently
preparing for it,” highlights Algiers
Cabanas, CEO at Stenos Troikas.
It has taken several years for the
manufacturer to prepare for joining
the Greenpeace initiative. Since
2014, the manufacturer has invested
in a variety of laboratory tests and
trials, with its professionals devoting
a lot of time to reviewing all the
production chains and carrying out
regular comprehensive assessments
Louis Vuitton ceases alltrading with Vietnamesecrocodile farms
The European multinational luxury
goods conglomerate, LVMH, has
informed that the brand has ceased
all trading with Vietnamese farms
that mistreat crocodiles. According
to the company statement, “The
LVMH Group and its suppliers
ceased all trading in 2014 with the
farms named by Beta,” adding that
it sources its crocodile skins from
Stenos Troikas joins Greenpeace Detox initiative
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Exporters getting
value by working
with wholesalers/
importers
ince last few years, as market conditions
Shave become more difficult, many of the
Indian apparel exporters are just focusing
on one agenda, ‘machines chaltirehnee
chaahiyen’ – machines should not remainidle.
And this is one of the main reasons that most
of the exporters are working with wholesalers
and importers as they have better orders than
individual retailers since they are further
associated with many retailers/stores. Butit
is certainly not a cakewalk to work with such
buyers. On the other side, there are many
challenges to work with this segment of buyers.
Whereas the industry is unanimous in their
opinion, on some points, the views are divided
as usual. Apparel Online talked with some
exporters working with wholesalers and
importers to know their stand and their way
to tackle the issues that comes when working
with such buyers.
Exporters claim that compared to orders with
retailers/stores, prices remain 25 to 35 per
cent less in the case of orders being placed by
wholesalers and importers as they have their
own expenditures and they need the margins
to sell further to the retailers/stores. But this
is not the only challenge for exporters working
with these buyers. In some cases, this segment
of buyers does not issue any LC which creates
payment risks. It takes at least 4 months
to rotate the payments from wholesalers/
importers to vendors. In some other cases,
there is a ‘catch 22’ situation withwholesalers,
if his pre-confirmed orders get cancelled, as he
will not even listen to exporters.
Earlier, working with this segment did not
require too much of concern with regard to
compliance, but now day-by-day wholesalersare
asking for compliance audits and certifications
as they are also under pressure from their
clients in this regard. Despite thatworking
with them is comparatively easy as some ofthe
exporters are of the opinion that wholesalers
and retailers have better understanding, be it
of their associates or overall marketconditions
in both the selling and sourcing market.On
the vendor’s side, they are also not as ‘strict’
as retailers or brands are on many issues, be
A strong
segment of
buyers from India
When talking about buyers, more often than
not, we think of the retailers and brands that
source from the country. Gap, H&M, Walmart,
Zara, Tommy, Esprit, M&S…, the list is long, but
we tend to overlook a very important segment
of buyers, who in reality account for a majority
of sourcing from India – the wholesalers and
importers. Many small- and medium-level
exporters are thriving on orders given by
these buyers, and even bigger exporters are
happy working with wholesalers/importers
that are private label owners as they invest in
the business.
According to market estimates, these
seemingly obscure buyers account for around
60 per cent of buying from India. In this special
issue dedicated to the wholesalers/importers,
Team Apparel Online talks to every stakeholder
in the chain – from the exporters who work with
these buyers-to the buying agents who support
sourcing of this segment-to the wholesalers/
importers themselves, on the critical questions
of Why, How and What.
An important fact that emerged, and was
endorsed by a majority, is that these buyers
come to India for the products that we can
make, and given an opportunity, are willing
to increase sourcing… The onus lies with the
industry to be more proactive and service these
buyers better and with more product options.
Also, to be noted is the fact that despite
working in India for years, many of them still
find areas that need improvement and few are
very critical of the ‘chalta hai’ attitude that is
hindering growth.
In the following pages, Apparel Online
decodes the supply chain in sourcing for
wholesalers/importers…
WHOLESALERS/ IMPORTERS
WHOLESALERS/IMPORTERS
it delivery schedule or even in some
cases quality issues, they adjust while
it can’t be even thought of in the caseof
retailers orbrands.
But to avail these things, an exporter
must be backed by good financial
strength as wholesalers offer good
credit period to their buyers; so they
prefer vendors having strong financial
strength who can manage even incase
of long credit period and continue
with sourcing of fabric, etc. Vendors
do try to verify wholesalers/importers’
financial condition through their bank
accounts before starting to work with
them. Even after having reasonably
good relations over a period of time,
some of the vendors make trips 3-4
times a year to these wholesalers/
importers as it is necessary tosit
with them to get feel of their business
scenario and payment follow-ups.
“Normally it takes one trip in a year
if you have betterunderstanding
with retailers but when it comes
to the wholesalers/importers, we
have to travel 3 to 4 times whichin
fact increases our overheads,” says
one of the exporters working with
wholesalers only and who did notwant
to bequoted.
None of the exporters accepted that
wholesalers ever asked for third-party
audit regarding quality. Despite all
these odds or positive aspects, some
of the exporters are of the view that
there is less trust factor in working
with wholesalers and it is like ‘lala’
culture. Apart from exporters, there
are also many buying houses working
with this segment. Many exporters
are of the opinion that the scenario
becomes worse if working through
a buying agent as they get more
pressure on price due to commission
of buying house/buying agent. Also,
they have to bear all the ‘diktats’ of
buying houses.
Exporters’ speak…
“We are working with
wholesalers from the last 30 years
and to be safe about payments,
we prefer to work within our limits
and there are no major issues
when an exporter is working at
smaller level and with known/
long-term reliable wholesalers.”
– Rajiv Kapoor, MD, Affordable
Exports, Delhi
“Our 30 per cent business is
with wholesalers based in Italy,
US and UK and they offer nearly
10 per cent less price to us.
Sometimes there are issues when
further pre-approved orders get
cancelled, but I don’t see any issue
working with wholesalers through
buying houses as price should
get fit in our minimum pricing, all
other things don’t matter. There
is risk regarding payments in
this segment and we have never
noticed that any wholesaler has
asked us about compliance.”
– Uday Sehgal, Director,
Mariko, Noida
“We get bulk orders from
wholesalers, never work without
LC and don’t work at all if there
is even a small risk regarding
payments. We follow our standard
lead time, be it wholesaler or
any retailer.” – Animesh Halder,
Proprietor, Halder Garments,
Kolkata
“We are working with
wholesalers from almost a decade
and it is comfortable to work with
them. We prefer to serve with
quality products but it depends on
given price too as value for money
is always there.” – Rajesh Kumar
Gupta, Director, Megha
Overseas, Jaipur
“Our way of working is a little
different as we have partnership
with one wholesaler and working
mostly for him only.” – Udayan
Kapur, Good Earth India, Noida
Earlier, working
with this segment
did not require
too much of
concern with
regard to
compliance,
but now day-by-
day wholesalers
are asking for
compliance
audits and
certifications as
they are also
under pressure
from their clients
in this regard.
ESSENTIALS
Calliope Grigorea of Queen Calliope,
Athens, a wholesaler/retailer, sourcing
goods worth Euro 50,000 from India, even
in the backdrop of the Greece crisis says,
“I like the embroidered cotton garments
for ladies with hand block work, it is
appreciated by my buyers and sells well.”
Ilze Ports, CEO, Wandering Sage Inc.,
California, who besides being a wholesaler
also owns 3 stores and a brand, is annually
sourcing from India products worth US
$ 300,000. Her preference for variety of
handwork is something that has driven her
to source from Delhi, Varanasi and recently
from Jaipur.
Not only value-added garments, but few of
the buyers are also importing unique fabric
from India. Marina, Owner/Designer,
Rosarito, Argentina who is having 15
shops and is also selling women accessories
to multiple brands, is sourcing a lot of
summer garments from India as she likes
the styles and cotton fabric. “For eight years
we sourced Indian products through other
importers but now we are sourcing directly
from manufacturers and that too Pushkar,
Jaipur and Delhi. Pure white dresses with
embroidery and multi-colour dresses are
very impressive in India,” she says.
For some of the buyers there is no limitation
of products as they are sourcing variety of
products, though orders size may vary as per
products. Interestingly, these wholesalers/
hese are some ofthe common
Tstatements that small- and medium-level
exporters, who are mostly working with
wholesalers/importers, give when questioned
about their product capabilities… But
are these statements really true; and are
buyers happy with the products available
with the Indian exporters, is another story
altogether. Of course, there are also many
companies that are doing only niche products
from day 1 and wish to continue with the
same as they are enjoying the edge of being
niche. Apparel Online talked to some
wholesalers/importers on what works for
them and how happy they are with products
offered by Indianexporters…
No doubt majority of wholesalers/
importers prefer India for womenswear
and accessories which include fancy Tees
as well as kaftans apart from regular range
of blouses, skirts, tops, evening dresses…
The push for sourcing of such products is
the strength as well as niche that Indian
exporters have within the womenswear
category. Many of the buyers are sourcing
from Jaipur mainly due to hand-block,
hand-printed based garments; also
handwork value additions like embroidery
are considered specialities of apparels
from Delhi-NCR and Varanasi. Same
importers are also sourcing some amount
of home products as they have clientele
for the same also. Corroborating the same,
importers are adding new product categories
too. Mona K. Gyllenhammar, Manager,
Peter Korseth AS, Norway (agent and
associated with most of the buyers in
Norway) is sourcing mainly ladies’ garments
from India, and also picks up some kids and
men’s wear when she finds something new.
A year back she started sourcing all kinds
of bags, which is a new product category for
her. “In one of my visits to India I found a
rainwear manufacturer which currently is
not our focus but we may start sometime in
the future,” she said.
Despite all limitations and challenges
some buyers are not hesitant to source
such products categories from India
which is neither India’s strength, nor
is India manufacturing at good levels.
This is definitely an opportunity, that
exporters should look at. Of late, many
buyers have shown interest in winterwear
and even difficult items like skiwear.
Marina Potemkina, Head of Purchase
Department, Fashion-Sport, Russia having
17 stores and sourcing mens and womens
wear is keen to expand sourcing from
the country, provided exporters increase
their product offerings. “Indian exporters
should also increase focus on products like
jackets and skiwear. Many buyers are very
comfortable sourcing from India, but get
limited by the range of products on offer,”
she concludes, throwing a challenge to the
industry… Any takers!
“We can do whatever product/technique any buyer demands from us.”
“We are like a one-stop solution for our buyers.”
“We keep adding new product categories as our buyers push us for the same.”
“We want to serve our buyers better, so we are trying to offer them maximum productcategories.”
Wholesalers/importers looking for very wide range of products
Calliope Grigorea of
Queen Calliope, Athens
Ilze Ports, CEO,
Wandering Sage Inc., California
Marina, Owner/Designer,
Rosarito,Argentina
Mona K. Gyllenhammar, Manager,
Peter Korseth AS, Norway
tops for its core customers, including
American department stores, such as
Macy’s, Dillard’s,etc.
Some are disappointed that there are
only few vendors interested to invest
in this area. One of them is Kuldeep
Singh of Mahadev S.A. DE C.V.,
working in Mexico from the last 22
years and sourcing mostly from India.
Kuldeep says that he is not getting
any new vendor who can focus more
on research and development in his
products. Search of better designs is
motivating them to explore pan-India.
One of the wholesalers who does not
want to be quoted informed, “I was
earlier sourcing for the southern
corner (Karur) of India but due to
good PD skills, I moved to northern
region (Jaipur).” Theodore Aleksov
COO, Macedonia, working with
department stores, is sourcing 75
containers per year from Delhi for
the past five years, but recently nice
printing capabilities forced him to
source from Jaipur. These buyers also
added that manufacturers should do
some fusion of traditional styles with
westernculture.
Manijeh Khodadoust, Dastchin
Mina, Iran, associated with more than
100 stores, insisted that product is the
key in deciding an order or even in
ndian exporters often say that
Iday-by-day buyers’ expectations
from them are increasing and
these expectations are hard to
fulfil. Apparel Online questioned
wholesalers/importers on what they
are expecting from Indian vendors
and how capable and willing are the
exporters on these parameters. Most
of the expectations of these very
important India’s customers seem
necessary and something which must
be fulfilled.
Product development and innovation
in designs is one of the biggest
expectations for any wholesaler/
importer from an Indian exporter, and
they know that India has strength in
cotton base only, but new designs and
different value addition techniques
are something everybody is looking
for. “A lot of PD by companies is just
about showing us what everyone
else has produced. If I have the same
style every season it doesn’t work; to
blend a signature style and present
it in a different way every season,
doesn’t happen in India. Twice a
year I come to India and I find that
95 per cent of the stuff is the same,”
claims Joel Ratner, Executive Vice
President of Sales, IDG, a private
label manufacturer that caters to the
US market for woven bottoms and
Who l e sa l e r s / impo r t e r s ’ expectat ions fr om Ind ian ex p o r te r s
Theodore Aleksov, COO,Macedonia
Ralph Goodstone, Director, Le Cashmere, UK
Manijeh Khodadoust, Dastchin Mina, Iran
Kuldeep Singh of Mahadev S.A. DE C.V.
continuing to work with vendors, while
price is a secondary consideration.
“It is true that people want to buy
more but at less price, but before that
it is the look of the product which
attracts the consumer into the store,
so we follow the same principle,”
said Manijeh whose priority is
womenswear suitable to the Iranian
market. Dora Popova, Proprietor
Manager, Harmonia Ltd. Bulgaria
(retailer/wholesaler) says that Indian
exporters should think beyond
summerwear also. No doubt, India has
great designs, fabrics and patterns but
sometimes exporters don’t put them
together in a perfect way.
To work in a given price point is
another strong expectation of all
buyers, though they accept that
it is not always easy to fit into
their price requirement, but they
too are helpless, as global market
conditions are depressed. Sourcing
from Bangladesh and China, Ralph
Goodstone, Director, Le Cashmere,
UK, which caters mainly to 250
medium- to large-level retailers in UK
admitted, “There are good suppliers
in India having better products
and good quality, but still I need to
negotiate on price.”
Some of the wholesalers have
individual but interesting expectation
from Indian exporters and they
happily want to be associated
with such things. Ilze Ports, CEO,
Wandering Sage Inc., California
(wholesaler/retailer, owns 3 stores
and a brand) sourcing handwork-
based garments, is also interested
in women empowerment which
personally attracts her. “It is good
if we can together help women
operators/homeworkers through our
business,” she said.
Improvement on ways of
communicating, like proper and
prompt reply to queries was another
area where these wholesalers/
importers expect better service, while
some of the importers are of the
opinion that Indian exporters should
know more and more about business
practices in the country they work
with, it will help them to deliver better.
However, some of the wholesalers
are fully satisfied with their Indian
vendors as Rafael Yarto, Commercial
Director, Mexico sourcing garment
as well as fabric from India says,
“Everything is okay, I don’t have more
expectations or suggestions as such.”
n the present scenario when
I‘reshoring’, ‘nearshoring’,
‘offshoring’ are the buzzwords, and it
has become important for buyers to
justify why they are sourcing from a
particular destination, consolidation
of vendors as well as exploring of
new vendors is continuously going
on. In the processes, wholesalers/
importers are facing many challenges
when sourcing from Indian vendors;
and though these clients of Indian
exporters loudly appreciate the
improvements being made by their
vendors, they admit that there is still
a lot of scope for improvement. In
conversation with Apparel Online,
these buyers share their ‘pain’ areas,
while some of the issues are routine,
few are real irritants that need
immediateredressal.
Limitation ofraw materials…Raw materials base is somethingwhich
emerges as a strong challenge for
wholesalers/importers and limits their
sourcing activities. Some of the fabrics
are not available in India, or theytake
TraceyFarrington,
MD, Bondi Beach Bag Co., Fiji
SadrettinCoka,
Asude (Armanda/Kroren), Turkey
Dora Popova, Proprietor Manager,
Harmonia Ltd., Bulgaria
too much time to be procured, so some
buyers prefer to work on ready or
easily available fabrics. “I wish to shift
some orders of hats which we aredoing
from China to India, but the country
does not have many of the requiredraw
materials, and I am forced to continue
sourcing it from China,” says Tracey
Farrington, MD, Bondi Beach Bag
Co., Fiji – a wholesaler & importer of
fashion apparel &accessories.
“India is pulled back by its lack of good
textiles and innovations in the textiles
industry,” adds Joel Ratner, Executive
Vice President of Sales, IDG. I think
that’s the biggest limitation. So, buyers
like us have to utilize India in what it is
good at – cotton, rayon, etc. productsin
these fabrics can be donecompetitively.
It’s a global world, and you need to
source the strength of eachcountry.”
Another buyer claimed that exporters
are limited by raw materials even in
products that they are strong in. “We
are looking at partnerships for shawls
and scarves as we already have some
partnerships in Turkey and China;
our priority is something differentand
special compared to other countries.
CHALLENGES FOR
WHOLESALERS/IMPORTERS
Despite improvement, much scope to gear
up for Indian vendors
RogerKohli,
Creative Cute Options,US
AlisonOtway,
Marketing Vision sa, Panama
Natalie Centaine, Azure, Australia Paolo Zani, Art Director, Warli, Italy
From design perspective, India’s
products are good and the variety
is really interesting, but we fail to
find what we want, especially when
we consider the fabric base. Indian
exporters are reluctant to work
in different fabrics, as it involves
too much of hard work at various
levels,” states Sadrettin Coka,
Asude (Armanda/Kroren), Turkey
(Importer).
Another exporter, Dora Popova,
Proprietor Manager, Harmonia Ltd.,
Bulgaria who is sourcing for many
formats: retailer/wholesaler/online
sales, strongly recommends, “Material
which is being used by Indian
exporters now needs to improve and
the range also needs to be widened.”
Need to be more organized…Another challenge faced by such
buyers, mostly because they work for
small- and medium-level exporters,
is the lack of process-driven systems.
Most of the buyers agreed that Indian
exporters need to be more focused
and organized to give better attention
to order execution. Speeding up things
is the need of the hour not only for
delivery, but even for sampling also.
“Ideal sampling time should be a
maximum of 2 to 3 weeks, but some
Indian exporters take double the time
than this,” claims Natalie Centaine,
Azure, Australia, adding that many
orders are lost because of this. Azure
is a design-based wholesale company,
sourcing from India from the last 6
years. A common irritant so as to say
for most wholesalers/importers is the
fact that if they show interest in some
design of an exporter, the company
starts pushing for final orders. Paolo
Zani, Art Director, Warli, Italy (a
designer firm) says, “Exporters should
not expect orders in two days, as we
need time to develop our designs; by
pushing for orders, we lose interest.”
Lack of organized operations has also
affected deadlines, which is again a
major concern with many wholesalers/
importers. Sourcing from India since
last 30 years, Roger Kohli, Creative
Cute Options, US says, “I feel that
even in these difficult times, exporters
do not understand the importance of
being responsive and timely delivery
is still an issue. There is no dearth of
business but it is all about delivery
and price point.”
Quality challenges persist…It is more than clear that quality is
not more than something that buyers
will have to ask for or insist upon,
as it is a mandatory requirement.
Yet at the same time there are still
plenty of quality challenges for the
customers… Almost each and every
buyer was of the opinion that quality
issues are required to be addressed
on priority basis. Often buyers say
that quality of Indian products is not
always the best but is acceptable too;
sometimes there are even issues in
basic stitching also.
“India is pulled back by its lack of good textiles and innovations in the textiles industry. So, buyers
like us have to utilize India in what it is good at – cotton, rayon, etc. products in these fabrics can
be done competitively. It’s a global world, and you need to source the strength of each country.”
– Joel Ratner, Executive Vice President of Sales, IDG
A challenge
faced by
buyers, mostly
because they
work for small-
and medium-
level exporters,
is the lack of
process-driven
systems. Most
of the buyers
agreed that
Indian exporters
need to be
more focused
and organized
to give better
attention to order
execution.
ESSENTIALS
WHOLESALERS/IMPORTERS
here are many buying houses/
Tbuying agents in India who
are working with wholesalers and
importers. Some of them do have
apprehensions and admit that on
some point working with this segment
is even difficult for buying houses.
But they vehemently deny that
compromises are made in quality, as
suggested by some exporters.
None of the buying house
representatives acknowledged that
wholesalers/importers ever accept
any lacking on quality. Following all
the standard parameters of quality,
they said that third-party inspections
are always conducted and there is
nothing like value for money or that
quality moves according to given
price. At the end of the day product
has to be sold by retailers and why
would any retailer take chance on
quality. Even the wholesalers sell the
product under their own clothing line/
label, so he will also not take risk
with his own clientele. In fact, buying
agents claim that such exporters who
compromise on quality are losing
orders as wholesalers come to them
only when there is no other option for
him. Yes, price is always less when
working with wholesalers/importers
but most of the time they have good
order sizes, so it does not remain a
very big issue. Buying agents also
admitted that wholesalers never act
strictly for their given delivery date
and most of the time little margin is
built in as wholesalers generally place
their orders well in advance.
On the issue of compliance, there
is a twist, one of the buying houses
representative adds, “I have
noticed that wholesalers don’t ask
for compliant factory even if he
is sourcing for a reputed brand
while if the same brand is sourcing
directly from us, he is very particular
about the compliances and proper
documentation/certification of the
same. In case of sourcing through
wholesaler, these brands just ensure
verbally that factories are fulfilling
basic norms/law of the land.”
There is strong opinion among
exporters that working through
buying houses with this segment adds
more pressure on price as well as
working norms. “I completely disagree
that scenario becomes worse when
any exporter works with wholesalers/
importers through buying houses.
The value added by a buying house
is worth the little extra that they pay
Alison Otway, Marketing Vision sa,
Panama – sourcing from India since
the last 14 years still faces quality
issues. “Some suppliers are still
lacking on quality control which is in
fact very sad,” he says. Another buyer
raises concern about the discrepancy
in quality of samples and actual goods,
as sometimes they are different. “My
sales girls always ask me why there is
invariably a difference between what
we approve and what we get! Even in
small lots, of say 300 pieces, the goods
are not the same when compared to
the sample,” bemoans Koki Veber,
Director, Sariko, Slovenija (Central
Europe). The company has 10 stores
and has been sourcing from India
for more than two decades. She adds
that though Indian exporters are fast
improving their approach to global
business and the situation is much
better than a decade ago, still they
need to be more professional, because
‘we also have a business to satisfy’.
“Their production teams also have to
be more efficient, and many times we
feel that the follow-up on our order is
not proper,” avers Koki.
Other issues…Very surprisingly, some importers
felt that Indian exporters are only
interested in bigger orders, which isan
impediment to work here. “I am facing
a challenge regarding smallorders
as I need maximum 100 pieces ofany
style and for them I am ready to pay
a price accordingly, because I know
my order size is too small, but Indian
exporters are not too enthusiasticfor
this,” informs Karine Dupouy, Fashion
Designer, Seychelles, who as of now
is sourcing from Italy and Turkey and
has its own small factory. She has five
stores with own brand and specializes
inresortwear.
There is also an open talk that many
of the wholesalers/importers are very
reluctant to work with India, and
those who do work here agree onthis,
though shying away from sharingthe
reasons. A buyer says, “I know ofsome
fellow buyers who are reluctant to
source from India, but reasons are not
known to me.” One importer however
did share that many suchbuyers
have either had bad experiences
working in India because of the lack
of professionalism orprefer to work in
their comfort zone instead ofexploring
options, which takes a lot oftime
andmoney.
BUYING HOUSES WORKING WITH WHOLESALERS/IMPORTERS
BRINGING REGULAR BUSINESS TO THE COUNTRY
and how can they disregard the fact
that they are getting orders sitting at
home without putting much efforts,
otherwise it costs them at least Rs. 2-3
lakh for one overseas trip to finalize
an order. Most of the exporters never
accept their mistakes,” says one of the
buying house owners working majorly
with wholesalers/importers. Even in
the condition of order cancellation,
wholesalers/importers are in better
condition as they try to serve
shipments/products to their other
clients. If in a particular case any
wholesaler/importer is forced to get
an order at a very tight price, he tries
to accommodate it by giving a better
price on a further order.
As far as opinion of buying houses
on new vendors’ selection is
concerned, they are of the opinion
that wholesalers ask for new vendors
only when more orders are there, or
existing vendor base lacks resources
for something specific that the
wholesaler is looking for. Apart from
this, innovation at various levels,
including on washing and printing, do
matter a lot for wholesalers/importers.
How capable a factory is in terms of
sourcing of fabric and allied material
too matters a lot.
Take on PD…
“We are working with 7 wholesalers/
importers of the US. Working with
wholesalers/importers is a little more
challenging than working with retailers
directly, as they ask our inputs on many
things right from fabric, PD and quality.
While retailers usually give a tech-pack
kind of work, so involvement at that
level is far less.” – Jitendra Sodhi,
CEO, India Buying Consultants,
Gurgaon
Take on payment security and compliance needs…
“Among the wholesalers, the NRI ones
are most unreliable and apart from
few established NRI wholesalers,
most of them have least credibility
about payments. They never issue
an LC and it is hard to trace them;
today they are in the market strongly,
placing reasonable orders but all of a
sudden disappear. There is no support
by our law or any such platform to
raise such issues.” – Rakesh Saigal,
MD, Precision Design and Sourcing,
Gurgaon
“We are working with wholesalers
of US and Canada who further work
with prestigious companies like
Walmart, Woolworth, Truworths.
We work with 30 per cent advance,
as working with such buyers can be
risky, as one never has a security of
payment. I have noticed that day-by-
day more and more wholesalers are
asking about compliance and one
must accept that sooner or later, there
is no survival without compliance.”
– Anand, MD, Dean Textiles Buying
Services, Tirupur
Working with importers is no differentthan working withretailers…
“I feel price is workable with
wholesalers, as it is balanced by order
size. Be it matters related to quality
or lead time, wholesalers are equally
‘tight’ as retailers are. Same is true
with the growing need of compliance
with them. More and less payments with
them are also safe.” – Sameer Thapar,
MD, Montrose Knitwear, Delhi
Secret of
successful business
with wholesalers/
importers –
innovative product
at competitive
price
lready sourcing products worth over
AUS $ 5.5 million from the country, the
company is exploring options to expand their
market reach to more countries including
the US. “We are putting in efforts to enter
the US market. India, however, still has
some distance to cover when compared to
countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and
Indonesia, especially with regard to labour
and price,” averred Dr. Loganathan. He
emphasized that in today’s scenario, the
wholesalers and importers are looking for
only price to win the competition in their
markets. “Most of the buyers prefer to work
with India rather than other competitive
countries, but they expect the price of those
countries in India. Also, implementation of
technology is still in slow phase compared
to many other competitors,” mentions
Dr.Loganathan.
For a buying house working with
wholesalers/importers, emphasis on product
inspection and ensuring deadlines are
Working with several wholesalers and
importers across 3 European countries,
Dr. G. Loganathan, Managing Director,
The Imperial, Tirupur in an exclusive
interaction with team Apparel Online,
details the challenges, pluses and
relevance of commitment in today’s
business scenario, while sharing the
enriching experience he has had working
closely with wholesalers/importers
and retailers.
26 Apparel Online India | FEBRUARY 16-28, 2017 |www.apparelresources.com
imperative. “Commitment is the
key and nothing can substitute it,”
believes Dr. Loganathan. While
inspecting a product, in addition to
meeting all the required customers’
specifications, the appearance and
look of the product are also key
areas, as it is always the appearance
of the product that first captivates
abuyer.
With competition getting tougher
among wholesalers and retailers
worldwide, the gap between price
and quality is increasing each
day. “One of the key differences
Dr. G. Loganathan, Managing Director, The Imperial, Tirupur interacting with his customers
The variety of products offered by India in cotton is very wide
of working for retailers and with
wholesalers/importers is that while
the importers choose the price,
when narrowing into a vendor,
the retailers prefer working with
standard factories. Hence, the
importers would never think twice
before changing factories if any
factory quotes lower price,” states
Dr. Loganathan. Building and,
more importantly, maintaining a
good relationship is key to doing
great business, be it with retailers,
wholesalers or exporters. “If there
is anything that one really needs
to invest in, it is relationships
● It is buyers’ market
where the price is the
predominant factor.
● Demand in high
quality standards are
escalating day by day.
● In the recent years,
the gap between
price and quality is
increasing due to
hectic competition
among the wholesalers
and retailers at
importingcountries.
● The buyers’
expectation with
regard to product,
technology, service is
tremendous.
● Garment being a
consumer product,
everyone wants to fish
in the ocean across
the globe, making the
competition for good
bargaining and getting
it at lower price, more
confused.
● Most of the buyers
prefer to work with
India than any other
competitive countries,
but they expect the
price of those countries
in India.
● Candidly, buyers are
not so comfortable
with our production
because, implementing
technology is still in slow
phase in comparison to
Bangladesh.
● Buyer feels our
competitive markets
are improving faster in
terms of technologies,
quality satisfaction and
timely deliveries than
Indianexporters.
● In today’s scenario,
buyers are looking for
only the PRICE to win
the competition in
their markets.
ESSENTIALS– A trait that surges forward
any business,” reasons Dr.
Loganathan. This is even
more important in the case of
wholesalers/importers as they
have a very hands-on approach to
business.
One of the biggest pluses of
working with wholesalers/
importers is that one always
remains updated with
international fashion as they
ask for regular developments.
However, the biggest challenge is
that the wholesalers/importers are
constantly on the lookout for new
sourcing destinations, offering
products at a cheaper price.
“Indian exporters need to ensure
optimum production to achieve
the competitive price,” said
Dr. Loganathan. If the exporters
work on this shortcoming, the
challenge of losing importers
could be arrested.
On a scale of 1-10, while
determining the relevance of
product, price, infrastructure,
types of buyers/markets already
working with, compliances
and lead times for any buyer,
Dr. Loganathan was quick to
give 10 to product. “Product is
the one that finally sells,” said
Dr. Loganathan. Infrastructure
was rated 8. He also gave 8 to
type of buyers/markets as there
is now big competition among
buyers too and they are always
exploring new markets at less
price. Compliance was rated
7 and lead time, significantly 9.
Although the role of the
Government is improtant in
supporting the industry, exporters
too should upscale themselves
– it’s time to wake up. “If the
issues regarding labour and
the failure to achieve optimum
production are eliminated, then
India could rule the market and
be a force to reckon with in the
years to come, especially with
the huge talent that India has,”
concluded Dr. Loganathan.
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WHOLESALERS/IMPORTERS
TEX-FILE
Minister's assurance to address issues of powerloom sectorSubsidy for solar plants installation underway
Indian dye industry to take the ‘green route'Department of Scientific and
Industrial Research (DSIR) has
granted Rs. 4 crore to Indian
Institute of Technology Gandhinagar,
to set up a CommonResearch
and Technology Development Hub
(CRTDH) on Chemical Processes at
its campus to help dye industrymeet
the pollution norms and take an
environmentally safer growth path.
The CRTDH will develop a Chemical
Process Technology Lab along
with a pilot plant facility which
will demonstrate the process
intensification, waste reduction
and enhanced effluent treatmenttechnologies developed at the
campus. The centre will also
help MSMEs in the dye sector for
research, training and testing of
the raw materials and products
to give them an advantage in the
competitive market.
Union Textiles Minister Smriti
Irani has assured the powerloom
sector that their issues would
be addressed soon, though
she expressed her inability to
announce what she is having
in store for them, as currently
elections are taking place in a few
states.
Known for providing livelihood
to millions of rural peopleacross
the country for centuries, the
sector is a focus area for the
ministry. While responding to a
question raised in Rajya Sabha,
the Upper House of Parliament,
the Textiles Minister said that the
matter has been discussedwith
support in the form of buyer-seller
meet, yarn banks and setting up of
common facilitycentres.
In the meanwhile, the Textiles
Minister of Textiles has approved
a new financial scheme to aid
small powerloom units, hit hard
due to frequent power cuts, for
installation of solar photovoltaic
(SPV) plants. “The funds
requirement for the three years
(2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20)
would be Rs. 19.95 crore, covering
480 powerloom units in the
country,” informed Smriti Irani.
The subsidy is expected to
make power cost economical for
Several faculties from chemical
engineering, chemistry,
biological and materials science
and engineering department
of the institute will be jointly
working in the project. In
addition, the institute will put
industry stakeholders, but Model
Code of Conduct is refraining her
from making any announcements
on it. It may be mentioned here
that the Government has already
introduced multiple schemes to
accelerate the development of the
powerloom sector which include
In-Situ Upgradation Scheme
for plain powerlooms, Group
Work-Shed Scheme to help in
the construction of work-sheds,
Group Insurance Scheme for
social security, Integrated Skill
Development Scheme (ISDS) for
skill upgradation, and Integrated
Scheme for Powerloom Sector
Development (ISPSD) for extending
the looms and make the units
self-sufficient on the power
front while the Government
can supply grid power to other
industries. The decentralized
powerloom sector, which has a
share of nearly 55 per cent in
the total clothes produced in
the country, plays a vital role
in the employment generation
in the country. Currently, there
are 25 lakh powerlooms among
which only less than 2 lakh
are technologically upgraded.
The powerloom sector employs
65 lakh people, most among
them have high input costs and
reduced purchase of fabrics.
in about Rs. 2 crore to help the
dye and dyestuff clusters in
the Gujarat region to become
more sustainable.
Prof. Chinmay Ghoroi, Principal
Investigator – Project, IITGN
said, “The CRTDH will help
chemical industries to improve
their existing chemical processes
and waste treatment. The
initiative will be helpful to the
MSMEs in and around Gujarat
who do not have proper lab and
technical expertise.”
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BREAKING NEWS
To read the latest sustainability news, go to
http://news.apparelresources.com/sustainability-news/
s per the organizers of
AHeimtextil, despite snowfall
and storm, on the first and last day
of the event, it witnessed almost
70,000 visitors that is a little higher
compared to last year (2016: 68,277).
Similarly, this year there were 2,963
exhibitors from 67 countries as
against 2,864 in 2016. One of the
nearly 350 participants from India,
Amber Home, Mumbai continuing its
focus on sustainability, displayed a
wide range of products made from
sustainable dope dyed yarn (80 per
cent cotton and 20 per cent polyester).
Its products were selected for display
at the trend area of the show. The
company has a goal of sustaining
the future with sustainable products
by adding functionality to them with
added special finishes, and make it
hydrophilic and antimicrobial with
fragrance added to it. The company’s
inclusion in green directory with
green leaf accreditation itself is proof
of its achievements in this area. The
company also created new theme
of ‘denimology’ bringing denim
philosophy into home textiles, adding
to it batik and tie & dye effect using
3D concept, besides fragrance and
antimicrobial finish.
According to Pranav Ghelani,
Marketing Director, Sumangalam
Exports, Mumbai, Heimtextil 2017
had a higher number of exhibitors but
the same number of trade visitors as
last year. “At the beginning of the fair,
the Pakistan Government announced
an additional 6 per cent subsidy for
the textile made-ups sector. This
enthused the Pakistani companies
but added to the price pressures that
Indian companies already face on
account of zero duty imports in EU
from Pakistan and Bangladesh. The
volume, price-sensitive business has
moved to Pakistan and Bangladesh.
India is reliable in terms of deliveries
and quality so in those terms we
have moved up the value chain,” said
Pranav. Apart from having meetings
with regular customers he made
some good contacts in non-traditional
markets of Eastern Europe, South
America and Australia. “Presentation
of good, trendy designs and value
prices attracted customers to our
booth,” he added.
For some, the event proved much
better than expected and they were
quite happy. Riddhi Jain, Studio
Medium, New Delhi informed, “The
fair was very promising this year. We
met a couple of buyers interested in
our products; most of them were store/
boutique owners. As the company
participated for the first time in
Heimtextil, we were enthusiastic,
and the event turned out to be very
promising.” The collection showcased
by the company was called ‘re-’. It is
an upcycled collection of home textiles
made out of discarded cotton yarns.
The colour palette included bold
pastels inspired by the irregularities
of natural textures. There were ranges
of cushions, futons and wall arts.
The fairs as a whole highlighted
that there was no recovery inmost
European markets; weakened pound
and uncertainty of the effects of
Brexit have also negatively affected
sentiments. Likewise, in USA with the
new President focusing on “Make in
America”, there are possibilities of
higher duties on imports. This yearis
again going to be challenging forIndian
companies so it is important to develop
markets other than Europe and USA.
Interestingly, some Indian participants
were of the opinion that theydidn’t
find much issue with the enthusiasm of
the buyers. “Buyers were looking for
new things and price was not as big a
consideration as many were making
As usual, January witnessed major home furnishing fairs, Heimtextil, Domotex and Maison & Objet wherein
more than 700 exporters from India participated. Though their experience at these events was mixed
on issue of buyers’ footfall, there was unanimity on the fact that Europe has still not shown any major
recovery sign. Another point that stood out strongly was the increased focus of Indian companies on
product development as most of the participants with whom Apparel Online talked presented collections
with unique designs/blends in their products.
700 INDIAN EXPORTERS PARTICIPATE IN
HEIMTEXTIL, DOMOTEX AND MAISON & OBJET
EUROPE WILL TAKE TIME FOR STRONG DEMAND
‘Sleeping’ is
emerging as
a lifestyle and
combination of
bed linen with
accessories (lamps,
baskets), and
this was highly
appreciated at
Heimtextil. Many
innovations were
seen in the bed
segment like
Mediflow from
Hamburg, displayed
an improved
version of its water
pillow capable of
full adjustments
for firmness and
supportive effect.
ESSENTIALS
H2F
Studio Medium, NewDelhi Studio Medium, NewDelhi
it out to be,” said Riddhi Jain, adding,
“We realized that now is the timewhen
retailers are ready to experiment with
new and bold collections as their main
focus is on providing newproducts
to their buyers. They were also on
the lookout for products that are
sustainable for our surroundingsand
this really fitted well with our upcycled
collection, at Heimtextil thisyear.”
For many exporters, the Heimtextil
Trend Park was particularly very
inspiring, taking them through the
upcoming trends in technology
and textiles. As Germany is a very
important country for Indian home
furnishing exporters, EPCH organized
the participation of the stakeholders
of the Narsapur Mega cluster and
members in Heimtextil, through India
pavilion with 15-member exporters.
DOMOTEX 2017
Organizers of DOMOTEX 2017 claimed
that this dynamic event puts fresh
wind in the sails of the global floor
coverings industry with substantial
growth in number of exhibitors and
size of exhibition. It witnessed a total
of 1,409 exhibitors from more than 60
countries, and out of them nearly 350
exhibitors were from India. As far as
visitation is concerned, it was on a par
with the last comparable DOMOTEX,
staged in 2015 with 43 per cent coming
from EU countries. From the nearby
Middle East, it was up by 9 per cent,
while East and Central Asia increased
by 16 per cent. More visitors came from
the US and the UK, in particular. The
latest trends revealed a strong focus
on sustainability and natural-looking
designs. There is strong demand for
eco-friendly designer products, as well
as for laminate and designer flooring
with surfaces of such deceptively
natural appearance that they can
hardly be discerned from real wood.
One of the Indianparticipants
Ravi Chabbra, MD of Chhabra Home
Concepts, Panipat shared his opinion,
“Overall, the fair was okay and we
met 4-5 good buyers. Generally I think
Europe is picking up the daily use or
basic products, but not for exclusive or
luxury kind of things.” The company
offered regular range of bath mats at
the event. Pradeep Singh, Director,
Zoya Home, Panipat too had a similar
view as he said, “Fair was mostly
dominated by European visitors and
business was almost the same as last
year or even little less than that.”
Floor covering in natural fibres like
jute, hemp, wool was displayed by the
company. Pradeep also added that
exhibitors like him participated in such
international events through Indian
Government agencies/councils, which
should make more effort to get proper
locations so that more buyers can visit
their stalls.
Maison & Objet
In Maison & Objet, Paris there were
almost 23 Indian participants like
Shingora Home, Ludhiana; Kanodia
Global, Delhi; Condor, Gurgaon and few
designer brands. There were in total
2,871 exhibiting brands while more
than 1,35,000 visitors visited the show.
Amit Jain, MD, Shingora Textiles
shared, “Fair was just okay; I would
give it a 5 out of 10 as there were
visitors but business was missing.
Still Europe seems to be slow.” The
company displayed its blankets which
were made by cotton rather than
wool. On the contrary, Anil Sharma,
Senior Merchant of Noida-based
Janavi shared, “For us the event was
reasonably good and we are satisfied
with it.” The company highlighted its
strength in cashmere art in wide range
of designs, while products included
blankets and shawls.
Sustainability was
as usual highlighted
under the title
‘Sustainability,
Mindset,
Responsibility’.
Participating
for the first time
at Heimtextil
and dealing in
organic home
furnishing products,
Storyfabrics,
a Switzerland-
based company,
sourcing home
products from
Indian company
Rajlakshmi Cotton
Mills, was happy
with the fair.Martina
Unternaehrer,
Founder of the
company said,
“I met potential
customers from
Switzerland and
with whom I
couldn’t get a
meeting back in
Switzerland. Small
companies like
ours have to go to
the big fairs to be
taken seriously.”
ESSENTIALS
Amber Home,Mumbai Studio Medium, NewDelhi
Sumangalam Exports,Mumbai
DIRECTIONS BY
The whirlwind brought about by the biannual
menswear fashion weeks at New York and Paris,
has recently settled, giving way to future trend
predictions that would signal what the approaching
season looks like.
This season saw utility and comfort being given
an edge of importance over avant-garde fashion.
Loose tailoring and a fresh approach to the classic
double-breasted jacket made a case for the men
of the 21st century, who are more inclined towards
experimentation and functionality going hand-in-
hand. Gone are the days when the colder months
summoned darker hues; this season designers go
all out to incorporate bright pops of colour into
their winter wardrobes and go big on details such as
prints, patterns and surface textures.
In this issue, FFT reveals key trends from the runways
of New York and Paris for Fall/Winter 2017-18 as
showcased by ready-to-wear designers and labels.
FALL / WINTER 2017-18
Key Menswear Trends From
NEW YORK & PARIS
BOMBER BACKLASHBomber jackets continue experiencing a surge, with every label offering its own version of the trend. Channelling in the rebellion borrowed from the ’50s culture adopted by the (then) youth, through military pieces like theMA-1 bomber, the trend has found a solid spot in the current times.Designers are shying away from embellished looks that stormed last year and are tilting towards newer versions that incorporate materials like satin, velvet and details evolving towards two-stone styles and patchwork.
DOUBLE-BREASTEDMenswear suiting trends have
recently been resurfacing after
a much ‘Vetements-hijacked’laidback year of oversized drama,
overtaking the runways and
streets. Enter this season, and we see a majestic army of double-
breasted blazers and coats –
boxy, structured, button detailed and submerged in semi-casual
prints and textures. Layered over
shirts, turtlenecks and sweaters, the double-breasted suits make
a strong case for casual men’s
staple for the season.
POPPIN’ BRIGHTDesigners decided to add a
little colour boost to the dark
and gloomy winter months, by presenting collections that
included surprisingly bright
pops of colour in coats, jackets, knittted sweaters, trousers
and pretty much all else.
Shades of bright orange and yellow dominated the runways
rendering the colours ‘cool’ for
the new age man.
CHECKING INWe are sensing a major trend
here – with the classic Prince
of Wales check and plaids making an appearance, show
after show, and piece after
piece – checks take a definite seat in the front row for the
Fall/Winter 2017-18 season.
Layered under jackets or worn freely as prints on trousers
or scarves, checks have too
many options up for grabs this season.
BOMBER
BACKLASH
Dior
Rochambeau
Dior
Todd-snyder
Ovadia & Sons Balenciaga
Givenchy
AMI
CHECKING IN
POPPIN’
BRIGHT
DOUBLE-
BREASTED
Off-White Todd-Snyder
Dries VanNotan
Lanvin
FUR-TASTICTaking a cue from the
top trending styles of the
womenswear segment pertaining to last year, designers decidedly
introduced details in the form
of colourful furry patches over jackets, hoodies, gloves as well
as shoes – apart from classic
(faux) fur, mink and shearling coats. Feathered versions of
(faux) fur, over wide lapels
seemed to have gained a collective approval from the
menswear bandwagon this
season.
POWER PUFFComfort and utility-based outerwear is taking centre-stage this season with designers focusing on performanceas much as style. In contrast to the previously trendingslimmer silhouettes, voluminous silhouettes playing on proportion, shapes, lengths (cropped seems to be a favourite) and colour, found their way onto hi-tech materials. What grabbed our attention though, were the magical pairing of padded jackets with equally padded trousers to go along with them.
S‘LOGO’NThe slogans running through Lanvin, Sankuanz, Raf Simons and Ami channelled in a teen spirit voiceing ongoing contemporary politics and socio-political conditions around the world.It seemed like every designer needed to get something off their chest. Keeping the words simple and somewhat arbitrary is their way of addressing the issues at hand. Alternatively, themillennium inspired logo-revival continues to gain momentum as LV, Supreme and Dior stamp their garments with pun-induced identities.
PINSTRIPESVertical stripes – in all their glory,
have emerged victorious this
season. The bolder and much vibrant stripes from Spring/
Summer 2017, have given way
to the more mellowed down, menswear classics – pinstripes in
varying widths and contrasting
colours. Sharply tailored or slouchy and oversized – the
striped suit print has made a
definitive comeback.
FUR-TASTIC PINSTRIPES
S ‘ LOGO’NPOWER
PUFF
Berluti
Raf Simons
Dior
Louis Vuitton
Hugo Boss Balenciaga
John-Varvatos
Hugo Boss
Dior Uri-Minkoff
Sacai
Balenciaga
The fabrics and prints always form the bare bones of
every season’s underlying mood and silhouette. The coming
Fall/Winter season will see another wave of reimagining the
nostalgic shapes of bygone eras. However, the difference
this time is that it is not just about remembrance but taking
comfort in the memories and trying to escape from the
chaos of the present.
Therefore, fabrics like wool, corduroy and suede that are
the ones most in demand instantly signal a calm and luxe
coziness, but that does not mean luxury is out; rather the
opulence of the past is what everyone is craving for and
that is evident in the comeback of fabrics like fur, fleece,
corduroy and velvet.
Prints are also seeing a similar set of references where we
see modern application of retro motifs and plentiful checks
as well as strong stripes. Designers are constantly looking
at abstract/expressionist artworks to express themselves
and wherever art is not enough; they are using capitalized
slogans in clear words to get their ideas across theboard.
From Furs to Florals
T r e n d s F / W 2 0 1 7 - 1 8
1 FAUX FUR
Nothing says old school elegance
like lavish faux furs making a
strong case for the maximalist
trend that Gucci started with their
fur slippers. Fur is everywhere this
season from smaller accent pieces
like stoles and collar details to heavy
coats like the Vetements F/W 2017-18
opening look.
Some designers are embracing
the trend in all its boldness,
using animal prints and multicolours
to channel all the jazz while others
are keeping it clean with jacket
linings and wrap-ups. Fur is an
F ABRIC TRENDS
undeniable crowd favourite making
its appearances on the street style
scene just as much as the runway.
2 CORDUROY & SUEDE
Say hello to a fabric that is the
workwear brother to velvet and has
been doing its own rounds on the
runways of late. Though we cannot
discard velvet as a hit fabric but
looking ahead, we predict corduroy as
the next big throwback to the ’70s.
The construction details in corduroy
make it durable but soft and lustrous;
1 2
Kolo
r Mih
ara
yasuh
iro
FASHION BUSINESS
Erdem
a perfect match for trousers, casual
suiting and even overcoats. A similar
material that retains the softness
factor and emits a beautiful yet
understated sheen is suede and serves
as the perfect alternative to velvet in
outerwear.
3 CABLE KNITS
When puffer jackets were the
most experimental piece of the
season, how can we not expect
to see more ski outfits getting
an update? Ski garments have
been making their waves and
seemingly, the by-product is
the return of chunky cable knit
sweaters making a strong case for
‘bigger is better’.
While some designers are embracing
heavy knitwear and making large
sweaters in brighter colours, others
are sticking to classic shades but
creating more interest through
intense knitting styles.
4 SILK SATIN
You can never talk about luxurious
fabrics and forget about the
power of silk. Being a fabric this
versatile, silk is never really out
of fashion but this season it is
present in all its visibility through
the soft glistening satin weaves.
As the market for innerwear
has increased, thanks to its new
acceptance as outerwear, so has
the demand for satins.
Silk satin is coming in everything
from delicate slip dresses to bomber
jackets, suiting and of course, the
floor length gowns that were spotted
everywhere this award season.
5 WARM IN WOOL
Soft wools have their own place in
winter fashion and designers are
looking at ways to let the wools take
centre stage with tweeds this time.
Reminiscent of the grand English
countryside, tweed is easily the
wool on our mind. Going beyond the
obvious, wool is not just coats but is
being used everywhere from dresses
to twin-sets and suiting pieces.
Apart from the usual favourites,
cashmere is also having its big
moment because of its recognition
as an investment worthy fabric
rather than something that is
merely fashionable.
3
Todd
Snyd
er
4
Khait
e
5
Loew
e
INDUSTRY SPEAKS
“Camouflage is definitely a big-big hit and we’re
doing it in different colours like grey, green and
brown. Apart from winter favourites like berries,
burgundy and grey is a very big colour this season
and so is khaki green. We are working with a lot of
structure play this time in terms of heavy weight
oxfords, waffle and honeycomb knits. There are
no stripes in the works but checks are the prints
of the season. A lot of inspiration is coming from
the dandy look, so many heritage line references
are visible with buffalo, tartan, shadow checks
as well as many windowpane checks. Fabrics
like velvet, corduroy and un-cut corduroy are
looking sensational. We are not doing much
fur but polar fleece linings and sheepskins are
certainly happening.”
Meenakshi Patra,
Pearl Global
“We definitely think heavy is a big trend in knitwear
this season. We are using a lot of 4 gauge and 2.5
gauge for knitting sweaters. Hand knitting is also in
demand as well as fancy yarns. Though the knit is
much thicker; we are using very earthy colours like
brown and greens.”
SumitKhanna,
Khanna Knitwears & Exports
“We have noticed that there is a huge surge in
demand for textures. Therefore, we are using
fabrics like corduroy and fleece. Apart from fleece,
we are also using fur for linings in outerwear. Wool
is also in demand. We are using checks in collar
details and horizontal stripes on the front for T-shirt
brands like Polo and Bugatti.”
Amit Agarwala,
Genus Apparels
“We are not working on geometrics but more on
variations in stripes and florals this season. Stripes
are getting broader for Winter 2017 and they are
in contrasting colours for both womenswear and
kids’ collections. In terms of fabric, there is a lot of
texture in demand and we are achieving that with
crocheted laces, poly-taffeta and heavy georgettes.
There is a lot of shine as well in the collections as
we are using plenty of satins and scuba fabrics.”
Amit Kedia,
Chimera Threadkraft
PRINT TRENDS
crazy textile prints in colours
that were never anything less
than the brightest hue on the
wheel. However, designers are
reimagining the same lozenges
and eclectic florals in less
hideous ways that will work
for the modern aesthetic while
1 CHECKS ARE
WINNING
Gingham is going strong on both
the Indian and international
runways and can be seen in
supersized to miniscule sizes and
in an array of colours everywhere.
Plaid is another check that is
competing in this race, a pattern
that is significantly inspired
from the ’80s era suiting styles;
it was spotted in multiple winter
collections.
As a season focusing more on the
strong lines, you cannot end the
list without mentioning the print
that every designer is using for
coats and jackets – the Prince of
Walescheck.
2 STANDOUT STRIPES
Stripes are having its biggest
moment of all time, wherein we
are seeing more variation in
striping than any other prints.
The trend here is not just of
bold awning stripes but also the
crispness of pinstripes, which is
always stealing the show.
The use of stripes in flee flowing
silhouettes is creating a new
balance and imbuing a sense of
power in clothing. However, they
are not just endowing strong lines
to designs anymore but the bright
colour palettes and contrasts are
giving it a more animated look as
well.
3 EXPLOSIVE
CAMOUFLAGE
Maybe it is an answer to all the
unrest and ongoing violence that
doesn’t seem to stop or another
hunt for protection but military
references have been coming from
left, right and centre in fashion.
Ironically, the most prominent
retaining a hint of the past like
a secret.
What was once the quintessential
dad sweater pattern – argyle
is now the most hip style staple
coveted by all the ‘It girls’ in
fashion and is finding its place on
a wide range on silhouettes.
3
Ovadia
and
Sons
5
Vers
ac
e
2A
cne
Stu
dio
s
1
Rocham
be
au
4
Com
me
Des
Garc
ons
Hom
me
Plu
sof which is camouflage prints,
which is blasting the runways
and is present on everything
from T-shirts, outerwear to
flirty co-ordinates.
Designers are experimenting with
different colour combinations
and mixing other patterns with it
to make this disguise of a print,
stand out.
4 ABSTRACT ART
Fashion and art have always
shared a gallant relationship and
for good reason; who does not
want to look like a walking piece
of art?
This season is all about
expressing your feelings on the
surface and it is only fitting to
make use of abstract artists to
accomplish that. Designers are
using everything from paint
drippings to randomized line
drawings, sometimes as small
details but mostly going for the full
blast with dollops of colours as if
someone dropped buckets of paint
over their fabric inventory.
5 RETRO FLORA
One of the most iconic things
from the ’70s and ’80s were the
FASHION RESOURCE
Layered over buttoned-
up shirts, paired with suits
or worn over utilitarian
dresses, bralettes were
seen being paired with
anything and everything
this season. Details like
ruching and ruffle trims
cropped up at Miu Miu
and Altuzarra (who also
introduced printed styles)
whereas Alexander
McQueen decided to
go all racy by adding
studded details and
embellishments atop
their bralettes which
they layered over sheer
dresses. Fur, vinyl and
sheer were other favourite
fabrics that made a
case for this obvious
trend. Victoria Beckham
played with velvet
while Céline introduced
crochet versions over
shirts. Giambattista Valli
weaved a dreamy storyaround soft laces and Miuccia Prada went all
out with ostrich feathers signalling a bold and
ardent return of the bralette this season.
FASHIONFILE
ColourStory
S/S
’1
7–
Bra
lett
e
pantone18-1550 TPX
pantone18-5619 TPX
pantone19-4005 TPX
pantone18-4140 TPX
pantone15-2215 TPX
pantone17-1514 TPX
A/W
20
17
-18
by
Fa
shio
nFo
rwa
rdTr
en
ds
Riccardo Tisci exits Givenchy
The LVMH-owned couture house
Givenchy has bid goodbye to
its Creative Director, Riccardo
Tisci after his contract ended on
January 31. The designer, who
had been at the creative helm of
Givenchy for 12 glorious years,
is responsible for completely
rejuvenating the house and
bringing it back to life. Owing to
his departure, the collection shown
at Paris Couture Week in January
will be his last for the French house
and they will not be presenting at
the next Paris Fashion Week. Apart
from creating the much celebrated
haute couture collections for
Givenchy, Tisci earned credit
for his strong friendships in the
industry with the likes of Madonna,
Beyoncé and Kanye West. There
are strong rumours that he will
now join his long-time friend and
muse Donatella Versace at her
namesakelabel.
Neiman Marcustries plus size instores
In the middle of dwindling sales,
Neiman Marcus has decided to
tap into a previously less explored
segment of plus size clothing. After
having experienced overwhelming
response from selling larger sizes
online over the last 2 years, the
retailer has realized the propitious
demand and is testing out thesame
through five of its outlets opening
shortly. Frank Crisci, VP of
Merchandising at Neiman Marcus
Last Call said, “There is a lot of
product out there but a curated
assortment of Tahari, Lafayette
148, Eileen Fisher etc. is harder
to find.” The company plans to
promote the new venture by calling
it “curvy chic”, connecting it with
Women’s Day and are expecting
this foray to bode well for sales.
In a bid to lure an elder
audience, A&F is introducing
a new in store concept that
looks immediately mature
and polished. Designed by
MJ Sagan Architecture, the
new look has a boutique
feel with a striking entrance
resembling a runway with 40
mannequins lined up at the
front signalling a clear shift
towards personal styling. The
store looks warm, inviting and inclusive opening its doors to the old teenage
consumers as well as a fresher customer base. With the unconventional fitting
rooms that look like suites and more space for movement, the brand is moving
towards a seemingly luxurious and high-end appeal. The first store to witness
this evolution will be in Ohio and is only the first of the seven that will be
opening up for business within this year.
Abercrombie & Fitch reinvents store strategy
INDUSTRY WIRE
Three start-up units in apparel export arena;
niche products their success route
planning to expand team in future.
Despite all odds, the company
expects to see 25 per cent growth
this year and also in the future,
from exports.
Not only in Delhi-NCR, this ‘tide of
budding apparel entrepreneurs’
can be seen in Kolkata as well…
Just a year old into apparel export
business, Tanushree and Pradipta
Basu, Founders/Designers and
Directors of Shorshe Clothing
feel proud in being called – the
limited-edition brand. All the
products of this company are
handwoven/khadi (sourced from
Bihar and West Bengal) but are
very modern in design. “With focus
on sustainability, we use vegetable
dyes…, and when it comes to
fashion, our silhouettes are very
western,” mentioned Tanushree,
who prefers small orders from
buyers. As top brands are coming
up with sustainable clothing lines,
both are enthusiastic about future
opportunities in the segment. The
FOB prices of the company start
from US $ 10 and goes up to US
$ 100. The firm that has shipped
orders to the US recently, also
participated for the first time in the
just concluded IIGF in the Capital.
confidence,” says Tushar who is
using in-house cutting, stitching,
sublimation facilities to produce
20,000 pieces per month.Average
FOB of the company’s product is
around US $ 6.
Mehjabeen Ansari, who has
designated herself as a Creative
Director of Mehjabeen, Noida
and rightly so because her strength
is designing, started garment
manufacturing, three years
ago. Although Mehjabeen and
Mohammad Imran, Head – Sales
& Marketing of the company have
extensive experience of the fabric
industry, it is their passion for
fashion which brought them into
garmenting. The focus is primarily
on Bohemian fashion, a product in
great demand in South America and
some parts of Europe. Even though
the markets are not responding
too positively, how they continued
to grow, is a strategy. “We produce
selective designs and that is why
we are never out of business. Our
designs are very rare in the market,
so buyers have to come to us for
that,” said Imran, who started with
one buyer and now has 10 buyers.
Mehjabeen, who creates her own
mood-boards and handles PD, is
n a time when established Indian
Iapparel exporters are finding
it difficult to survive because of
the near recessionary market,
few young companies are not
only entering into apparel export
market, but are growing too. All
these companies have a niche
focus, participate at international
sourcing fairs and are also
exploring new customers from
across the world for furthergrowth.
Meet Tushar Sharma, an IIT Delhi
pass-out… Rather than exploring
engineering, he forayed into
designer fitness apparels andvalue-
added yoga wear. Tushar, the CEO
of Yogue Activewear (Noida),
initiated this company two years
ago… “We tried to add fashion
elements to a normal ‘boring’ sports
clothing. My enthusiasm for fitness
brought me into apparel sector
and interest in manufacturing
and pushed me to start my own
factory,” he said. Apart from having
its own brand and manufacturing
for overseas labels, the company
is also exporting 30 per cent
of its production to the USand
European markets. “Things are
more and more clear to us now
and repeat orders are boosting our
Tushar Sharma, CEO (R) with his colleague JS Kohli of
YogueActivewear
Mehjabeen Ansari, Creative Director (L) and Mohammad Imran,
Head Sales & Marketing, Mehjabeen
Tanushree (L) and Pradipta Basu, Founders/Designers and
Directors of Shorshe Clothing
Silver Spark Apparel’s new factory in Ethiopia to start in May
Men’s suits specialist Silver
Spark Apparel (a subsidiary of
Raymond) is expecting to start
its new unit in Awasa, Ethiopia
in May 2017. As per schedule,
the factory which was to start
in April has now been pushed
back by a month. The company,
with turnover of almost
Rs. 450 crore in current fiscal,
is working on this project for
last 1½ years and is expecting
to grow by 150 per cent in next
2 to 3 years with the support of
this new factory.
Prashant Jain, DGM –
Marketing & Merchandising
of the companytold
Apparel Online, “Few issues
were there, but slowly we are
overcoming that, and in May
we will commence production.
Prashant Jain, DGM –Marketing &
Merchandising, Silver Spark Apparel
Initially the capacity of the
factory will be 4,000 suits per
day.” Having the privilege of
duty-free access, Ethiopia is
today the attraction for apparel
manufacturers. Low-cost
labour availability is another
advantage of this country; also
local Government is giving
some relaxations. The company
is also being provided land on
long-lease by the Ethiopian
Government, besides electricity
at a price which is one-third
compared to India.
Known for quality suits, Silver
Spark Apparel was set up in
2003 for manufacturing suits
and formal trousers.
INDUSTRY LIVE
o promote textilesand
Tapparels industry further in the
north-east states of India,Ministry
of Textiles (MoT) and Ministry
of Development of North Eastern
Region (Ministry of DoNER)
organized 1st North East Investors’
Summit in Shillong. The event,
inaugurated by Union Textiles
Minister Smriti Irani, witnessed
over 80 buyers and leaders of
textiles industry. About 20 MoUs
between various companies of
export promotion councils, and
associations took place. These
MoUs focused on promoting
collaboration in the textiles
sector in each of these states in
the north-east Region and also on
developing and promoting North
Eastern Region (NER) handicrafts,
handlooms, agro textiles & geo-
textiles in these areas.
Arvind Ltd. and Connect
Studio (Nagaland) will work to
operationalize apparel centres.
Apparel Export Promotion Council
(AEPC), Creative Garments
(Meghalaya), Fabric Plus would
facilitate handholding and
monitoring in technical design,
production, marketing and export-
20 MoUs signed to promote textile and apparel industry in North Eastern Region
Smriti Irani with other ministers during the summit
related matters and enhance
production & exports of garments
from apparel centres. Arvind Ltd.
has an MoU with Pinnacle Skills
(Nagaland) and Elam Industries
(Arunachal Pradesh) and will
support for technical design and
production in apparel centres.
Similarly, the Clothing
Manufacturers Association of India
(CMAI) and Sneha Textiles from
Tripura – to facilitate handholding
and mentoring by Arvind Ltd. –
agreed upon areas to operationalize
the apparel centres. HarilloomNaga,
Nagaland, Shopper’s Stop and EPCH
in a joint venture took an initiative
to increase the export of handicrafts
by providing training, design and
trend inputs platform for marketing
in India as well as overseasmarkets.
Carpet Export Promotion Council
(CEPC) also has an MoU with local
carpet exporters; the National
Institute of Design (NID) and The
Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s
Research Association (ATIRA) also
haveMoUs.
Besides the above, The Synthetic &
Art Silk Mills’ Research Association
(SASMIRA) also has an MoU with
Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) for
increasing the acceptability of
agro textiles. The MoT alone has
sanctioned projects worth more
than Rs. 1,040 crore for the NER.
Recognizing wide scope for silk
sector in NER, the Government
of India will support sericulture
in the region with infusion of
Rs. 820 crore. The Textiles Minister
also launched India Handmade
Bazaar Portal which will provide
direct market access facility to
handloom weavers and handicraft
artisans, and announced that the
master craftsmen from NER will
teach at various NIFT centres
across thecountry.
The summit was also attended
by Dr. Arvind Panagariya, Vice
Chairman, NITI Aayog; Dr. Mukul
Sangma, CM of Meghalaya;
Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union
Minister of State (I/C), DoNER;
Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of
State for Home Affairs; Ministers
and their representatives from all
eight North Eastern States (Assam,
Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram,
Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland,
Sikkim and Tripura), besides
investors across the country.
AEPC has initiated
cluster development programmes for
improving supply
side of Indianexportbasket. It was decided
to start this through
development of the Metiabruz garment
cluster which has
over 5 lakh small manufacturers and a
production capacity
similar to Tirupur.
TOADVERTISE
Contact Rani Mahendru+91-11-47390000 (512)
GOING TO A GOODEVENT?
Send your industry gossip, photos and news [email protected]
he State Government of
THaryana (India) has drafted a
new textile policy with an aim to
create 50,000 new jobs and attract
investments of up to Rs. 5,000 crore
to become a textile manufacturing
hub. The policy is packed with
fiscal incentives and provisions for
better infrastructure; establishment
of textile parks; andfacilities
for skill development of textile
workers in the state. However,
if the incentives are measured
against other State Governments
(mostly new states eager to set
up apparel manufacturing in the
region to generate employment),
then the incentives fall short. Yet,
the advantage that Haryana enjoys
over a developed infrastructure
in garmenting and a very strong
supply chain base, is something
which new states getting into
garmenting will struggle to
provide, and may actually work
in Haryana’s favour. This sector
already provides employment
to about one million people, and
readymade garments worth US
$ 2 billion is exported from the
state annually.
According to an official, the draft
policy proposes capital subsidy
of 10 per cent for the eligible new
projects of all textile enterprises
across the state. It also eyes at
positioning Haryana as a preferred
destination for global textile majors
and boosting textile exports by a
Compound Annual Growth Rate
(CAGR) of 20 per cent during 2017.
Also, as the state is one of the
leading cotton producers in the
country, the policy has been framed
with an eye on the cotton belt of
theregion.
Under the policy, Haryana State
Industrial and Infrastructure
Development Corporations
(HSIIDC) will provide industrial
Haryana Government's Draft Textile Policy falls short of what other states are offering to set up industry
plots for a lease of 33 yearswith
5 per cent increase in annual lease
limit. Panchayat land will also
be made available on lease for
industrial development. The State
Government will also facilitate
setting up a textile park at Hansi in
Hisar district. The park shall house
weaving, seizing and garmenting
enterprises to augment the already
strong existing infrastructure for
ginning andspinning.
The enterprises that will enable
new technologies at their units
will get monetary assistance of
up to 50 per cent of the cost from
recognized national institutes,
along with electricity exemptions
from the Haryana Government. In
line with the PM’s visions for the
khadi industry, the Government
plans to facilitate retail space at
nominal rates. Locations such as
famous tourist spots, places with
heavy footfall such as airports
and retail hubs are proposed to be
explored for such opportunities.
The draft policy has been put in
public domain and suggestions
invited from stakeholders up to
28 February 2017, which would
be factored in while giving it a
final shape.
The advantage that
Haryana enjoys over a developed infrastructure
in garmenting and a
very strong supplychain base, is something
which new states getting
into garmenting will struggle to provide, and
may actually work in
Haryana’s favour.
Incentives Haryana
(established
garmenthub)
State developing
garmenting hub
Interest subsidy
6% per annum 7% per annum or
50% of the interest
rate, whichever is
lower on total loan
Capital
investment
subsidy
10% 20%
INR 36,000 per year INR 60,000 per
for SC/women year per worker
and INR 30,000 for for 7 years for
Employment general category SC/ST/women
generation for 5 years… it is INR 72,000…
subsidy Ceiling of INR50 additional INR 1,000
lakh (if 50% of per person towards
workers are from ESI & EPF for 5 years
Haryana)
Quality
certifications
Nil Assistance of
50% of the total
expenditure to
a maximum limit
of INR 10 lakh for
obtainingquality
certification
Electricityduty
100% exemption
for 10 years
100% exemption
for 5 years plus
reimbursement of
50% of power tariff
for 5 years
Skill
Development
Maximum INR
10,000 per trainee
Maximum INR13,000
per trainee
Ease of doing
business
No mention Special provision
for ease of doing
business
Incentives in new Haryana textile policy vs. incentives offered by
another state looking to establish garment industry in the region
INDIA CANVAS
An AO investigation…
WHY JAIPUR EXPORTERS
ARE STRUGGLING TO EVEN REACH
RS. 100 CRORE-MARK?
ome years ago, one well-known
SJaipur-based exporter having
3 factories, approached Tesco, H&M
and few other such top brands/
stores to work with his factories. The
factories were even certified but after
all this, the top brands refused to work
with this Jaipur exporter without
specifying the reason, eventhough
the rates offered by the exporter were
impressively less from those being
offered by exporters in Delhi-NCR.
Not the one to be disheartened, the
exporter then approached top Indian
buying houses and assured them that
he will get at least 4-5 big exporters
in the loop, as the buying office
clearly said that they did not wish to
come to Jaipur to work with a single
supplier, but even then the buying
houses refused by saying that it
would add to their expenses…!
The fact that buyers are not taking
the initiative to explore Jaipur,
preferring to remain in the comfort
zone of the NCR, which is close
to the city, is one of the biggest
reasons that not even one apparel/
made-ups exporter of Jaipur is
doing annual business of Rs. 100
crore. The city which has 200 good
apparel and home furnishing export
firms has only 5 to 7 companies
which are doing turnover of Rs. 50
crore or above. Apparel Online
approached both top and small
exporters of Jaipur to find out
their views on how the city can
expand and companies would be
able to touch the magical figure
of Rs. 100crore.
Suresh Agarwal, MD, Aman
Exports – doing annual business of
more than Rs. 50 crore and equally
strong in exports as well as domestic
market – insisted that whatever
export orders Jaipur has got so far
is totally through importers. “We
are still waiting for big department
stores or top brands like Zara,
Mango, Walmart, H&M,Tesco.
Whatever orders Jaipur has, were
given by importers and who are
getting ‘eliminated’ by the day.”
So, what is the solution? He adds,
“The only solution is to bring the big
stores to Jaipur; for this everyone
has to work collectively, be it our
Councils, Associations or the State
Government.” Agarwal rightly
points out that Jaipur exporters
are ready to give products at lower
price compared with any other
hubs as they have advantages of
less overheads and lower minimum
wages. He does not agree with the
opinion of fellow exporters that
there are no orders in the market
and even sentiments are low. “Few
of my Delhi-based friends, who are
also into garment exports, don’t have
time and are quite busy with orders
from US and Europe,” says Agarwal.
But he does agree that Japan, Brazil,
South Africa and Russia, which
High Street Fashions, Jaipur– known for its socks (diabetic socks, flight socks), wrist bands & head bands,knee support, elbow support, among other products, is the only company in the city exporting such products to well-known global brands and doing very good business.
ESSENTIALS
Suresh Agarwal, MD, Aman Exports Dalpat Lodha, Director, Lodha Impex Rajeev Dewan, MD, Ma’am Arts Mohammed Arif, Director, Kagzi Exports
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were the core markets for Jaipur
are not in good shape due to various
reasons.
Recently, honoured by AEPC for
maximum export to Japan, Dalpat
Lodha, Director of Lodha Impex
(turnover of Rs. 90 crore from
Jaipur operations) endorses the
view that buyers prefer not to place
bulk orders in Jaipur. But he is
positive that as soon as markets will
pick up, Jaipur-based companies
will have more orders. Ironically,
exporters admit that not many in the
city are interested in bulk orders.
One reason for this is the kind of
margins that Jaipur exporters enjoy,
which are far better than what
most of the other hubs have. The
attitude of most of the exporters is
to make more money by less work
or more profit in less orders, rather
than doing volume business which
gives such magical numbers, but
not necessarily the profitability. But
now as the situation is changing and
one doesn’t get so much orders, at
bigger margins, so the industry is
struggling.
Another veteran of Jaipur, Rajeev
Dewan, MD of Ma’am Arts,
adds that in Jaipur exporters
after attaining a certain level get
contented, as they have grown from
the grassroot level with 3-4 machines
and personally been involved in
all aspects of the business, so the
burn-out rate is higher. Many a times
this also results in lack of initiation
of technical and professional help,
which has hampered growth. Vivek
Khandelwal, Director, Pattern
India argues, “How many factories
in Jaipur have IE Department or
even IE staff. We need to think and
work in this direction.” Even in case
of companies that do want to hire,
retaining pass-outs from leading
institutes, is difficult.
In consent with all the above-
mentioned reasons for current
condition of Jaipur, Mohammed Arif,
Director, Kagzi Exports addsthat
raw material sourcing right from
fabric to accessory is another hurdle
to achieve bigger growth. “We need
at least 7-10 days to develop a sample
while in Delhi the same is possible
in 24 hours. It really matters.” On
the issue of top brands not coming
to the city, he says, “all of us have
to be aggressive in our approach to
catch them.”
Jaipur’s products are more suited
for boutique stores, as they
can give more value but not the
volume. The city is not making
any basic product or product of
mass manufacturing like shirts
or trousers. But exporters are
hopeful that such products will
be produced in the future as few
companies are expanding their
capacities. The industrybelieves
that even if one company shows the
way, others will follow it. Arjun Singh
Shekhawat, Director, Rainbow
Texfab says, “Fellow exporters need
to work more on quality as day-by-
day buyers’ quality parameters are
becoming higher. And one of the
main reasons to lose on quality is the
dependency on job-work, right from
the stitching to value addition.”
Many factors that are not in the
hands of exporters have also
affected the potential growth of
the city. Ashish Ahuja of Ahuja
Overseas says, “There is notenough
air connectivity that can bring the
buyers directly to Jaipur, similarly
logistics is also a hurdle. The city
doesn’t have big dyeing or printing
mills.” However, Agarwal and few
other exporters stress that it is only
the lack of sufficient orders which
hampers business, all other things
are secondary. “If any exporter gets
orders, all other issues, like lack
of trained professionals, and raw
material availability gets solved
anyhow,” he concludes.
“Our city started with traditional
strengths like tie & dye, hand block and
most of the exporters are still limited
to this, rather than mass production or
exploring different product categories.
Not only Jaipur, but the whole of
Rajasthan does not have very heavy
or big industry. Lack of Government
support is also a big factor. Rajasthan
has carpet, handicrafts, and furniture
units which come under the cottage
industry, so its beginning was slow.
Being a tourist city, it is costly too;
the land price is high and the state
is lacking in aggressive policies like
those of Jharkhand or Odisha. The
city doesn’t have a cluster with all
necessary facilities like dyeing, washing,
etc. The hub also misses a strong
political will, which is required for such
development; it is hard to get the job
done in Jaipur.”
–Ravi Poddar, President,
GEAR (Garment Exporters Association of Rajasthan)
An exceptional case is Bella Casa
Fashion & Retail Limited, the only
company doing Rs. 100+ crore from
Jaipur and that too mainly working
with domestic market and made-ups.
Harish Kumar Gupta, Chairman of the
company has some good suggestions
for the industry. He says, “Exporters have
to take risk and do lot of experiments.
Printing techniques too need to change
here; we have done men’s shirts for few
brands, so this city can manufacture
anything. People here are very content
and don’t want to take headaches.
They tell the buyer that we have this, if
you want, you are welcome, otherwise
bye-bye. This attitude needs to change.
I assure the industry that if they will
apply latest technology, they will
definitely get benefited and grow.”
EXPORT STATISTICS
Apparel imports by US conclude with negative trend in 2016
J a n u a r y - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 6
2017 is shaping up to be another uncertain year for clothing industry and its supply chain for the US as Trump factor
is still playing crucial role in clothing imports. US is officially out of the TPP; Border Adjustment Tax may be adopted,
resulting in hike in retail prices. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy as well as more complicated trade decisions by
the new Trump administration might trigger the trade uncertainties in the country.
Ladies dresses note positive trend forUS involumetermsThe growthof ladies dresses importbytheUS has notedasurge in volume by
7.85%, thoughthevalueof imports in thecategorysawdownwardtrend by (-
) 0.24% as againstthesame period last year.
T-shirts export from India falls in value termsWhile the decline in value of exports by India to the US in the mentioned
category was (-) 0.16%, volume saw a surging trend by 2.19%. Overall, the
US registered decline in both value {(-) 4.29%} and volume {(-) 0.55%} in
the import during the review period.
1
2
Global Apparel Imports by the US:
Jan.-Dec. 2016
Total Decrease in Volume
1.06%
Total Decrease in Value
[The information has been extracted
from US custom site and further analyzed.]
5.23%
Percentage Decrease in UVR
4.15%
(Average UVR in review period was US $ 3.00 as against US $ 3.13 in
the same period lastyear)
Change in Value
Cotton
7.84%
MMF
1.93%
Wool
11.28%
Silk & Veg
2.65%
Change in Volume
Cotton
3.86%
MMF
1.42%
Wool
10.04%
Silk & Veg
0.14%
Total apparel exports to the US by 6 major manufacturing destinations – Jan.-Dec. ’16(Qty & Value in M2 & US mn $)
Jan.-Dec. 2015 Jan.-Dec. 2016 %Change
Type ofApparel
Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value
Cotton 12245.05 41475.88 11771.99 38224.046 -3.86 -7.84
Wool 213.84 3699.61 192.363 3282.211 -10.04 -11.28
MMF 14446.85 38740.24 14652.29 37991.745 1.42 -1.93
Silk &Veg 309.91 1248.94 310.352 1215.831 0.14 -2.65
Total 27215.65 85164.67 26927.00 80713.83 -1.06 -5.23
Jan.-Dec. 2015 Jan.-Dec. 2016 %Change
Countries
Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value
India1023.55 3665.40 1044.238 3640.269 2.02 -0.69
Bangladesh1869.94 5401.45 1862.265 5305.668 -0.41 -1.77
China11385.72 30540.94 11174.81 27922.015 -1.85 -8.58
Pakistan 590.97 1433.39 534.705 1262.393 -9.52 -11.93
SriLanka484.12 2037.45 470.993 1967.302 -2.71 -3.44
Vietnam3135.56 10563.85 3352.373 10807.961 6.91 2.31
Total global apparel imports by the US – Jan.-Dec. ’16 (Qty & Value in M2 & US mn $)
Trousers, a growing category for Bangladesh for its exports toUSBangladesh registered growth year-on-year, in value terms by
0.79%, while quantity too saw an increase by 1.81% in its export
of trousers to the US.
Foundation garments export records massive growth for VietnamVietnam noted stellar surge in its export of foundation garments
to the US both in value and volume terms. Value increased by
181.03% whereas, volumes were up by 158.16%.
Legwear import by US tumbles both in value and volumeLegwear was not a delightful import by the US as the country noted
downfall in volume by (-) 6.04%, whereas value decreased by (-)
10.19%.
Ladies blouses import by US registersgrowthDuring the review period, the US noted surge to its import of ladies
blouses. While increment of 2.60% was recorded in value, the
volumes rose by 5.54%.
Exports of babies wear continue to grow for IndiaBabies wear exports from India grew both in value and volume. The
country registered increase in value by 4.67% while volumes were up
by 16.46% year-on-year.
China’s export to US sees downfall in sweaters categoryThe country has registered negative growth in the segment. There
has been a downturn in both value and volume. Though the value
decrement was (-) 19.03%, volumes were down by (-) 14.87%,
compared with the same period last year.
3
4
5
6
7
8Item-wise quantity increase/decrease in apparel imports by the US: Jan.-Dec. 2016 (Qty. in doz, legwear in dpr, babies wear in kg)
Item-wise value increase/decrease in apparel imports by the US: Jan.-Dec. 2016 (Value in US mn $)
APPAREL TYPE
Total Imports byUS
Exports toUS
China India Bangladesh Vietnam
2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change
BabiesWear 123,955,518 113,954,876 -8.07 60,485,685 54,839,888 -9.33 6,891,355 8,025,435 16.46 13,104,590 11,089,893 -15.37 10,053,813 9,394,530 -6.56
Foundation Garments
57,649,566 56,974,367 -1.17 33,892,455 32,134,885 -5.19 1,540,258 1,708,898 10.95 3,175,353 3,612,674 13.77 1,036,197 2,674,996 158.16
Jackets &Blazers 49,211,753 46,985,824 -4.52 18,749,984 18,324,668 -2.27 662,692 662,741 0.01 2,568,266 2,336,907 -9.01 8,099,797 7,680,354 -5.18
Ladies Blouses 52,840,754 55,769,282 5.54 21,461,124 22,979,284 7.07 8,132,320 8,223,359 1.12 2,248,325 3,185,632 41.69 7,541,510 7,890,521 4.63
Ladies Dresses 54,679,217 58,970,606 7.85 27,055,766 28,475,025 5.25 4,045,850 4,259,919 5.29 1,186,044 1,730,791 45.93 8,985,112 10,378,623 15.51
Ladies Skirts 17,266,455 14,797,417 -14.30 6,886,821 5,706,041 -17.15 846,002 671,463 -20.63 1,040,468 1,060,454 1.92 2,821,188 3,269,791 15.90
Legwear 353,523,703 332,161,873 -6.04 206,550,923 206,471,931 -0.04 3,178,940 2,771,342 -12.82 177,543 73,553 -58.57 2,125,924 2,768,282 30.22
Men's Shirts 43,250,968 42,776,378 -1.10 9,546,080 8,953,568 -6.21 2,869,591 3,133,962 9.21 12,376,823 12,356,714 -0.16 4,218,925 4,590,698 8.81
Nightwear 52,968,855 52,158,025 -1.53 32,079,382 31,679,078 -1.25 3,041,352 3,127,445 2.83 1,985,391 1,790,650 -9.81 4,157,698 4,871,086 17.16
Suits /Ensembles 14,108,164 12,318,920 -12.68 6,725,731 6,038,673 -10.22 498,759 564,761 13.23 371,638 242,817 -34.66 2,474,848 2,143,085 -13.41
Sweaters 20,767,998 18,104,829 -12.82 17,374,989 14,791,621 -14.87 105,950 49,148 -53.61 1,233,540 1,147,951 -6.94 369,288 375,022 1.55
Trousers 290,468,242 285,610,882 -1.67 85,173,086 81,980,955 -3.75 5,047,525 5,064,488 0.34 41,873,717 42,630,774 1.81 41,574,101 45,077,470 8.43
T-Shirts 563,450,215 560,365,769 -0.55 107,002,959 104,398,229 -2.43 22,543,541 23,037,628 2.19 22,107,903 20,789,044 -5.97 73,603,644 75,893,418 3.11
Undergarments 271,152,875 264,092,295 -2.60 51,491,681 50,619,944 -1.69 17,943,735 17,760,329 -1.02 28,375,435 25,418,008 -10.42 43,582,354 46,344,639 6.34
APPAREL TYPE
Total Imports byUS
Exports toUS
China India Bangladesh Vietnam
2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change
BabiesWear 2,554.83 2,314.22 -9.42 1,195.60 1,065.56 -10.88 158.10 165.48 4.67 239.56 204.83 -14.50 226.07 211.32 -6.52
Foundation Garments
2,601.86 2,580.10 -0.84 1,272.41 1,202.14 -5.52 107.94 126.50 17.20 72.11 77.04 6.83 53.55 150.48 181.03
Jackets &Blazers 7,600.18 6,834.56 -10.07 3,607.24 3,200.34 -11.28 102.70 91.19 -11.21 390.79 329.18 -15.77 1,423.38 1311.79 -7.84
Ladies Blouses 3,573.83 3,666.73 2.60 1,385.71 1,384.97 -0.05 614.69 615.54 0.14 126.17 176.83 40.15 399.73 424.06 6.09
Ladies Dresses 4,929.74 4,917.89 -0.24 2,411.15 2,289.49 -5.05 366.23 392.39 7.14 50.62 65.83 30.04 673.30 699.51 3.89
Ladies Skirts 1,087.09 914.55 -15.87 394.64 326.50 -17.27 67.21 54.12 -19.48 40.22 42.88 6.61 180.14 174.99 -2.86
Legwear 2,180.70 1,958.47 -10.19 1,220.12 1,137.57 -6.77 17.27 18.23 5.53 0.99 0.70 -29.51 12.68 14.77 16.50
Men's Shirts 3,687.53 3,496.98 -5.17 856.06 777.51 -9.18 247.24 244.17 -1.24 738.59 711.58 -3.66 340.00 368.77 8.46
Nightwear 2,387.44 2,270.76 -4.89 1,435.12 1,346.06 -6.21 100.20 109.80 9.58 61.00 55.67 -8.73 225.27 230.57 2.36
Suits /Ensembles 1,358.16 1,215.08 -10.53 312.42 291.16 -6.80 74.51 61.64 -17.27 24.87 17.36 -30.19 167.56 167.42 -0.08
Sweaters 2,225.28 1,850.91 -16.82 1,835.23 1,485.94 -19.03 38.60 28.70 -25.64 48.86 44.13 -9.68 29.10 21.88 -24.80
Trousers 18,731.42 17,869.03 -4.60 4,962.08 4,517.70 -8.96 381.91 363.00 -4.95 2,367.00 2,385.65 0.79 2,499.36 2669.57 6.81
T-Shirts 21,414.71 20,496.37 -4.29 5,111.96 4621.182 -9.60 919.009 917.56 -0.16 619.59 584.35 -5.69 3,146.44 3167.82 0.68
Undergarments 3,990.92 3,845.93 -3.63 808.49 794.30 -1.76 317.38 302.09 -4.82 311.21 285.86 -8.14 562.76 549.54 -2.35
Canada Apparel Imports
J a n u a r y - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 6
Canadian economy is under threat as Trump decides to end TPP agreement
Even though holiday season was around, Canada still did not see any positive turnaround in clothing import in the month of
December. The year 2017 is also projected to be uncertain as far as import of clothing is concerned because of Trump’s decision of
not proceeding with the TPP that will have significant impact on trade issues resulting in the skyrocketed retail prices within the
country. Hence, Canada is evaluating whether it wants to pursue specific bilateral trade agreements or work more closely with
another regional trading block, led by China.
2.48%While the knitted segment
saw decline of (-) 2.47%, the
woven segmentregistered
negative growth of (-) 2.49% in
valueterms.
CanadaImports Sri LankaExports
5.97%While the country saw hike in
knitted category by 3.45%, in
woven segment it registered a
boostof 9.83%.
B’DeshExports
3.63%Exports in woven category
increased by 4.01% in value, while
exports in knitted garments also
surged by 3.14%.
1.46%In knitted segment country
registered a surge in its exports
to Canada. While value of exports
was up 1.00% in knitted
segment, in woven also there was
a gain of 1.80%.
IndianExports
0.13%The country registered decline in
knitted garments by (-) 1.74% in
value, though in woven segment
valueofexportsgained 2.14%.
Vietnam Exports
Cambodia’s exports to US down by 7% in 2016, while Myanmar
registers huge rise of 145%
The uncertainties after Trump taking over as US President, rising exports from Vietnam and emergence of new market,
Myanmar resulted in 7 per cent decline in Cambodia’s total exports to the United States to US $ 2.8 billion in 2016 compared
to more than US $ 3 billion in 2015. However, the US’ withdrawal from TPP has given a ray of hope to Cambodia.
The TPP would have eliminated most tariffs in the garment sector and the country would have lost to Vietnam. In the
meanwhile, Myanmar has emerged as the “dark horse” in garment trade as it has come out strong with an aggressive
and concrete master plan. According to the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA), the Myanmar
apparel industry operating under the cut-make-pack system exported more than US $ 1 billion worth of clothing in 2016 as
against US $ 408 million in 2015, noting a massive increase of 145%.
Tra
de
Up
da
te
8.25%In the knitted garments segment,
the country registered declining
trend of (-) 8.33%, while the
woven garments also saw a
negative growth of (-) 8.17%.
ChinaExports
0.41%In woven category, there was a rise
of 12.77% in value, though knitted
segment exports registered a drop
of (-) 11.07%.
PakistanExports
Freudenberg
exhibits new
sustainable padding
Innovative technical textiles
manufacturer Freudenberg
Performance Materials Apparel
exhibited the new comfortemp®
fibreball padding at the ISPO
Munich 2017. Developed in
partnership with Napapijri (part
of apparel firm VF Corporation),
the comfortemp® fibreball
material is a padding made of
small interconnected fibreballs.
According to the company, its heat
insulation is comparable to that
of ‘down’, and its breathability
is twice as high as that of
conventional padding. Napapijri
will be marketing comfortemp®
fibreball Technology under its own
name: Thermo-Fibre® technology.
It may be mentioned here that most
of these paddings are produced
sustainably. The Group is one of
the largest recyclers of polyester
bottles throughout Europe. 50 per
cent of the fibres that the company
deploys are from recycled polyester.
In the sports sector, it does not
just depend on the feel and the
grip. Technical performance, rapid
development and implementation
– along with specific demands on
the product – play a much greater
role. “This is where Freudenberg
Performance Materials Apparel
is well positioned as part of the
Freudenberg Group because we
have the opportunity to generate
innovations throughout the Group.
Far beyond what a conventional
lining and textile producer can
achieve,” said Ulrich Scherbel,
General Manager – Global
Apparel Division, Freudenberg.
Invista’s Cordura
bags 51 awards
Invista’s Cordura brand has been
honoured with 51 awards across
six key textile categories in its
50th anniversary year at ISPO
Textrends, part of ISPOMunich.
The ‘Soft Equipment’ category
features performance products for
tents, backpacks, sleeping bags,
shoes and more, with 19 Cordura
A&E launches
new reflective industrial
sewing thread
American & Efird (A&E), a global
leader in industrial sewing thread
manufacturing, has announced the
official launch of a new product in
reflective innovation, Anefil™ Reflector
having polyester fibre type.
A&E’s Anefil™ Reflector is an industrial
sewing thread designed and engineered
for reflective visibility. Ideal for creating
a decorative, reflective seam in cover-
stitch and over-edge stitch applications,
Anefil™ Reflector can be used in a wide
variety of apparel categories including,
activewear, workwear, safety apparel,
swimwear, denim and footwear.
“A&E’s spirit of innovation continues
with this new reflective product, Anefil™
Reflector,” said Mark Hatton, Vice
President (Americas), A&E. adding,
“Offered in a Tex 120 size, the new
thread has twisted multi-filamentthread
construction. This product is a versatile,
decorative sewing thread and a valuable
addition to the reflective market.”
Unveiling the features of Anefil™
Reflector, A&E states this thread
reflects light back to the light source,
thus ensuring the maximum visibility
in low light situations. In addition, this
adds another layer of functionality
in sewing that has traditionally only
incorporated reflective tape. Hence,
Anefil™ Reflector provides maximum
luminescence and durability while
maintaining aesthetic appearance. It’s
worth mentioning here that through
its global network, A&E’s products
are manufactured in 23 countries,
distributed in 50 and sold in over 100
countries worldwide.
ISPO Munich 2017
I n t r o d u c e s m a n y i n n o v a t i o n s
The 2017 edition of the world’s largest sports trade show ISPO Munich
concluded successfully in Germany recently with an increase of 6 per cent
in visitors’ footfall in comparison to last year. The event attracted more than
85,000 visitors this year from 120 countries as against 81,368 at the 2016
edition. This noticeable surge in the number of visitors was from Italy, Russia,
UK, China and US. Many innovations were on display that made the event a
trendsetter for the sports and activewear segment.
The show noted 97 per cent positive response fromthe participants. Also, the industry’s optimistic approach was clearly visibleat the four-day show. On the exhibitors front, 3 per cent in rise in display was seen witha total of 2,732 participants who showcased their latest products, technologies and innovations at the fair.
RESOURCE CENTRE
fter being at the helm of Esprit, India for almost 5 years,AFarah Ahmed, Head of Sourcing said goodbye to the company.
Zahid Abed, her counterpart in Bangladesh, has in the meanwhile taken
up her responsibilities, but it is not confirmed whether Zahid will manage
both countries or is handling India office temporarily. Reliable sources
informed Apparel Online that Farah left the company for personal
reasons. As of now she has not joined anywhere. Graduate from Aligarh
Muslim University and having an Executive Program from ISB,
Hyderabad, Farah has worked with Triburg for almost 10 years followed
by a 7 years’ stint with Monsoon Accessories/Urban Craft India.
Zahid Abed has been working with Esprit from last two years and prior
to that he spent 7 years as V-P at Li & Fung Bangladesh Ltd. Currently,
Esprit is sourcing about 29 per cent from Bangladesh (almost same
compared to China) and 7 per cent from India (on fourth number);
Vietnam is contributing more than 8 per cent to global sourcing.
BCBG shuts 120 stores; Group may go for bankruptcy proceedings
BCBG brand, associated with California-based BCBG Max Azria Group
Inc. is closing down its 120 stores (mostly in the US). These stores either
are unprofitable or have untenable lease agreements and will be shut
after conducting closing store sales over the next eight to 10 weeks. The
company is reducing its physical retail footprint after being negatively
impacted by growth in online sales at its rivals. Media reports suggest
that the group is preparing for a possible bankruptcy filing as itlooks
to restructure its debt. The Group has more than 570 boutiques globally
(including more than 175 in the US alone).
Eyes & Ears
Farah Ahmed leaves Esprit; Zahid Abed takes charge
One of the stores of BCBG
Farah Ahmed ZahidAbed
fabrics recognized in this category
including Cordura TPX fabric by
Chang Ho, Cordura Lite, Ballistic,
Classic and HP fabrics and
Cordura AFT knits. The fabrics
in ‘Street Sports’ category range
from denim with new performance
levels to lighter functional fabrics
and finishes with a fashionable
edge. 10Cordura fabrics were
chosen as winners in this category,
including Cordura Combat Wool
Denim from Artistic Milliners,
technical performance, comfort-
driven Cordura denims from Kipas,
Turkey and long-lasting Cordura
4ever fleece by Yoonia.
The ‘Outer layer’ category features
lightweight but ultra-resistant
woven fabrics that can provide
protection against the elements,
which includes winners such as
ultra-lightweight Cordura Naturalle
fabrics all under 80 gsm from
Yoonia, LeeJo and One Chang mills
in Korea and Cordura Combat
Wool suiting fabrics from Italian
specialist Marlane.
Another category ‘Base layer’
featuring next-to-skin fabrics
for technical underwear, with
pre-shaping, support, thermal
or moisturemanagement
performance, Cordura 4ever knit
fabrics from Yoonia were honoured
in this category with Best Product
and three additional recognitions.
Also selected was a Cordura
Combat Wool knit fabric. ‘Second
layer’ category features fleeces,
lightweight protective fabrics and
performance linings usable for
maximum thermal characteristics.
Cordura 4ever wool flannel
shirting by Chia Her was among
the category winners. The sixth
category ‘Membranes & Coatings’
features technical membranes.
Cordura Naturalle fabrics by One
Chang and Yoonia and Cordura
Nyco fabrics from Samtex were
recognized in this category.
“We are pleased to see how our
valuable authorized mills are being
recognized for their dedication
to creating long-lasting, durable
Cordura fabrics, and we are truly
humbled to receive a record-
breaking 51 awards in our 50th
year. We believe the future of
innovation is collaboration, and as
we celebrate this major milestone
in our brand’s history, we are
dedicated to developing the next
generation of durable solutions
together,” said Cindy McNaull,
Global Cordura Brand and
Marketing Director, Invista.