AO_JAN_1-15_13.pdf - Apparel Resources

2 Apparel Online India | JANUARY 1-15, 2013

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CONTENTS January 1-15, 2013

BuildingStrategies…Industry Unites in the Need for Solutions to Grow: Synergy among players critical

Digital Printing Taking Fashion World By Storm

HotDebatesIs The Industry Falling Apart? Turmoil in Industry…

Noida Cluster Small exporters look towards new markets including domestic market for survival...

BuyerInteractionsFrom Singh Exports to Solitaire Plaza: Three Country Managers share a similar journey…

SpecialFeaturesWomen Empowerment: Apparel Online

talks to 6 young professionalsA Teacher’s Day Special: The word father is

synonymous to ‘protection and knowledge’…

Tex-FileRound UpChandigarh – Headquarters the SpinnersNew Eco Friendly Fibres Being Explored

H2FExporters...Sara Textiles Goes for Full Automation In Its Terry Towel Plant

Pearl Global’s Home Furnishing Business Shaping Up Well

FashionBusinessTwelve Months of Extreme Dynamism forcing the

manufacturers to rethink and re-strategize…

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vol. Xv Issue 19

8 Apparel Online India | JANUARY 1-15 2013

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Feb. 16-29

Will moving nearer to villages control cost of production…

I just fail to understand how companies can

manage to shift to rural places like this, with

issues like quality to be controlled. Although

the labour will be a lot cheaper, they will not

be skilled enough. Shipments getting rejected

should not be the reason to move towards

villages, at least not with my kind of customers.

A much better approach to this problem would

be to your own training and teach the labour

how to deliver better quality more efficiently;

which is exactly what we do in our company.

Rajiv Dewan, CEO, Ma’am Arts, Jaipur

Jan. 16-31

How optimistic are you of 2012…

The declining trend in growth rates of apparel exports is likely to continue even in the next year. The euro crisis pushing ahead the uS dollar is badly carving world economy leading to slow down. Hence, especially for apparel sector, the year 2012 seems to be glooming rather blooming. Improve production by new innovative methods to remain competitive in the international market, reducing cost of transaction, production, labour cost, and controlling overall overhead structure is the only way forward. Lalit Gulati, Managing Director, Modelama Exports, Gurgaon

Feb. 1-15

Is being an integrated supplier an advantage

Although it is very difficult to deny the perks of being vertically integrated, it really depends on the kind of products produced by the company and the kind of clientele they serve. It surely cuts down the manufacturing costs and helps control the quality at every step, it also requires a big amount of investment. In my opinion, people catering to mass market should become vertically integrated, as their design development is limited and they will be able to focus on quality. Raghushree Poddar, Proprietor, Cheer Sagar Exports, Jaipur

S o m e I n t e r e s t i n g f e e d b a c k s o f 2 0 12

JANUARY 1-15, 2013 | Apparel Online India 11

Mar. 1-15

How important is training for management to the growth of the company…

Training is a really important part of growth,

especially in today’s time with all the new

technologies entering the market at all the

levels of production, from initial stages to the

final packaging process. Even the buyer’s are

becoming more concerned for the pricing of the

product and, so organizations have to be well

equipped. Training sessions in our organization

are held at quarterly basis, we call professionals

and professors of the related field to impart

better knowledge to all our employees. Senior

employees from our organization even attend

such seminars regularly, organized by other

bodies of the industry. These sessions are most

important for the old employees as they need

exposure to new things in the industry, as they

have always been a part of the organization

and are not aware of the new changes going

on in the industry. Anil Bountra, Director, Strange Exports, Noida

Mar. 16-31

Is Budget 2012-13 going to be industry-friendly…

If we talk about the budget for 2012-13, we are

expecting it to be an industry-friendly budget,

and it should rightfully be because this is the

sector that gives maximum employment and

gains to the government. In my opinion, for

the upcoming budget, the government should

consider giving this sector and industry a better

infrastructure and relaxed labour laws. The

current situation of the industry is not very good

and demands attention from the government.

Ashish Singhania, Owner, Intercity Traders, Delhi

Apr. 1-15

With business declining, is it not important to run factories around the year…

Though it is important for factories to make

collections for both the seasons, in my opinion

and through past experience, I would say that

India still lacks the R&D and technical resources

that go in to making peak winter garments.

There are a lot of constrains in making the

Autumn/Winter collections; first of all, we

are not able to compete with China when it

comes to heavy and technical fabrics, trims and

finishes required to make the Autumn/Winter

collections. Secondly, even special stitching

techniques required for many winter apparels

are not readily available in the country. With all

this in mind we here in India try and stretch the

Spring/Summer season for as long as we can.

Vipul Wahal, AGM (Design), Maral Overseas Limited, Noida

Apr. 16-30

Indications that business should pick up post-May…

It’s true that the industry has this perception

that the business will pick up post-May, but

personally, I wouldn’t like to comment on the

same so soon, I would like to wait until the

situation actually improves. According to me,

2012 will fair fine, it won’t be very exciting

when it comes to exports. Yes, it’s true that

the outlook for the uK market looks better


than before, but Europe is still in crisis and we should wait and see if the demands from the international markets fulfil the production needs of India. Then again, competition from our competitors, especially Bangladesh and China has increased, affecting us further. Ashish Garg, Owner, A.G. Fashions, Jaipur

May 1-15

Does the Indian garment industry really need automated solutions for manufacturing garments…

Though the dynamics of global trades have changed, I do not believe that automated machines are really a requirement as of now, in-fact the implementation of such machines for garment construction will increase the input cost. I do agree that the labour cost is going up in the current market scenario; yet it is still not as expensive as these automated solutions. Automation according to me is only feasible in units that have huge inputs and outputs. Saurav Ujjain, Merchandising Manager, Superhouse Ltd., Noida

May 16-31

What CSR activities have you invested in...

We at Indian Designs Exports give a complete package to the employee, from money incentives to the intangible benefits, to make them feel part of the organization. When we expect a sewing operator to work at a certain efficiency level and they achieve it, the same should be followed by the organization. As a result we have 100% attendance throughout the year and all being on payroll. Apart from the various tangible incentives roll-out under our extensive HR policy, we impart training, organize outstation trips, provide scholarships to their children and since more than 80% of the workforce is females, special care of pregnant women are taken at the factory. We also provide health benefits (ESI and Mediclaim) to our employees. Naseer Humayun, Managing Director, Indian Designs Exports, Bangalore

June 1-15

government has lifted the suspension on fresh exports of cotton...

The lifting of suspension on fresh export of cotton will affect in exports. The prices will become more competitive in the country and will increase rapidly. Not only this, the prices of the finished garments would rise as well and buyers will start taking different routes and

destinations to fulfil their demands of products with competitive prices. As the recession is already affecting the buying pattern of the buyers from all the markets, especially uS and uK, the buyers might shift their interest from India and move on to countries like Bangladesh and China. I would just like to add that the lift will only harm the garment exports and will do no good. Deepak Aggarwal, MD, BL International, Noida

June 16-30

Is manufacturing mass customized garments the future…

Talking of it now as the future of apparel manufacturing, companies would have to strengthen their product development aspect of the business as customized garments are known for the perfect fit; hence the sizing of the customers is very crucial. And sewing is the easy part, making size standards; customizing them as per the customer; robust supply chain; and other similar aspects are the critical areas regarding which the company has to work upon. Another advantage is of high FOBs, if you apply all the operating cost reduction concepts like Lean manufacturing, as applied in mass production of garments and in mass customization, the profit margins would be tremendously high. Premjit Singh, Senior GM, Projects & Operations, SKNL, Bangalore

July 1-15

Today, what is your biggest concern…

Profitability is under serious pressure for the plethora of reasons we are all aware of, one of them being ‘Lower Capacity utilization’. It arises out of multiple reasons – the seasonal nature of our business, the product category and mix that we work in and the customer geography. Lower capacity utilization, and hence higher fixed costs, eats into the bottomlines. To keep the factory running at all costs (at lower contribution), is an effort to keep meeting your fixed overhead costs.

To be able to get and sustain business round the year at target profitability is a marketing challenge. Sustained focus on lower fixed costs is a continuous challenge for manufacturing, which puts reverse pressure during the peak months. The strategy is a mix then – to have a basket of customers who give you desired profitability business in the lean production months and also plan business, if required, at lower contributions/prices for sustained

capacity utilization, so that fixed costs are taken care of and overall profitability is less affected. Gautam Nair, MD, Matrix Clothing, Gurgaon

July 16-30

How many times in a year should sourcing fairs or buyer-seller meets be held…

To be honest I believe the concept of traditionally held two fairs for the two major seasons are more than enough for all. But, there is no denying the fact, that the fashion cycles have started moving beyond this pattern and changes more frequently. For this, I believe the number of buyer seller meets should be increased instead of the fairs, and should be held four to five times at least every year. Exporters can just bring in their new products in these meets every now and then, instead of showing the repetitive collections every time. Anand Bahl, Owner, East and West Handicraft Enterprise, Mumbai

Aug. 1-15

The export target for the current fiscal 2012-13 is set at $ 18 billion…

The targets set for the current fiscal are really high and not even valid looking at the market and export conditions all over the world. To add to the misery of the exporters right now, the government is doing nothing to support the industry and the exporters. I just attended the Tex-Trends where the response was average as well. The entire industry is aware of the fact that we are better than China and Bangladesh, but our main competition right now is Bangladesh as labour in China is growing to be expensive. The only thing we lack and they have, is the support that is required to achieve targets. Narottam Kejriwal, MD & Partner, Bhanu Gartex, Bangalore

Aug. 16-31

Industry hit by sharp volatility in cotton yarn prices and poor demand…

Since the industry is facing a lot of problems at present, the initiative taken by the government according to me will help the sector to some extent. The special window that has been created for the sector from August 1 to October 30, 2012 is definitely a very good step taken by the government even though a lot more has to be done for the betterment of the industry. For example, the norms made and revised by the government are just too


stringent and need to be relaxed for the industry to perform better. The norms are not well revised as they are just made by the government and are not followed by them. They have to be followed by the exporters as only we understand the problems the industry faces due to these rules. If they start by relaxing the rules a little, things will start shaping up and become a lot easier. Banks should readily and easily give loans. Things have been unnecessarily too complicated to handle. Karan Dhingra, Director, KKARAN Overseas, Delhi

Sept. 1-15

India launched Indian Standards for Organic Textiles (ISOT)…

I really don’t believe that the industry can reap the fruits of the certification at present, as it has just come to effect a month ago and it’s too soon for anyone to benefit from it. The organic sector has always been much organized and there is a huge presence of established international bodies doing the needful in checking the quality standards for some time now, SKAL from Netherlands to gOTS in 2008. They have been strictly analyzing the cotton standards for years now and are trusted sources for the same. Now, that they’ve created a place for themselves in the industry, I do not think ISOT should be getting into this. According to me, they should rather be associated with an international organization like gOTS which is well established, instead of coming up with a new certification for quality control of their own. Uday Sehgal, MD, Mariko, Noida

Sept. 16-30

Holding BSMs to promote garment exporters… how much profitable?

AEPC has been sending delegations of 20-50 Indian exporters abroad for fairs happening there, but only a small number of people have actually benefited through them. But what I really think could be a better idea is if delegations of selected and genuine buyers are invited here instead. These selected few buyers when they come to India and visit exporters during these meets, they will be able to themselves see our infrastructure and the standards. Lately buyers have been blindly going to our competitor, China, to place orders. By inviting buyers to examine work of our export fraternity, they’ll get an opportunity to compare us to China which would help in their decision making. This is what I believe AEPC should work towards. It would be fair and just. Virat Kumar, Partner, Zinnia India, Noida

Oct. 1-15

International container carriers have hiked their shipment rates…

The garment industry is going through such a rough patch currently with the yarn prices increasing, competition from China and Bangladesh, poor response in Europe, shortage of labour and many more such problems, hike in freight charges becomes a very secondary topic. There is so much more to worry about for an exporter, this hike will just be a fraction of the overall cost. There are other factors that are hindering the business about which the government is doing nothing. Being an executive committee member of the AEPC, I can analyze that if our problems continue this way, 100 to 120 factories in Delhi-NCR itself will shut down. Hence, the freight cost does not really matter; there are other more pressing problems for the exporters. Virendra Chopra, Proprietor, Tarsha Exports, Gurgaon

Oct. 16-31

Orders for polyester based fashion garments are being diverted to India…

Pan Overseas deals with only home textiles but in this field also we have seen the increase in demand of polyester based products in India, specifically in the micro polyester division. This change in buyer preference might be because of two reasons, i.e. over reliance of buyers on the Chinese exporters’ fraternity and the Indian bureaucratic and political influence to increase the Indian participation in the polyester based products division. If you ask me if the Indians are geared up for this, then I’d say that the trade industry isn’t prepared whereas some of the individual factories have the capability to cater to the very same demands. Ashish Vij, Marketing Director, Pan Overseas, Panipat

Nov. 1-15

Rejection of shipment, some on very flimsy grounds…

There are only two reasons for rejection of shipment by the buyer, i.e. delay of shipment and error in quality of shipment, and measurements of the products. In such cases, we deal with these issues by negotiating with the buyers. So that we don’t end up suffering major losses, we tend to agree on a percentage cost which is sometimes 20 per cent, 30 per cent or sometimes even 40 per cent of the original price. Devendra Kumar Baid, Managing Director, Welfit Exports, Kolkata

Nov. 16-30

In these difficult times, how are you going to reward your employees on Diwali festival…

Our company has policy of appraisal like any other company and on Diwali we give all our employees a 20% bonus every year and to encourage the good workers and management, we come out to acknowledge their outstanding efforts towards the company by providing them with extra incentives. In addition to this, we do wish all by gifting sweets. I know the industry is not going through its best times, but we still maintain the same status for appraisals and reward as we have to retain our employees. Diwali is festival time for the whole nation and for us at MLK Exports, we don’t want to compromise when it comes to keeping our employees happy. Sharad Kapoor, Director, MLK Exports, Lucknow

Dec. 1-15

For many exporters, the way forward is to enter the domestic market…

These days the export business has become very risky, especially with the international crisis going on. For exporters in India, entering into the domestic market is the only option left. India being a country with very high population and diverse preferences, the domestic market has a very high potential. Even though the domestic and international markets are very different, I think it is an excellent idea for exporters to start doing something in the domestic market, provided they enter after a thorough market study. Vimal Saraf, Director, Zapp India, Jaipur

Dec. 16-31

Do you think it is important to revisit and re-evaluate the minimum wages…

I don’t think the concept of minimum wages actually exists. In today’s times, it’s the workers who dictate the terms and conditions and not the owners. We in our organization have been giving much more than the minimum wage mentioned by the law. Moreover, we have been giving salaries to many in advance too. I don’t know whether these people spend their earnings correctly or not but we do our best by providing them with whatever their demands are and also additional perks in terms of cash and kind. It’s actually the media that makes an issue of the worker wages but on ground reality things are very different. Tushar Bhatnagar, Director, Tushar Handworks, Jaipur


BUILDING STRATEGIES…With the industry facing one of its most challenging times, there is an acceptance that the players, whether they are exporters or buyers, cannot sit back on past glories and wait for things to change. Nor can they just keep approaching the Government for incentives and other support. No doubt, Government support is important and many of our competitive countries are growing substantially because of the backing that their Government is giving them. Bangladesh is one of the biggest examples of this. Yet, the industry cannot afford to solely rely on the Government to find new strategies for sustenance and growth…

Industry Unites in the Need for Solutions to Grow Synergy among players critical

(February 1-15)

Anant Sadana, MD, Apparel United

“While we fretted over the falling prices and lost interest in the business as margins dwindled, other countries grabbed opportunities and worked on being competitive.”

Sudhir Dhingra CMD, Orient Craft

“There is a need to get out of the old mindset and work collectively for the growth of the industry, and then only can the individual companies grow.”

Rajive Suri Chairman, Impulse

“Create an integrated textile and apparel policy, greater investment in fabrics, action plan to address shortage of labour and better execution of ‘ideas’.”


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Venu Nair Director, M&S India

“We (M&S) source millions of pieces of school trousers from Sri Lanka, manufactured from fabrics coming from India. Why can’t India grab this business?”

Gautam Nair MD, Matrix

“We realize that it is not easy to move factories to new locations as the infrastructure has to be in place for successful implementation. At the Rajasthan Apparel City project, we are creating the first true apparel city the way we feel will bring long term growth.”

Premal Udani MD, Kaytee Corporation

“We need to show the Government why we are losing competitiveness and the target for the core committee to assess competitiveness of the Indian garment industry is to table a report in six months time.”

High Value Flat Knits An Emerging Niche for Delhi-NCRConsidered a seasonal garment till recently, sweaters have evolved as a full year category with the addition of what is popularly termed as ‘summer cardigans’. As the fashion and utility value of sweaters extends throughout the year, the business prospects for manufacturers working in this category has increased manifold. Today, flat knit manufacturers and exporters are working in two distinct categories – winter wear, which is predominantly woollen, and fashion wear which is about cotton, polyester and blended yarns.

Manjit Singh Saini, S&D Fabrics

“We are receiving many enquiries from garment exporters in the Delhi-NCR region for flat knit machines and not all of them already have some capacities.”

Ashwani Behl, MD, Janaksons International

“As an entry point it makes sense to buy Chinese flat knit machines, but for consistent performance and long-term growth, investing with leading companies like Shima Seiki is the only growth strategy.”

Sandeep Gupta, MD, Gupta Exim

“Sweaters have now become a summer fashion statement as well with light weight cotton sweaters with various embellishments being in vogue for women, also light weight Golf sweaters in 100% cotton and cotton blends are year round trend.”

Ramandeep Singh, Partner, Boutique International

“Even the players, who are still working for the export market in Ludhiana, are catering more to hyper market clients where as in the Delhi/NCR region the focus of the product is more for up-market customers.”

Vimal Singhla, MD, Manglam Apparels

“Going forward we do see a lot of potential in this category as this technique is different from woven and knitted garments and there are endless possibilities of designing on flat knitting machines, that is the reason we have invested in flat knit machinery,”

(April 16-31)

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Going Green the Orient Craft way First of the 5 Apparel Manufacturing Facilities Planned in Bhiwadi ‘Up and Green’

(May 16-31)

Orient Craft is among the very few apparel manufacturers who have transformed in the recent decade from just being a home-grown exporter to an organization with a corporate, responsible and professional structure. The Gurgaon-based apparel and home textile manufacturer has completed one of the 5 factories slated to come up at Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, and that too with a ‘Green Certification’. Spread out over a total area of 30 acres within the RIICO Industrial Area, OC is building on a vision of the future which is ‘Green’ and the LEED Certified Silver-rated Green factory is just the beginning of a journey that was initiated three years ago. Team StitchWorld visited the ‘Green Apparel Manufacturing Facility’ accompanied by Ranjiv Kapur, President, Orient Craft, the man on whose shoulder lies the responsibility to give shape to the vision of the CMD, Sudhir Dhingra...

With 19 apparel manufacturing facilities already operational in Delhi/NCR, the upfront management started planning for the future in 2009. Convinced that Green and responsible manufacturing is the future, the management set out a blue print of an integrated manufacturing complex where not only compliance norms were built into the structure, but the business was able to grow beyond compliance and beyond fashion. Earmarking Bhiwadi in Rajasthan which is an hour-and-a-half drive from the OC headquarters in Khandsa, Gurgaon, the location was near enough to be handled by the core team but far enough to generate fresh manpower.

(June 16-30)

A niche player in the market, Radhamani Textiles is working for some of the most product focused companies in the world including Tom Tailor, Gaastra, Napapijri, River Island , Zara man and boys, Jules, Camp David, s Oliver to name a few and even has its own brand POE. This Rs. 135-crore company, which specializes in men’s shirts, has a consolidated manufacturing facility at a 10 acre site near Bangalore with a manufacturing capacity of 3 million pieces a year. Working on production systems that are generally seen in Italian manufacturing companies and is unique to India, the company is getting value from working directly with the customers, offering fabric development in quick turnarounds. As manufacturing gets expensive, the company realized that unit price, design, tight control on supply and manufacturing cost, and timely deliveries contribute to the success story.

Manish Poddar, Director, Radhamani Textiles

“Since product development is at the core of this company, a team of designers led by me constantly travels and interacts with buyers to understand trends and forecast collections. From the colour palette to value addition to detailing are evaluated for each individual buyer and collections created keeping their market segmentation and positioning in mind.”

Mukesh Poddar, Director, Radhamani Textiles

“Retail is an investment into the future with the brand POE and while the handwriting for the casual shirts for youngsters is very international the price is kept just below a thousand rupees to be affordable to the segment that it is targeted at. The vision is to have 100 stores in three years time.”

RADHAMANI GROUP Brands Shop Here for A Reason…


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‘What’s New’ Running Factories Profitably

In the midst of struggling to meet buyers’ price points, a growing number of exporters have realized the importance of ‘being profitable’. The mantra for them is not to work for better toplines but concentrate on strengthening bottomlines. In fact, in the enthusiasm to grow, many exporters over the years concentrated on getting more business, building infrastructure to service more clients and paying very little attention on how the race for better toplines was actually eroding the bottomlines. However, now that the margins are constantly shrinking many exporters have realized the folly of chasing toplines and strategies have been put in place to run the factories ‘profitably’. Team Apparel Online recently met five exporters in Bangalore, all with a turnover of more than Rs. 100 crore who have streamlined their operations to give good returns.

(June 1-15)

The profile of the five companies that AO interacted with – Bombay Rayon Fashions Ltd. (BRFL), Gokaldas Exports Ltd. (GEL), Mandhana Industries Ltd., Indian Designs and Texport Overseas is distinct and the working styles are also different, but what binds them together is the determination to ‘just not run a factory, but run it profitably’.

Texport Overseas: Feeding lines all 12 months is important to be profitable“Our core strength is manufacturing and management and that is what we want to concentrate on and keep moving up the value chain. Setting up infrastructure is only 10% of the job, the rest is how you run it on a daily basis.”

■ Samir Goenka, Director, Texport Overseas

Bombay Rayon Fashions Investing for the future“We do not think in short-terms, all our investments are made keeping a focus on returns five years down the line. We are not scared of investments and are building huge capacities over the complete supply chain, so when the market situation improves we are already ready with capacities, specialized machines and accessories.”

■ Aman Agrawal, Vice Chairman, BRFL

Mandhana Industries Ltd. – Geared to service small quantities effectively“Just building a good infrastructure is not a passport to success; it is about servicing the buyers. We are profitable because we have struck the right balance between our product profile and client profile, offering value products that get us a few cents more.”

■ Piyush Vyas, COO, Mandhana Industries

Gokaldas Exports – Focus on building customer-employee confidence“We believe that the industry has not invested enough on upgrading human resources despite the industry being a people-oriented industry. We are encouraging a ‘be-proactive’ approach and everyone in the management has the freedom to use his/her resources to get business and the buyer will get the same attention and respect as those brought in by the core marketing team.”

■ Gautam Chakravarti, Director & CEO, Gokaldas Exports

Indian Design: Flat organization drives growth with sense of ownership“A combination of three factors have resulted in exponential growth over the last three years – a judicious mix of customers from different markets, commitment to deliver on time every time and a flat organization which encourages sense of ownership in every employee.”

■ Naseer Humayun, MD, Indian Designs

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Digital Printing Taking Fashion World By Storm Technology and Ink Providers Exploring Options to Reduce Cost

(August 16-31)

With digital fabric printing picking up as a major trend in the fashion arena and increasing number of designers using the technique to value add their garments, the trend is quickly moving from the high-end ramps to the streets with retailers now looking to store designs in digital prints. To support this growing trend, technology and ink providers too are now looking at the segment as a growth area and investing to provide more cost-effective alternates for mass production. Interestingly, even as the market in general slows down those connected with the digital printing industry are seeing steady growth as the technique attracts both retailers and consumers…

Hirofumi Kitaguchi, GM, Marketing and Sales, Mimaki“There has to be a balance of speed and quality and to be honest the quantities are still too low to justify very high speed. What we are working at is to introduce more economical models for small runs, which is India’s core strength.”

Sharadchandra Kothari, CMD, Jaysynth Group

“Our effort is to give inks which are at par with the quality coming from European and Japanese companies, but at better prices and supported by a technical team for optimal productivity.”

Anil Kumar, Director, Angel India“It is important to work with the best of technology because reliability and consistency of performance can only be guaranteed with top class brands. I am confident that being a relatively new technology the scope for growth is immense.”

Anish Maheshwari, MD, Krishna Alkali

“Slowly but steadily more customers are opening to the possibilities that digital printing can offer. The biggest draw has been the small runs that digital printing offers which minimizes the possibility of dead stock at the customer end.”

Vimlesh Arora, MD, JN Arora & Co.

“It took more than two decades for digital printing technology to make a visible presence in the advertising world, how we can expect the technology to sweep the textile segment in less than a decade, it will take some time.

Vijay Kandhari, Partner, Negi Digital

“The growth in digital would go the way embroidery machines grew in Surat. The requirement of digital printing machines is going to be mind blowing. We are offering Mutoh digital printers and inks to the industry.”


With new showroom, HP Singh ready to service every market segment with fabric developments

(August 16-31)

At a time when the Indian fabric market was restricted to the narrow bylanes of Old Delhi, with dim prospects, one man had a vision to resurrect the now flourishing fabric business not just for himself but for many in the trade. A fabric agent for a French company, with a long history in fabrics laid the foundation of HP Singh Group that is today known for being pioneers of sampling and is synonymous to trust and exceptional quality. Sitting on a turnover of Rs. 35 crores annually, HP Singh has had on

numerous occasions redefined the fabric industry and inspired many to follow their steps, yet HP Singh still enjoys an elite status with the exporting fraternity. From a small shop in Daryaganj to 6,500 sq. ft. showroom space in South Delhi’s business hub Nehru Place, HP Singh has come a long way. Bashi MP Singh, Director, HP Singh and son of the founder in a tête-à-tête with Apparel Online speaks about an extraordinary journey undertaken not only to gain success but to build relationships as well.

NEWSCAPSULE

BASHI MP SINGH“The aim is to create a fabric haven in 11,000 sq. ft. area which can satisfy the needs of all customer bases. HP Singh has always been successful in creating unmatchable products and we will continue to do so. With the new showroom, each section will have a wide array of choices and we are dedicated to making this showroom a place where each and every customer will be able to find something that they desire.”

January 16-31Elite International to start Fashion Accessories Division

February 16-28Jed Textiles India Looking for Vendors Producing Aloe Vera Washed Products

March 1-15Asmara Apparels Gets New Head for Abercrombie & Fitch... recently inducted Ahmed Zaidi as Manager Merchandising

April 1-15Venu Nair takes over as Managing Director of Marks & Spencer Reliance India

April 16-30Gregg Mowins leaves Ikea…Joining Åhléns as CEO in August

May 1-15Adil Raza and nine others of JCPenney ‘asked to leave’

May 16-31Asha Menon Leaves Sears to Join Walmart India …Tanuja Sinha Taking Over as Head Sears India

June 1-15Mulitex Starting Home Furnishing Sourcing - …Looking for Garment Vendors to Source for Brazilian Buyers

June 16-30Delta Sourcing Entering into Menswear Sourcing

July 1-15Precision Design and Sourcing, looking for buyers interested in Design Products…

August 16-31Edinburgh Opens its Liaison Office in India...Ramesh Agghi Joins as Country Head

October 1-15Orders of Polyester Garments are being diverted to India from China… the Dragon now evolving as a Buyer for the Indian Subcontinent

November 1-15Is Danish Giant IC Companys shrinking its sourcing from Asia?

New Heads in Buying Offices

Anoop Nautial has taken over as Country Head of Kappahl Far East Ltd.

Ambika Soni has taken over as Country Head of Target Sourcing replacing Trip Wood.

Mori Shige has taken over as CRO (Chief Regional Officer) of Itochu India. Junji Hirooka, the former CRO has been transferred to Japan.

November 16-30All Saints India Office to Control the Entire South Asian Sourcing... Plans to start production in Sri Lanka

December 1-15Buying Office India Sourcing puts up its own manufacturing unit


Uncovering BangladeshThe Changing Face of the Garment Industry

(July 16-31)

(February 16-29)

Perceptions are built from scratches of information gathered from those who ‘know’, but first hand information always adds a new dimension, bridging the gap between perception and reality. Team Apparel Online was recently in Bangladesh for nearly a week and had the opportunity to interact with more than 20 companies from the export and buying side. The feedback is indeed an eye opener giving deep insight into what is happening in Bangladesh and how they are preparing for the future. As competitors they have an edge on scales, but in the value-added segment, they look up to India for inspirations.

Over the past five years, more and more Indian garment manufacturers have started looking at Bangladesh to support their operations for growth. While some have gone ahead and setup production units in Bangladesh, many others prefer to outsource from the country either in direct association with the factories or through agents settled in Bangladesh who have tie-ups with factories. Besides garment exporters, the Bangladesh route is today also being sought-after increasingly by domestic brands, which enjoy the added advantage of duty-free entry of garments from Bangladesh besides the obvious cost advantage.

“Although the minimum wages have now been fixed at around $ 43, almost double the figure of what was previously the minimum wage, it is still much less; when compared to the minimum wages of India, which are around $ 100.”

Rajat Bhattacharya, Luxury Connect

Syed Naved Husain Group Director & Ceo, beximco ltd.“In bangladesh, if we really move rightly, we can go up to US $ 50 billion in garment exports because China is getting very expensive. there is a big migration of orders to bangladesh from China. I feel that 25 per cent of what’s done out of China is going to migrate.”

Md. Siddiqur Rahman Chairman, Sterling Group & 2nd V.p – bGMeA“All the big brands and retailers are directly buying from bangladesh today, from basic volume business and mid-level fashion products to high-end products like suits are being manufactured in bangladesh; we are now focusing on fashion designing and merchandising.”

S.M. Majedur Rahim Director, Giant Group“We have crossed US $ 18 billion of exports from bangladesh. out of that 40 per cent is very basic, another 40 per cent is medium, and only 20 per cent is high-end product. that 40 per cent of basic will remain, it is our strength. Nothing deters us, we just believe in growing.

Sharif Zahir Managing Director – Ananta Groupfor the country, it is important to have strong backward integration because the buyers do require shorter lead time. Majority of the players in knits business are vertically integrated; and in denims too many companies which are vertically integrated are going for expansions and also getting into spinning.

Buying from Bangladesh: Indian Companies Beeline for the Bangladesh Advantage

TAPPING NEIGhBoURS...


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hoT DEBATESIs The Industry Falling Apart?Turmoil in Industry… Consolidations, downsizing and some closures create concern…

(September 1-15)

It is not only the Tirupur industry which is going through difficult times, but other regions and manufacturing hubs that are equally hit by the slowdown in Europe and US… leading to buyers’ demand for even more price reduction. The successive global and local issues spread over the last three years have only made the situation more challenging. While progressive companies have been able to face off the challenges, though it is mostly on the toplines, many exporters have downsized and consolidated, while a few have just given up and closed shop…

Jagadish Hinduja, MD, Gokaldas Images

“Business is definitely

shifting out of China for

reasons well known. Not

all of these businesses

can be absorbed by

countries that have no

vertical industry, like

Vietnam, Bangladesh and

Cambodia. Some part of

this business has to move

to countries like India,

which have a large vertical

textile industry.”

Roopak Malik, MD, Textile Sourcing Ltd.

“The fact is that India

does not have the right

fabric resources for

trousers, canvas and

twills at the right price and

qualities while its nearest

competitor Bangladesh

though also does not have

fabric, is in a position to

import fabric freely making

it very cost-effective, which

is why most buyers are

flocking to the country.”

HKL Magu, MD Jyoti Apparels

“The recent positive and

timely policy initiatives

announced in the Annual

Supplement to the Foreign

Trade Policy, extending

2 per cent interest rate

subvention and restoring

2 per cent Market Linked

Focus Product Scheme

for apparel exports to

the US and EU have

instilled hope among the

garment exporters.”

Manish Bharati, V-P, LF Fashions

“The point is how we

utilize our advantages in

the most productive way.

It is very easy to pinpoint

the advantages that India

enjoys, but how to harness

and translate the same into

business is the question

no one seems to have

an answer to. It is time we

put some serious thought

in how to best harness

our advantages.”


VIEWPoINTS“The worst is over, growth is on its way,” claims Dr A Sakthivel on Tirupur

“Money incentives are not everything, money will only be helpful to us when we are able to export”…Praveen Nayyar, MD, Dimple Creations unplugged…

(September 1-15)

(October 1-15)

That the Tirupur industry is not completely ‘healthy’ is not news, with some confirmed and some unconfirmed news of the industry making rounds for some time now, but what is worrying

is the magnitude of the losses and the repercussions… No one doubts that the biggest names in the region are in a bad shape and many even say that some are looking for potential buyers to exit the business. With reports getting murkier, AO met Dr A Sakthivel, President, TEA and current AEPC Chairman, who was

more than keen to give a ‘fair’ picture of what is happening in the knit city, which he has nurtured for many years.

Sakthivel honestly admitted that all was not well with the industry, though he pointed out that the situation was being blown out of proportion. “Tirupur from being one of the fastest growing clusters in the last decade, registering at an average 10-12 per cent growth year-on-year, is now stagnating at around Rs. 13,000 crore for last 3 years. While it should have reached about Rs. 17,000 crore in FY 2011-12, this stagnation brought on by a combination of global and local issues have shaken the foundation of the industry,” argues Sakthivel.

Over the past two decades successive Governments, textile ministers and textile secretaries

have failed to push for reforms to give the industry a level playing field to grow in a very competitive environment, where the margins are shrinking by the day. Unfortunately, the Ministry has always been of the opinion that garment exporters are asking for incentives, but the fact is the industry actually needs

much more than ‘money’ to do business in a global market. Praveen Nayyar, MD, Dimple Creations, who has been closely associated with AEPC and other garment export associations over these two decades and more, interacting closely with ministries to put forward the ground realities of the garment industry, is very disappointed that the Government’s inaction and inability to take firm steps has led to a situation where the industry is at a crossroad, despite its fighting and entrepreneurial spirit... Looking for policies that could create a level playing field.

(March 16-31)

Factory Relocations: To Move or not to Move…The industry at CrossroadOne of the hottest debates in the industry today is ‘whether relocating to newer manufacturing bases will bring down the cost of production and make Indian factories competitive to low cost countries like China, Bangladesh and Cambodia. There is unanimity in the thought that there is nothing like ‘buyer loyalty’ and given an opportunity, buyers shift to cheaper manufacturing destinations in search for better prices. The debate is how best to counter the move and ensure that the factories keep costs to the minimal… this is very challenging as ‘cost’ for a factory is impact by too many variables, many of which are not even controllable. Yet, labour wages, the next major cost after fabric is the focus of attention today, more so as availability of labour is also a problem. Moving to the villages is not always a solution as moving to remote interiors might fetch you cheap labour, but the infrastructural support may not be so good. There is always benefit in running a factory in villages provided norms basic to running a garment factory like availability of labour, raw material, business-friendly atmosphere atmosphere, low wages are available.


NOIDA ClUSTER Small exporters look towards new markets including domestic market for survival... Is this the best solution?

Noida on the outskirts of Delhi is the home to many exporters who specialize in manufacturing high-fashion ladies garments with some type of surface ornamentation like hand embroidery, sequencing, beading, printing, etc. Team Apparel Online talks to exporters with turnovers between Rs. 5-15 crore on their survival mantra in these times when buyers are very cautious in their sourcing strategy...

(August 1-15)

Arminder Channa, Director, Zephyr Apparels

“There is no point doing business if it will increase our tension and only add to our losses, so we are being more cautious. What is required is a reliable rating agency to check the authenticity of the buyers.”

Sambhav Jain, MD, Seer Global

“For the past 35 years we have concentrated completely on the export market, but now it has become important to look at the huge Indian population for business. As it is not easy to initiate an independent brand as it requires huge resources, we are in negotiation with bigger brands that have quantities and can pay for quality.

Uday Sehgal, MD, Mariko

“We are one of the leading suppliers to Westside from the last 16 years for home textile section. Now with our own brand ‘Tarini’, sales have picked up and we conduct regular collection review meets for our domestic buyers, so they can see and choose products according to their store concepts.”

Rahul Anand, MD, Sai Creations

“After working with the export market it is very difficult to work in the domestic setup as the functioning is very different and also we are basically manufacturers handling front desk which requires a completely different skill setup.”


Team Apparel Online enact street play at Noida’s Hosiery Complex

BSM at Apparel House a success… Over 50 Buyers/Buying Offices visit the event

(May 16-31)

(August 1-15)

Ao INITIATIVESWorkers in garment factories have for decades been only operators, earning just enough money to sustain themselves and their families back home. Even a thought of growing and taking responsibility never crosses the mind of the majority; those who do move up the ladder, are generally looked upon with envy and considered as ‘management favourites’. Apparel Online Hindi (AOH) in its continuous effort to educate workers and fill the knowledge gap, which is the real reason for stagnation, recently conducted a Nukkadh

Natak (street play) entitled ‘Pado, Aage Bado’… (Read and Grow) at Noida’s Hosiery Complex, ‘A’ Block Park that comprises well-known garment factories, including Maral Overseas, Sahni Exports, Richa Global, B.L. International, Shahi Export among others.

The street play was an effort by Apparel Online Hindi to connect directly with the workers and make them realize the importance of education for permanent and professional growth. Enacted by the editorial team of AOH, the play drew a response much above the expectation of the team.

Conceived as a business hub for Indian garment exporters, the Apparel House in Gurgaon has not been able to attract the footfalls envisaged with many of the initial allottees opting out, leaving many showrooms empty. It is sad that many buying offices do not even know of the beautiful international level facility and when the Apparel House Association, the AEPC and Apparel Online joined hands to promote the three-day Buyer Seller Meet under the Ministry of Textiles sponsored market days scheme

recently, the venue saw over 50 buyers/buying offices visiting the event for the first time since the opening of Apparel House. The only other time the venue was abuzz with activity was when Rakesh Vaid, the then Chairman of AEPC, had shifted the IIGF to the venue for two consecutive seasons a few years ago. The event saw 63 showrooms, 32 invited participants and 29 showroom owners with many diverse products display their latest collections.

The three days buyer’s sellers meet Hindtex 2012 organized by Eastern U.P. Exporters Association (EUPEA) took place at Hotel Ramada Plaza, JVH in Varanasi recently. There were 36 exhibitors, displaying a wide range of textiles. This year the event saw a huge turnout of buyers from overseas as well as from the Indian industry. Apparel Online, being Knowledge & Media Partner for Hindtex, brought 30 buyers which included the leading buying offices like Triburg, Impulse, H&M, Contempo, Expo India, Charles

The Third Edition of Hindtex-VaranasiThronged by Buying Offices & Fashion Designers

October 16-31 Vogele, Orange Fashions Designs to mention a few and some leading Indian fashion designers like Rakesh Thakore of Abraham & Thakore, Jattinn Kochhar, Niki Mahajan, Rinku Sobti, Gaurav Gupta, Rahul Mishra, Shravan to mention a few.

February • Tex-Trends 2012 review • Première Vision 2012, Paris • Texworld Preview

March • GTE Delhi Review • IHGF – Spring 2012 • BIOFACH 2012, Germany • Maison & Objet, Paris

april • Infashion

May • 34th India Knit Fair • First Edition • Home Expo India 2012

June • India ITME 2012

July • F&A 2012 + Homtex 2012

august • Tex Trends • Swarovski crystals with sturdy leather… • BSM, Apparel House • GTE Bangalore review • 6th London Textile Fair

septeMber

• 12th edition Knitshow review • Pure London S/S 2013 • Texworld, Paris review • 1st edition Indigo, Noida

OctOber • Maison & Objet • 3rd edition Hindtex, Varanasi

nOveMber • Wills India Fashion Week S/S 2013 • 35th India Knit Fair, Tirupur • Techtextil India Symposium 2012

DeceMber • 3rd Edition Source Zone • 6th Meet at Agra

Apparel Online covered the following Events & Fairs live for its readers…

EVENTS&FAIRS 2012


BUYER INTERACTIoNSFrom Singh Exports to Solitaire Plaza Three Country Managers share a similar journey…

(May 1-15)

A very commonly used saying ‘The world is round’ has proved itself true again, as three ladies who were together at Singh Exports, the earliest buying office of C&A as young entrants to the industry way back in the 1980’s, are together again at Solitaire Plaza in Gurgaon, but as Country Heads of three relatively new Buying operations in India. Devinder Singh, GM-India Operation, Charles Vögele; Leela Kanuga, Country Manager, Contempo (India) Pvt. Ltd.; and Ritu Thareja, Country Manager, Sun Fortune (NKD, Germany) are happy to be working in the same building, which also houses other buying operations like – Kappahl, Auchan and Times International. The AO Team thoroughly enjoyed interacting with these three ladies who have been associated with the industry on the buying side for such a long time… the past, the present and the future formed an interesting backdrop to the discussions.

DEVINDER SINgh“The policing role of buying houses in earlier times was because the buyers did not trust the exporters to deliver as promised, but now with the confidence level of the buyer increasing on the performance of the exporter, our role is more of a partner to develop business and also support the vendors in creating collections that appeal to the international buyer so as to increase sourcing opportunities.”

LEELa KaNuga“The competition is fierce and it is important to work on our strengths to get that extra mileage as not only exporters, but buying offices are also competing within the company to increase sourcing from their region. Today, exporters are investing back into the factories and those joining the industry are coming from professional colleges; in our times we joined a job, today youngsters are looking for a career.”

RItu thaREja“Though on the surface there is a transparency in operations, but if we scratch the veneer the industry is still largely ‘closed’ and only among a few players who have risen to a level where competition is ‘healthy’ and there exists true transparency. To say the industry as a whole is transparent would be misleading.”


Contempo looking at India Sourcing for Growth… Sets itself a 3-year target to cement operations

Now it’s not only India… Buyers stretching boundaries to include Bangladesh, Sri lanka and Pakistan

A Trip Down Memory lane with Mr BP Singh of Singh Exports

(September 16-30) (September 16-30) (May 16-31)

Started 35 years ago as a small buying operation for sweaters in Hong Kong, Contempo is today a multi-million dollar buying network sourcing out of more than 15 countries with 16 offices in key regions including India. In fact, the buying office in Gurgaon, headed by Leela Kanuga, is the baby of the network having started operations only a year ago. In town to meet some key vendors, Christopher Tse, CEO, Contempo Limited and son of the owner, Betty Wong, took time off for the Team AO to share insights into... Why India?

“One of the biggest fallouts of the slowdown phase has been seen in the shopping preferences of consumers, who now are buying less, but spending more on differential products. When translated into business, this means that core products which were the bulk of business for most retailers are now shrinking and more focus is now on fast moving fashion items, the strength of Indian exporters.” says Christopher Tse.

Customers worldwide are no longer looking at sourcing in compartments as trade becomes seamless and without boundaries. Today, the four countries in the Indian subcontinent – India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan – are considered by most buyers as one identity and together they are the fastest growing sourcing hub in the world. Highlighting why the future of garment sourcing is bound to centre on the sub-continent, Deepika Rana, Executive Vice-President and Country Director, Li & Fung, India is very upbeat of growth, despite the current market slowdown…

The region as a hub is a paradise with each country having core strengths. While India and Pakistan are fully integrated with India scoring on design, Bangladesh has cheap labour and Sri Lanka the efficiencies. Between the countries there is labour cost advantage, GSP advantage, raw material availability, product strength to do almost any category

There are some names in the industry, which though not actively involved in the business today are still revered by many who have been in the industry for many years… among one of the first names that comes to mind is that of Mr BP Singh of Singh Exports, credited to be the first official buying office for a leading international buyer in India. His dynamism and sense of discipline born from his army days set him apart from his contemporaries and though it is over 20 years since he retired from the industry, he is still remembered with respect and fondness for his contribution to the garment export trade by his associates and ex-staff.

It is not everyday that Team Apparel Online gets the opportunity to meet a stalwart and when Leela Kanuga, Country Head Contempo accompanied the team to Mr Singh’s sprawling farm house in Mehrauli, it was a moment to remember.

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WOMEN EMPOWERMENT(March 16-31)

Growing to become serious contributors to this dynamic business, women today are the key players in the field of fashion and design. As we approach another year of celebrating woman’s day, Apparel Online talks to 6 young professionals, with a fresh set of experiences playing it strong and happy to be an integral part of the apparel industry…

■ PRIYANKA TAYI, EXECUTIVE APPAREL DESIGNER LIFESTYLE INDIA, LANDMARK GROUP“I love what I do. Know of very few people who are lucky to be doing what they 'love' for a living and I am one of them.”

■ ANEESA CHISHTI, DESIGNER, SHAHI EXPORTS “I am happy with absolute confidence. Of course I’ve had my share of ‘discouragements’. I’ve got all the raised eyebrows and awkward coughs one can possibly get. But ultimately it’s about how your job makes you feel. If you see sense in what you do, and you feel like you’re contributing to something significant, you can rest assured something’s going right.

■ NISHA KRISHNAN, DESIGNER, MUNCH DESIGN WORKSHOP “One needs to be creative not just in design but overall approach of product/idea/process creation and its promotion. For a person to grow in this industry it is very important to be truly passionate and a sensitive-keen observer…”

■ ANUSHRI PANDEY, GRAPHIC DESIGNER, ARVIND RETAIL LIMITED “Like they say “happiness is a by-product of the enjoyment that you derive out of your work and the resultant product”, I enjoy my work fabulously and more often than not I achieve great results. I am extremely happy being a part of creating art that people identify with and want to adorn.”

■ POOJA SABERWAL, ASST. MERCHANDISER, IMPULSE INDIA“Since this was my first job I have been enjoying this industry thoroughly till now. I like being kept on the toes and my job demands me to do that as well. It is highly consuming, but it’s worth it.”

■ KHUSHBOO MAWANDIA, DESIGNER, VINEETAZ EXPORTS “My journey has been good but stressful as well. Creating new things all the time is the biggest challenge here, as you are never sure whether the market will like it or not. In my personal experience, being a merchandiser is much better than being a designer. Where on one hand merchandising is about new product and new experiences all the time, designing can get monotonous.”

SPECIAL FEATURES


1. Rahul Rohilla, Director, Alankar Group of Companies

“Dear Dad I am what I am because of you and I can’t thank you enough for all the teachings that you have given me in my life… Sometimes you question your father’s decision when you are young, but at that time you never realize that he is making your footing strong so that you can rise higher without a stumble. He has taught me one thing “if you want something you have to work for it.’’

2. Abhimanyu Sharma, S/O Rajive Sharma, SPARK (A Unit of P.O.P.L. Pvt. Ltd.)

“According to me every person is different and has different ways of working, thus there are bound to be some differences. Even though it is challenging working with my father, but by the end of the day, with a collective effort, we overcome all problems together and I love working with my father and would like to carry on working with him.”

Thanks Dad… A Father’s Day Special(July 1-15)

The word father is synonymous to ‘protection and knowledge’… However, sometimes the role of a father in a child’s life is underplayed… Apparel Online, acknowledging the importance of the father in grooming his children for professional life, invited Gennext to share their feelings and experiences of working with ‘DAD’. Presented below are seven professionals who think the world of their dads and use the platform to thank them for being there for them…

3. Hardeep and Ramandeep Singh Sachdeva, S/O Bhupinder Singh Sachdeva, Dynamic Designs

“Many say one should not work with their father as there is no personal growth, but we are proud to be working with him and look up to him for advice and teachings of life, which no one but a parent can share.”

4. Bharat Sahni S/O Babu Sahni, Wear Well India

“My father has always been my idol, my hero right from the beginning. We do not work together but still I have learnt a lot from him. He is probably not even aware of the things he has taught me and has affected my existence.”

5. Angad Pasricha, S/O AS Pasricha, TCNS

“Not a month goes by when I do not hear the words �your father is one of the wisest and nicest of men in the industry.� To hear this from customers, buying agents, suppliers, current and former employees and fellow businessmen, is indeed a great feeling.�

6. Angad Dhawan, S/O Rajeev Dhawan, Matrix Clothing

“The best gift I can give to my father is surpassing his expectations of me. I know it’s a long bumpy road ahead, and many more Fathers’ Day will come and go, but the goal is crystal clear. I was a little apprehensive while joining, all my concerns were put to rest by our professional approach. A big advantage is that I get to tap into my father’s vast experience in our field of work.”

7. Rukmani Sharma, D/O Sanjive Sharma, Spark, A Unit of Pushpanjali Overseas

“It was while I was still doing my college that I started coming to work with my father. Working with him I learnt to respect time, he also taught me that respect is not something you take for granted; it isn’t just given to you because of your rank or authority, it must be earned. He has taught me how to get the most out of life.”

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(September 16-30)

(October 16-31)

A Teacher’s Day Special

Nandita Abraham, V-P Marketing & Corporate Relations, PAF, N.D.

“A teacher’s role is simply to create an environment which empowers each individual student to learn and motivates the student to do his/her best – the students are amazing and will do all the rest.”

Indu Sodhi, Course Coordinator – Textiles, INIFD Hauz Khas Center, N.D.

“In my belief professional studies are based on sharing knowledge and industry experience by the teacher reciprocated with student’s faith on the teacher. My experience is of earning respect and that student’s success is based on this mantra.”

Dr. Prabir Jana, Professor, NIFT, N.D.“From Guru-Shishya relationship during the 90’s when I started teaching post-graduate students, to a friend-philosopher-guide relationship during the last decade; the relationship has really changed over the time. In the coming years, the physical entity of teachers will become insignificant and teachers ‘participation in students’ endeavours’ is what that will be most counted for…”

Dr. S Dhamija, Associate Professor And Head – Department of Textile Technology, The Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences, Bhiwani

“A student-teacher relationship is just like parent-child relationship. The difference is: A parent teaches the child how to walk while a teacher shows him/her the path to walk.”

Romanie Jaitly, Faculty of Textile Design, Co-Ordinator, Textile Design Discipline, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad

“The role of the teacher is that of imparting education and more importantly communicating knowledge effectively. The ability to awaken the students’ interest often hinges on the attitude of the teacher and their ability to communicate with the student.”

Sr. Prof. Banhi Jha, Dean, NIFT, N.D.“The student-teacher relationship is a dynamic one. It is wonderful to interact with bright, unfettered minds brimming with enthusiasm. Their capacity for original, unconventional thinking makes teaching a simultaneous opportunity for learning by teachers.”

Dr. Darlie Koshy, DG & CEO, IAM & ATDC, Gurgaon

“The relationship of a student and a teacher changes through different levels. At the level of Under Graduates students, the best is to assume the relationship of a ‘teacher and the taught’ and for Post Graduates that of a ‘guide and mentor’ and beyond that of a ‘senior colleague and acquaintance’.”

Prof. (Dr.) Pradeep Joshi, Director, Amity School of Fashion Technology & Amity School of Fine Arts, Noida

“Based upon my experience, the linkage between teacher and student is continuous beyond the duration of the course.”

Usha Nehru Patel, Professor, Head of Foundation Design, Interior Architecture & Product Design Departments, PAF, N.D.

“A student-teacher relationship is a bond, a connection which is developed through positive and open communication of mutual learning from both partners. This bond serves creating a better environment for shared learning which gradually helps students to grow into individual personalities.”

How can I forget the first person from the industry who around 16 years back, at the time I launched Apparel Online congratulated me for the initiative and on the service that we were giving to the industry. And that encouragement continued till the very last, as my team sat with him for nearly four hours, just a week before he fell ill discussing the industry and the beautiful factory that he has built in Noida. Mr. Praveen Nayyar was among the few exporters in this country who always looked upon the trade as an industry. Maybe it was his professional background that gave him the insight to see this fragmented segment take on the responsibility and challenges to be an ‘industry’. With his passing way the industry has lost not only a learned and well respected stalwart, but also a champion for the cause of the industry. For nearly three decades, Mr. Nayyar represented the industry in various capacities, relentlessly working to get the industry its due. Apparel Online too enjoyed a very long and meaningful relation with Mr. Nayyar and we will always remember his smiling face and intellectual inputs to give a fresh perspective to even the seemingly simplest of issues.

DEEPAK MOHINDRA, APPAREL ONLINE

Tribute to Late Praveen Nayyar…

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IMPRESSIoNS... SUSTAINABILITY

ARMSTRONG KNITTING MIllS, A TRUly SUSTAINABlE COMPANy(July 16-31)

ACCOUNTABIlITy OF NGO’S UNDER SPOTlIGHT…

(March 16-31)

Off-late the working ethics of NGOs has been under fire and the same made headlines in 2012, with demands that the funding and accounts of NGOs should be open to scrutiny. Though the industry has accepted these NGOs to be an integral part of the industry, their ‘working’ style has raised many questions of accountability and transparency in their actions.

The NGO that came under the scanner this year was the “Society for Labour and Development” (SLD), formed in the year 2006 and headed by Rajiv Agarwal as Chairman. Kamal Kumar Niyogi, an Ex-employee, alleged that Ananya Bhattacharya, Secretary of SLD not only fired him without any reason or explanation, but, also used his knowledge and contacts in the industry for her personal gains, during the time of his services, failing to pay the promised salary and further often put the safety of her staff in jeopardy to get what she required. Though the efforts to reach out to Ananya for her side of the story went in vain, all the charges were refuted by Rajiv. But, all the serious allegations raised questions regarding the credibility of the institution. The exporters are also asking questions, the most important being that when they are having regular audits in their factories and are certified as fully compliant, and on the basis of which they are gaining orders today, besides there is no complaints from the Labour Department too, then why are they answerable to a so-called ‘civil society’, who themselves are not answerable to anyone.

10 yEARS OF ‘IIMPACT’… EDUCATING 30,000 GIRlS ACROSS NINE STATES FOR RICHER QUAlITy OF lIFE

COTTON COUNCIl INTERNATIONAl BRINGS COTTONSCAPE 2012… CElEBRATING ‘COTTON’

(December 1-15)

(May 1-15)

Established in 2003 by the ’78 batch of IIM, Ahmedabad with an initiative to provide education to girls from remote areas who are willing to study but are denied the same due to financial constraints, the program IIMPACT recently celebrated its ten years journey. The emotional ceremony held at the Westin hotel in Gurgaon was marked by the release of a special social impact study, ‘10th Anniversary of IIMPACT – Making a Difference’ by the Chief Guest Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Mumbai based Investor and CEO – Rare Enterprises, who has been supporting the cause for a long time now and is today the single largest donor of IIMPACT. IIMPACT started its journey with 12 learning centres in remote villages of the Alwar District providing free primary education to 360 girls. After a bracing ten years journey, IIMPACT has till date impacted approximately 30,000 girls across nine states in the country namely, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttarakhand.

Cotton Council International, which has been working relentlessly to promote cotton as a sustainable fashion concept, presented its latest initiative Cottonscape 2012, at Mumbai. The organization left no stone unturned to make the event a roaring success. The intention of the event was to promote the use of cotton from the grassroots level to the consumer and here it was the panel discussion that gave some interesting insights into the business of cotton. Bharat Desai, Senior Executive Vice President of Reliance Industries, appreciated the efforts by CCI and remarked, “It’s fabulous to see what Cotton Council International build up years back and now the entire industry is coming together and joining in promotion of cotton. I personally look forward to their annual events… everybody believes that there is a sincere effort and we need to take it forward”.

Committed to being a sustainable company, Tirupur based Armstrong Knitting Mills is moving ahead with plans to convert its garmenting units into 100 per cent dedicated organic production capacity. The spinning operations of the vertically integrated company are already completely organic, as is the knitting capacities. With a group turnover of around Rs. 160 crore (US $ 32 million), the garmenting division accounts for a

with focus of education, including community education programmes and schools for kids.

“We are on the advisory board of Control Union and international organizations look up to us as truly sustainable, which gives our efforts bigger impetus to continue on the path and realize the dream to be India’s first 100 per cent sustainable textile company,” shared Vivek Anand, Executive Director Armstrong.

turnover of Rs. 70 crore (US $ 14 million) and is the growth engine for the company for the next few years. Having understood that today, the corporate strategies could be built not only on differential competitiveness, but also in adopting sustainable initiatives including social and environmental commitments; the company invested in wind mills this year for its captive energy needs. The company is also involved in many CSR activities


IS THE AEPC-lED COMPlIANCE PROjECT ‘DISHA’ lOSING DIRECTION…

DISHA CONTROVERSy

DISHA IS EVOlVING… AIM AND SOUl REMAIN ROCK STEADy

(June 16-30)

(July 1-15)

In a frank and open letter AEPC Chairman Dr. A Sakthivel replied to the queries that AO had put forward regarding ‘DISHA’.

Has the basic agenda of Disha changed? No, the basic agenda is to improve the social compliance benchmark across the industry, which DISHA is confident to achieve. Criticism only makes our resolve stronger to show results and demonstrate that enrolling with Disha can and does make a difference.

Why are big exporters enrolling when they clearly have nothing to gain? As per the present enrolment statistics 19% are units with over 1000 workers, 10% with 500 to less than 1000 workers, 25% with 500 to less than 200 workers, and 46% with

Initiated with the aim to encourage members to follow better social practices, which would give them a competitive edge in the global market where social compliance is increasingly becoming an important buying decision, AEPC launched Disha officially in December 2011, though preliminary meetings and informal talks with stakeholders were already in progress. Apparel Online kept a close watch on the progress of the project and attended many of the open house sessions, but even we could not deny the changing directions of the project from one meeting to another.

As responsible media for the industry, AO highlights the concerns of the stakeholders and invites the AEPC Disha team to give some convincing answers… The most common question being asked is why big exporters are enrolling when they clearly have nothing to gain.

less than 200 workers. Further, AEPC encourages all levels of players joining. Many of the bigger exporters also have expressed interest in better management systems based approach, and effective documentation management to be more efficient. There are obvious long-term gains from this programme, once it gets the due global endorsements – gains which will be equally relevant to big players. In the short-term, we encourage their participation as demonstration of their confidence in this programme and as much needed flag bearers of this programme. Some of them are the Executive Committee members of AEPC, and are keen to demonstrate that it is a truly “industry-owned and industry-driven” programme.


TEx-FILE RoUND UPhUB VISITS

Chandigarh – Headquarters the Spinners(March 1-15)

Catching the pulse of seven big players in yarn spinning located in and around Chandigarh, the Textile Team at Apparel Online was impressed with the wide range of offerings predominantly in cotton for the knitting industry, with about 85 per cent of the spinning being done for the segment. From basic commodity yarn to niche yarns, the companies offer a variety of grey, dyed, mélange and performance yarns, a majority of which is for the export market. Of the seven yarn majors that the team met, six are public limited companies who admitted that fluctuating dollar and absence of a firm cotton policy has affected their business substantially.

“We have to keep a large customer base, to counter the changing market conditions and we cannot take risk of working exclusively with one market segment, even if there is a major difference in pricing. In case of mélange you have to have consistent buyers to sell, while commodity yarn can be sold to anybody.”

Ashish Bagrodia, Managing Director, Winsome Textile Industries Ltd.

“This year 55 to 60 lakh bales have already been exported and we expect another 40 lakh bales to be exported, so India is left with only 225 lakh bales, less than last year, which means there’ll be a shortage of cotton in India. If most of the raw cotton is being exported to China, how can we compete.”

Hardyal S. Cheema, Managing Director, Cheema Spintex Ltd.

“A Government policy should be made in consultation with the players from each segment of the value chain preparing the way for a consolidated and integrated policy. With auto-doffers, quality is better; efficiency and utilization of plant has doubled and fewer workers are required.”

L.K. Singh, Executive Director & CEO, GPI Textiles Ltd.

“The last 6 months have been bad for spinners Normally spinners keep stocks, and ironically prices drastically fell in the month of April last year. We really needed to have an integrated textile policy which brings a long-term growth roadmap for the entire value chain.”

Dharmendra Shah, President, Fertichem Cotspin Ltd.


“How can we compete with other countries with so many added costs from high freight to transaction expenses? Even on export credit we are paying 12 per cent.”

Manish Bagrodia, Managing Director, Winsome Yarns Ltd.

“In last 14 months, the industry has been burdened with a 3 to 3.5 per cent interest rate just to control inflation and I don’t think that industry plays any major role in creating inflation.”

Mohanjit Singh Pooni, Chief Executive, Rana Polycot Ltd.

Textile Industry on Course Correction…

(December 1-15)

The textile value chain in India is very well integrated and any movement along the chain, even at the crop level impacts the whole cycle. In fact, for the industry, it really doesn’t matter if the cotton prices are high or low, what matters is that it should be stable. If prices suddenly go up or suddenly go down then it affects the industry and disrupts their calculations, stock evaluations and orders in the pipeline. Over the past nearly two years the indecisive policies of the Government has shaken the foundation of the textile industry, yet there are many positive indications that give confidence for growth. This SWOT analysis is the result of in-depth discussions with many industry stalwarts…

The Indian textile industry, one of the oldest industries in the country contributes about 14 per cent to industrial production, 4 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 17 per cent to the country’s export earnings, while generating employment for over 40 million people, second only to agriculture. Yet, the industry has failed to reach heights, despite industrial optimism… but all is not lost and the Government over the last few years and particularly in the current budget has taken steps to strength the textile industry.


Is Digital Printing the future for Surat?(March 16-31)

Surat which has traditional strength in printed georgettes, chiffons and voiles on rotary printing, has in the last five years positioned itself as a major embroidery centre with around 1,50,000 embroidery machines in the city. Always looking for new techniques to add value, many players in the city are now investing in digital printing. AO’s Textile Team recently met up with few of them to trace the trend… Though some feel that the digital printing market will always remain a small order business catering to designers and boutique, some others feel that in two years’ time, once the technology matures and production costs goes down further, the demand would automatically rise giving an edge to those who started early.

Girish luthra, MD, luthra Dyeing & printing Mills

“It is fashion which drives technique, technique never drives fashion. Digital printing is one of the 7 or 8 printing techniques available today, like rotary, hand printing, spray printing, table printing, cold wax, transfer prints, etc. Despite so many techniques, 95 to 98 per cent of fashion still remains with simple techniques of printing, as the moment techniques get complicated it has a very

short life. As of now digital prints has a very small share in the market used at designer level where the volumes are small.”

Shalin Vaidya, owner, Swastik Value Addition

“We decided to get into digital printing as this is the future as labour availability is shrinking day by day. This is far ahead than conventional printing as you can play with unlimited colours. As of now ink cost is very high but with time it would come down. Earlier ink cost was Rs. 7000/-, now it is around Rs. 3000/-. We are looking at the cost coming down to Rs. 1000, as then it would become more viable.”

Yash Saluja, Director, Sahiba fabrics

“We have not entered into digital printing though there is a demand as it is quite expensive and not viable for mass production.” With a turnover of Rs. 350 crore, Sahiba is producing three million metres/month of dyed and printed fabrics and is expanding in embroidery. The company also has recently entered into home textiles business.

Vaibhav Kanodia, Director, Niharika Dyeing printing Mill

“I think in a few years even the flat belts in the processing units would vanish. There is a lot happening in digital printing as the ink prices are going down and labour issues are increasing in the country, so more and more process houses would have to opt for digital printing. There is a lot of education and R&D involved and learning the pre-treatment is very important. Unlike conventional printing,

we do not mix the gum thickener in the dyes itself because it would be very difficult for the nosils to spray. on the fabric.

Rakesh patel, Head operations & Sales, Dtex prints

“Digital is all about mass customization. Right now, there are about 8 to 10 people in Surat who have digital printers and they are working as job workers. It’s not easy to be in this business. It’s all about technology; one has not only to be a textile and dyeing expert, but computer and software knowledge is also important. When all this integrates then only a digital printing business can sustain.”

Harsh Dhawan, Managing Director, Gokul tex print

“We thought of entering into digital printing as conventional printing is getting tougher each day due to labour, water and environmental issues. Secondly, fashion changes very fast so you need to print smaller lots. In conventional printing we have to print at least 1200 metres per colour but in digital printing quantity is no problem.

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Vaibhav Arora, Director, Rasik Vatika Silk Mills.

“Why one would buy a polyester fabric of Rs. 20 and add another Rs. 80 for digital printing?

China is ahead of us in digital prints because their costing is very good.”

Ravi Jain, the young owner of Veronica Digital

“There has been a good response from our clients in Delhi and Mumbai who are

garment exporters. In my view, the future is digital but it will take some more time to penetrate into mass production.”

Aayush Rathi, Director, MS orange technologies

“Surat market requires quantity. Ink price is still a question though it has gone down but

it needs to go down further. But yes, it’s the future. In my view, every process house should start digital printing in parallel, perhaps with smaller machines doing 2,500 metres/day. You can sell 50,000 metres of conventional and 5,000 metres of digital for the perfect combination.”

CORPORATE TAlK(April 1-15)

S.P. Oswal, Chairman, Vardhman Group, Voices Concern Impacting Industry; Inaugurates New Office in Gurgaon

With a turnover close to US $ 1 billion and 24 manufacturing facilities in five states across India, Vardhman Group, the manufacturers of yarns, grey and processed fabrics, sewing threads and garments recently inaugurated their new sprawling office premises in Gurgaon. The Group Chairman, S.P. Oswal was present at the occasion. After a small ceremony, the Chairman in his one o’ one interaction with Apparel Online shared his views on various industry concerns along with his expansion plans which is an “On-going Process” for Vardhman Group.

He supports the integrated textile policy and at the same time feels that the Government has to see farmer’s interest too. On Private Textile Parks, he said they are not being utilized to optimum levels. Commenting on Labour Laws he opined that the Government needs to take a stand. “The Government has to consider which countries we are competing with and

what labour laws exist there... the fact is that with our existing labour laws, we cannot compete with them. If we do not liberalize our labour laws, my assessment is that we’ll lose this momentum and the garment export industry might even start shrinking after five years,” says Oswal who feels that NREGA is deterrent to the industry.

(April 16-30)

SEL Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

“Working with Open Eyes and Ready to Grab Opportunities”… Neeraj Saluja, Managing Director

Progressive companies are the representation of the vision and hard work of the people who strive for success. Forty-four years old, Neeraj Saluja in just a span of eight years, along with his father and brother, has taken SEL to a turnover of over Rs. 2000 crore, making it one of the fastest growing integrated textile companies in India today… Looking after the overall management including production, commercial and financial aspects of SEL, Neeraj with his sharp vision provides strategic direction to the company in the selection of technology and machineries, setting up new manufacturing facilities, production planning of yarn and fabrics, improvement of production processes, and exploring and diversifying into new ventures. Team Apparel Online met up with the dynamic MD in his very tastefully done up office in Ludhiana.

“The focus for growth has been on both, top line and the bottom line and while spinning is giving us the top line, value-added products give us the bottom line. Being fully integrated gives tremendous advantage, we would be one of the few companies who are vertically integrated right from yarn, fabric, processing, garmenting, home furnishing, captive power generation and at this scale." says Neeraj Saluja, MD, SEL Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

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(July 16-31)

KG Denim Increases its Denim Capacity by 30% Believes in Value & not Volumes

KG Denim Ltd., a well recognized name for denim fabric is also producing piece dyed shirting and bottom fabrics along with home furnishings (sheeting and terry towel). While denim accounts for about 60 per cent of its business, 30 per cent is divided between apparel fabrics and home furnishing and the remaining 10 per cent is denim apparel exports which is an extension of its fabric sales to some of its customers who insisted them to give finished products. Apparel Online Textile Team met B. Sriramulu, Managing Director, KG Denim at his sprawling corporate office in Mettupalayam, Coimbatore to take an update on recent activities.

With increased capacity, KG Denim is now going to touch 30 million metres/annum in denim manufacturing by next year. “We are fully using our current capacities; in fact, we are actually falling short of fabric, as the demand is more. So hopefully the fabric production which has started now will build up enough capacity to meet the demands,” says Sriramulu for whom Europe has been the biggest buyer for its fabrics followed by the US.

Textile Companies Going for Expansions & Diversifications

(May 16-31)

Who says the market is sluggish or that erratic cotton policies are hampering the textile industry, when Apparel Online talked to various companies whether in the Southern part of India or Western region, most of them declared that they are growing steadily and are also looking at both organic and inorganic growth. The idea is to either add capacities or to diversify into newer product categories. Taking cue from the bigger players, a lot of smaller companies are entering into the technical textiles segment, which is fast emerging as a growth driver for the industry, as they see a huge scope in this segment, especially meditech.

Parvati Fabrics Ltd., based out of Surat is another company which is looking at expanding its technical textile business which it forayed into about 1½ years back. While talking about his technical textiles business, Vikash Pacheriwal, Managing Director of the company says, “Presently, we are producing 10 tonnes/day non woven fabrics and now we are looking at doubling our capacity; by 2013 we shall be producing 20 tonnes/day.

Sangam (India) Limited, Bhilwara has recently increased its production capacity in denim fabric to 40 million metres/annum. “As we have launched our own denim brand aarp’s we felt the need of increasing our denim fabric capacity,” says S. N. Modani, Managing Director of the company.

LNJ Denim is almost doubling its capacity by the end of 2013. “We are presently manufacturing 18 million metres per annum and with expansion, which would be completed in two years, we will be producing 30 million metres/annum,” informs Y. C. Gupta, CEO, LNJ Denim.

SEL Manufacturing Co. Ltd. too is on an expansion mode. In spinning the company is going for massive expansion in its Bhopal unit. Presently the company has close to 1,50,000 spindles and by the end of May 2012 it would be 5.5 to 6 lakh spindles. The company is also increasing its terry towel production capacity by adding over 100 looms. Before the close of next year, the company will have about 325 looms taking production capacity to around 100 tonnes per day from the existing 45 tonnes/day capacity. The company is also putting 1,98,000 spindles to produce denim yarn and weave denim fabric and subsequently produce denim bottoms.

Mumbai based Siyaram’s, plans to invest Rs. 160 crore in FY12-13 to enhance its fabrics and garments manufacturing capacity. The expansion work will start by August-September this year.

Maharaja Shree Umaid Mills Ltd. (MSUM), an LN Bangur Group Enterprise, based in Pali, Rajasthan, presently having 1,10,000 spindles is now going for expansion in its fabric manufacturing capacities. Sharing the details of the expansion plans, Govind Sharda, Executive Director of the company says, “We are adding 96 air-jet looms and also increasing our processing capacity. Presently we have 494 shuttle looms.”


Textile Companies Must Come Together and Act in Tandem… Suggest Textile Stalwarts

(February 16-29)

■ Treat clothing at par with farm products and as such Zero VAT, Zero CST, Zero GST

■ Instead of subsidies, make profits tax free; profits will jump up

■ Fabric base, quality, variety, innovation creative content be enlarged at a faster pace, value addition needs to be stressed

■ Large one shop floor production

■ Re-visit labour issues at par with competing countries

■ R & D is now key responsibility of India and China

■ Buffer stock first, like China, exports next

■ Consolidate sectoral institutions in a single authority, say Textile Board centralized all in one trade promotion body for exports, DTA, growth, development & research

■ Do away with HY obligation, Consign dead mills, Consign old machinery above 20 years/30 years.

ON TExTIlE POlICy…

Rikhab C Jain, CMD, TT Limited “Frankly speaking even after 50 years of working my entire corporate profits yearly are much less than annual salary package of even my junior MBAs. That is why despite textile industry being the biggest industry next to agriculture, largest employer, biggest foreign exchange earner etc., the industry does not entice investors anywhere in the world.”

S. P. Lohia, Group Chairman of Indorama Group“Fate of textile industry worldwide is the same. Still in India we feel that we are not competitive which is wrong. India is very competitive and has its own inherent strengths. The overall costs are rising worldwide, India is still very reasonable; we can do smaller lots and India has textile culture, we should market our strength rather than just our products.”

K. K. Agarwal, Chairman Alps Industries Ltd.“If we are exporting to the US, and suppose we are giving them FOB US $ 1, they are selling it for US $ 5 to US $ 10, the main margin is taken by the retailing sector. If I setup a plant for Rs. 1000 crore, my turnover may not be Rs. 1000 crore, so it means that infrastructure cost is really high and the returns are not as much which discourages new investors.”

Shishir Jaipuria, MD, Ginni Filaments“The economic and market conditions indicate that in spite of the present temporary setbacks, this sector has sustainable and long-term growth prospects in India. Going by the present trends, India may increasingly become a supplier of intermediate products to other successful garment exporting countries.”

V. K. Goyal, ED & CEO, SEL Manufacturing“Leading fast fashion retailers are testimony to the fact as to how shorter product life cycles, superior supply chain management, product development/differentiation, ability to forecast fashion and trends, culture of dynamism with flexibility, perfect entry/exit timings and continuous innovation keeping in view customers requirements are the key factors for ongoing success.”


Cotton price to stay stable this winter

(November 1-15)

■ India’s cotton export in 2012-13 is expected to fall to 7 million bales.

■ As per Cotton Advisory Board, China’s total cotton import is projected to fall to 2.5 million tonnes this year, half of last year’s level.

■ Around 65 per cent of India’s cotton exports go to China.

“The cotton prices would remain stable, as China has already accumulated huge stocks of cotton. Further India’s crops, despite poor rains, will still be reasonably big at 334 lakh bales. China would be buying more of cotton yarn from India, hence availability of cotton for spinning will be ok.”

Sanjay Jain, Managing Director, TT Ltd.

“We cannot rejoice as of now, but the situation does look under control with no major fluctuation expected. The prices of cotton are higher in China, in the range of us $ 115-120 per lbs, if China allows big imports of cotton, then the prices in India and rest of world will go up.”

Mukesh Bansal, Vice-President, Vardhman Textiles

“The crop report from all cotton growing regions are positive indicating that the global market should stabilize between 0.75 cents/pound to 0.85 cents/pound. This year China has put on hold their buying as the companies feel that the prices will drop down further.”

Anil Nair V-P Marketing, Cotton Yarn, Alok Industries Ltd.

The cotton prices in India are expected to remain within the range of Rs. 34,000 per candy ± 5 per cent. Since the import and export of cotton is open in India, hence if the prices of cotton will go up beyond Rs. 34,000 per candy, the cotton consuming mills will import the cotton. At the same time, if the prices will go down below Rs. 32,000 per candy, which is minimum support price, then the Government will enter into the purchases and will not allow the prices to go down below this level,”

Y.C. Gupta, CEO, LNJ Denim

linen Knitted Fabrics Becoming Fervour for European Brands

(September 1-15)

Linen woven fabrics and garments have been a fashion craze for ages, but more recently it is linen knits that are in vogue. The biggest global buyers for knitted linen fabrics are Zara (Inditex Group), H&M, Lidel, CK, Benetton, Diesel to mention a few; however as of today, Zara is the most aggressive buyer. The main countries which are doing linen knits production and garmenting are Portugal, Turkey and China, but now Bangladesh is also catching up due to its low cost of production. As the number of pieces are increasing sharply the brands are looking for low cost knitting and garmenting. Linen yarn producers believe that Bangladesh and India are the next destinations for linen knit garment manufacturing for the international brands.

PRODUCT TAlK

“The knitted fabric if prepared correctly is extremely soft after dyeing and finishing,” says Manish Mehta, Director, Texperts,

“For us Inditex Group (mainly Zara) is the biggest buyer right now for knitted linen fabric. This is the hottest product category today and more companies should get into it and grab the orders. We are planning to tie-up with a few major knitting and

“The major problem when knitting linen is of yarn breakages due to its slubby nature and thick and thin characteristic of the yarn leading to low production and bad fabric quality. The only solution is to use

the right content of linen depending on the machine gauge and possibly focus more on quality fabric than quantity fabric while knitting.” - Babbu Sachdeva, Managing Director, Mercury Fabrics

dyeing companies in north and south India to give them training in knitting and processing linen yarns. We will be calling technicians from China for these training sessions. - Ratul Kashyap, the Founder of B. S. Overseas

representative office of Kingdom Holding Co. of China which claims to be pioneers in linen knitting yarns.


New Eco Friendly Fibres Being Explored

(October 1-15) As the fashion brands move towards more eco friendly fabrics, the world of textiles continues to break new grounds with innovative fibres being explored; some have already found commercial success, while some others are still at the R&D stage. Indeed, the use of eco friendly and natural fabrics like cotton linen, silk, bamboo are on the rise, and some fresh sustainable and biodegradable fibres from trees, fruits and other edible products which have strong fibre content are being explored to give more options to the world of fashion. Apparel Online’s textile research wing explores some of these unconventional fibres which are the future of the world of textile and fashion like Soybean Fibre, Banana & Pineapple Waste Fibre and Peanut Protein Fibre.

Ashish Bagrodia, Managing Director, Winsome Textile Industries Ltd.

“We were the pioneers in making bamboo yarn and soya milk yarns in India. The manufacturers depend on the demand and it’s the designers sitting in Milan, Paris and the likes who create demand for niche products. New fibres are being innovated as the international brands are getting stringent day by day on sustainable products and they are pushing their suppliers to manufacture eco friendly products.”

JC Laddha, Executive Director, RSWM Ltd.

“RSWM has created many milestones in its five decades’ journey, in last two years it has commercialized 11 innovative products including yarn from special materials like bamboo and soya. Our research team is working relentlessly and this year we hope to release five unique yarns, which shall help RSWM create a special niche in the world of textiles. The product basket comprises specialty, functional, technical and eco friendly yarn using nano-technology and biotechnological fibres.”

Kiran Panchal, President (Marketing), Modern Denim Ltd.

“We have recently developed denim with 70% bamboo and 30% organic cotton with inherent anti microbial properties. We have to walk with times to ensure that our products are natural. Today we have tried these two natural fibres, tomorrow I may try newer eco friendly fibres as that is the need of the hour. We have used herbal dyes so I can say it’s a 100% eco friendly product apt for ladies and children as it has inherent anti microbial properties of bamboo.”

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INDUSTRY WIRE SCM Garments putting up a new garmenting unit and adding dyeing machines

(February 1-15 )

Tirupur based SCM Garments, producer of knitted apparels mainly T-shirts, leggings and underwears for the global market, is planning to put up a new unit for garmenting. The company already has 20 units in and around Tirupur, and is investment of Rs. 20 crore is being set aside for the new unit which will have an installed capacity of 1500 machines. SCM, headed by P.P.K. Pramasivam, MD, is also installing four dyeing machines for its fabric processing as added capacities in garmenting would mean increase in fabric knitting as well as processing; however the company is not going for additional knitting machines.

Genus Apparels lean adding to value-added product line

(March 1-15)

Faridabad-based Genus Apparels, formerly known as L M Sagar Exports initiated implementation of Lean manufacturing in mid of 2011 and already results have been recorded. “Many operational processes from cutting to finishing were improved with an average of 35 per cent improvement in terms of time saving,” informs Sanjeev Garg, CEO, Genus Apparels. The company manufactures and exports knitted high-fashion garments for women and men and the objective of Lean implementation was to inculcate a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organization.

CTA looks for all-round growth with expansion and better processes

(February 16-29)

CTA, established in the year 1993, is a professionally managed company with a current annual turnover of US $ 25 million having 3 vertically-integrated garment manufacturing units with a production capacity of 6,00,000 pieces per month and a total of 2,500 high tech machines. “Apart from organizational growth, we also aim to provide employment to bigger masses year by year, as we consider it our social and national responsibility,” says Dr. Mukesh Kansal, MD, CTA Apparels.

Nancy Kraft to setup a unit for high value garments

(February 1-15)

Delhi based Nancy Kraft, specializing in ladies garments, is planning to set-up a unit for high value garments with heavy embellishments. According to Narinderpal Singh, Managing Director of the company, the total investment on this new unit shall be around Rs. 8 crore. “We have three units in Delhi. This new unit is coming up in

Kundali. We are installing 100 sewing machines but as this unit is going to be dedicated to highly embellished garments so the focus shall be more on ornamentation machines like schiffili, multi heads, etc,” shares Singh. The company did a turnover of Rs. 50 crore in FY 10-11 and with this expansion the company is looking at touching Rs. 53 crore in FY 11-12.


Global Socks: New venture of Millenium Knit(February 16-29)

Manufacturer and exporter of Terry Towel, Terry Fabric, Polar Fleece Blankets, Velour, mélange fabric, fitted sheets, stripes and knitted fabric, Millenium Knit has recently started a new sister concern named ‘Global Socks’ in Dholka, a town situated near Ahmedabad, in which formal and designer socks for men, women and kids are being manufactured. “We have started a separate unit of 1800 square yards in Dholka for socks manufacturing. For this, we have installed 40 world class KTN machines with a capacity to produce 18 lakh pairs of socks per month and we will further increase our machines and production capacity if the demand for our socks increases in the near future. As for now we’ve made a target of 50% export and 50% domestic business for our new product,” shared Ansuya Patel, Owner of the company to Team AO. The company launched their new product at the recently held Udyog 2012, Surat, organized by SGCCI and got an overwhelming response from the visitors.

Oswal Dyeing & Finishing Mills expands into Garmenting

(April 1-15)

Oswal Dyeing & Finishing Mills, Ludhiana has expanded itself into garmenting recently. Earlier the company was specializing in all kind of knitting fabrics and blended yarns for exports. “We have installed 50 stitching machines for round neck T-Shirts manufacturing with the brand name of Goldentree. Our initial target is 15,000 T-Shirts per month,” informed Kushal Malhotra, Director of the company. Talking about plans to enter the export market, he said that right now the focus is on domestic supply, but going forward, exports is definitely the next growth route.

ludhiana based Top Trader will invest 3.5 crore to expand Garmenting

(April 1-15)

Exploring new avenues to grow has become the growth mantra for most companies and in garmenting in particular the market of choice today is domestic retail. Ludhiana based fabric manufacturer, supplying to both the exporters and domestic garment

manufacturers, Top Trader is going in for expansion with an investment of Rs. 3.5 crore in the coming months. Gurvinder Singh, of the company told Apparel Online, “We have a good reputation in fabric manufacturing and supplying and on a

smaller level garmenting too. Now we are expanding ourselves in knitted fabric and garmenting manufacturing.” In line with the plans the company will install 10 circular knitting machines and 300 stitching machines with few embroidery and printing machines also.

Kitex Garments abandons plans to go out of the country for expansion

(October 16-31)

The Rs. 550 crore Kerala (Kochi) based Kitex Garments, manufacturing and exporting garments, such as hosiery, shirts, pants, jackets, innerwear and outerwear has for the present disbanded its plans to go outside the country for expansion. This was confirmed by A.K. Mathew, GM Production, in an exclusive interaction with AO.

(November 16-30)

Paramount Clothing sets up a new factory for kidswear with 1,000 machines Paramount Clothing, Ludhiana is on an expansion mode, the company is investing Rs. 10 crore to start a new factory of 1,000 machines for its new product category kidswear. The factory spread over 25,000 square feet area is near completion and in February 2013, the company will launch its first kidswear range, shared Rakesh Kapoor, MD of the company. Paramount Clothing has a total turnover of almost Rs. 85 crore in which Rs. 25 crore comes from domestic sales from its brand W&T (Wilkins & Tuscany),


AriaTex to add 600 machines to its new unit in this Fy

Alrkayan Apparel and Exports Invest Rs. 32 crores to Double Capacity

(August 1-15) (September 1-15)

Bangalore based AriaTex is planning to add 600 more sewing machines in

its new unit at Dabaspet Industrial Area within this FY. The unit which was commissioned in December 2011 is presently equipped with 410 machines. AriaTex has four

manufacturing units with 1700 sewing machines, producing 5,00,000

units per month. “Our growth relies on our credibility for quality; our production

line utilizes batch processing where quality control specialists are incorporated within the production lines,

Alrkayan Apparel and Exports, a Mumbai based jeans manufacturer, has doubled his capacity and is getting into new markets for exports. The company, presently producing 4,000 pieces per day, has started its new unit in 7,500 square metres in Ambarnath near Ulhasnagar (Maharasthra) where the washing unit is almost ready to commence operations and the sewing plant with a capacity of 4,000 pieces per day will be operational by January next year, Prabhakar Shetty, MD of the company told AO.

TT Brand awarded the “Master Brand” status by the CMO Asia Wing

(March 1-15)

At a glittering event held in Mumbai, the TT Brand was awarded the “Master Brand” status by the CMO Asia Wing (affiliate of CMO, Worldwide). The award received by the Managing Director, Sanjay K Jain is another feather in the growing appreciation list for TT. This award was given in recognition of the popularity, reliability and credibility of the brand over the years and reinforced the value systems been followed for the last 41 years by the brand owner.

(April 16-30) (September 16-30)

Amrit Exports enhances Ethical Initiatives

C.A. Patel Textiles diversifies into garmenting; to invest Rs. 30 croreKolkata based Amrit Exports, which is

a leading manufacturer of workwear from the country, exporting to several international workwear suppliers, is now looking to strengthen its supply chain and enhancing its ethical initiatives for greater transparency. “We are committed to improving our processes while also

remaining sensitive to our workers need,” says Anil Buchasia, Director. In fact, the company is in process of full implementation of oracle for total transparency and information flow. The company is also setting up a dyeing unit for knitted garments in an effort to

backward integrate. “The dyeing unit is designed to be a green unit deriving energy from solar power for which we plan to have captive solar power plant,” informs Anil. Amrit Exports has increased presence in villages for converting skilled labour, while also investing in various social initiatives.

Even though the market is slow, some players are not letting the conditions deter them from expansion and diversification. One such enterprising company is C.A. Patel Textiles of Ahmedabad, which is going to start Garment manufacturing very soon. “We have not witnessed a slowdown either in export or in domestic market and this has encouraged us to go ahead with our expansion plans. We are looking to add garmenting to our capabilities. Our plan is to invest Rs. 30 crore in a new factory of 500 stitching machines, which is being built in Ahmedabad. Production will start in six months as construction is in full swing, initially we will install 100 machines and later the capacity will be enhanced in phases as per strategy, said Mukesh Bhai C. Patel and Sunil Bhai C. Patel, Directors.


Orient Craft plans Rs. 175 crore Capacity Expansions

(May 16-31)

Always moving ahead, Orient Craft has committed to spend Rs. 125 crore to Rs. 175 crore over the next three years for capacity building and other auxiliary trades such as printing and retailing. The company plans to fund the investments through internal accruals and debts. Also, it foresees higher interest from individual equity investors for the closely held company. “Post completion of expansion plans, we are positive on striking a turnover of Rs. 1,400 crore by 2012. This anticipated figure is a total of the exports turnover of Rs. 1,200 crore and domestic turnover of Rs. 225 crore,” informs Sudhir Dhingra, CMD.

(May 1-15)

(September 16-30)

(June 16-30)

BP International expands capacity

Hanung planning for Backward Integration

Swastik Trade Centre doubles capacity, focusing on Europe

(May 16-31)

(April 16-30)

Creative Clothex Gets Best Manufacturer’s Award from Adidas; Going lean and Coming up with a New Unit in Noida

Permeshwar Creations starts Exports of high-end Fashion Accessories

Specialising in woven sportswear, Noida based Creative Clothex has been recently conferred with Best Manufacturer’s Award by Adidas. While sharing the details Mohit Singhal, Director says, “Amongst their ten-twelve dedicated vendors, Adidas picked us for this award. Our wastage and rejection percentage was just about 0.25% and about 2.3% rejection norms. We are looking at 7 to 8% reduction in our wastages,” he adds.

Among the product categories that have kept footfalls moving at retailers is fashion accessories. Recognizing the potential to grow with this category, Mumbai-based Permeshwar Creations has started export of high-end fashion accessories just two months ago. The company earlier was into women, kids and menswear. Having about 40 years’ experience in the apparel business, Chairman Gyandev Sadh told Apparel Online, “Over the last year in particular we have seen an increase in the demand for high-end fashion accessories in Europe and Australia even as the orders for garments slow down. In a short span of two months we are already working with more than 20 buyers in these countries, exporting scarves, stoles, caps, bags and beachwear.” BP International has recently

expanded its garment manufacturing unit in Salem, Tamil Nadu. Working with 300 machines producing high-end women’s wear for the export market in bulk and each order ranges from a quantity of 50,000 to one lakh pieces. The company is among the few who are manufacturing garments from the city, which is otherwise known for its textile base. Established in the year 2002 with 150 machines, and export turnover of Rs. 20 crore in the last FY, the company also acquired a SA8000 certificate of compliance, informed Ashok Jain, Owner.

Noida based Hanung Toys and Textiles, the biggest exporter of soft toys from India and one of the leading players in home furnishings, is now going in for backward integration. “We are looking at putting 1 lakh spindles initially and adding more capacities at a later date. The total investment would be around Rs. 400 crore,” avers AK Bansal, Chairman and Managing Director.

Jaipur based Swastik Trade Centre has doubled its capacity with new unit of 300 machines and shifted its focus from casual wear to high-end fashion. Earlier the company was doing export mainly to the USA, but now from the last one year it is targeting more buyers in Europe and getting good response from there. “We are now manufacturing hand embroidered and value added ladies wear specially as per the taste of European buyers and they are giving good orders to us. Our new unit is of 8,000 square feet and we have total of 475 stitching machines installed at the unit. An investment of Rs. 22 lakh has been made on the machineries while the building of the new unit is on lease,” said Anand Kabra, CEO.


FAShIoN BUSINESSTwelve Months of Extreme Dynamism...As dynamic as the true nature of Fashion, the year 2012 has seen a lot happening on the business front. With some popular silhouettes making the masses go crazy all of a sudden, there were also some fresh additions in product categories that the global market looks at sources sourcing from different parts of the world, especially from India. Also imparting a negative effect on the industry were certain bottlenecks like the unpredictable weather and the ongoing recession, forcing the manufacturers to rethink and re-strategize…

Over the years the Indian knitwear industry has lost a large portion of its mass market to low-cost competitors offering FOBs that Indian manufacturers are finding difficult to match. Left with little choice for survival, Indian knitwear manufacturers have been exploring ways to remain competitive… the most obvious is adding value to the knitwear

for better prices. Significantly, both in the US and EU, India witnessed drop in quantities of knitted tops and T-shirts, though the value of exports in 2011 increased, indicating a market shift from basics to high fashion for knit players operating both from Tirupur and Delhi.

With major orders shifting from India to Bangladesh, controlling the prices is still of major concern along

with one the viable solutions which is knit manufacturers based in Tirupur who were till date innovating mostly with basics and printing as a surface enhancement techniques are now concentrating more on value added products and moving towards high fashion developments as demand for the same has increased from India. Also seen are companies investing in PD as the buyer today looks at better prices and services while comparing the India’s prices with Bangladesh.

The Indian garment export industry is best known for its value additions and capabilities of small runs in mass to high fashion for the global apparel trade. Over time buyers have sought inspiration from the many techniques available in the country differentiating it from countries like China and Bangladesh, who are better known for volumes and cheaper

prices. While many players have invested in putting together a team of creative designers to develop products which are fresh and innovative, there are many others who still work with tech-packs, considering investment in PD as a waste of resources.

But with cost cutting becoming a need in global trade, many brands/retailers that had huge PD teams are now cutting down and looking

at outsourcing their design development to players who can partner with them, developing a greater need for an exporter to invest in a PD team for the future. But even though PD has not been the only means to survive in the ever changing business of fashion, the trend is surely witnessing a pleasant change with more and more exporters wanting to build an in-house PD team to support their business – offering the concept of a new ‘collaborative partnership’.

(January 16-31)

From Mass Market Basics to High Fashion Indian Knitwear Industry Adds Value in Response to Bangladesh…

(June 16-30)

Strategy of Growth The Necessity of A Product Development Team…

(February 1-15)

‘MAN’-ING up Exports International Buyers Show Interest in Menswear From India…

As women’s wear fashion touches the peak of its innovation with so much experimentation done in the past, the year 2012 seems to give new directions to menswear with the whole world venturing into this developing fashion market. With the male consumer becoming more fashion conscious, male clothing has

transformed into a new area of interest with retailers worldwide, as a reaction to which, a growing number of exporters showcased menswear in the Tex-Trends 2012 fair, reporting increased enquiries from international buyers, signalling a bright future for Indian manufacturers.

Many exhibitors at the fair had added men’s lines this year and most of them reported

a visible increase in demand with increased footfalls for menswear. A probable reason for this can be the saturation that is seeping into the womenswear market that is supplied from India, with almost all manufacturers innovating and giving tough competition to each other. Keeping in mind that the buyer can only source a certain amount of products from the country, buyers are now finding menswear suppliers from India who can innovate at a similar level, but in a different category altogether at competitive prices.


With the weather becoming highly unpredictable especially in the past one year, seasons are no longer as clearly defined by months as the case earlier. With the summers hitting the shores a lot early than before, while winters are shrinking in duration, sudden adverse rains and storms also affecting sales, with retailers over the globe

are becoming cautious, looking at ordering ‘closer to the season’ so as to control the effect of unpredictable weather on footfalls and preferences. Gauging what products to place on the shelves at what time as a growing concern even the most major of brands both in the US and Europe are changing the way they source, place orders and manage inventory efficiently.

Unpredicted for brick-n-mortar stores, the shopping figures dramatically went on a rise, as online fashion retailers capitalized on the consumers’ convenience and comfort of shopping online to avoid the downpours. With retailers confused as to what stock and when to buy and in what quantities, required at the moment is a systematic planning and a key trick being followed by most brands now is working on shorter and more flexible cycles and not maintaining huge inventories much in advance.

(September 1-15)

Bottle-Necks For Change ‘Erratic Weather’ Playing A Key Role In ‘Closer To The Season’ Buying…

(July 1-15)

Resort Wear Gets Value Added… Opportunities For Indian Manufacturers

(October 16-31)

Most Promising Product The New Silhouette for Seasons to Come The Passion Packed “Peplums”…

As fashion moves in a complete cycle, one trend that is visiting us back from the long gone eras and is here to stay for at least a few seasons in a row, is the ever so popular silhouette – THE PEPLUM. In simple terms, a pattern that imparts an hour glass shape to a woman’s body and traditionally seen as a short overskirt usually attached to a fitted

jacket, blouse or dress, a trend that popped up as a rage in the Spring/Summer 2012 runways, seeped onto the high street and has once again made a grand appearance on the Spring/Summer 2013 runways, transforming from a high-fashion to the most promising ready-to-wear mass fashion silhouette.

Picking it up fast from the runways, are

retailers world over who have further found infinite ways of making the peplum be it in solid coloured fabrics, or vibrantly printed designs, all depending upon the client and brand ideology. Ranging from a peplum tee, peplum pencil dress, sequined peplum top and ribbed peplum jacket, from a more high-fashion summer to a more retail based high street winter, the look stocked as dresses to skirts with names like Neiman Marcus, Topshop, ASOS and River Islands for A/W’12-13 and will be spotted in many more seasons to come.

Filling up the gap between the two major runways seasons of the year, the ‘intra-season resort wear collections’ have today become one of the biggest selling points for designers and retailers worldwide. Once a leisurely fascination of wealthy socialites, sailing off for the holidays and primarily comprised of caftans, resort wear has today merged together with

the fashionable ready to wear market. Owing to the key characteristics of free-flowing fabrics, drapes and easy silhouettes which have been the real strength of the Indian manufacturing industry, increasing demands create business opportunities for exporters who are fashion aware.

Hitting the runways, were the resort wear collections 2013, which moved beyond the

regular with creative variations in styles and patterns, to add to the regular shift dresses, sundresses, loose trousers, and loose blouses and tops. Not only restricted to women, the whole arena of resort wear has taken a huge leap in the contemporary times, spreading it even to the male wardrobe, with styles that are typically relaxed. Light dresses such as gowns and maxis, linen separates, and swimsuits for women, and colourful loose shirts, walking shorts, and light trousers for men available on the shelves of all retailers.


h2F ExPoRTERS...

Sara Textiles Goes For Full Automation In Its Terry Towel Plant …Exploring Newer Markets

Sara Textiles, the textile manufacturing and trading arm of the Sara Group having an annual turnover of Rs. 3,000 crore, ventured into terry towel manufacturing in 2006 with a state-of-the-art composite unit in Nalagarh, Himachal Pradesh, and since then has been steadily adding loom capacities. Today, the company has 64 looms with a production capacity of 400 metric tonnes/annum, standing at a turnover of Rs. 150 crore/annum. The company is also involved in the export of cotton yarn with warehouses in Europe, including Belgrade to service small weaving companies in the region, which have yarn demand less than a container. The trading and manufacturing activities have been integrated for a substantial presence in the international textile market. S.M. Dwivedi, CEO, Sara Textiles Ltd. in a one o’ one interaction with Team Apparel Online shares the company’s growth strategy involving capacity expansion, automation and energy saving initiatives to compete in an extremely competitive arena...

Pearl Global’s Home Furnishing Business Shaping Up WellDog’s Bedding A New Flourishing Category

The home division at Pearl Global is a relatively new venture, started just about 1½ years back. The home division of Pearl is catering to all top home furnishing brands and retailers of US, Canada and Europe be it Laura Ashley, Calvin Klein, West Point Home; Macy’s, Yves Delorme, Chakra, Petmate… to mention a few. “I am very happy with a new account called Petmate, a US based company which is the largest importer of Pet’s accessories in the world,” states Nimish Dave, COO of the company.

Petmate has just started importing from India, this is their first season and they have placed a few styles for dog beds with Pearl. Petmate has huge range of accessories; Pearl just does the textile bit and the first shipment which the company has already sent was for 11,000 pieces and the current lot is of another 14,000 pieces. “If all goes well, we’ll be able to do a sizeable amount of business with them,” adds Nimish.

Patio Furnishings a Niche & Promising Product Category Not too long ago options for patio or outdoor furniture and furnishings were very limited and usually involved assortment of chairs in metal or plastic and a table with an umbrella hole in the middle of it. However, now with new ways of weatherproofing and new-found attention paid to outdoor areas, it has opened up options to all sorts of furniture and furnishing styles including use of textile. Today, patio furnishings are a growing segment as it gives more cheerful look and comfort to the garden furniture. Though the market presents huge growth opportunities, there are very few manufacturers in India who are producing patio furnishings. While some buyers feel that the reason is the lack of knowledge about the product category, others opine that the industry is incapable of handling the specific requirements of the segment.

Corporate Stories… (April 1-15)

(April 16-30)

(December 1-15)


Chennai Home Furnishing Players Banking on the Strength of Karur

Chennai traditionally has not been a hub for textiles, however being a Metro city and the central location for surrounding textile hubs like Karur, Coimbatore, Salem, Tirupur, Madurai and Erode, many home furnishing companies are operating from the capital of Tamil Nadu in South India. Team Apparel

Online on their recent visit to Chennai met up with a few players who are having their major manufacturing base in Karur, producing a wide variety of product categories in home textiles, with curtains occupying the maximum percentage in their product basket. Catering primarily to European and Scandinavian countries, these companies are not just producing basic commodities but doing a lot of surface ornamentation. Wooltop Designs, Trident Home Furnishings (P) Ltd., Shyamali Export, Visma International, Zen Linen International & Classic Linens International.

VTX striving for adding Rs. 100 cr to its turnover by 2013…

With an annual turnover of Rs. 200 crore Coimbatore based VTX industries is a vertically integrated home textile company doing around 30 bedding collections every year apart from the ones specially designed for their clients. Since its inception 59 years ago, the company has come a long way specializing in bed linen and top of the bed products. With

almost 50% of its business dedicated to Macy’s, VTX has been acknowledged by Macy’s as a “Five Star Vendor” for 13 consecutive years. With major thrust on R&D and design development, the company is targeting to add another Rs. 100 crore to its turnover by the next year as it is looking at expansions and newer markets. Very soft spoken and articulate Jayanthi Ramachandran, Managing Director, VTX Industries, also heading the design division of her company talks to Team Apparel Online in Coimbatore about her business plans for the future…...

GHCL Evolving its Business Module From Commodity to Performance & Specialized Bed Sheets

Over the two decades since its inception, GHCL has positioned itself as one of the major players for sheeting in India behind Welspun and Alok Industries, sharing with Indo Count in the segment. A vertically integrated setup GHCL, owned by well known industrialist Sanjay Dalmia, is catering mainly to the US market to brands/retailers

like Bed Bath & Beyond, Sears, Macy’s, Walmart, Kmart, to mention a few and is now consciously making efforts to move forward both through own R&D and strategic tie-ups to deliver performance and has achieved many firsts on the way. Neeraj Jalan,Vice President-Home Furnishings – GHCL, shares with Apparel Online the future directions in performance sheeting...

Hubs Tapped…(January 16-31)(July 16-31)

Narsapur coming up as the hub for Crochet Home Furnishing products

In home furnishings, the demand for crochet products like table covers, table runners, placemats, and cushions are on the rise, especially in Europe, Turkey and Scandinavian countries. Being a handcraft, India is a major sourcing destination and Narsapur in West Godavari region of Andhra Pradesh, which is known for crochet skills, has received global acclaim for

its intricate craftsmanship, unique designs, good quality and competitive prices. Team Apparel Online talks to a few exporters in Narsapur – Pan Godavari, Dharnidhar Cottage Crafts, Imperial Lace Exports, Sri Devi Exports, P Veeralah Co, Swarna & Co to understand how this local craft is now a global phenomenon.

(June 16-30)(September 16-30)


h2F BUYERS...

McCoy Sourcing: Turkey is a Good Market to Work With Turkey as a buyer for home furnishings, sourcing from India was never heard of a few years ago, as Turkey traditionally has a strong manufacturing base in the segment, especially in terry towels and top of the bed. However, with some real big retail chains in Turkey, now catering exclusively to home furnishing consumers in mid-to-high-end segment like Kervan English Home, Home Sweet Home, Meytek, Chakra, Assortie to mention a few, the market for value-added products is on the rise. The latter three chains are already sourcing from India through their buying agent McCoy Sourcing India headquartered in Srinagar with an operational office in Delhi, headed by Lalit Kitroo.

Find Agencies Re-strategizing its Sourcing BusinessLooking at Newer Markets as Europe’s Economy Struggles

Floated in 1989, Find Agencies Pvt. Ltd. (FAPL), a subsidiary of Francis Wacziarg specifically serving home décor buyers in Europe sourcing both soft and hard goods. Aristide Samuel, Director, FAPL talks to Apparel Online on new markets and new approach to sourcing. Exploring newer markets as a growth avenue, the buying office has recently entered into the South American market and now is in talks with some potential buyers in Australia, Japan, Russia and the Middle East.

(June 1-15)

(September 1-15)

T. Merchandising… Comfort Level with the US Market Founded in 2006, Noida based buying office T. Merchandising by Kaiser Roka and Tehmina Yadav is today sourcing home products worth US $ 12 million from India. Today T. Merchandising has created a niche for itself, sourcing for US buyers like Westpoint Home, Bed Bath & Beyond, Company C and Petmate to mention a few prominent ones.

Home Business Flourishing for Group IndigoInclining More towards Eco Friendly Products

About a year ago, the US $ 20 million worth Group Indigo, a Gurgaon based buying office working with buyers in the UK, France, Belgium, Holland and Scandinavian countries started its home division and within a year touched a turnover of US $ 3 million. "With popular demand for eco friendly home fashion, we are making concentrated efforts to move towards sustainable products," says Nikita Khanna heading home division at Group Indigo.

(May 16-31)

(February 16-29)

Impulse Looking at Spreading its Home Business Beyond Europe

Home is a small but niche business for Impulse International. Started in 2002, currently headed by Satyendra Shukla, DMM, Impulse International, as the first joint venture partner of the buying house Next which was interested to source home furnishings products from India. As a tradition, the home division of Impulse is also just catering to the European market, precisely UK and Germany. Debenhams came on board as a customer to Impulse six years back. For Debenhams, the buying office claims to be a specialist for designer lines namely John Rocha, Jasper Conran Cornnel, Ben de Lisi, Easy, Mathew Williamson.

(November 1-15)


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RC RoUNDUP 2012Stitch Shell making Accessory Imports from China easy

Great Eastern Impex Providing Solutions in Identification Technologies

Grafica Flextronica unveils state-of-the-art Nano-PrinTex

Sunny Sales Positive of Market Growth

Krishna Alkali offering Integrated Solution in Digital Printing

January 16-31

February 1-15

February 16-29

March 16-31

April 1-15

A specialist in sourcing medium and high grade accessories from China and Hong Kong for the apparel export industry, Gurgaon based Stitch Shell deals with a wide range of products that include laces, buttons, tapes, belts, studs, labels and tags, zipper sliders and neck laces.“We directly show the samples to the exporters and once they approve, orders are placed with the companies in China and the products are sent directly to the exporters. We prefer to work on product developments, rather than on stocks and 90% of our business runs directly from the exporters in China,” says Rajeev Mendiratta, Partner, Stitch Shell.

Systems integrator and solution provider in Auto ID technologies, Great Eastern Impex is one of the largest RFID, barcode labels and printing ribbon manufacturers in India. Established in 1983, the company has been delivering value and innovation to their clients in manufacturing, distribution and retail businesses. “With convenience being a demand today, barcode technology is increasingly being adopted by SMB retailers apart from the large retail chains, where the use of barcode is already pervasive,” says Shakti Jain, Managing Director, Great Eastern Impex.

Grafica Flextronica, a leading manufacturer and exporter of flatbed screen printing machines and allied equipment, unveiled ‘Grafica’s Nano-prinTex’, direct to garment automatic textile screen printing machine at its factory in Vasai, near Mumbai. The power saver, maintenance free machine offers 6, 8, 10 and 12 colours along with requisite post curing and IR drying systems. The printer has a micro processor with a touch screen control system, aluminium pressure die cast tables, mechanical indexing, and easy to fix screen registration system among others. Bhargav Mistry, Managing Director of Grafica believes that the launch of an indigenous high quality machine at an ‘unbelievable’ low price will change the rule of the garment printing industry.

Based in Kolkata since 1945, Sunny Sales is one of the leading names in the business of supplying Sewing Machines and Spare parts to the industry. With a broad base of 1500 loyal customers and products from renowned brand names like Kansai Special, Brother, Juki, Maqi, Km, Kaisiman, Unisun and Uzu amongst others, the company believes in providing the latest developments in technology and solutions at affordable prices. “We get our products from reliable sources and well known brands. Even Chinese technology is getting better and better day by day and is almost 50% cheaper in comparison to Japan, Taiwan and German products. This is the biggest advantage to a domestic garment manufacturers and exporters trying to achieve better results at lower costs. said Sanjay Mehta, Owner, Sunny Sales.

One of the first and largest digital printing setups in India, Mumbai-based Krishna Alkali, has been in the business for more than six years. “We are amongst the first few that brought digital textile printing to India and are proud to be one of the largest Indian companies at that. Our setup is based on a vertical integration model where all the steps from pre-treatment of the fabric to post-treatment are completed within our premises. This consolidated infrastructure helps us maintain complete design secrecy, deliver consistent quality coupled with fast turnaround times,” says an upbeat Anish Maheshwari, MD & CEO, Krishna Alkali (Bombay) Pvt. Ltd.


WFX joins hands with UserEase Consulting for wider market reach

Kotak Overseas Specializes in Accessories for Bra Manufacturing

April 16-30

April 16-30

With over 30 years of expertise, Mumbai-based Kotak Overseas (P) Limited, established in 1980, is an exporter, manufacturer, supplier and trader of high quality accessories for the clothing industry along with manufacturing intimate wear for the international and domestic brands. The company is into the business of manufacturing a wide spectrum of clothing accessories for innerwear and outerwear clothing. “We are in talks with a Japanese company Tijen for a technical tie-up after which we’ll be able to develop new lightweight and breathable foam for bras that absorbs sweat and is made of air passing micro fibres. Such a product is not available in India right now” shares T.V. Kotak (Raju), MD, Kotak Overseas.

In a marketing tie-up that will give deeper and wider reach to WFX Cloud products, World Fashion Exchange (WFX) has partnered up with Gurgaon based UserEase Consulting. Under the agreement UserEase Consulting will be promoting all WFX Cloud products – ERP II, PLM, SCM, PPC, Financials, PDM and EDI to the AFA Industries in Asia Pacific Region. “We are very upbeat of the new association and though to start with the Asia Pacific Region is the focus, but going forward UserEase Consulting will be promoting WFX Cloud products in Europe, USA and the rest of the world in due course,” says Jatin Paul, MD, WFX.


Vardhman Launches Rangoli Mélange in 1000 Shades

TÜV SÜD: Industry Positive towards Compliance

Surya Super Threads Pvt. Ltd. – Expanding Horizons

May 16-31

October 16-31

July 16-31

July 1-15

Adding value to their largest strategic business unit, Vardhman Textiles Ltd., has just launched its latest shade card ‘Rangoli’ (volume six) with 1000 colours. At an exclusive event in New Delhi, S. P. Oswal, Chairman, Vardhman Group, unveiled Rangoli in the presence of his business partners from the garment export houses and buying offices. Virender Uppal, Managing Director, Richa & Co.; Sandeep Gupta, Managing Director, Gupta Exim; K.K. Khurana, Managing Director, Knit Craft Overseas; and Sunil Arora, Managing Director Impulse were a few of the prominent guests who graced the occasion. Rangoli, which is a mélange yarn that can be used for both woven and knitted applications, is now available in one thousand colours.

With a history that can be traced back to over a century, TÜV SÜD Group is today one of the largest technical inspectorate in Germany with operations in many diverse industries, both industrial and consumer goods. As business opportunities in Asian countries increased in the early 1990s, TÜV SÜD South Asia, a wholly owned subsidiary of TÜV SÜD Group was incepted in January 1995 to service this region. Having seen the textile and garment industry closely for so many years, Suresh Kumar, VP, Product Service Division at TÜV SÜD South Asia shares with Team Apparel Online the challenges for the company and Textile Industry in an evolving industry where regulations and norms are always changing

A pioneer in the field of embroidery threads, Surya Super Threads, setup in the year 1987 is one of the leading manufacturer and supplier of viscose and polyester embroidery threads. With a setup that helps the company do everything from yarn manufacturing to colour matching and final packaging in-house, the company’s current production capacity is 180 tonnes per annum. Trial productions are set to start at the new plant of the company in the outskirts of Bangalore, which has a production capacity of 600 tonnes per annum. The speciality of the new plant is that all operations are integrated under a single roof for close monitoring of all stages of production to ensure the best quality. “We provide excellent quality, customized and accurate colour matching, and actual quantity required at short notice. This makes us dependable suppliers to fulfil the exporters’ timely requirement,” says Sunil K. Dalwani, Director, Surya Super Threads.

Mumbai based Supreme Nonwoven, is the pioneer of the Nonwovens industry in India. The foundation of the company is built on its long and strong experience, state-of-the-art facilities, passionate and stable team members, and a commitment for growth through investment in technology and quality services. Sitting in his beautiful high-rise office in Central Mumbai, Amit Kavrie, Executive Director, Supreme Nonwoven is a picture of confidence as he discusses his growth strategy. Supreme has facilities for all the staple fibre based nonwoven technologies. It uses expertise in materials to engineer products for a diverse range of applications and industries – key among them are Automotive, Filtration, Apparel Interlinings, and hundreds of customized products for varied technical uses. With a top line exceeding Rs. 500 crore, the company is poised for major growth. One of the keys for this growth is a new centralized Research, Development and Testing Centre coming up near Vapi. This facility on a 15 acre green field site will add depth to the already extensive product competence at Supreme.

Supreme Nonwoven Industries introduces new brand Terca

BPI ties up with SSI for Global Presence…Globally recognized as a premier supplier for garment hangers and accessories, Hong Kong based Sourcing Solutions International (SSI) has recently joined hands with Bhayani Plastic India (BPI) for their new hanger manufacturing unit in the country. The collaboration will have a special focus on the US market, which is the core strength of both partners. In an interaction with Team Apparel Online at their manufacturing unit in Noida, Anthony Chan of SSI and Atul Bhayani of BPI expressed satisfaction on the tie up, discussing in detail the potential and the future of the project in India and how this is an excellent opportunity for both the companies… “Since SSI has strong backup services and a huge sales network in the US, our work becomes really easy, if we have any problem with the buying office for approvals or issues of any kind, the work is done within a week,” says Atul.

December 16-31


INTERLINING / LINING

Erum Dynamic Solutions: Expanding Presence in India

TUV Rheinland Delivers Services for Apparel Industry

Packaging expert r-pac India ready for new challenges

Sahiba Fabrics: Expanding their product range

With a worldwide presence, Erum provides global solutions for all hanging needs for clothes, transportation, storage and presentation. Nominated by retailers/brands like Carrefour, Auchan, Alcampo, Zara, Massimo Dutti, Sfera, Hipercor, El Corte Inglés, Eroski, Siplec, H&M, Dockers, Calvin Klein, Mothercare , Levi´s, among others, the company claims to be the most effective, economical and attractive way to meet various hanging needs. “We develop customized solutions according to our customers needs, regardless of the technical or logistical complexity,” says Juan Manuel Erum, President of Erum Dynamic Solutions.

In India since 1996, TUV Rheinland, a global provider of technical, safety and certification services has made many tangible and intangible investments in the country to be a preferred company for various services from certifications to training. Already an established player, TUV Rheinland with intent to penetrate deeper into the Indian industry is looking at investing in bigger facilities. “India is a very important market for us and we have in the last three years already invested around 150 crore in the country. It might not sound like a big amount to some, but in the nature of industry we work in, it’s a huge amount of investment,” says Enrico Ruhle, Managing Director, TUV Rheinland (India).

Moving beyond the confines of ‘trim suppliers’, US-based r-pac India is known today as a packaging expert with a very broad product line that includes everything from insert cards, labels, and hang tags to poly bags, vinyl bags, PE sleeves, box trays, corrugated boxes, and master cartons, to name but a few of the options offered. Over the years r-pac has redefined both master and primary product packaging strategy, making packaging an integral element of marketing. In an exclusive interview with Apparel Online, Paulose Parakkadan, Operations Director, r-pac India discusses the changing dimensions of the packaging industry and how r-pac is meeting these challenges.

Vertically integrated, Sahiba Fabrics known for their range of fabrics, apparels and home furnishings, has recently stepped into the manufacturing of garment trims with their multi colour chemical laces. Established in 1985, the Surat based company is now all geared up to deliver these laces produced using the latest technology to the industry. In conversation with Team AO, Sarabjeet Saluja, Director, Sahiba Fabrics, talks about their new product category and investment in future plans.

August 1-15 July 16-31

September 16-30

November 1-15

BUTTONS / BUCKLES


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COLOR CARD/CHIPSELASTICS / TAPES

PACKAKGING / BAGS

TEXTILE PRINTING INK BUTTONS / BUCKLES

LABELS / TAGS / BARCODES / PACKAGING


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LABELS / TAGS / BARCODES

LABELS / TAGS / BARCODES BARCODE LABELS PRINTER

EMBROIDERY FABRIC / LACES

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AO_JAN_1-15_13.pdf - Apparel Resources

Documents

Transcript of AO_JAN_1-15_13.pdf - Apparel Resources