December 16-31, 2010 - Apparel Resources

2 ApparelOnline DECEMBER 16-31, 2010

ApparelOnline 5

SUBSCRIPT ION FORM------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, I wish to subscribe to Apparel Online for

INDUSTRY 1 Year Rs. 1200.00 24 issues 2 Years Rs. 2160.00 48 issues

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES / STUDENTS 1 Year Rs. 840.00 24 issues

(For delivery by courier Rs.360 (NCR) and Rs.720(rest of India) will be charged extra per annum.)BANGLADESH, PAKISTAN & SRI LANKA

1 Year US$ 80.00 24 issues 2 Years US$ 140.00 48 issues

INTERNATIONAL (OTHER COUNTRIES) 1 Year US$ 150.00 24 issues 2 Years US$ 250.00 48 issues

Name _________________________________

Company/Institute _______________________

Address ________________________________

Tel ____________ E-mail __________________

TYPE OF BUSINESS Exporter Retailer Buying House Any other (specify) _____________________

Subscription within India-Cheque/DD in IndianRupeesInternational subscription (in Dollar) - DDfavouring Contact Communications, New Delhi/Credit Card using www.apparelresources.com/Telegraphic transfer to Bank Account No. 010297938930(Swift No:SBININBBA 220) with State Bank of India,South Extension-1, New Delhi-110049. INDIASend Cheque/DD to CONTACT COMMUNICATIONS,B-32, South Extn. Part-1, New Delhi-110049, INDIA

Contents December 16-31, 2010

Editor-in-Chief

DEEPAK MOHINDRA

Deputy Editor

ILA SAXENA

Deputy Editor-Supplements

VINITA PANDEY

Copy Editor

VEERESHWAR SOBTI

Special Correspondent (Europe)

CLAUDIA OLLENHAUER-RIES

Advertising Team

AMIT MAHARISHI09871307950

Subscription Enquiry

RANI MAHENDRU011-47390000

Creative Team

RAJKUMAR CHAHALSARFARAZ AHMAD (Sr.)

Photo Editor

JITENDER MEERWAL

Publisher & Managing Director

RENU MOHINDRA09810058986, 9810438653

Head Office

Contact CommunicationsB-32, South Extension-I, New Delhi-110 049Phone: 91-11-24602283, 47390000Fax: 91-11-24604597E-mail: [email protected] associate: www.apparelresources.com

Apparel Online contact: [email protected]@apparelresources.com

Printing

TARA ART PRINTERS PVT. LTD.B-4, Hans Bhawan, B.S. Zafar Marg,New Delhi-110002 Tel: 23378626, 23379686

10. MindTree

12. WorldWrapAcquisitions by Private Equity Firms on theRise as Retail Gets Back on Track

SustainabilityThe Clean Clothes Campaign DemandsBan on Sandblasting

Canine ClothingA Growing Market from Fashion to Utility

Holiday Season Started Early November!From Diwali to Hannuka to Christmasand Others!

20. BuyingSqueezedBuying Agencies SqueezedGoing All-out to Find Solutions...

“It’s Time For Faster Decisions &Pain-free Business”…Anant Sadana, CEO, Apparel United

24. MenswearTrendsGiving Warmth to Menswear FashionThere is A Lot to Look Up to ForSpring/Summer 2011

Pairing The Pieces TogetherSix Distinct Looks For Menswear TrendsSpring/Summer 2011

30. IndustryWireClifton Export, Suryajyoti Mills, TT Limited,Vijayeswari Textiles, Suryalakshmi Cotton,Kitex Garments, Samtex Fashions, BKS Textiles

36. TextileUpdateSource Zone… A Good Start for Fabric &Accessories Procurement

42. H2F [HOME FASHION FUTURE]Japanese Taste Tilting Towards Indian HomeFurnishing Products

44. ExportStatisticsEuropean Union Registers Value Gain of4.64% in Imports of ApparelQuantities also increase by 1.02%

50. ResourceCentreUser-friendly and Innovative Optical Tools,a New Range Launched By Paramount

36

42

12

20

VOL. XIII Issue 18


DECEMBER 16-31, 2010 ApparelOnline 9


Nimesh Sadh, Partner, N P International, Delhi Nodoubt, market is good, sale is increasing, and retail

predictions from Europe indicate that holiday seasonis better than last year. However, price is the biggestissue. Many enquiries are pending due to this factor.From July to December, fabric price has increased 30 to35 per cent. Focusing all these points, we cannot saythat overall there will be any benefit for exporters.Although efforts are being taken in this direction,concerns still persist, so let’s hope for the best.

V.B. Muruganandan, CEO, Eastern Blute Fashions,Tirupur Whatever the retail predictions from

the US and EU, I personally feel that market is better inthe US compared to the EU. My clients are in both EUas well as in the US, but positive feedback is comingmostly from US. My buyers in Spain and Germany arenot happy with their sales and they are not as muchpositive about the coming year. It will remain slow.Whereas other factors influencing business are related,we should not worry as these things are same all overthe world. Few buyers are saying that it is good towork in India compared to China and Turkey, which isanother positive for us.

Mohan Nair, GM Merchandising, Eastman Exports,Tirupur Even though predictions are positive,

the price constraints are crippling. As pointed out inthe last ‘Mindtree’ section, in this situation it is very

difficult to quote prices. Prices are quoted duringconfirmation at the first sample making andreconfirmed at the salesman sample stage. Changingthis price at a later stage is very difficult. However,bearing in mind the volatile situation, we indicate toour customers beforehand that there could be changesin the prices if yarn cost goes up and we negotiate anup-charge accordingly. This could impact business nextyear too.

Ashraf Zaidi, Managing AE Kids 77, American EagleOutfitters – Kids, Apparel United, Delhi Even as

most retailers are bullish about their expansion plansin the USA, I feel demand for retail will be on a high inthe next year. Retail space has not recovered completelybut is definitely on the road to recovery. EU, on theother hand, I feel will be much better placed as theforecast done by the retailers is more accurate whencompared to that done by the US market. So yes, 2011will see a rise in consumer spending in both the EUand the US barring Ireland which is still reeling undera huge deficit.

P ragya Kapoor, Chief Executive, PragyaInternational, New Delhi It is good that retail

predictions coming from US are positive. Although weare not too much in to US but it is going to be beneficialfor us also because whatever is happening in US today,Europe will be following two months later. We felt it

MINDTREEfood for thought

Q U E S T I O N

Retail predictionsfrom both the USand EU indicatethat holidayseason will bebetter than lastyear and could infact lead theretail recoverywith 2011 being acomeback year forshopping…Whatdo you think? Isthere any negativeinfluence thatcould reverse theexpectations?


during the recession also. We have good orders andwe are positive for coming months. That is why anexpansion plan is on the cards. It will be good if yarnexports are banned so that we can win on price frontwith buyers.

Suresh Chand Gupta, Proprietor, Promila Emporium,New Delhi No! The year 2011 will not be a

comeback year, especially where Europe is concerned.We are working for Europe and making products forSummer 2011. Therefore, 2011 is not as good as to saythat it is a comeback year. Meanwhile, positive rays arecoming for 2012. Although it is too early to say but itwill definitely be better compared to last two-threeyears. Orders in Europe is increasing slowly and thingare back on track.

Seema Kurup, Chief Executive, Suroop International,Bangalore This holiday season is more or less

happening. It is essentially a fight between Euroand Dollar. Europe taking command is doubtful.Unemployment in US is increasing and action takenin last 5-6 months may yield some result by April-May2011, subject to oil prices steady at present levels,which again is a big question mark. It is believedthat China is still accumulating major metals spendingits Dollar reserve. Look at the price movement ofgold and silver. Overall I feel 2011 season will havereasons to smile.

MINDTREE

What are your plans for 2011?Are you looking at expanding your capacities, going for greenermanufacturing, getting into newer product category or market, orsomething else… share your plans for our readers from buying side.Write your comments to us by 21st December 2010 at: [email protected] or post yourviews online through our website: www.apparelresources.com

Q U E S T I O N N A I R E

Abhishek Chopra, Director, Amber Fashion,Gurgaon If we talk about the US, 2010 was

also a comeback year and 2011 is going to be morepositive and fruitful. On the other hand, price isaffecting us by more than 30 to 40 per cent. US buyerswill never pay even a one cent more in any condition.Therefore, we have started working with differentcountries and new products in our basket. Anyhow,you have to survive in business and new efforts anddevelopments are regular part in this direction.

Amit Gupta, Proprietor, Maya Exim, Noida Our mainexport is into Europe and whatever feedback I

have from my circle or buyers, everyone is saying thatpeople do not have money to buy much. As per myinformation sales are not too good as it was in previousyears or as it should be. Still it is unpredictable and weshould hope for the best. Other things like labourproblem, etc. do not have any solution and they havetheir own effect.


ACQUISITIONS BYPRIVATE EQUITY FIRMSON THE RISE AS RETAILGETS BACK ON TRACK

Private equity firms are increasinglytaking interest in apparel retailers asmore and more of them look forfinancial support. Over the past threeyears private-equity firms bought 43retail-apparel companies with anaverage deal size of $ 175 million. Inthe first quarter of 2010, retail mergersand acquisitions totalled $ 10.7 billion,a 146 per cent rise over the first quarterof 2009 driven by the fact that unlikelast year, when retailers worried moreabout cutting costs to fight weak salesin the economic downturn, manyexpect them to switch back to growthmode in 2010.

WORLDWRAP

With more managementteams at retailersfocusing on growth

rather than survival, it meanslooking for funds to boost thatgrowth. “Retailers have cut allthe costs they can cut. Theyhave cut their inventories.They are getting rid of theunderperforming stores. Stillthey are finding out that theydon’t have the clout to dowhat they need to do in thebusiness. This is where they aregoing to partner up,” saidPatricia Edwards, founderof wealth management firmStorehouse Partners. Expertsbelieve that the retail sectorcould see a number ofmergers and acquisitions in thecoming months as manyretailers are selling at ridiculousprices to their long-termgrowth rates.

Just recently, clothing retailerJ. Crew Group has agreed to a$ 3-billion takeover by twoprivate equity firms TPG Capitaland Leonard Green & Partners.

Earlier this year GymboreeCorp., the San Francisco-basedchildren’s clothing retailer,agreed to be bought by BainCapital LLC for about $ 1.8billion, giving the buyout firm abusiness whose free cash flowhas tripled since 2008. Thereason given by Bain for thetakeover is that children’sapparel is more predictable thanteen apparel because it’s lessinfluenced by fashion, and inrecessionary times, parentstend to spend more on theirkids than they do onthemselves, so it’s resilient.

The purchase was the largestleveraged buyout in the retail-apparel sector worldwide overthe past three years by morethan $ 1 billion. It gave Boston-based Bain more than 1,000stores in countries includingCanada and Australia. Gymboree,whose sales growth has slowedfor three straight years, alsooperates Janie and Jack shopsand Crazy 8 stores in the US.

The deal is Bain’s secondlargest this year and its 13thacquisition overall, according toBloomberg data. Since 2006,Bain has made three otheracquisitions of retail or apparelcompanies, buying EdgarsConsolidated Stores Ltd. for$ 3.67 billion in 2007, BurlingtonCoat Factory Warehouse Corp.for $ 1.87 billion in 2006 andLilliput Kidswear for $ 66 millionthis year.

The takeover of J. Crew’s andthat of Gymboree earlier hasboosted the stock prices ofseveral other retailers, becausethese acquisitions have stokedinterest in the sector. Analystpredict that the news would alsoinspire more private equityinterest in the apparel space,including for teen retailerAmerican Eagle Outfitters Inc.,which has long struggled toimprove sales, and Abercrombie& Fitch Co, a former high-flyer


WORLDWRAP

among trendy teens currently ina slump. Meanwhile, stocks thatrallied in hopes of being the nextbuy-out target besides UrbanOutfitters and Abercrombie &Fitch include JCPenney, GAPstores and Macy’s among others.

The year started with Phillips-Van Heusen’s $ 3 billion deal forfashion brand Tommy Hilfigerand Walgreen’s $ 618 million bidfor smaller drugstore chainDuane Reade, both purchasedfrom private equity firms.Predictions say that next on thelist could be women’s apparelretailers, such as Ann Taylor,Talbots and CharmingShoppes, along with othercompanies with a marketcapitalization between $ 500million to $ 2 billion.

Private equity deals have beenmade possible as the creditmarkets eased dramatically inthe last couple of months andmoney for good deals isbecoming available – a fact thatdid not exist as recently as fourto six months ago, according toCraig Johnson, President ofretail consulting and researchcompany Customer GrowthPartners. In the meanwhile,private equity firms are alsobetting on a recovery inconsumer demand.

However, not many analystsexpect a return to themultibillion dollar deals from theboom years of retail. Manyretailers are still risk-averse,and may prefer to use their cashincrementally to make strategicbuys rather than one biginvestment. Analysts see moredeals in the range of a fewhundred million dollars to about$ 2 billion. Apparel companiessuch as Warnaco, VF Corp,Hanesbrands, Perry Ellis andUrban Outfitters haveexpressed interest in makingopportunistic buys and a searchfor strong brands which couldbe scaled across other productlines or geographies is the focus.

Europe is notfar behindEven as the US retail sector is atthe start of a deal-makingrevival in 2010, as cash-rich

companies seek new growthavenues and private equityfirms are increasingly able tofinance deals, private equitygroups in the EU too are bettingon continued growth inEuropean consumer spending,particularly after Carlyle Groupmade its first investment inGerman retail and PAI Partnersbought the Dutch lingeriechain Hunkemöller.

The Carlyle Group, a globalalternative asset manager with$ 97.7 billion of assets undermanagement, has bought mostof the Primondo mail-order ande-commerce retail operations ofArcandor, the insolvent Germanretailer, including Baby Walz, thechain of baby products andapparel stores. Justifying themove Gregor Boehm,Managing Director andCo-Head of Carlyle Europesaid, “The Group hasdemonstrated very solidperformance during thedownturn and we are excitedabout the continued growthpotential. Due to its multi-channel platform and strongniche positions in the highlyresilient specialty homeshopping sector, the Group hasstrong long-term prospects. Welook forward to working with themanagement team to help theGroup reach its full potential,expanding the business inGermany and internationallyboth through organic growthand acquisitions.”

The other businesses being soldto Carlyle include the Elégancewomen’s apparel chain, theMirabeau furniture retailer and a50 per cent stake in theVertbaudet Germany children’sclothing joint venture withFrance’s Redcats. Some morecompanies going to privateequity firms include Denmark’sBon’A Parte clothing mail orderbusiness and Germany’s PlanetSports online store for boardsports equipment and apparel.There is also strong privateequity interest in Takko, one ofGermany’s leading discountfashion retailers, which hasbeen put up for sale by AdventInternational with a € 1.25 billionasking price.


The Clean ClothesCampaign (CCC), workingtogether with the

Solidarity Committee ofSandblasting Labourers inTurkey, demands from jeansproducers that they guaranteethat sandblasting is not part oftheir supply chains. A number offashion companies and retailershave already banned the sale ofsuch jeans, or publiclyannounced that they wouldphase it out over the next fewmonths. Amongst them areLevi-Strauss & Co. and Hennes& Mauritz (H&M). In the nextphase starting from January2011onwards, the CCC willstart a consumer actionwhereby all owners of a pair ofjeans can send messages tojeans companies that refuse toban sandblasting.

Since the legal ban ofsandblasting in Turkey (March2009), jeans producers havemoved their sandblasting ordersto Egypt, Jordan, Syria,Bangladesh and China. One ofthe reasons sandblasted jeansremain so popular despite theproven health hazard is thateach pair takes on a uniquepattern of wear and tear thatchanges over the time. It doesn’tlook old – it looks “lived in”.More personal… More “you”.

Sandblasting, an abrasiveprocess to smooth or formsurfaces whereby sand isblasted under high pressure hastraditionally been used inconstruction, for metal andceramics works. In jeans,sandblasting is the erosive/

SUSTAINABILITYTHE CLEAN CLOTHES CAMPAIGN DEMANDS BAN ON SANDBLASTINGAfter years of tracking the effect of sandblasting on the health of workers, The Clean Clothes Campaign has finallylaunched an appeal to jeans producers to stop sandblasting their products. Sandblasting can cause an acute form of thedeadly lung disease silicosis, putting the lives of thousands of sandblasting operators at serious risk. The technique whichis a craze among jeans manufacturers is often performed in small workshops in the informal sector in jeans-producingcountries like Bangladesh, Egypt, China, Turkey, India, Brazil and Mexico. In Turkey alone, 46 documented cases ofsandblasters contracting silicosis and dyeing have been registered. This is likely to be only the tip of the iceberg.

abrasive process applied todenim by air compressorsblowing out sand underpressure in order to bleach andto batter the denim. Naturalsand contains the mineral silica.Despite health risks, under EUdirective, sandblasting isallowed provided that theabrasive materials contain lessthan 0.5% silica; in the US lessthan 1% silica and protectiongear is provided. It is alsodemanded that if sandblastingcannot be banned, rigorouswork practices must be put inplace to protect factoryworkers from potentiallyserious harm resulting fromexposure to silica.

Levi Strauss andH&M take leadershipposition…Even though Levi Strauss & Co.has put in place some of thestrictest standards andmonitoring programs in theindustry to ensure that workerswho produce their jeans are notsubjected to the risks related tosilica, they are unsure that allfactories are applying thesesame safeguards. Taking astand the brand teamed up withH&M in September this year toannounce a global ban onsandblasting in all product linesacross all of their brands. “Wehave been working closely withH&M and share an ongoingcommitment to safeguardingworkers. We are proud to standtogether to make this importantcommitment to the health andsafety of workers across the

apparel industry,” said DavidLove, Senior Vice-Presidentand Chief Supply ChainOfficer at Levi Strauss & Co.

This isn’t the first time thebrand has taken a first step inhopes of influencing industrypractices. Levi Strauss & Co.has always been at the forefronton worker safety. In 1991, thebrand introduced the Terms ofEngagement, which establishedguidelines for factories andproduct suppliers on labour,health and safety, andenvironmental requirements.“What was an unprecedentedstep at the time is now a

standard practice by mostleading companies in theapparel industry,” said Loveadding “As the world’s first andlargest jeans wear company, wethink about how our actions willimpact the apparel industryoverall. We encourage othercompanies to join us in this ban,and we hope that it becomes animportant step towardseliminating sandblasting as anindustry practice.”

H&M has had health and safetyrequirements for sandblastingfor several years. Like all otherCode of Conduct requirements,monitoring of sandblastingpractices has been part of theirextensive Full AuditProgramme. “Securing thatthese standards are beingobserved by all of our suppliersand their subcontractors hasproven too difficult. In order tomake certain that no workerproducing denim garments forH&M risks his or her health, wehave decided to quit purchasingand retailing sandblastedproducts,” said Karl GunnarFagerlin, Production Managerat H&M.

Effective immediately, LeviStrauss & Co. and H&M will notplace any new orders forsandblasted products and as ofDecember 31, 2010, the twobrands will no longer have anyactive production that uses thisfinishing technique. The banincludes, but is not limited to,the use of aluminum oxide,aluminum silicate, siliconcarbide, copper slag and garnetfor abrasive blasting.

In jeans, sandblastingis the erosive/abrasiveprocess applied todenim by aircompressors blowingout sand underpressure in order tobleach and to batterthe denim. EffectiveDecember 31, 2010,Levi Strauss & Co. andH&M will not place anynew orders forsandblasted products.

WORLDWRAP


With an overall global petcare industry worthUS $ 95 billion, out of

which the US alone accountedfor approximately $ 48 billionthe canine clothing market inthe US is estimated to be worthover $ 4 billion and growingsteadily. According to theAmerican Pet ProducersAssociation (APPA), USspending on pet products haveclimbed by US $ 13 billion overthe past six years, and theindustry is still growing.

Believe it or not, the person whodeserves much of the credit forturning the US pet industry intoan almost US $ 50-billionmachine is Paris Hilton. Backin 2004, when the starletbecame a tabloid fixture, shegained great attention foroutfitting Tinkerbell, her ever-present Chihuahua, in a seriesof designer dresses, T-shirtsand sports jerseys. Pet ownersfollowed the trend and high-endpet clothing and accessoriesstarted flying off the shelves.

CANINECLOTHING

Dogs have eternally been considered as man’s bestfriend, but they have never had it so good withowners treating them like family and dressingthem in designer wear. From their original uses bymilitary and law enforcement agencies for visualidentity as well as protection, canine clothing hasindeed come a long way.

“This was why I starteddressing my dog,” admitsCheryl Ng, owner of FouFouDog, a manufacturer of animalclothing and Ng is not alone.

In a time of great economicuncertainty, the pet industry isnoticeably healthy. Every part ofit is thriving, from clothing tofood to health supplements. Petowners are happily spendingmoney on everything from

WORLDSNIPS

Walmart to acquire 51% Stakes in Massmart

Walmart has confirmed its intention to acquire 51% of South Africanretailer Massmart. The offer comes about a month after Walmart disclosedit would like to make the partial offer instead of going with its original planto buy all of Massmart for about $ 4.25 billion. The deal had sparkedconcerns from South African unions as well as some major stockholders.

Massmart will continue to be listed on the Johannesburg exchange,addressing the concerns of stockholders. The company, based inJohannesburg, runs nearly 290 stores in 14 countries in Africa, withmost of them in South Africa. It also manages eight wholesale and retailchains under various brand names including Game and Makro.

Founded in 1990, Massmart is Africa’s third-largest distributor ofconsumer goods, the leading retailer of general merchandise and homeimprovement equipment.

Galeries Lafayette Plans to Open 15 Stores in Chinain Five Years

Galeries Lafayette (China) is a joint venture established by French GaleriesLafayette and Hong Kong IT Limited, with each party owning a 50%stake. Located on Xidan Street North, Xidan Plaza in the Financial Streetarea has a commercial area of nearly 50,000 sq. metres, which will becompletely leased by Galeries Lafayette (China) for 20 years. The newGaleries Lafayette department store in Beijing is expected to completeconstruction at the end of 2011 and will be officially open in 2013.

Galeries Lafayette (China) plans to invest CNY 300 million in this project.Philippe Houze, Chairman of Galeries Lafayette, said that the group willopen 10 to 15 department stores in China in the next few years.

Galeries Lafayette currently has 61 department stores around the worldand its total operating area is 5,00,000 square metres. In 2009, itsretail sales reached EUR 2.554 billion.

Cherokee Enters China

Cherokee Inc. recently launched Cherokee Brand in China with RT MartStores. RT Mart is a leader in China’s burgeoning retail marketplace. RTMart’s aggressive expansion plans include the addition of new stores toits current 134 existing locations. RT Mart’s success is driven by theirexceptional management team, their focus on the regional requirementsand needs of their customers.

Peter Huang, CEO & President, RT Mart said, “We have launched theCherokee Brand with much success and based on initial results, there istremendous potential for category and product expansion. In addition,as we continue with our plan to open more stores throughout China.”

TJX Shutters Loss making A.J. Wright Chain

Framingham discounter TJX Cos. is shuttering its A.J. Wright chain, amove that will slash roughly 1,400 jobs across the state. Discount storeA.J. Wright – a 162-store clothing chain – aimed at blue collar shopperswas not profitable for parent company TJX until a decade after it openedits first store, and its low profit margins even then were not as high as TJXexpected to achieve. TJX also intends to convert 91 remaining A.J. Wrightstores into T.J. Maxx, Marshalls or HomeGoods stores, an effort thecompany says will enable it to focus on its “more profitable” assets.

WORLDWRAP

A GROWINGMARKET FROMFASHION TOUTILITY


In a time of greateconomicuncertainty, thepet industry isnoticeably healthy.Many “in” peopleare now treatingtheir animals likethey treatthemselves; if anidea can bemarketed tohumans; there’s agood chance thatmillions of NorthAmerican petowners will wantit for their furrycompanions, too.

doggie treadmills to fashion-forward coats to GPS-enabledcollars. Many “in” people arenow treating their animals likethey treat themselves; if anidea can be marketed tohumans; there’s a good chancethat millions of North Americanpet owners will want it for theirfurry companions, too. TheAPPA estimates this subsectorwill grow by 6% in 2010.

Canine clothing has quite avariety, wedding dresses,tuxedos, girly frocks,personally monogrammedT-shirts, jackets and pajamasare some of the many itemsthat fashionable dogsworldwide are sportingnowadays. But the segment isno longer all about therhinestone-encrusted noveltyfrocks that Tinkerbell favours.The focus is now on morepractical merchandise, such asinsulating winter wear, doggieraincoats and organic clothing.The boom in the canineclothing market brought on bythe fact that 63% of UShouseholders own a dog meansmore retailers than ever areinterested, almost everyone iscarrying pet stuff now, evenretailers such as Target andWalmart are in on the trendand have special sections forcanine apparel. Paul Mitchell,Omaha Steaks, Origins, HarleyDavidson, Old Navy anddesigners like Burberry, RalphLauren, Coach, Balenciaga, andSean John have all developedspecial lines for this segment.

Beside the celebrity trend forcanine clothing, there are manypractical reasons for dressingthe dogs such as cold climates,after surgery precautions,harmful UV rays and skinconditions. The small dogclothing market is bigger thanthe market for larger dogs, assmaller dogs and delicate breedssuch as miniature Pinchers,Chihuahuas, Yorkshire Terriers,Pomeranians, Bassets andespecially Shih Tzus have singlecoats that may need additionalprotection from extreme wintercold and sleet. Also, these dogshave a tendency to lose theirbody heat quickly, so raincoatsand sweaters are especiallyimportant for them. As dogphysiology has evolved, dogshave adapted to humanenvironmental standards andthus they also sometimes needthe extra clothing.

Yet, not only smaller dogs needcanine clothing and largerbreeds such as Greyhounds,Salukis and Weimaraners alsorequire clothing in sub-zeroweather. It is not only a pre-requisite to rough weatherconditions, but also a barrier tocuts and scratches, which canhurt small and big alike. Manyclothes also have special safetyfeatures such as reflectivematerial that make the dogsmore visible in the dark. Popularmaterials include nylonwaterproof shells and a micro-fleece/ burba/ velvet lining, thuscombining warmth withprotection. A comfortable fit is

the most important factor, andproper fitting generally requiresmeasurements from the dog’scollar to the base of the tail forlength. Velcro is most commonlyused for adjusting the girth.Also, most clothing comes withan opening at the appropriatearea, so that dogs can easilyrelieve themselves.

Many dog lovers are adverse tothe concept of clothing as theyfeel it only makes the animaluncomfortable. In fact, when theweather isn’t cold, dog clothescan be harmful as they canresult in overheating and toomuch bootie wear can cause thenatural calluses on a dog’s pawsto soften and become moresusceptible to damage. While themarket grows, retailers are nowtaking the segment moreseriously, comfort, utility andlook drive the sales as dogowners search for the rightbalance of ‘why and why not’ toclothe their companions.

WORLDWRAP

Paris Hilton is one of thecelebrities leading thecanine clothing rage...

HOLIDAY SEASON STARTEDEARLY NOVEMBER!From DIWALI to HANNUKA to CHRISTMAS and OTHERS!It is very simple for the retailer, as all they have to do for apparel products to sell is to have theright merchandise in the correct size, the perfect colour, and the valued competitive price!!

B R U C E ’ S I N S I G H T S

Bruce S.BertonExecutive VicePresident & COO,Roochi Traders Inc.,USADirect your queries to:[email protected]

WORLDWRAP

The challenge is evenbigger during the Holidayseason as everyone is

looking for ‘deals’. Nevertheless,sales during the Holiday seasonis very important and the detailsof how the Holiday selling isdoing, will be monitoredthroughout the extended period,that now ends sometime in lateJanuary of 2011.

The Apparel Industry’s biggestcompetition, of course is thepoor world economy, as also theelectronic industry, that seemsto be evolving into new products,to enhance and change our lifestyles, and take consumersaway from purchasing apparel.

The world’s suppliers andmanufacturers of product arealready into the production ofspring deliveries, so now theycan only hope that the retailersdo well, and honour the ordersthat are in the line for shippingin December and January.

“Facts are Facts”, so the endresults of the next 4 to 6 weeks,will either be uplifting, asconsumers at all levels spendand enjoy, or we have poorresults, that could put the worldeconomies into a very slipperyslope condition. A lot of what willhappen in 2011 depends on howthe sales move during thiscrucial period.

I know we all desire to havesuccessful results, so that wecan overcome the slow economythat we are in at this time…REMEMBER the retailers inmost cases sell piece by piece,but those of us that supply tothe retailer, sell by quantitiesthat sometime boggle the mind!

How many T-shirts does onereally require, how manytoasters can one use, howmany cell phones or I-Pods, doesone need?

It just amazes me, the quantitiesof products we consume,which really are not necessitiesof life, but almost a must havebecause of the attitude or statussymbol it brings to theconsumer. How many timesdaily do we hear about “NEWAND IMPROVED”, when we seea commercial or debatewhether we should buy anotherone of an item we alreadyhave… does this mean we werebuying the same product beforethat was inferior?

How many times have we seenthe so-called lost leader that isused to entice the consumer tocome, and wait for days in frontof a store in order to save money,usually on a LUXURY item, andnot a basic needs product?

No doubt, we are in a verydepressed economy, yet thistype of “HYPE” still attractsmany consumers into theretailer’s store. The strategy isclear… such hype brings in thecrowd and retailers hope thatonce into the store they willpurchase other items that havetheir normal markups.

If similar efforts of enticingconsumers to buy, were used byGovernments to encourage thesmall and midsizedentrepreneur to hire just “ONE”more needed person, so thatthey can grow, this would be away of putting people back towork… After all, the more

people employed the better theeconomy, and of course the moreconsumers to purchaseproducts.

Governments are not capitalisticin the making of profits, as theirrevenues come from TAXES;therefore by Governmentsemploying people does not growan economy. It is theindependent entrepreneurs thatcreate the jobs and who are thesuppliers of tax revenues to theGovernments. They are also theones that make the economygrow with products theconsumer wants. They takerisks, and have competition tomake sure they have what theircustomer wants.

I hope this Holiday season is thecatalyst that starts the economyto grow at a more stable rate,and allows both the basics, andthe creative products to flourishin the global economy.

I only hope that the “Hands On”entrepreneurship leadersseeking to grow will take theirwell-deserved place in our worldeconomy as the creator ofemployment so that we can allget back to work, support ourfamilies, and try to attainstandards of living so that wecan make a better world.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!

I hope thisHolidayseason is thecatalyst thatstarts theeconomy togrow at amore stablerate, andallows boththe basics,and thecreativeproducts toflourish in theglobaleconomy



One of the most positive facts thatemerged was that orders are aplentyboth from the US and EU with many

buyers looking at India for increasedsourcing. However, the sad part is that theprices that they are willing to pay do notcover cost, let alone leave scope for profits.The message is clear… learn to curb costand reduce wastages or move out of thebusiness. Left with little option, that is whatmany companies are actually doing. “Wehave closed our business due to abnormalyarn price increase and demand of yarn inmarket. We are not able to do business in thecurrent circumstances and do not want tolose money,” said R.P. Natarajan, MD,Signal Apparels, Tirupur which closedrecently. The company, established in 1981,was working in the European marketmanufacturing 1,00,000 basic T-shirts per monthwith a turnover of around $ 3 million andemployee strength of more than 400 people.

Many similarly placed companies have facedthe same fate. However, many others haveheld on finding ways to remain in the black.But the situation is no doubt grim… Forbuying agencies the real challenge is to findvendors willing to work on the FOBs offered.“We have been rejecting many enquiries

working dynamics in China can offer India.“From 2012 onwards (could even be from2011), the next 10-15 years are going to begreat for India,” says Rajive Suri,Chairman, Impulse. Strong words, butRajive has all the logics to back thestatement. “Who besides China has thecomplete supply chain from fibre to themost sophisticated plants backed by morethan 35 years of international industryexposure… if we take the right stepsforward, India can easily grab 35-40% ofbusiness that is shifting from China,” heargues. He points out that the most sought-after categories from India that are beingshifted from China are soft tailored jackets,bottoms and knitwear.

“Why only garments, buyers are equallykeen to pick up fabrics from India and manyof my buyers are asking about the possibilityto import yarn/fabrics from India, as Chinafaces crises in cotton yarn,” says AnilKocchar, MD, Esteem Buying, whichspecializes in sourcing for budget stores inthe US. The buying agency is sole sourcingoffice for Rainbow USA, which operates achain of nearly 1400 apparel stores in theUnited States and Puerto Rico. It offersapparel and accessories for women, juniors,

because either the cost is unviable or thosewho do have the capability to manufacture attight price limits are over-booked with noadditional capacities to take on more work,”says Ranjeet Chawla, CEO, East-EndApparels. Interestingly, most of theadditional enquiries are coming in for ordersthat were earlier going to China. All theagencies were unanimous in declaring thatbuyers are definitely looking for an alternatesource to China.

“China has become a victim of its ownsuccess,” says William Fung, Group MD,Li & Fung, explaining that the specialeconomic zones on the coast that host mostof the country’s production facilities havenow run out of labour, and the resulting useof workers from the inner provinces iscreating political strain. “What theGovernment would like to see is the factorieslocated where the labour is… China’sproduction on the coast is now beinguncompetitive, and less and lesscompetitive, and that is an interestingphenomenon. People are no longer scaredthat China is the invincible competitor theythought it was,” asserts Fung.

In fact, many buying agencies are veryupbeat on the potential that the changing

BUYING AGENCIES SQUEEZEDGOING ALL-OUT TO FIND SOLUTIONS...

BUYINGSQUEEZED

ROOPAKMALIK

WILLIAMFUNG

RAJIVESURI

ANILKOCCHAR

Buying agents have never felt the heat as much as they do today, as they are the thread that connects the price-sensitive retailer/brand with the cost confused manufacturer. At one end they understand the cost limitations of thevendors and at the other they are not unaware of retail realities that forbid products from being sold above a certainticket price. Squeezed between the pressures of the two, buying agencies are now looking at new ways to keep buyers& manufacturers happy and profitable. Team AO interacted with some buying agencies on their strategy for retainingand growing business in these difficult times…


BUYINGSQUEEZED

boys, girls, infants and toddlers, as well asprovides lingerie, shoes, and schooluniforms mostly targeted for Hispanics andblack community. “The stores can carry acategory only if it falls within a stipulatedprice band otherwise the store kills thecategory altogether,” says Anil.

In fact, this year India lost out completely inthe girls category as garments that wereoffered at $ 2.5 last year are now beingoffered at $ 4.5, which does not fit into theprice structure of the store. “Retailers areopen to price variation of 5-10%, butanything beyond that is not acceptable,”stresses Anil. What has been a growingsegment is kidswear, which has growndespite the recession. Further, India isbuilding a reputation as a sourcing base for‘disposable fashion’ wherein issues ofquality are not as high as in the case of‘branded’ products so cheaper alternates infabric, trims and procedures to keep thecost down is an option.

Cotton voile, which is extensively used byIndian exporters, was available for Rs. 17 ametre last year; it is now costing Rs. 37 ametre… Yarn dyed poplin is even moredifficult to work with as prices arefluctuating almost 20-30 cents every secondday. No doubt with prices of cottonfluctuating sharply, buying agencies arebeing more practical. “We are pushingbuyers for firm commitments within a fewdays of submitting samples with costing sothat exporters can place orders for theirfabrics immediately, before the pricesincrease,” says Roopak Malik, MD, TextileSourcing. Once the fabric is ordered, atleast 60% of the cost is insured and theexporter can breathe easily. Though thisseems to be a smart move it can sometimesrebound as the buyer does not want tocommit immediately and may prefer to go toa vendor who is not pushing for immediatecommitments.

The situation in China is much grimmer andprices of yarn are so unstable, changingalmost on a daily basis that it is difficult toquote a price. For buying agencies likeTextile Sourcing which are working largelywith imported fabrics, the challenge is tofind substitutes in Indian fabrics. While thesame has been possible for ladies blousesand dresses, bottoms wear have sufferedand many orders have been lost because ofthe inability to quote prices, as bottom weight

fabrics are not India’s strength. “For basicgarments many buyers are ordering well inadvance based on when they get a price thatis appealing to them. Exporters working insuch categories should place orders for theirregular fabrics when the prices are downand keep a good stock as buyers willinevitably ask them to work in the samestandard fabrics,” says Malik.

In this scenario, the importance of productdevelopment cannot be overlooked. “If wewant to get decent prices, it is important topresent a differential product,” reasonsKalpesh Kabra, MD, Kalp Exim. Forbuying agencies it is also important to offerbetter services, way beyond just‘supervising’ work for the buyer and moreand more agencies are now investing indesign studios. Triburg, Impulse, Kalp Exim,Fusion Consulting are a few agencies thathave invested in studios. Earlier it was onlythe liaison offices that supported theirbuying teams at headquarters with PDinspired from India.

In the meanwhile, agencies are also backingthe industry in its demand from theGovernment to control cotton prices andrestrict exports. Deepika Rana, Vice-President, Li & Fung, India Operationssaid that the Government must take steps tocontrol the upward spiralling of cottonprices. She observed that in Bangladeshprices are 40% lower than in India. Shefurther added that Bangladesh, whichcompetes with India in apparel exports, hasfactories with huge capacities and there isno currency appreciation. Competing on aglobal platform, buyers are unwilling to hearexcuses and just want results, that toowithin the parameters of price, quality anddelivery as set by them!

Many buying offices are pushing theirvendors to work on internal efficiencies andcut down on wastages. “There is a lot ofscope to reduce cost by building in systemsfor a leaner production process,” says Malik.Without denying that external factors arecertainly playing havoc, Malik argues thatexporters can no longer ignore the fact thatthey cannot continue to work like they didtill a few years ago. “If exporters wantbusiness they have to look at ways to cutcost, if they don’t they will get into deepertrouble as the situation is not expected tostabilize till mid 2011,” concludes Malikwithout mincing words.

Competing on a global platform, buyers are unwilling tohear excuses and just want results, that too within theparameters of price, quality and delivery as set by them!


Since its inceptionthings are working wellfor Apparel United.“Nobody can predict the

future but so far so good, we aredoing our best,” says Anant.Adding, “So far US market hasbeen my forte but now we havecustomers which are fromEurope and other parts of theglobe. As long as we can servicethem and if we have value toadd, then boundaries or a typeof market make no sense.”

Talking about the existingbusiness scenario, Anant feelsthat the garment exportbusiness is no longer what itused to be 15 years ago. “Nowthe business is more organized;earlier if the fabric was goodenough the exporters used tothink that 80% of the job isthrough. Today the entire supplychain is expected to performefficiently in equal proportions,”states Anant according to whogone are the days of ambiguousstreak, where one would not besure what they are doing.

Control WastagesAnant argues that as thebusiness of garment exports hasmoved to a very organized and

“IT’S TIME FOR FASTERDECISIONS & PAIN-FREEBUSINESS”…Anant Sadana, CEO, Apparel UnitedAfter his long stint with GAP India, Anant Sadana started his own sourcing office a few monthsback called Apparel United that is currently working with some prominent customers in the USand Europe. The new buying office is a result of Anant’s desire to apply his rich experience of Indiasourcing to capture new buyers and markets. “I think there is a lot of opportunity for Indianexporters to increase penetration into the international market and the offerings are limited. Infact, there are still many customers who don’t see India or the Indian sub-continent as a viableoption and we want to tap that opportunity,” says Anant in his first one o’ one interaction withApparel Online after parting ways with GAP.

professional way of functioning,people should not expect themargins which they are or weregetting previously. “In my viewthe challenges that theexporters feel right now canonly be resolved if the costs arecontrolled by arresting thewastages at every step of thesupply chain since rawmaterial is 60-65% of agarment’s cost. Exporters haveto see how they can manage theraw material so that wastagesare minimal,” avers Anant whoalso strongly feels that theexporters should work on howto make their products morecost-effective by using alternateraw material to make itattractive but at cheaper cost.That’s a big ‘miss’ in Indiawhilst other countries aregaining from the improvisation,points out Anant.

On Rising CottonPricesCommenting on spirallingcotton prices, Anant says thatexpecting the buyers to bear alittle portion of the costing isnot possible as they cannotraise the retail prices. “Acustomer when walks to a mall

ANANT SADANA, CEO,APPAREL UNITED

BUYINGSQUEEZED


or shopping place, he finds thatthere are 15 stores offeringpractically the same sort ofproducts, I am not referring toPrada or Gucci, I am talkingabout the normal stores, sowhat becomes their salespitch… it’s the price. In thisscenario the retailer wouldalways look for cheapervendor base. It’s all aboutsupply and demand. Today,cotton prices are high buttomorrow it will come down. Sovolatility is a part of business,”reasons Anant.

Views on NewerProduct CategoriesGoing into newer products is agood idea; however it requiresgood knowledge of theproducts along with customerbase and fabric base. Anantfeels that one has to see if theyhave the luxury for building abusiness for next three yearsand if they have, then theyshould pick up a categorywhich has huge demand in the

international market likesweaters. “India is nowhere insweaters because of lack ofknowledge, skill as well astechnology. China andBangladesh are far ahead of us.Sweater is a very skilfulbusiness and India has notdeveloped the skill to makesweaters, it has to be created,”argues Anant.

Adopt Faster &Efficient Ways inBusinessA good amount of time getswasted in the approval processif the time taken for the same isreduced with quickerdecisions, then one can savetime and get better price.“There is a lot of pain whichexists in buying and I keeptelling my team that let’s makethis business ‘pain-free’. Let’smake things faster, cheaper,easier and efficient. Even avendor likes it that way. Oncean order is placed, vendorswant to move fast. If one is

faster and quicker, it can shaveoff at least 20 to 30 cents inyour pipeline immediately.People do not realize that,”points out Anant who prefersworking with vendors who canperform by themselves. “Thevendors should not expect usto walk them through the entireproduction process. We love towork with vendors who areself-starters, who can deliverand can manage themselvesrather we manage them all thetime,” he adds.

“Apparel United prefersworking with those vendorswho focus on the efficiencypart rather than working onlesser margins. The wholetransaction if is reduced thenwe need lesser people,vendors need lesser people,faster decisions are taken,automatically the costsreduced and marginsautomatically increases. That’sthe big responsibility which asourcing company should lookinto,” asserts Anant.

Move Nearerto LabourDiscussing about scarcity oflabour and increasing labourwages, Anant feels that theindustry needs to move close tothe labour source, otherwise itwould be very difficult to controlthe overheads as the labourshortage is crippling all themanufacturing hubs of Indiawhether Delhi, Bangalore orChennai. “It is time for thegarment exporter to plan for thenext 15 years; labour is going toget expensive/scarce so it wouldbe more viable for them to put upfactories near villages whereabundant labour is available,”avers Anant.

Positive of the future, Ananturges the industry to work on itsinternal systems to increasebusiness and stay competitive.“We need to be competitive interms of quality, pricing andservices. There is a lot of business,however we need to gear up to grabthose in our kitty,” he concludes.

BUYINGSQUEEZED

MENSWEARTRENDS


Suryajyoti Spinning Mills is moving up the value chain with plans to getinto garment production, a major part of which will be exported toleading global brands in the apparel segment. Simultaneously, thecompany is in the process of ramping up its production capacity byadding 25,000 spindles to its existing capacity of one lakh spindlesfrom three plants in Andhra Pradesh at a cost of Rs. 75 crore by thenext fiscal.

“To fund these expansion plans, we may consider raising some equitythrough the QIP route next year,” says A. K. Agarwal, ED of the company.The company initiated the process of moving up the value chain lastfiscal by tying up with Italian firm Pangea SRL to set up the country’sfirst specialty bottom-weight fabric weaving, dyeing and finishing plant.Pangea has been servicing the requirements of global fashion labelssuch as Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani and Roberto Cavali.

“The fabric that we produce is sold in India and overseas under thebrand name Pangea Fabrics. The major customers in the domesticmarket are the export houses that cater to the needs of the US and EUmarkets in the bottom wear segment,” avers Agarwal. The company initiallyplans to supply garments to major fashion brands and may considerbringing out own brands of garments at a later stage, informs Agarwal.

SURYAJYOTIMILLS TOGET INTOGARMENTPRODUCTION

Tirupur-based garment exporter Clifton Export has recentlylaunched its retail division Clifton Trends which will operate fromBangalore. The exporter who manufactures knitwear forinternational brands like Playboy, Opus, Teen Scene, JNS JeaniousCompany, Eat Your Greens and Comtesa, has a state-of-the-artcomposite knitwear manufacturing facility, covering knitting,processing, finishing and garmenting.

Clifton Trends will retail three brands – Clifton, Stump and Clara– through multi-brand outlets. While Clifton is an affordablerange of organic cotton and bamboo-cotton fibre inner-wear,Stump is an economy range of T-shirts and innerwear for menand boys, and Clara is an exclusive apparel range for womenand girls. All garments are manufactured in the company’svertically integrated manufacturing unit in Tirupur with aproduction capacity of two million units a month. The $ 30-million company has also obtained the license for manufacturingand marketing ‘Mr Bean’ apparel.

CLIFTON EXPORT, TIRUPURMOVES INTO DOMESTICRETAIL WITH OWN BRAND

INDUSTRYWIRE

Kolkata-based TT Ltd., an integrated textile and knitwear manufacturer and exporterhas recently invested Rs. 150 crore to enhance its yarn and garment manufacturing

capacity. The company is looking to fund its expansion through Technology UpgradationFund Scheme and internal accruals. “We will invest Rs. 75 crore to add 12,500spindles by FY’11 and another 25,000 spindles by FY’13 to take our total yarn capacityto 95,000 spindles at Rajula near Pipavav Port in Gujarat where we own about 100acres,” says Sanjay K. Jain, Joint Managing Director, TT Ltd.

The company will invest another Rs. 25 crore in Tirupur to enhance its garmentingcapacity by adding 100 sewing machines. Sanjay also informed that TT will setup a wind farm for captive power generation in Gujarat with an investmentof Rs. 25 crore while the rest of the funds will go into debottlenecking atvarious factories. The company has manufacturing facilities at Gajroula(Uttar Pradesh), Avinashi and Tirupur (Tamil Nadu) and Gondal (Gujarat).

TT is taking the sustainable route with a recent foray into value-addedorganic innerwear – Green Vests and Briefs, which are priced 25 percent over the non-organic wears. The company has also receivedcertification from Control Union, Europe for export of organic yarn.

TT LIMITEDTAKES

SUSTAINABLEROUTE IN

EXPANSION


Vijayeswari Textiles (VTX), a leading exporter ofpremium bed linen and home furnishing fabricsis to set up a 20 MW wind energy plant atTirunelveli in Tamil Nadu with an investment ofRs. 150 crore. The company will execute theproject through its subsidiary Seshraj Energy.“Power being a scarce commodity and majorcost driver in our business, we intend to enhancethe capacity to 70 MW in three years. We areinterested only in green power projects acrossthe country,” said A.L. Ramachandra,Managing Director, VTX.

The company is also looking to alter its salesmix from 90 per cent export dependent byentering the domestic retail space with thelaunch of 15 stores by the end of next fiscal. Itwill open the first store in Coimbatore followedby Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Pune.“We want to promote our brand ‘Linen So Soft’in the domestic markets. Our initial estimatewarrants an investment of Rs. 2 crore per storeof 2,000-3,000 sq. ft. However, the cost maygo up in major metros,” said Ramachandra.

VTX has recently bagged an annual contract worth

VIJAYESWARI TEXTILES GOES GREENPLANS RS. 150-CR WIND ENERGY PLANT

$ 50 million (Rs. 225 crore) for supply of bedlinen from a large US company. To meet theincreased demand, VTX is enhancing its weavingand processing capacity by 60,000 metres perday (mpd) from 30,000 mpd and 45,000 mpd.Consequently, garment conversion capacity willincrease to 5.10 lakh per month. “Despite globalcompetition, especially from China, bed linensupplies from India command good premiumlargely due to quality, design and value additions.The company’s average realization was at $ 12a piece, while it was $ 8 a piece for suppliesfrom China,” avers Ramachandra.

Recently, a major fire broke out at athread factory of the Trident Group

near Barnala town in Punjab. Thecompany claims major losses with goodsworth millions of rupees destroyed duringthe incident. Though the management istight-lipped about the tragedy, policesources said the loss due to the firecould be around Rs. 100-150 million(Rs. 10-15 crore).

The Rs. 25 billion, Ludhiana-basedTrident Group is one of the biggest towelmanufacturers in the world with a bigexport market, especially in the US. Itsclients include retail giants like Walmart,JCPenny, Target, Sears, Guest Supply,Reebok, United Colors of Benetton andIkea. Besides home textiles, other areasof operation for the group are yarn, paper,chemicals, IT and energy.

FIRE BREAKS OUTAT THREADFACTORY OF THETRIDENT GROUP

INDUSTRYWIRE


Kitex Garments, Hyderabad isdoubling its production capacityfrom 20 tonnes per day to 40tonnes per day with an investmentof Rs. 100 crore. The capacityexpansion would take shape byJune 2011. Kitex manufactureshosieries, shirts, pants, jackets,innerwear and outerwear and isplanning to open an office in the USsoon. The company, which hasprojected an export turnover ofRs. 1,800 crore in the next fiveyears, is very upbeat of the futureas it has bagged export orders worthRs. 450 crore during the year.

Kitex has also procured a hugeorder from Jockey International forthe production of undergarments –Stay Cool – based on the OutlastTechnology developed by NASA,which makes sure that the bodytemperature is maintained at acomfortable level of 23 degrees.“The launch of the product isslated for February 2011 in theUS and will be extended to otherparts later. The order itself isabout $ 12 million and the firstlaunch order will be 40 lakh piecesat a time,” said Sabu M. Jacob,Managing Director.

Industries have been kept busy even in the recession period as they findsolutions to keep themselves competitive. Many have taken advantage ofthe Government’s TUF Scheme introduced in 1999 and extended up to2012, to improve infrastructure. One such exporter is Noida-based SamtexFashions, which invested in expansions and modernization of its capacitiesto offer good service to its customers.

The company is manufacturing structured, casual and formal wear; wrinkle-free garments are one of its niche areas. According to Anil Mittal, CMD,Samtex Fashions, exporters not having economies of scale or presence inhigh growth or ‘niche’ categories would become very vulnerable of pricingpressures. “The initiative to use the past difficult time as learning periodhave paid us in improving and fine tuning systems, strengthening processesand building on areas of strength, i.e. superior quality, reliable deliveries,economies of scale, and increased our capabilities to overcome such eventsin future, if any,” says Anil.

KITEX GARMENTSENGAGES INRS. 100-CRCAPACITYEXPANSION

Suryalakshmi Cotton Mills Ltd., which is the second largestmanufacturer of denim fabrics from India, plans to expandits spinning capacity by setting up a new ultra-modernunit with a capacity of 50,000 spindles with an outlay ofRs. 165 crore. The project to come up in Andhra Pradeshwill have initial capacity of 25,000 spindles in phase oneof the project. The plant is expected to be commissionedby March 2012. Suryakiran International Ltd., the garmentdivision of Suryalakshmi Cotton Mills Ltd., has an installedcapacity to produce 5000 denim garments per day.

The Hyderabad-based company has a manufacturing unitat Ramtek with a capacity of 40 million metres of denimand another unit near Hyderabad with a capacity of 50,000spindles. The expansions will effectively double its

manufacturing capability interms of number of spindles.Some of the internationalcl ients of the companyinclude VF Corporation, Levis,Walmart, Perry Elis and JonesInternational. In USA, M&S,C&A, Asda, George, Next, Miss

Sixty, Mango, Carrefour, Sainsbury and Mothercare inEurope and Li & Fung, Woolworth in other countries.

“We are keen to take advantage of the buoyancy in theTextile Industry,” says Paritosh Agarwal, ManagingDirector, Suryalakshmi Cotton. The company hasnotched up a profit of Rs. 8.47 crore during the Septemberquarter against only Rs. 28 lakh in the year ago period.“The company is in a revival stage and we expect tomaintain growth of 20-25% year-on-year for next threeto four years to achieve a turnover of Rs. 10 billion,”concludes Agarwal.

NOIDA-BASED SAMTEX FASHIONS EXPANDSAND UPGRADES ITS FACILITIES

SURYALAKSHMICOTTON TO EXPANDSPINNING UNIT

BKS Textiles, Tamil Nadu isexpanding its presence into the

domestic market also. The companywill launch its brand by the end ofJanuary 2011, which will includehome textile, bed linens and men’swear. S. Kumar, DGM – Retail inconversation with Apparel Onlineinformed that initially their domesticforay would focus on southern statesof Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Apartfrom five Exclusive Brand Outlets(EBOs) their target is to reach 80Multi Brand Outlets (MBOs) in ayear’s time and further increasing thenumber of EBOs and MBOs as thebrand picks up.

Having a strong presence in the exportsegment, Kumar confirms that theprice point and quality will be similarfor the domestic market as in exports,but the design and colours aredifferent in keeping with the designsensibility of the markets that they willcater to. Initiated in 1985, BKS isaccredited with various certificationslike ISO, SA 8000 and Fair Trade,and has been engaged in export ofwoven fabrics and home products. Inthe home segment, the company ismanufacturing 2,000 Sheet Sets,5,000 Organic Shopper Bags,15,000 Face Towels, 3,000 TableCloths and 10,000 Napkins per day.

BKS TEXTILES ISIN RETAIL NOW

INDUSTRYWIRE


Even as ‘cotton’ becomes themost debated topic in textilecircles around the world, Indiabeing among the largestproducers of cotton, is caughtbetween the national andinternational interest at amacro level and between yarnmanufacturers and garmentmanufacturers at the microlevel. This dilemma is clearlyreflected in the constantchange of stand on the issueover the last year. Frombanning exports to openingexports to restrictingexports…, the Government hastried almost all optionsavailable, but with no realsuccess as protests continue,each player in the supply chaindemanding that their interestis ‘most’ important.

While the garmentexporters are happywith the quantitative

ceiling of 720 million kgs that theMinistry of Textiles has imposedon 1st December 2010 on exportof cotton yarn during 2010-11,Confederation of Indian TextileIndustry (CITI) is of the opinionthat this will have a far reachingadverse consequences for all thesegments in the textile industryof India. The logic is simple,since Export AuthorizationRegistration Certificates havealready been issued for theentire quantity with a maximumperiod of 45 days for shipment,this decision would push upyarn exports during the next 45days considerably. Exports thatwould have normally taken placeduring four months up to endMarch 2011, will now have to bemade during the next 45 days.According to experts, mills willbe forced to divert supplies fromdomestic market to exportmarkets during this period,reducing availability fordomestic consumers of yarncreating actual shortage, thoughfor a limited period.

Experts also fear that followingthe restriction on cotton yarnexports from India, internationalprices for cotton yarn will shootup, since India is currently thelargest supplier of cotton yarn inthe global markets. The othermajor cotton yarn exportingcountries such as Pakistan,Turkey and Indonesia could be

the major beneficiaries of thisprice increase.

Just after the December 1strestrictions imposed on cotton,the American Apparel &Footwear Association (AAFA)petitioned US Secretary of StateHillary Clinton, US Secretary ofDefense Robert Gates, USSecretary of Agriculture TomVilsack, US Secretary ofCommerce Gary Locke, and USTrade Representative Ron Kirkto take immediate action to stopthe Government of India fromcontinuing its export ban oncotton or from extending theban to cotton yarn or otherproducts using cotton.

“Since April 2010, India hasrestricted or banned the exportof cotton which has inflated theprice of cotton all around theworld to its highest price in150 years,” said AAFAPresident and CEO Kevin M.Burke. “In the last eightmonths alone, the price of cottonhas more than doubled toaround $ 1.40 per pound. Thiswill very soon translate intohigher clothing and footwearprices for hardworkingAmerican families at a timewhen they can least afford it.”

“The skyrocketing price ofcotton has also sent thedomestic US apparel, footwear,and textile manufacturing basethat supplies the US militaryinto disarray,” Burke said. “TheUS workers who outfit our

INDIACANVAS

THE COTTON DILEMMATO EXPORT ORNOT TO EXPORTInternational pressure mounts asIndia restricts exports


servicemen and women forbattle are scrambling to secureenough cotton to meet theirobligations under existingcontracts and fretting overfuture contracts that requireprices to be stated upfront.”

Prior to the IndianGovernment’s ban on cottonexports in April 2010, India wasthe second largest exporter ofcotton in the world. By imposingthe export ban, the IndianGovernment has createdturmoil and panic in the worldmarket. The IndianGovernment’s actions areblatantly discriminatory andclearly violate Article XI of theGATT agreement whichprohibits export bans thatbenefit domestic industries.Specifically, India imposed theexport ban for the sole purposeof artificially lowering priceson an integral input used byIndia’s apparel and textileindustries, industries whichwere already major competitorsin the global market.

Textile industry groups fromthe European Union, Mexico,Peru and Turkey have alsoapproached their respectiveGovernments calling for“immediate action to preventthe further restriction of tradein cotton by the IndianGovernment.” The joint letter bythe industry groups alleges thatIndia has restricted or bannedthe export of cotton since Aprilto ensure lower prices for itsdomestic textile industry andthat this action has “been acatalyst for an unprecedentedsurge in worldwide cottonprices” of nearly 100%. Theindustry groups believe thesemeasures are discriminatoryand violate global trade rulesthat prohibit export bans thatbenefit domestic industries.With supplies from Indiacurtailed, they said,Government-subsidized textilemills in China with “enormousprice flexibility” are “buying upthe remaining world supply,”which has tightened amidincreasing demand anddisappointing crops in severallarge producing countries. As aresult, mills in the US, Europe,

Mexico and Turkey are left withthe prospect of “extremely highprices for cotton or having nosupply of cotton at all.

In the meanwhile, therestrictions will also be a hardblow in many ways for thespinning industry of India. Inthe first place, they will find itdifficult to honour some of thecommitments made to theirdomestic customers, for thenext 45 days. And after thatperiod, there may be a glut ofcotton yarn in the country, sincethe domestic consumption canjust not match the increasingproduction of cotton yarn.During January-March 2011,cotton yarn exporters of thecountry will not be able to supplyany yarn to their overseascustomers who have beenimporting regularly from themfor decades. “This will affecttheir individual reputation aswell as that of India as areliable supplier of cotton yarn,”says Shishir Jaipuria,Chairman, CITI.

Some suggestionson the solutionWorried about the impact of therestrictions, a CITI delegationconsisting of Shishir Jaipuria,Chairman, CITI; S.V. Arumugam,Deputy Chairman, CITI; J.Thulasi Dharan, Chairman,SIMA; Mukund Choudhary, Sr.Vice-President, NITMA; andother senior members metTextiles Minister DayanidhiMaran recently with suggestionson solutions for cotton andcotton yarn exports.

As against CAB’s estimates of325 lakh bales, actual productionof cotton in the country duringthe current year may be lessthan 300 lakh bales since therehave been loss of crop in Gujaratand Maharashtra because ofexcessive rains and in AndhraPradesh, because of floods. Thiswould substantially reduceexportable surplus which hadearlier been assessed byGovernment at 55 lakh bales.CITI has therefore requestedGovernment to take thefollowing measures to reviseexport of cotton:

No extension of shippingperiod or re-registration maybe allowed for any quantitiesthat may remain unshippedon expiry of the EARCsalready issued.

The situation can be reviewedafter cotton arrivals stabilizeand a clear picture emergeson the actual crop size andconsumption during the year.

In case any exportablesurplus is determined afterthe review, it may be allowedfor registration only againstLetters of Credit or AdvancePayment amounting to notless than 10-15 per cent ofthe value of the contract, inorder to avoid speculativeregistration.

In the case of cotton yarn, CITIhas requested the Minister thatquantitative ceiling of 720 millionkgs. may be withdrawn sincethere is no shortage of cottonyarn in the market and demandfor cotton yarn has starteddeclining both in the domesticand international markets.

Meanwhile, CITI has alsorequested the Minister totake the following steps withreference to export ofcotton yarn:

Mills which have exportobligation against EPCGlicenses or Advance licensesand EOUs as well as SEZunits may be exempted fromthe ceiling, since they aremandated by Government tocomplete their exportobligation.

Blended yarn with cottoncontent above 50 per cent butbelow 85 per cent is notaccounted as cotton yarn inthe production data ofGovernment. But these areclassified as cotton yarn forexports. Since theirproduction data has not beentaken into account whileassessing the exportablesurplus, such yarns maybe exempted from theceiling imposed on export ofcotton yarn.

There is wide spreadapprehension in the industrythat speculative registrations

may have taken place forexport of cotton yarn.Therefore, no extension maybe allowed in the periodstipulated in the EARCs forshipment.

Any quantities that mayremain unshipped within thevalidity period of the EARCsmay only be allowed forregistration against freshapplications backed byLetters of Credit or AdvancePayment amounting to notless than 10-15 per cent ofthe value of the contract.

Applications for registrationof about 60 million kgs. ofcotton yarn had beenreceived by TextileCommissioner, in addition tothe 720 million kgs. for whichEARCs had been issued,before the quantitative ceilingwas imposed by Government.EARCs may be issued againstthese applications, sincerefusal to do so will betantamount to enforcing theceiling retrospectively.

INDIACANVAS


Source Zone…A Good Start for Fabric &Accessories ProcurementThe inaugural edition of Source Zone held recently at Apparel House, Gurgaon, kick-started on anupbeat note with good visitation from both garment exporters and buying offices from across thecountry over the three-day event. Organized by the AEPC, the fair is the first step towards consolidatingsourcing of fabrics and accessories not only from all the textile hubs of India, but also major textilecentres from around the world, under one roof. Delhi/NCR being the major manufacturing hub forhigh-fashion garments and accessories, the exhibitors showcased their latest developments in fabricsand accessories. The participant profile was wide – from organized players in both the segments tothe smaller companies with innovative products and also included exhibitors from Taiwan and Korea.Team AO unearths the new developments that kept the visitors engrossed…

Wide Variety inFabricsIn fabrics, there were very goodexhibits in dress, suiting andshirting category. Yarn dyes, laceand net fabrics, chiffons,georgettes, 100% cotton,polyester, denim, corduroy, ecofriendly and high performancefabrics all caught attention of thebuyers. “It’s heartening to seefabric from all parts of India inthis fair. Even exhibitors fromTaiwan have some veryinteresting performancefabrics,” said Seema Kurup,Chief Executive of SuroopInternational, Bangalore.Similar observations came fromHimadri Datta of Karle Groupof Companies, Bangalore.

Among the leading organizedplayers, Alok Industriesdisplayed its range of technicaltextiles for workwear, the onlycompany in this category. Thecompany showcased its FR andhigh visibility fabrics in bothknitted and woven category.Paresh Narvekar, representingthe company shares, “Ourbiggest market in India isKolkata which is emerging as bighub for workwear. We want toexpand our market both in Indiaas well as overseas.”

In the shirting category, SuryaProcessors, Ghaziabadshowcased its newdevelopments in yarn dyesshirting fabrics along with yarndyed aero finish fabrics.“Garment exports need notwash the garments if theymanufacture garments withAero finish fabrics,” informsAshu Kapoor, Director of thecompany. Mumbai-based SaajanCotton Mills, producers of100% cotton shirting fabricsshowcased its 40s, 50s, 60s and80s counts in shirting range.Linen specialist Linen Clubexhibited its Spring/SummerCollection for shirting madewith yarn dyed imported fibrefrom France and Belgium. Thecompany also showcased itsvery special development inItalian Rotor-mat finish whichhas very soft and smoothhand feel.

Another player in linen, Delhi-based Sachdeva Fabric Worldshowed its latest development inlinen and linen blends. RaviSachdeva shares, “We havepure linen, yarn dyed, piecedyed and jacquard for garments.We want to increase ourcapacity in home furnishingfabrics in cotton, viscose andsilk for which we are putting

TEXTILEUPDATE

Birla Century showcased its 200double in Suvin Cotton... mostexpensive cotton in the worldwhich has polyester look andfeel of cotton

Fabrics displayed by Surya

Niharika Dyeing showcasedits polyester fabrics withnatural fibre look


18 looms in Bhiwadi unit. We arealso planning to add a newjacquard machine.”

Differential fabrics were thetheme for many exhibitors.Vardhman Textiles Ltd.presented its full range as fabricswatches. “We have laid ourfocus on different slub patternsin cotton and special blends, likeModal/Tencel, bamboo, vortexand new range of fancy andinjecta slub,” said ShijuThankachan, Senior ProductManager. Some special blendslike linen, nylon, silk, wool withcotton were also showcasedalong with range of organic andfair-trade fabrics.

K G Denim launched its recentlydeveloped new fabrics ‘CottonSorona’ and ‘Poly Sorona’ witheasy stretch that has beendeveloped by using DupontSorona. Ram Srinivasan, GMMarketing while giving thedetails about the product said,“Dupont Sorona is an innovativepolymer made partially withagricultural feedstock reducingdependency on oil andpetrochemicals. Sorona requires30% less energy and reducesgreenhouse gas emissions by63%; hence fabrics made withthis fibre raise performancelevel of the fabric.” Fabrics with

Sorona stretch easily and holdits shape with high level ofcomfort and easy care, the fabricis good for sportswear, workwearand performance wear.

From Surat, Niharika DyeingPrinting Mills exhibited itslatest range in polyester fabricswith natural fibre look. “Theeffect is given with processingtechniques. This fabric is cost-effective, durable, andcomfortable, the colour fastnessis also extremely good,” saidVaibhav Kanodia, Director ofthe company. Niharika is going infor a lot of value additions on thecotton, polyester, viscose fabriclike embroidery, embossing, dewdrops, etc. “As of now, we have50 embroidery machines and areplanning to install another 100machines in 6 months time,”shares Vaibhav who is also goingto start fabric export to China. “Alot of Chinese orders are comingto Surat and Jaipur as the countryis facing huge pressure of carbonfootprint from the importingcountries,” reasons Vaibhav.

In suiting fabric too there weremany new offerings. Subh LaxmiSyntex from Bhilwara showcasednew developments in TR finish,yarn dyed and melange. “Wehave played a lot with brightcolours. We are also displaying

TEXTILEUPDATE

Paresh Narvekar, Sr. MarketingManager, Alok Industries Ltd., Mumbai

Ashu Kapoor (L) with Gaurav Kapoor,Surya Processors, Ghaziabad


evening wear fabric in checks,as structured designs in thiscategory is very much indemand,” shares, GauravPanagaria, CEO, Subh LaxmiSyntex. Mumbai-based JPSFashion displayed its suitingand shirting fabrics in PV, PWand linen. N. R. Gidwani,Marketing Director sharedwith Team Apparel Online thatthe company is planning to putup a manufacturing unit inGujarat in collaboration with aItalian company to produce linenand cotton shirting and bottomfabrics. “The demand for ourfabrics is growing exponentiallyso we thought of expanding ourpresent production capacities,”states Gidwani.

Some innovations were alsoavailable in the yarn section,among them Pallavaa Group,based in Erode showcased itsrecently launched newgeneration yarn ‘LongLasstTM’.“This yarn is made with the newlow-pill yarns spun from thefuturistic spinning technology –Air Vortex. This yarn has goodchance to meet the increaseddemand in the internationalmarket for MMF-Cellulosicfibres blended with modal,viscose, Tencel etc.,” sharedAlakan Karuppannan, Head-Marketing, BusinessInnovation & Sustainability.

InnovativeAccessories DrawAttentionWhile the prime focus was onfabric, a significant worldmarket for exports of Indiangarment accessories is fastemerging and many accessorysuppliers presented innovativeofferings. In contemporary timesany designed garment isconsidered unfinished withoutthe right complimentingaccessories and detailedattention is given in the selectionof trims and embellishments. Nodoubt, with the global fashion

industry witnessing continuouschanges in trends, thesignificance of accessoriescannot be undermined.

In line with the growingimportance of accessories, theSource Zone fair saw a variedparticipation of accessorymanufacturers and exportersfrom all over India, diversifyingthe use of trimmings,embellishments and linings.While some companies’showcased latest developmentswithin their respective productrange, the others displayed arange of innovations, expandingtheir business into newerproducts. Holding a uniqueposition as a self-reliantindustry from the production ofraw materials to the delivery offinished products accessoriesoffers substantial value-additionat each stage of processing.

A relatively new buy fastgrowing accessory producerBombay Rayon showcased itspre-dyed buttons and buttonsfor children’s wear along with itsrecently launched range ofnarrow fabrics in the brandname of Arihant Organics. Thebrand has woven labels andwoven narrow fabrics in cotton,polyester, nylon, viscose andpolypropylene both in wovenplain elastic tapes and rigid(non-elastic) plain tapes underits umbrella. The company hasalso introduced knitted narrowfabrics in polyester and nylon-knitted plain elastic tapes underthe same brand name. “We havealso introduced elastic coveredrubber threads in nylon andpolyester in various colours forsmocking applications in ArihantOrganics,” shares A.R. Bhoobalan,GM – Trims Division.

The woven elastic tapes are bestsuited for men’s and women’sunderwear, swimwear,sportswear, leisurewear andcasual apparel. “We areexpanding applications in this

TEXTILEUPDATE

Gaurav Panagaria, CEO, Subh LaxmiSyntex, Bhilwara

Vaibhav Kanodia, Director, NiharikaDyeing Printing Mills, Surat

Ravi Sachdeva (R) of Sachdeva FabricWorld with Shashank Sachdeva, Delhi

Kishor of Saajan Cotton Mills,Mumbai at his booth

Team Vardhman Yarns & Threads Ltd,New Delhi

While the prime focus was on fabric, a significant worldmarket for exports of Indian garment accessories isfast emerging


category and have added plaininsert elastic tapes for nightwearand tracksuits along withshoulder straps for bras. Wealso have plain elastic tapes forindustrial use such as footwear,luggage and medical/healthcareapplications,” adds Bhoobalan.In a broad spectrum, the rigidplain tapes are mainly forapparel, luggage, homefurnishing and automotiveapplications, while the knittedplain elastic tapes are basicallymeant for women’s lingerieand intimate apparel andmaternity skirts.

Another multi-product garmentaccessories manufacturer,KRF Ltd. is equipped withworld class technology andmanufacturing facilities toproduce labels, paper tags,polybags, tapes, heat transfersand most recently hangers thatare now an added feather in itshat. Venturing into organic

labelling, KRF displayed a rangeof organic labels made of 100%organic cotton which can bewoven and printed, with all thedyes and chemicals approved byGOTS (Global Organic TextileStandards). The star product forthe company was however thenew digitally printed label invariety of colours that has 3Deffects. “We are getting verygood response for these labels,”said Ashok Bajaj, ExecutiveDirector of the company.

J.V. Plastic, dealing with plastichangers and tags launched anew variety of plastic tags alongwith sealers manufactured frompremium grade of plastic andwood along with rubber labels,key chains and tie hangerbands. Another companyKuldeep Labels whichspecializes in manufacturingcomputerized woven labels,printed labels, heat transfers,badges, lazer cut patches, hang

TEXTILEUPDATE

A. Bhoobalan,BRFL at his booth

Kapil Lalwani of J.V.Plastic at his booth

Ashok Bajaj, Executive Director withGaurav Deora, KRF Limited

Salman Malkani with colleague, Netflex

Kuldeep Kumar, Kuldeep Labels,posing at his booth

Sanjeev Nayyar with colleague,Tex Corp Limited


tags, barcodes stickers and otherprinting and paper materials,has now started producing lazercut patches and multi-colourwoven laces which werepresented in a variety of designs.

Applying new finishes to zipperswas Tex Corp Ltd., the largestmanufacturer and exporter ofzippers/slide fasteners fromIndia. By automating theirelectroplating facility to impart ametallic finish to plastic zippers,the company launched its newrange of zippers and tapes withvaried metallic finishes.Amongst other creativeinnovations they displayeddenim tape zippers and readyfor dyeing zippers.

YKK, the world’s largestmanufacturer of zippers, withapplication in many productsfrom clothing, furniture,automobiles, sports apparel andequipment to travel luggage, hasexpanded with a new division ofsnap buttons in Thailand. Nowthe company offers many newdevelopments in snap buttonssuch as fabric insertion snapbuttons, which are transparentfrom the top and can be insertedwith the fabric choice of the client.Other developments includedprinted zippers for high fashiongarments, designer rivets, satin

tape coil zipper for satin fabricsand water repellant zippers.

Modi Schiffli EmbroideryMills, one of the largestproducers of high-quality Schiffliembroidery with a total of 15machines and a productioncapacity of 20,000 per day waskept busy at the fair. Banking onthe fact that overall Schiffli is invogue this season the companypresented newer designs inSchiffli embroidered fabrics,laying major emphasis on GPOfabrics and chemical laces. “Thename of the game is innovationand the only way to staypreferred is to continuouslydevelop new designs,” saidHarsh Modi of Modi SchiffliEmbroidery Mills.

For Arun Electronics,manufacturers of plastic sealtags, rubber labels, buttonbadges, plastic hangers andother accessories for garments,the focus of the displays wereon transparent shirt labels,plastic tags instead of papertags, zipper pullers in rubberfor travelling and school bags.“We started with plasticaccessories, and then got intorubber and now we haveentered into metallic accessoriesas well,” said Rajeev Arora,MD, Arun Electronics.

Offerings from Taiwan…

TEXTILEUPDATE

Harsh Modi of Modi SchiffliEmbroidery Mills

Rajeev Arora (centre) of Arun Electronicswith his team members at his booth

Marketing Team ofYKK India Private Limited

Suiting fabric from Lagerstromia Suting Fabrics from Universal Textiles

Otto Hsu of UniversalTextile Co., Taiwan

Simon Chen, MD, OrientexPrecision Industrial Co.,

Taiwan

Everest Yeh of EverestLotus & Lagerstromia

Textiles, Taiwan

The Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF) brought in around 12Taiwanese companies to present their range of cutting edgetextiles products in knitted fabrics (jacquard, lace, mesh,

and jersey), functional fabrics for sports and performance wear,cotton grey fabrics for casual wear along with poly yarn dyed,nylon yarn dyed, etc. Some of them also displayed sporting socks,stockings, tights, panty hose, gloves, etc. Everest Yeh, Promoterof Everest Lotus Trading Co. & Lagerstromia Textile Co.showcased its Lacomfort fabrics. “This fabric is made with uniquetechnology and it is very comfortable, has moisture control polymerimbibed in it, very good for Indian climate. It’s good for T-shirtsand polo-shirts,” shares Everest Yeh.

Orientex Precision Industrial Co. producing 3 million metres/month showed its 100% polyester suitings for men’s bottomsand jackets. Managing Director, Simon Chen was happy toreceive enquiry for piece-dyed fabrics from Gurgaon-based GruppoKaybee. Universal Textile which came to India for the first timeshowcased its 100% polyester and viscose fabrics for men’s andladies suiting within the price range of 120 to 4000 US dollars.Producing 48 million metres/annum the company is selling itsfabrics in Europe and the US informed Otto Hsu of the company.


JAPANESE TASTE TILTINGTOWARDS INDIAN HOMEFURNISHING PRODUCTS

Japan, the second largest retailmarket in the world with a valueexceeding 135 trillion yen, is atough market to enter andtougher to sustain. However, inlast three to four years, Japaneseretailers are considering India as apromising sourcing hub for homefurnishing products. The pre-requisites for doing business inJapan are very simple yet critical.One requires an understanding ofthe country’s environment andconsumers’ taste which are ratherunique and fast changing.

product launches, with someprimary factors such as theJapanese passion for fashionstyles and trends, the small livingspaces, and the constant demandfor new and innovative products.Quality, service and a good,unique product design areconsidered the basic qualifiersto compete in the Japanesemarket, but once entered it oftenproves to be a very profitableand loyal market.

Indian exports to Japan, atpresent might be very small andniche as compared to the USand Europe but it is surelygrowing on a steady scale. Theincrease in sourcing from India isa recent trend as Japan washitherto buying mainly fromChina. The probable reasons wereproximity to the country andmass volumes in quick time.However, with increased searchfor quality and innovation, Indiacame into picture.

There are now many exclusiveJapanese sourcing offices in Indianamely Mitsubishi Corp, Mitsui &Co, Toyoto Tsusho, Itcchu Indiaand recently opened Nitori’sliaison office in Delhi. One of thelargest home furnishings andfurniture chains of Japan, Nitorihas been sourcing from Indiathrough its Thailand office forquite some time, however sinceits sourcing from India increased,the company decided to have itssourcing office in India itself.According to Ryo Fukao,Country Head, India Office,Nitori, India, is one of the major

“The Japanese market haschanged a lot since Ikea enteredJapan the first time,” says Ikea(Japan) spokeswoman YukiKusama. “Japanese consumersare more interested in designingthe look of their homes bythemselves rather than having itdone for them,” adds Yuki.Understanding the taste ofJapanese consumers, who arealso accustomed to lavishly highlevels of customer service,stores like Ikea are now doingwell by offering a myriadrange of products.

Challenging to penetrate, thehome furnishings market in thecountry is particularlycharacterized by a variety ofconflicting themes that affect

Home furnishings for bedrooms in 100% cottonpopular in Japan


sourcing destinations for theircompany. Sourcing all possibleitems in soft furnishings, thebuying office lays a lot ofemphasis on product developmentand quality control which is whythey have stationed a QC office inPanipat from where they aresourcing 70% of their homefurnishing items.

At present, Japan is sourcingalmost all product categoriesfrom India except towels on whichit relies more on Pakistan andTurkey. With maximum sourcingdone from India in Spring/Summer they usually prefer 100%cotton, silk and at the momentcotton viscose is also being highlydemanded. The key aspect ofJapanese design is simplicity.With spaces being clearly definedin all aspects of home décor, thestyle is detained and ordered toaccount, which does not containmany decorative featurespromoting the idea of livingtogether in a space wherefurnishings are simple andessential. While eco-friendlymodels dominate the offer ofsome Japanese manufacturers,especially when it comes tohealth and environment, even thefabrics used today promotesustainability. Contributing to theoriental environment of a typicalJapanese home, the country usuallyprefers to source simple, soberdesigns with subtle ornamentationwhen it comes to India.

H O M E F A S H I O N F U T U R E

The colour preference is moretowards beige, ivory, green,brown and pink whichcompliment the traditionaloriental tastes of the consumersin Japan. Products like beadedcoasters and Kashmiri embroideryremains a regular demand fromthis oriental market. “The bestthing about Japan is theircomplete faith in India which stillremains an issue with many othercountries,” says Sundaram, CEOof Adventure India, a buyingoffice working extensively inJapanese home fashion market.

With a whole new generation ofyoungsters spending more time athome than previously, interior anddesign articles have becomeincreasingly popular among youngpeople in Japan. This hasspawned an increased interest indecoration of the home andanalysts agree that consumersare warming to do-it-yourselfshops rather than buying acomplete look at once. “From ourexperience (at the boutique end),the Japanese market is morekeen on contemporary, non fussy,modern designs, graphic insensibility and colour. They arevery particular with qualitycontrols and 100% inspections,needle detection and goodfinishing are a must,” saysKevin Negli, Director, Abrahamand Thakore.

Today more and more stores inJapan are offering “lifestyle-

solutions”. Due to their materialwell-being, the Japaneseconsumers are very muchinterested in developing morefulfilling lifestyles for themselves.This focus has given birth to adifferent kind of stores offeringvarious design productssupplementing each other, thuscreating a lifestyle conceptsolution. Consequently, brandswhose products and services canoffer new perspectives oradditions to the lifestyles of theJapanese are well placed forgrowth and success in Japan.

Some of the major stores whichhave gained popularity in recentyears and have invigorated thehome market today are IKEA(Sweden), CASSINA IXC (Italy),and BoConcept (Denmark).

No doubt, Japan is a uniquemarket and the products indemand are very different thanthe traditional markets. In fact, afew exporters who are dealing inJapanese market feel that theproducts that didn’t do well in themajor markets did exceptionallywell in Japan. The country usuallyprefers simple, sober designs withsubtle ornamentation. While inwinters they like to buy pastels,during winters dark colours arepreferred by them. Kapil Sadhof K.U.M. Connections, anexporter of home textile fabricsbased in Delhi who deals with thecountry on a regular basis says,“Apart from the obvious cottondemand, we are also supplyingembroidered silk fabrics whichsuit the atmosphere of the formalparty functions, emphasizing onquality as a priority.”

With Japan admittedly a difficultmarket to handle and cater to, isat the moment witnessing a lotof changes and India, wishing totarget this country not onlyneeds to be on its toes for timelysupply and quality, but alsoneeds to think and come upwith novel product ideas whichare a balance between modernand traditional.

Beaded coaster, a regular item exportedto Japan from India

Cushion covers with Kashmiriembroidery

The economic crisis inEurope has keptshoppers indoor for most

of the year, but as Christmasapproaches the imports ofapparel into the European Unionhas moved into the positive.This is a big relief to Indianexporters as Europe is today thebiggest market for the country.The wide product basket andvaried consumer demands inthe Union have beeninstrumental in supportinggrowth of exports from Indiaover the years. In fact, the USwas initially the biggest marketfor India, but with greateremphasis on productdevelopment and smaller ordersizes, Europe has seen growthas a major market with the UK,Spain, Germany, France andScandinavian countriesemerging as strong buyers for‘Made in India’ products.

No wonder it is hearteningto see that in the periodJan.-Aug. 2010, imports by theEU registered 4.64% growth invalue and 1.02% increase inquantity. The average UVR in theEU continues to remain higherthan what it was last year atEuro 14.52 (per kg of fabricequivalent); in the period underreview last year the averageUVR stood at Euro 14.01. Whileknitted garments saw increasein UVR from Euro 12.50 to Euro13.50 this year, woven garmentsregistered a marginal declinein UVR from Euro 15.58 lastyear to Euro 15.56 in the sameperiod this year.

During the period under review,India’s exports to the EU wasmarginally up in value by 0.28%,the volumes were howeverslightly more positive with 3.20%gains. In the meanwhile, theaverage UVR for Indian apparelexports during the first eight

EUROPEAN UNION REGISTERS VALUE GAINOF 4.64% IN IMPORTS OF APPARELQUANTITIES ALSO INCREASE BY 1.02%

months was Euro 16.26 (per kgof fabric equivalent), down fromEuro 16.73 (per kg of fabricequivalent) last year. While theUVR for knitted garments saw amarginal increase from Euro13.16 (per kg of fabricequivalent) last year to Euro13.31 (per kg of fabricequivalent) this year, wovengarments registered decline inUVR from Euro 20.93 (per kg offabric equivalent) to Euro 19.47(per kg of fabric equivalent)during the same period.

UVR of most destinations tookan overall beating, with SriLanka and Vietnam being theonly countries under review toregister higher average UVRthan last year. The UVR of SriLanka this year stood at Euro6.25 (per kg of fabric equivalent),up from Euro 5.87 (per kg offabric equivalent) in the sameperiod last year. For Sri Lankathe knitted segment has beenthe growth driver with UVRbeing Euro 19.00 (per kg offabric equivalent), the wovensegment has a lower averageUVR of Euro 3.20 (per kg offabric equivalent). Overall thecountry registered doubledigit increase in exports invalue terms of 13.21%, with6.40% rise in quantities.

Vietnam too witnessed increasein the UVR it commanded fromEuro 13.53 (per kg of fabricequivalent) last year to Euro14.27 (per kg of fabricequivalent) this year. Howeverthere was a negative declinein quantities of exports of(-) 0.63%, though the value ofexports was marginally up by0.63%. The UVR for Pakistan inthe review period was just Euro6.94 (per kg of fabric equivalent,down from Euro 7.92 (per kg offabric equivalent) last year. Thecountry saw major decline in

EXPORTSTATISTICS

EUEUEUEUEU Import Analysis – Jan. Import Analysis – Jan. Import Analysis – Jan. Import Analysis – Jan. Import Analysis – Jan.-Aug. 20-Aug. 20-Aug. 20-Aug. 20-Aug. 201010101010

value of exports by (-) 10.75%,while the volumes weremarginally up by 1.84%. Nodoubt the political instability inPakistan has taken a major tolland with floods ravishing cottoncrops the situation could getworse in the coming months.

Though China is being hyped asa declining sourcing base,statistics show that growth inboth value and volume ofexports is happening. While thevalue of garment exports fromChina was up 6.21%, thequantities were up 9.22%. Theaverage UVR, in line with thegeneral trend were down from

Euro 14.16 to Euro 13.77.Bangladesh also witnessed anincrease in its exports in termsof volumes of 10.61% and valueof 2.74%. There was growth invalue of both the knittedcategory of 2.41% and in wovengarments of 3.35%. Theaverage UVR was howeverdown from Euro 8.60 (per kg offabric equivalent) to Euro 7.99(per kg of fabric equivalent).How long Bangladesh takesadvantage of lower cost ofproduction, is a question manyare asking as cost of labour andraw materials continue toincrease in the country.

Qty & Value in mn Kg & Euro

EU GLOBAL APPAREL IMPORTS — JAN.-AUG. 2010

TYPE OF Jan.-Aug. 2009 Jan.-Aug. 2010 % increase/decrease

APPAREL Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value

WORLD

Knitted 1402.14 17528.81 1406.56 18987.37 0.31 8.32

Woven 1350.89 21049.25 1374.57 21382.11 1.75 1.58

Total 2753.04 38578.06 2781.12 40369.49 1.02 4.64

CHINA

Knitted 551.55 7407.89 631.33 7697.86 14.46 3.91

Woven 697.03 10277.57 732.31 11086.11 5.06 7.87

Total 1248.58 17685.46 1363.64 18783.98 9.22 6.21

INDIA

Knitted 105.29 1385.96 104.92 1396.93 -0.35 0.79

Woven 89.50 1873.31 96.10 1871.43 7.37 -0.10

Total 194.79 3259.27 201.02 3268.36 3.20 0.28

BANGLADESH

Knitted 282.35 2335.19 315.88 2391.49 11.87 2.41

Woven 137.74 1277.19 148.76 1319.91 8.00 3.35

Total 420.09 3612.37 464.64 3711.40 10.61 2.74

SRI LANKA

Knitted 25.34 487.31 31.00 589.01 22.36 20.87

Woven 125.66 399.37 129.66 414.83 3.18 3.87

Total 151.00 886.68 160.66 1003.84 6.40 13.21

PAKISTAN

Knitted 36.43 235.04 39.12 189.72 7.41 -19.28

Woven 44.74 407.74 43.53 383.95 -2.69 -5.83

Total 81.16 642.77 82.66 573.66 1.84 -10.75

VIETNAM

Knitted 22.60 198.10 20.31 194.60 -10.13 -1.77

Woven 37.01 608.62 36.57 617.21 -1.20 1.41

Total 59.62 806.72 56.88 811.81 -4.59 0.63



Some losers during this period were trousers, nightwear, and men’sshirts with (-) 2.04%, (-) 3.01% and (-) 1.51% decrease, respectively. Itis heartening to note that the losses were marginal.

In China too there were mixed performances with some categoriesdoing better than others. The major positive growth segments weresuits/ensembles, ladies dresses and babies wear with 20.39%, 15.46%and 11.63% growth, respectively. Some major losers were trousers(-) 11.65%, ladies blouses (-) 9.43% and jackets & blazers (-) 7.58%.

For India, the gains were also mixed, though there were more negativesthan positive. Some major losers were ladies skirts with (-) 10.95%downfall, foundation garments with (-) 3.88% decline, trousers with(-) 10.33% decline and T-shirts with (-) 8.43% decrease. The categorieswhich saw maximum increase were suits/ensembles, ladies dressesand babies wear with 23.35%, 7.04% and 15.96% growth, respectively.

Bangladesh could record value gain in many products; undergarmentswith 59.34% increase, nightwear with 52.88% rise, foundationgarments with 31.44% upswing and babies wear with 41.67% upsurgewere the major gainers… The product where the decline is substantialis jackets & blazers with (-) 47.26% decline.

Exports from Vietnam were also up in value in a number of products.Undergarments with 64.39% increase were the biggest gainer.The biggest losers were legwear, ladies skirts, babies wear andT- shirts which were down (-) 52.09%, (-) 37.10%, (-) 30.94% and(-) 12.70%, respectively.

For Sri Lanka, the major gainer was babies wear with a massive100.33% increase and major loser was sweaters with (-) 15.64% declinein value. Undergarments which were showing a decline for manymonths saw marginal gains of 1.81%.

Analyzing the item-wise value of imports bythe EU from competitive countries inJan.-Aug. 2010, some key findings are:

EXPORTSTATISTICS

Percentage Value Imports of Two Categories by the EU


After seeing negativemovement in all productsimported by the EU in the firsthalf of the year, some productshave started to show positivegrowth from the seventh monthonwards. The trend continued inthe period under analysis andsome gainers were suits/ensembles ladies dresses,legwear and babies wear with8.68%, 4.85%, 4.12% and7.08% growth, respectively

Exports to EU

APPAREL TYPE Total Imports by EU China India Bangladesh Vietnam Sri Lanka

2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010

Babies Wear 1,471.75 1,575.98 1,065.09 1,188.92 134.00 155.39 78.00 110.50 11.28 7.79 22.92 45.91

Foundation Garments 1,063.94 1,076.13 609.91 592.65 11.61 11.16 14.93 19.62 30.56 23.51 86.08 91.26

Jackets & Blazers 1,651.15 1,689.51 1,013.27 936.43 27.55 27.53 16.71 8.81 46.98 39.63 5.09 6.98

Ladies Blouses 2,059.89 2,082.68 881.17 798.10 539.43 560.60 64.59 59.12 33.09 22.96 37.94 32.16

Ladies Dresses 2,273.31 2,383.52 1,217.87 1,406.16 358.28 383.51 38.57 45.22 17.09 17.24 26.16 22.67

Ladies Skirts 893.61 886.34 439.91 430.33 98.56 87.77 28.07 29.23 17.77 11.17 18.63 22.53

Legwear 966.91 1,006.74 373.97 396.60 11.96 11.36 1.43 1.20 4.60 2.20 12.51 12.34

Mens Shirts 4,430.10 4,363.31 1,500.40 1,563.13 548.47 506.99 573.38 580.21 140.77 102.64 31.20 41.67

Nightwear 2,212.39 2,145.78 1,180.40 1,143.19 240.78 224.63 66.81 102.14 28.31 25.17 95.58 119.46

Suits / Ensembles 234.08 254.39 128.50 154.69 8.55 10.55 4.04 3.94 1.66 1.77 2.56 3.66

Sweaters 6,677.98 6,445.17 3,903.46 3,995.86 162.68 153.90 800.99 831.56 64.16 60.11 53.49 45.13

Trousers 10,198.18 9,989.97 4,407.79 3,894.20 316.46 283.75 869.95 848.25 258.15 189.83 180.01 158.69

T-Shirts 5,147.08 5,135.87 1,438.60 1,409.73 531.88 487.04 1,046.92 1,011.91 45.19 39.45 109.39 102.04

Undergarments 504.19 562.16 305.21 303.08 31.02 32.75 9.19 14.65 3.90 6.41 36.40 37.06

Value in mn Euro

ITEM-WISE VALUE INCREASE IN APPAREL IMPORTS BY EU: JAN.-AUG. 2010


Some categories imported by the EU recorded a downfall. The majorlosers in quantities, though marginal were nightwear with (-) 3.02%decrease, sweaters with (-) 3.63% fall, suits/ensembles with (-) 5.28%decline and legwear with (-) 0.98% downfall.

In China, all except one category saw increase in quantities. Ladiesdresses, ladies skirts and babies wear saw maximum increase inquantities in the review period with 43.21%, 27.37% and 22.30% gains,respectively. The only loser were trousers with (-) 4.03% downslide.

From India, some categories could record quantity gains. Ladiesdresses with 14.58% rise, undergarments with 8.48% upswing, babieswear with 22.98% increase and legwear with 7.04% rise were the goodperformers. Ladies skirts and T-shirts were the two major losers with(-) 9.62% decline and (-) 5.41% downfall respectively. Foundationgarments with (-) 22.15% downfall was the biggest setback.

Bangladesh could record volume gain in many products, the threemajor being foundation garments, undergarments and nightwearwith 74.54%, 108.38% and 70.70% rise, respectively. The decline injackets & blazers, legwear and suits/ensembles were noteworthy with(-) 42.81%, (-) 41.52% and (-) 5.81% declines, respectively.

Exports from Vietnam were up in volumes exceptionally inundergarments with 96.98% gains, the biggest loser was legwear,which was down (-) 64.67%.

For Sri Lanka, the major gainer on quantities were suits/ensembles,babies wear, men’s shirts and jackets & blazers with 107.40%, 113.46%,58.07% and 35.42% increase, respectively. Loss was recorded inladies dresses and ladies blouses with (-) 5.99% decline and (-) 5.57%slide in quantities.

EXPORTSTATISTICS

Analyzing the item-wise imports of the EU onquantities from competitive countries underreview in Jan.-Aug. 2010, some interestingfacts that emerged are:

Percentage Quantity Imports of Two Categories by the EU


In terms ofquantities, therewere increases inimports by the EU inmany productsduring the definedperiod – ladiesdresses with 22.18%increase and babieswear with 17.67%upsurge were thegrowth segments

Exports to EU

APPAREL TYPE Total Imports by EU China India Bangladesh Vietnam Sri Lanka

2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010

Babies Wear 92.62 108.99 70.21 85.86 8.18 10.06 6.87 10.41 0.62 0.47 1.51 3.22

Foundation Garments 33.21 33.81 23.47 27.83 0.15 0.12 0.63 1.11 0.59 0.57 1.71 1.82

Jackets & Blazers 80.12 81.76 55.23 57.88 1.30 1.24 1.74 0.99 2.94 2.45 0.36 0.49

Ladies Blouses 72.31 79.41 30.89 34.15 20.03 20.79 4.42 4.49 1.74 1.32 1.62 1.53

Ladies Dresses 76.86 93.91 41.43 59.33 12.16 13.93 3.18 4.36 1.07 1.03 1.49 1.40

Ladies Skirts 41.92 42.69 22.79 29.03 3.86 3.49 2.13 2.94 1.54 0.98 1.46 2.18

Legwear 128.98 127.72 51.91 62.60 1.15 1.23 0.31 0.18 0.45 0.16 1.07 1.02

Mens Shirts 261.28 260.92 89.90 109.69 32.53 32.59 58.47 65.47 8.63 6.73 1.46 2.30

Nightwear 186.62 180.98 104.28 118.49 24.99 24.63 7.83 13.36 5.94 3.18 4.88 5.57

Suits / Ensembles 25.88 24.51 20.46 21.31 0.72 0.74 0.43 0.40 0.23 0.21 0.16 0.33

Sweaters 391.60 377.40 209.75 239.28 11.03 11.01 70.58 80.22 4.95 4.30 3.28 3.12

Trousers 761.70 771.79 412.03 395.44 21.44 19.98 91.20 101.22 20.16 14.88 13.97 13.95

T-Shirts 428.46 405.49 113.70 118.17 36.82 34.83 142.29 146.05 6.47 6.02 6.18 6.71

Undergarments 44.44 45.46 33.63 34.92 3.34 3.62 0.87 1.81 0.30 0.59 2.03 2.11

Quantity in mn Kg

ITEM-WISE QUANTITY INCREASE IN APPAREL IMPORTS BY EU: JAN.-AUG. 2010


LOGISTICS

DHL Global Forwarding, the freightdivision of major global logistics player

DHL, plans to set up facilities in five freetrade warehousing zones (FTWZ) in thecountry by 2013. These will be in addition tothe $ 10 mn (about Rs. 45 crore) facility inthe country’s first FTWZ in Chennai.

“We plan to set up facilities in five FTWZshere in next 2-3 years to cater to the growingneed of the trade as well as expand ourfootprint,” says Amadou Diallo, ChiefExecutive Officer, South Asia Pacific,DHL Global. “The Tamil Nadu FTWZ will beoperational in January 2011. We haveinvested $ 10 mn in that,” he added.

According to Diallo, DHL Global Forwardingwill be the first global logistics company tooperate a facility within the FTWZ that offerscustomers the benefits of a duty free zonewith high quality infrastructure. The newfacility will be a one-stop-shop for all logisticsrequirement of customers. DHL has suchfacilities abroad, including Singapore, forcustomers for inbound and outboundlogistics requirements.

FTWZs are zones to create trade-relatedinfrastructure to facilitate the import andexport of goods and services. Oninvestments so far in India, Diallo said DHLForwarding has so far invested around$ 315 mn (about Rs. 15,000 crore) in India.

The logistics market in India is expected togrow to $ 120 bn (over Rs. 5.4 lakh crore)in 2014 from about $ 90 billion (overRs. 4 lakh crore) at present. “We are wellpositioned to capitalize on this fastgrowing market with India poised for a 9%growth,” states Diallo.

DHL is eyeing public-private-partnershipprojects in logistics space in the country.

Maersk Line won the ‘Best Container Linerof the Year’ at the ‘Annual Indian Maritime

Gateway Awards 2010’held at Mumbai recently.

Since inception two years ago, the Annual IndianMaritime Gateway Awards have aimed toshowcase outstanding achievements andexceptional accomplishments of individuals andorganizations in the Indian maritime industry.The awards are aimed at promoting bestpractices, innovation and motivation.

Bas Huele, Director, Customer Service,Maersk Line, accepted the award on behalf ofMaersk Line. An independent panel of judgeswas constituted which included representativesfrom the Government, industry and the editorialadvisory board members of Maritime Gateway

DHL Plans to Set upFacilities in Five FreeTrade WarehousingZones in India

Maersk Line wins ‘Best Container Liner of the Year’

for short listing of the nominees and selectingthe winners. The winners for each category weredetermined by quantitative and qualitativeanalysis made by the jury.

FedEx Express business unit will acquire thelogistics, distribution and express businesses

of AFL Pvt. Ltd. and its affiliate, Unifreight IndiaPvt. Ltd. This acquisition will give FedEx a morerobust domestic ground network and addedcapabilities in India. FedEx expects that thistransaction, which is subject to customaryclosing conditions, will close in its third fiscalquarter, which ends February 2011.

Founded in 1945, AFL Pvt. Ltd. has been arecognized leader in the transportation andlogistics industry in India. A privately heldcompany, the AFL business offerings include acomprehensive range of distribution and logisticsservices through a well-established networkacross India.

Specifically, this acquisition includes the purchaseof AFL Logistics and Distribution, which consistsof a wide range of products and services,including supply chain management,warehousing, and a ground distribution networkthat provides day-definite ground transportationfor small packages and heavyweight shipmentsthrough more than 200 daily scheduled routes.

FedEx Corp to Acquire a Few Business Streams of AFL

AFL WiZ Express, which offers express servicesthrough more than 160 Express Service Centres,servicing more than five thousand zip codesacross 144 cities in India.

“The acquisition supports our long-term strategyto grow our international business and betterserve our customers seeking to expand or enterthe Indian market,” said Michael L. Ducker,COO, FedEx Express. “This will providecustomers with more service options such asdomestic ground and value-added services,including warehousing, logistics solutions andthird party logistics, while allowing them to takeadvantage of an increased coverage area.”

“Our extensive network and logisticsinfrastructure will enable FedEx to deepen itspenetration of the Indian market, I believe AFL’scustomers will be excited by the prospects ofAFL’s service offering being strengthened underthe leadership of a global leader in expressdelivery and transportation,” said Cyrus Guzder,Chairman of AFL. After the acquisition closes,Cyrus Guzder will assume the role of ExecutiveAdvisor to FedEx.

Bas Huele, Director, Customer Service, MaerskLine accepting the award


Optical tools are one of themost commonly usedtools in the textile and

apparel industry, which arerequired at all stages ofproduction and testing. Withdesign spreading into everypossible product category of theworld, the company haslaunched a reading domemagnifier which looks like apaperweight and can be used tocheck any type of defects inembroidery, weaving anddyeing of fabrics. The tool ishandy as it magnifies thesurface of the product as itshifts along the base.

Another unique innovation is thehandy magnifier with LED light.LEDs emit light in very smallband of wavelengths, emittingstrongly coloured light which isfocused in a particular area forclarity. With sustainability beingthe demand and need of thehour installations of LED lightingfor commercial and public usesare becoming more and morecommon, making it the next bigthing. Keeping this new growingtechnology in mind thismagnifier is made in a creativeshape with a LED light attachedto the handle.

Incorporating the same featureof LED light the company hasalso introduced an automaticopen pick glass which is used as

User-friendly and Innovative Optical Tools,a New Range Launched By ParamountParamount, keeping up to its reputation of being the pioneer and leader in the field of textile testinginstrument technology, recently introduced some innovative new additions in the instruments theymanufacture. “Concentrating more on style and convenience of the user, we have developed a range ofoptical tools with a unique design appeal which are extremely user-friendly, while remaining affordable fortextile testing,” said Manjit Singh Saini,Manjit Singh Saini,Manjit Singh Saini,Manjit Singh Saini,Manjit Singh Saini, CEO & Executiv CEO & Executiv CEO & Executiv CEO & Executiv CEO & Executive Directore Directore Directore Directore Director,,,,, Paramount Paramount Paramount Paramount Paramount.

an accurate way of checkingconstruction (reed/pick) in anykind of fabric. The range alsoincludes a microscope with LEDwhite light used to closelyaccess dyeing, printing, weavingdefects or constructionaldifferences in any type offabrics. A strong feature of thismicroscope is the ‘zoom’,through which one can view any specific area of the fabricmuch more closely.

With focus on all sections of theindustry, Paramount has testingsolutions for all needs andbudgets. “It is important thateven the unorganized small

scale garment manufactureruses tools to set quality and thatis why we have recentlyintroduced the cost-effective 7pearl series which has been a hitwith smaller players,” aversSaini. The company is alsoproud to be an Indian companysupplying instruments at parwith international brands intesting equipment.

Since its inception in 1964,Paramount has flourished into alarge group, comprising ofdifferent companies, all engagedin a wide spectrum of activitiesrelated to the textile andgarment industry. Today the

group is recognized as thepioneer and leader in themanufacture of textile testingand inspection equipment inIndia. It is also the first andonly company in Asia in thesegment to be awarded theISO 9001:2000 Certification byLRQA, UK. Paramountmanufactures a variety ofproducts such as fabricand yarn testing instruments,lab dyeing machines, fabricinspection machines,swatch cutting machines,needle detection machines,optical tools and qualityassured consumables.

The company also holds thedistinction of being the largestexporter of textile testinginstruments from India. Apartfrom its home base in India,Paramount has already beenproviding quality controlinstruments to more than 36countries across the globe witha number of centers in Asia,Africa, Europe, Canada, CentralAmerica and United States. Theproduction facilities areequipped with the latest incutting-edge technology withthe most up-to-date productionmethods. The three productionunits are spread out over a totalof 22,000 sq. feet area, and arelocated close to the Indiannational capital.

RESOURCECENTRE

Manjit Singh Saini, CEO &Executive Director, Paramount,demonstrating his new product

The new range of optical toolsintroduced by the company


RESOURCECENTRE


Is Tirupur Now Taking a ‘U’ Turn Back toDomestic Market?

The organized players took 14%of it, thanks to the fast mall andmultiplex culture creepingthrough our cities. Indians havebetter spending power now andit is being capitalized by theaggressive marketing strategiesby the ‘Big’ players. Theprojected Indian retail isRs. 37 lakh crores by 2020.

Apparel Global Consulting (AGC)is watching this scenario forsome time and is actively takingpart in the process. In Jan. 2010,AGC has participated in theK-Bip and CID (Government ofKerala) sponsored TEXFAIRKERALA 2010 as BusinessSourcing Agent leading 60Domestic Sourcing people tothe fair. It conducted anAwareness Training Programmefor the Kerala Weavers duringDec. 2009 in Kochi.

AGC has also co-organized anexclusive Indian retail orientedfair – RAMP (Retail ApparelManufacturers Presentation)sourcing show with fashion

show and BSM at Tirupur during30-31st August 2010 and isinstrumental in bringing nearly260 buyers across the countryfrom various segments includingmajor retail chains. It drew agreat attention from all the quartersof the retail industry. The nextedition of RAMP is planned in thefirst week of Feb. 2011.

Confident of the potential in thedomestic market, AGC is underconstant interaction with privateand Government agencies likeTirupur Textiles Committee,Ministry of Textiles, RetailAssociations and ClusterDevelopment Agencies to monitorthe situation and extend itsexpertise in textiles to supportthe growth of small andmedium textile entrepreneursin this region.

The changes are bound tohappen as a part of evolutionhappening around the world atevery sphere but only those whounderstand it immediately andadopt spell success soon!

RESOURCECENTRE

domestic market… Yes, thewheel is turning back again! Theentry of MNC players by FDIrevolution made it easier forinternational retailers and storesto eye India as a huge andunexploited market. Thesteady economic growth of ourcountry also substantiated theirthinking. When the Europeanand American economies areregistering nominal GDPgrowth, we are sailing smoothlyover 7% for the past few yearsand looking for double digitvery sooner.

Indian biggies started going forjoint ventures with majorinternational companies likeWalmart, S. Oliver, Penny Lane,Crocodile, Esprit, etc. TheIndian corporate giants likeReliance, Madura Garments,Max Retail, Fortune Group, Tata,Aditya Birla, Bharati, etc. alsostarted showing more interest toexpand their network with newbrands and increasing outlets.The overall outlook has nowchanged from mere local sales todomestic supply chain networkas good as any internationalretailer’s network.

The Indian retail was estimatedin 2007 for $ 342 billion with only4% of organized sales and for2010 estimated at $ 427 billionwith 22% from organized sales.Brands like Lilliput, Weekender,Max and G&J has shown veryhigh growth rate in the pastcouple of years concentrating onthe lucrative children’s segment.The Indian children’s retaildemand is estimated at 170crores in 2008-09. Nearly 25% ofthe population is under 12 yearsand the growth rate is 18-20%.

Till 1970’s Tirupur wasmainly manufacturingundergarments and

apparel remained the forte ofcities like Mumbai and Delhi.Again it needed North boundentrepreneurs to bring newdirection to the centre as theyventured into sourcing knittedreadymade garments fromTirupur to cater domesticdemand citing lower cost ofproduction and better fabricquality. The Governmentrealising the high potential ofthis small town introducedseveral measurers to encouragedirect export in the mid 80’s.Since then there was nolooking back for Tirupur. Thebeginning of 1990’s saw thefirst ever garment export boomin India with Tirupur beingone of the major contributors.The incentives flowed andregulations made simpleradded with no taxes ofwhatever kind it is.

The industry in Tirupurthereafter has faced several upsand downs; the most challengingperiod being today withfluctuation of Indian rupeeagainst foreign currencies,changes in the Government’sEXIM policies, cut on incentivesand the levy of all kinds of taxes,higher raw material and processcost, shortage of skilled labour,very less Government incentivesand falling foreign economy.

Further, sustainability issuesare getting tough for mediumand small exporters which inturn are compelling them toseek alternatives, such asbuyers in newer geographies ordiverting back to the more stable

MANIKANDAN, CEO,APPAREL GLOBALCONSULTING (AGC),

Starting as a centre of local manufacturers of ‘baniyans’, Tirupur has over the last two decades focussed more on exports,emerging as a knitwear centre known the world over by most leading brands. Exports have generated huge job opportunitiesfor the villagers living in nearby areas, not only in stitching, but also in spinning, knitting, processing and support industrieslike printing, washing and embroidery. Now with exports becoming more competitive with lesser margins, many playersare turningback to the domestic market to balance production. G.G.G.G.G. Manikandan, Manikandan, Manikandan, Manikandan, Manikandan, CEO, CEO, CEO, CEO, CEO, Apparel Global Consulting (AGC)Apparel Global Consulting (AGC)Apparel Global Consulting (AGC)Apparel Global Consulting (AGC)Apparel Global Consulting (AGC),explores the evolution and directions of Tirupur in the changing dynamics…


Kaisa Mattson, who joined KappAhl as Country Managerin 2009 has moved on and Cecilia Oskarsson hasrecently taken charge as the new Country Manager.

With an annual turnover of $ 7.7 million, the India office ofKappAhl has been present in India for several years andsources garments in knits and woven as well as accessories.One of the most upfront retailers in sustainability, KappAhlworks in a close relation with vendors to ensure bothenvironmental as well as code-of-conduct related issues. Infact, KappAhl was the first fashion chain to receiveenvironmental management standard certification in 1999.

The group sells fashion products for every category for thewhole family, but the main target group is women agedbetween 30 and 50. The ratio of KappAhl’s net sales is women– 58%, kids – 27% and men – 15%. The retailer is supplyingto the fashion markets of Sweden, Norway, Finland andPoland, though the company’s single largest market continuesto be Sweden. KappAhl’s sales for the 2009/2010 financialyear totalled SEK 5.1 billion and in the running financial theretailer has seen better sales than last year.

With buying from Indiatouching $ 260 million,IKEA is now looking to

expand its product and vendor basefrom the region over the next coupleof years. Though IKEA has alwaysbeen a strong buyer from the region,with Gregg Mowins taking over asRegional Purchase Manager forIKEA’s Trading Operations in SouthAsia, with headquarters in NewDelhi in February 2010, the thrusthas become stronger. “South Asiais a growing purchasing market andIKEA is continuously looking for newbusiness opportunities and potentialsuppliers,” says Mowins.

Mowins is an old timer with IKEAhaving joined the company in 1988in the US where he held a numberof assignments in IKEA’s retail operations in North America before movingto Sweden in 1999. While there, Mowins led global business developmentfor three of IKEA’s home furnishings businesses and served as a member ofthe management group of IKEA of Sweden AB and as board member ofIKEA Iberica. In addition to his passion for home furnishings, Mowins maintainsa keen interest in leadership development and the integration of social andenvironmental responsibility and business development.

IKEA, the leading Swedish Home Furnishings retailer with 270 IKEA storesin 24 countries and 45 trading offices in 31 countries, has staff strength of140 people in India to coordinate buying from South Asia. Though IKEA’strading office is headquartered in New Delhi, it has regional offices in Chennai(India), Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Karachi (Pakistan) for wider sourcingpossibilities. From the region, IKEA purchases products ranging from textiles,rugs, lighting articles, metal & plastic articles and nature materials.

Cecilia Oskarsson is theNew Country Manager atKappAhl Far East Ltd.

IKEA Lookingfor PotentialSuppliers as itincreasesSourcing fromIndia

December 16-31, 2010 - Apparel Resources

Documents

Transcript of December 16-31, 2010 - Apparel Resources