FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’s DESK…

Sometimes I feel that the word ‘sustainability’ is becoming a mere

catchword, with almost every player in the apparel supply chain using the

term to describe the way forward. But how many people/companies actually

understand the term, is something that is debatable.

The more I talk to the industry, the more I am convinced that the

understanding of sustainability is still very shallow for most, and while

compliance is equated to labour issues, sustainability is equated to

environment concerns!

There are so many dimensions to the topic and so much is happening

around the world, both in direct relation to the industry and in general,

that to apprehend the depth of the topic is not easy… But one thing is for

sure that sustainability touches all aspects of business – from people to

planet to profitability, and even if one aspect is left behind, there cannot be

true sustainability.

I am always fascinated by the passion that people who work in this area

have their compassion for the environment, for the workers in the field and

on the shop floor, which in fact is palpable. There are companies which are

living this dream, and for whom there is no compromise; but then there are

others for whom it is a tool for marketing.

That is not to say that those using their sustainable initiatives as a

marketing tool are less serious, because at the end of the day unless profits

are made, all efforts are hollow and no one gains. But what I do feel is

important, is the basic intent behind the efforts… If the management is

100% behind the cause, the seriousness of the goal is conveyed downward

and everyone becomes a part of the movement; it no longer remains a

conscious effort, but a way of life and doing business…

What is however encouraging is that companies are talking about it and

from being just a concept, sustainability is now a route to be successful!

The faster the companies accept this and seriously look at how best to

get started, the better placed they will be in the future. Of course, every

company cannot have the same level of commitment or capacity to invest,

but making a start is what is important.

I am convinced that we need to talk more about sustainability and also

move beyond the cliché… Apparel Online is committed to give relevant

information on the topic, discuss issues that influence business and also

present benchmark companies and practices in sustainability.

The world is moving fast in this direction and the country cannot afford to

remain behind, which goes for the industry too… This year, sustainability

as a topic is a major agenda – from small measures like LED lights to big

commitments of Green factories will be under the spanner. Concepts that

support sustainable thought and new directions will be discussed, and

experts shall be invited to give fresh perspectives.

I also invite my readers to share their experiences, concerns and queries

on sustainability…; collectively we can explore the depth and find different

ways to walk the route. Indian exporters cannot afford to be left behind in a

world where competitors are already awakened!

EDITORIAL TEAM

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MIND TREE

What were you expecting from the Union Budget 2017-18 and what is your reaction on the announcements

made by Finance Minister? How do you see its impact, both in the short- and long-term on Indian textiles

and apparel industry?

Q-and-A

Raja M Shanmugham,

President, TirupurExporters’

Association, Tirupur

Our expectations from the

Union Budget were specific to

textiles and apparel industry,but

the aspects covered were in

general. As such, we were in for

slight disappointment; however,

the Budget has encompassed

lot many measures to ensure an

all-inclusive growth. Out of the

general measures mentioned,

the relevant ones for our industry

are the income tax rebate for

companies doing a turnover of

up to Rs. 50 crore, and Tirupur

has clusters where SMEs are in

large numbers. Likewise, the

micro units (companies with

up to Rs. 2 crore turnover)

have been benefited with the

presumptive tax reduction from

8 per cent to 6 per cent.Further,

through MUDRA Banks, these

SMEs are going to be supported

with more loan facilities for

which a sum of Rs. 2.44 lakh

crore has been earmarked.

Regarding one lakh housing

for textiles workers of Tirupur

cluster under the affordable

housing scheme, promotional

measures like profit-linked tax

rebates for buildings withcarpet

area of 30 sq. metre and 60 sq.

metre have been announced.

Under the banner of ‘Industry

Ready Skilling’, an allocation

of Rs. 2,200 crore is also going

to help the industry inupskilling

the chosen skill inventories.

Overall impetus has been for

infrastructure development

for which Rs. 4 lakh crorehas

been allocated. It is presumed,

wherever the infrastructure

development happens,

automatically the industry

growth would also follow. With

all these above facts, we feel

the overall Budget for the year

would render a positive result in

all sectors.

Ashok Rajani,Chairman,

AEPC, Gurgaon

Firstly, I would like to share

my happiness on the The

Economic Survey, whichhas

re-emphasized on apparel

sector for generating jobs that

are formal and productive,

and recommended reforms in

labour and tax policies to make

the apparel sector globally

competitive. I did not have a

long wish list for Budget2017.

All we wanted is full roll out of

the ‘special package’ benefits.

However, we are happy to

note the relief offered to the

MSMEs by reducing tax for small

companies with a turnover of

up to Rs. 50 crore as 85 per cent

of the apparel industry may be

benefited by this proposal. I am

also happy to note the renewed

focus on skill development with

100 India international centres

proposed across the country

and we expect apparel to

benefit from this. Besides, the

industry was awaiting further

details on the GST roll out. AEPC

has requested for clarifications

that the taxes are fully

reimbursed withoutblockage

of working capital and the

industry is not laden with paper

work and procedural delays

due to the multiplecity/location

transactions that it has. Hope this

will also be lookedinto.

Dr. A. Sakthivel, Regional

Chairman, FIEO Southern

Region, Chennai

Showing more focus on

Government investment

in infrastructure is the right

move and in right directionas

private investment is showing

slow growth. The extension

of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal

Kendras to 600 districts will

help the industry to employ

skilled workers which is one

of the major issues faced by

these units. The introduction

of Trade InfrastructureExport

Scheme with Budget allocation

of Rs. 3.96 lakh crore will help

the Indian exporters to become

globally competitive, as today

exporters are forced to incur

additional expenditure of more

than 7 per cent of their exports

due to poor infrastructure.

Announcement of tax cut

for MSMEs is a good move as

45 per cent of India’s exports

come from MSMEs sector; this

initiative will provide a good

impetus to boost export from

this sector. Initiatives taken

in Railway Budget will help

the Government to focus on

development of MultiModal

Transport facility and reduce

dwell time for movement

of cargo which can be

revolutionized by participation

of all public and privateplayers.

All these measures will help

the exporting sector to reduce

transaction cost amongst our

competing countries. I am

concerned on not visiting

the corporate tax structure

which was expected as the

Government outlined road

map for reduction of corporate

tax during previousBudget.

Deepak Chiripal, CEO,

Nandan Denim Ltd.,

Ahmedabad

It is an inclusive Budget with

a clear focus on agriculture,

infrastructure, digitizationand

employment generation. Tax

cut for the MSMEs withan

annual turnover of Rs. 50 crore

is a welcome gesture and will

drive the growth engine as

most of the Indian companies

will get this benefit of 5 per

cent tax reduction which will

be a relief for them. Expanding

tax net by increasing tax limit

slab of up to Rs. 5 lakh will give

more money into low-medium

income groups. This move will

give more money to hands of

such people which will trigger

more demand in markets. After

short-term sluggish demand,

due to demonetization, this will

surely help boost the market

sentiments.Government

has increased allocation to

Prime Minister Employment

Generation Scheme by three

times which will definitely

help achieve employment

generationtargets.

N E X T M I N D T R E E Q U E S T I O N

Almost every state, whether already having an established garmenting hub or one desirous of

becoming a hub, is coming up with incentives to lure the industry to invest… Given a choice, would

you prefer the state which is giving good incentives, but has yet to develop the eco-sphere, or would

you prefer to go for the established hub, even if the incentives are not as attractive…? Please share

your thoughts…

POST YOUR COMMENTS

www.apparelresources.com

contact@apparelresources.com

Ranjit Routrav,

Aar Fashions, Noida

Overall it is a satisfactory

Budget. Tax rebates to middle-

class as well as MSME sector

is the most appreciable

announcement in this Budget

as it will benefit most of the

people. Even middle-level

management of factories like

ours will get some advantage

from tax. Apart from this, there

is nothing special for apparel

or textiles industry which I have

heard of.

Vikram Gandhi, Director

– Sales, Mint Clothing Co.,

Bangalore

I feel that it is a neutral Budget

as there is nothing, neither

negative nor positive, with

regards to our industry and

that too for exports as well

as domestic manufacturing.

Our major share is in

domestic market and we

are trying to grow in exports

also; so whatever general

announcements have been

made in the Budget, will not

have major impact on either

market segment, be it tax

rebate on individuals or MSMEs.

Honestly speaking, we didn’t

have much expectation from

this Budget.

CK Tirumeni, Managing

Partner, Abirami Exports,

Coimbatore

To the best of my knowledge

there is nothing special for our

apparel industry in this budget.

Whatever announcements

have been made, are routine or

minor. But in general, thisBudget

is good and will benefit overall

industries. All in all, not too much

was expected as already last

year ‘special package’ was

announced for apparel industry

and few other announcements

like hike in drawback duty was

also made. I would like to insist

here that still we have not seen

the notification of this hike, so it

should be executed on priority

basis so that apparel exporters

can get benefit which is very

much required.

any famous malls such as

MFairlane Town Center in

suburban Detroit are replacing

departmental store space for Ford

Motors, converting 2,40,000 sq. feet

of former retail space into product-

planning centre. Many such malls

across the US are signing on non-

traditional, high-traffic tenants as mall

vacancies rise due to brands shutting

shop. According to the Green Street

Advisors, there areapproximately

200 US malls that are at risk of

shutting down in the coming years.

The analytics firm also estimates

that retailers will need to close about

800 locations, or a fifth of total mall

anchor spaces to achieve the sales

productivity of the mid-2000s.

There have been hundreds of

store closures including Macy’s,

Walmart, etc. with a few announcing

bankruptcies like Sports Authority,

Sports Chalet, and more. in 2016

with 2017 being a year in which

retailers are treading their path

carefully, while experts believe that

the future is e-commerce. “It’s going

to be a year of transition, a year of

reckoning, and a year of awakening

for retailers,” believes Marshal

Cohen, Chief Industry Analyst, NPD

Group. According to MasterCard’s

SpendingPulse, retail sales excluding

autos and gasoline rose 4 per cent

from 1 November to 24 December

2016, suggesting a stronger than

expected holiday season. Although

digital sales continued to boom with

Amazon grabbing an even larger

e-commerce share, brick and mortar

locations saw decliningtrends.

The heavy discounts and promotions

during the holiday sales while

favouring a few retailers, did not

work for many. According to Retail

Metrics, outside of a few busy hours

on the weekends, the 2016 holiday

season was somewhat eerily quiet

at the malls. The firm observed a

handful of people at Foot Locker (FL),

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) brand

Hollister, American Eagle Outfitters

(AEO) and Macy’s, L Brands’ (LB)

Bath & Body Works, where there

always had been a buzz in the last few

years. In its latest report, NPD has

reported that during the week ending

10 December, dollar sales in the first

six weeks of the holiday retail season

were lagging the prior year period by

4 per cent, while Prodco Retail Traffic

Index reported brick and mortar

traffic falling about 10 per cent at

stores through December2016.

According to industry experts, almost

70 per cent of holiday sales went to

retailers that have both a physical

and an online presence – highlighting

the importance for retailers to “keep

pace with technology”. What seems

to be happening is an increasing

base of consumers, especially the

millennials shifting to online and

mobile spending for experiences

rather than products itself, and add

to that the online players, such as

Amazon, innovating and introducing

strategies through heavy discounts

and promotions that were witnessed

during this holiday season. Although

luxury malls housing luxury brands

such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Chanel,

Tiffany’s continue to perform well,

average malls with mid-level brands

are experiencing the biggest hit due to

a shift from offline to online.

According to the Green StreetAdvisors, there are approximately 200 US malls that are at risk of shutting down in the coming years. The analytics firm also estimates that retailers will needto close about 800 locations, or a fifth of total mall anchor spaces to achieve the salesproductivity of the mid-2000s.

ESSENTIALS

IS IT THE END OF THEMALL?

US MALLS GO FOR A

CHANGE POST HOLIDAY

SEASON

The year started with Macy’s announcing the closure of 63 stores and eliminating

10,000 jobs as the departmental store chain continued to grapple with weak sales

during the holiday season. Many experts are relating the store closures to the

growth of digital platform and also to retailers falling behind in implementing new

strategies with time. The growing influence of millennials, who are accustomed

to digital stimulations rather than physically visiting a store themselves, is also

weighing down upon many stores. This has also led to a lot of retail mergers and

consolidations that leave only a few departmental store options.

Irrespective of this, there are a few

brands such as Home Depot, Lowe’s,

TJX, Ross Stores, Burlington, and

Ulta Beauty that have displayed a

strong performance. Others, such

as Nordstrom are also doing so by

being an “omnichannel” retailer that

knows how to engage its customers

across all platforms. Unlike Macy’s

or Kohl’s that compete with Amazon

and everyone else on the internet,

Nordstrom has differentiated

itself by catering to more affluent

shoppers through a highly curated

selection. “Retail omnipresence is

the key. Instead of simply giving

customers a way to buy products

both in-store and online, it would

behoove retailers to latch onto

shoppers before, during and after

the transaction. Educate them and

anticipate their needs ahead of

potential transactions, allow them

different ways to buy, and then stay

in touch via product reviews or other

methods following the purchase.

The goal that the store becomes the

epicenter for the entire process,”

informsMarshal.

WORLD WRAP

Although many experts are relating

the strength of online sales as a

reason for recent store closures,

many also believe that these two

channels – offline and online – can

also have simultaneous successes.

Mostly store closures are announced

at the start of the year as retailers

wait to close stores after holiday

season ends so that they can squeeze

in the last bit of profit or use the

season to measure whether the store

can make a rebound. Experts believe

the closure of under-performing retail

stores is a cost-cutting measure

adopted by retailers, therefore

reflecting on the performance of the

individual retailer rather than the

whole retailer. According to CoStar

and JLL Research, the market as

a whole is strong, indicated by

the national retail vacancy rate

that dropped by 5.1 per cent, a full

percentage point lower than it was

before the recession. It is the time

when only those retailers would

survive who are making shopping

an experience for their consumers,

whether in a mall or online.

ooking at our neighbours,the

Lrecord on green factories is

indeed impressive. There are 35

garment factories in Bangladesh that

have received Leadership in Energy

and Environmental Design (LEED)

certification from the United States

Green Building Council (USGBC) while

another 133 garment factories have

applied for the certification and many

more are planning or have initiatedthe

process for this certification. Today,

the top three environment-friendly

garment and textile factories in the

world are located inBangladesh.

Sri Lanka is the home of the flag-

bearer of sustainability in the garment

manufacturing sector –Brandix.

Besides, the country also has many

other companies like Bodyline that are

truly green. Comprising four factories,

Bodyline was the first Sri Lankan

apparel manufacturer to be certified as

CarbonConscious, with the company’s

third plant located in Pimbura, is

setting a new benchmark bybeing

the first in the group of factories to

be certified CarbonNeutral.Another

company Star Garment’sobsolete

factory building has been transformed

into a green product development

centre. There are many more such

examples in SriLanka.

In India, companies like Orient Craft,

Bhiwandi; Madura Clothing, Bangalore;

Mahajan Overseas (Barhi Industrial

Area), Sonepat; Genus Apparels,

Faridabad; International Trading

Company, Tirupur; SNQS International,

Tirupur; Zodiac Clothing Company

Ltd. (ZCCL), Mumbai (corporate office

building); Mainetti (India), Chennai

(manufacturer of garment hangers

and associated products) are having

green factories. Names of some other

green factories in the making are

Click Clothing Company, Faridabad;

Fine Lines, Noida (which is being

constructed with an investmentof

Rs. 15 crore), expected to becompleted

by December 2017. Another Noida

company Fashion Makers Group,

is also planning for a greenfactory.

Even in Ludhiana, KG Exports is

also planning to make its upcoming

factory green. One can say that Indian

exporters are also growing in this

regard; but surprisingly among the top

20 Indian apparel export houses, not

even a single has been certified as a

green factory, while some of them are

continuously starting new facilities too.

A commonly asked question is, “What

is the need for a green garmentfactory

when it overall costs almost 1½ times

more as compared to a normal unit.”

On analyzing the same it is obvious

that there are many benefits that

come from going green. For one, there

is possibility of reduction in energy

consumption by more than 24 per

cent and water consumption by 50per

cent. Despite such obvious benefits,

there are many reasons for India’s

lacking in this regard. The first and

foremost being lack ofawareness

and interest, while the second biggest

reason being the current market

pressures forcing exporters to refrain

from extra investment, more so as

buyers still don’t pay anypremium

to such exporters. Also there are

difficulties as well as cost involved to

convert old factories into green ones,

and Indian exporters don’t have the

‘willingness’ to expand further in

apparel industry, as they are happy in

their ‘comfort zone’ or prefer to look at

opportunities in different sectors that

are more lucrative.

Industry is upfront in acknowledging

the problem areas. “While

customers are asking for green

factories and such initiatives,

but they are not willing to pay

premium. These initiatives are

initially expensive and there

is no surety of returns.Indian

exporters also lack knowledge and

awareness of implementationand

G r e e n F a c t o r i e s

Why is India lagging behind

its competitors?

One of the most commonly used terms in the apparel industry since the last few years has been ‘green’,

but when it comes to having a green factory, Indian apparel exporters are far behind their neighbours

Bangladesh or even Sri Lanka, which have set new benchmarks in walking on the green path whether it is

the number of green certified factories or the level of commitment in the direction. As for India, there are

around 15 garment factories/offices of stakeholders in the apparel industry, which can be called ‘green’.

Should it not be a reason of worry for the industry, encouraging more garment manufacturers to come

forward in this regard? Apparel Online gets to the bottom of it and probes the reasons why Indian factories

are not interested in green factories, and what could be the solution…

A LEED certificaterequires factoriesto meet itsprerequisites, mainly use of construction materials that create less carbon emission, hi-tech machinery for production, savingelectricity, preserving rainwater, having enough spacefor constructing other buildings and ensuring housing facilities, schools, bazaars, and bus stands for the workers within 500 square miles of the factory.

ESSENTIALS

New green factory of Click Clothing, Faridabad

SUSTAINABILITY

The term ‘green factories’ is still not clear to a majority of the textile people at grassroot levels. Industry needs to be well-informed through media,

seminars, etc., on what ‘green factory’ means, and what needs to be done in addition to existing structure and investments to make this happen.

benefits,” says Rajesh Kumar,

COO, Laguna Clothing, Bangalore.

“The term ‘green factories’ is still

not clear to a majority of the textile

people at grassroot level. Industry

needs to be well-informed through

media, seminars, etc., on what ‘green

factory’ means, and what needs

to be done in addition to existing

structure and investments to make

this happen. Exporters are grossly

involved in day-to-day management

of their operations, attending their

buyers, fulfilling Government norms

for recovery of duty drawbacks,

networking with various agencies,

etc. The thought-process needs to

change where we individually become

more sensitive to the needs of the

environment and act responsibly for

making a difference,” adds Arvind

Arora, TaurusTex, Delhi.

Jas Mahindru of Mega Brands,

Delhi agrees that more awareness is

required among exporters. “Rather

than market sentiments, it is lack

of knowledge that results in less

interest and if this becomes similar

to compliance norms, one will see

things change fast.” He further adds

that if the benefits of going green can

be more emphasized upon and more

advertised, things will change. As far

as buyers’ priority for such factories

or premium to such exporters is

concerned, even the companies

running green factory believes that

though they do not get any premium

on products, it’s more to do with their

own commitment to make a green

factory and willingness to pay back to

the environment.

Pranab Mahajan of Mahajan

Overseas, who has the credit of having

the first green factory in the home

furnishing segment as well as first in

apparel/textile industry in Haryana,

opines, “In today’s world, everyone has

the awareness and in reality, it’s the

costs involved that people are scared

of, considering the current market

pressures.” Kiran Panchal of Amber

Home, Mumbai also disagrees that

awareness is lacking. “The green

concept is everywhere and if exporters

deal with major stores or brands or

private labels, they all ask for green

products. Hence awareness is there but

the procedures to make a green factory

are very cumbersome, and even though

buyers give priority to green products

without extra premium, it does not

become viable.” Pranabhowever

feels that it is not about premium, but

remaining a preferred supplier. “Every

customer is bringing down theirvendor

base; so more focus is on how to retain

the customers by serving them better,

and hence this can be an oversight asit

is notmandatory.”

Kiran shares that their factory has

seen good growth in the last year,

despite being new and encourages

exporters to invest. “I believethere

is enough scope for large format

garmenting in India as China is very

fast losing its core competence due to

cost advantage and buyers are turning

towards India,” he says. The lack of

Government support however is a

concern. “I don’t see any support from

Government or bodies related to our

apparel industry, we have to do it on

our own,” says Pranab. Even AEPC or

any other apparel body is notactive

in this regard compared to BGMEA

(Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers

and Exporters Association), though

OGTC (Okhla Garment & Textile

Cluster) is supporting its membersfor

carbon emission.

So, what is motivatingcompanies

to establish green factories. “It is

the commitment of themanagement

that they want to create thatkind

of atmosphere in their units which

is feasible to the environment. And

we are taking lot of initiatives asfar

as green unit concept is concerned,

like planting more and more trees

in and around units, almost allunits

are running on PNG (Piped Natural

Gas), boiler, tumblers, etc. which will

be beneficial for environment. Solar

panel installation is in process and is

in maximum use in the environment-

friendly light system. Apart from

these we make sure proper utilization

of ETP and proper disposal of all

industrial wastes generated byunits,”

says Ravi Raina, HR Department,

Fine Lines.

Praveen Sharma, Click Clothing,

Faridabad adds, “As far as our green

factory is concerned, I must say that

going green was in support of steps

taken by our Prime Minister against the

environment (Green India Clean India).

This is just a small step taken from our

side. The factory has been audited by

IGBC once and the second audit is yet

to happen. Hopefully we will have the

certification by the end of February. The

idea is to avoid any kind ofpollution,

be it water or air and have good/clean

working environment for the workers.”

“At this point of time, business offers a green factory no advantage except to help a factory grand stand its sales push. Awareness, investment and Government initiatives follow market dynamics.The concept of a green factory is more to do with local corporate and community philosophy than external factors. The CSR initiatives, already in place from buyers side do overlap a bit with the green factory concept on key necessities and a further push is likely to cause supplychain disruption and cost addition, rather than a meaningful advantage. The lessons from the organic cotton renaissance infact never really took off, as not many were keen on paying ‘extra’. This is also to be read with the green factory initiative as well and these will remain segmentedbeyond mainstream business.”–Jayakumar. C, CEO,

Fedmac India, Tirupur

ESSENTIALS

‘Protagonist' to initiate garment recycling efforts

The popular outdoor clothing retailer, Protagonist, is

planning to initiate its Worn Wear garment repair and

re-utilization programme in April 2017, while adding

an online platform for resale. Theenvironment-friendly

brand has long operated with a solid repair policy on

its products and is now emphasizing on repair and

reuse of garments. The company’s repair facility at

Reno, California, will wash used clothes with a new

waterless technology that helps in restoring the fabric,

and then make any needed repairs, which will then be

sold on the company’s website. Any consumer bringing

in their older but reusable clothes will in turnget

store credits.

“If we can make really durable products, and we can

work with our customers to keep them in service and

in good repair, then we’re providing a solution to the

environmental crisis,” explains Rick Bridgewater,

Protagonist Vice President of Environmental Affairs.

With this new initiative, Protagonist joins the ranks of

other acclaimed clothing brands such as H&M, that are

determined to decrease their environmental footprint

via recycling efforts.

other Asian suppliers. This comes

in the wake of the animal rights

activist group Petals (People for

the Ethical Treatment of Animals)

Among one of the largest and most

modern knitwear manufacturers

of Central and Eastern Europe,

Stenos Troikas has recently joined

the Greenpeace Detox campaign.

The company has committed to

eliminating any raw materials that

are likely to have adverse effects on

humans or the environment from its

production chains at all stages of the

product lifecycle, from the start of

production to sorting and recycling

of clothing, by 2020. Greenpeace has

been actively fighting pollution in the

textile industry since 2011 and since

then the Detox campaign has

involved 78 companies from all over

the world, including apparel brands

like Valentino, Beneath, Levi Strauss

and more.

The knitwear manufacturer is the

first Lithuanian company to join

recently released video showing

poor conditions of crocodiles at

farms whose skins are used to make

handbags and other accessories.

this campaign. “Ever since 2012,

the strategy of Stenos Troikas

has been focused on higher value-

added, friendless and high-quality

products. We have strong customers

who value innovative materials

and see environmental protection

and the effects of the products they

buy on nature. This is a growing

global trend, and we have been

consciously and consistently

preparing for it,” highlights Algiers

Cabanas, CEO at Stenos Troikas.

It has taken several years for the

manufacturer to prepare for joining

the Greenpeace initiative. Since

2014, the manufacturer has invested

in a variety of laboratory tests and

trials, with its professionals devoting

a lot of time to reviewing all the

production chains and carrying out

regular comprehensive assessments

Louis Vuitton ceases alltrading with Vietnamesecrocodile farms

The European multinational luxury

goods conglomerate, LVMH, has

informed that the brand has ceased

all trading with Vietnamese farms

that mistreat crocodiles. According

to the company statement, “The

LVMH Group and its suppliers

ceased all trading in 2014 with the

farms named by Beta,” adding that

it sources its crocodile skins from

Stenos Troikas joins Greenpeace Detox initiative

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Exporters getting

value by working

with wholesalers/

importers

ince last few years, as market conditions

Shave become more difficult, many of the

Indian apparel exporters are just focusing

on one agenda, ‘machines chaltirehnee

chaahiyen’ – machines should not remainidle.

And this is one of the main reasons that most

of the exporters are working with wholesalers

and importers as they have better orders than

individual retailers since they are further

associated with many retailers/stores. Butit

is certainly not a cakewalk to work with such

buyers. On the other side, there are many

challenges to work with this segment of buyers.

Whereas the industry is unanimous in their

opinion, on some points, the views are divided

as usual. Apparel Online talked with some

exporters working with wholesalers and

importers to know their stand and their way

to tackle the issues that comes when working

with such buyers.

Exporters claim that compared to orders with

retailers/stores, prices remain 25 to 35 per

cent less in the case of orders being placed by

wholesalers and importers as they have their

own expenditures and they need the margins

to sell further to the retailers/stores. But this

is not the only challenge for exporters working

with these buyers. In some cases, this segment

of buyers does not issue any LC which creates

payment risks. It takes at least 4 months

to rotate the payments from wholesalers/

importers to vendors. In some other cases,

there is a ‘catch 22’ situation withwholesalers,

if his pre-confirmed orders get cancelled, as he

will not even listen to exporters.

Earlier, working with this segment did not

require too much of concern with regard to

compliance, but now day-by-day wholesalersare

asking for compliance audits and certifications

as they are also under pressure from their

clients in this regard. Despite thatworking

with them is comparatively easy as some ofthe

exporters are of the opinion that wholesalers

and retailers have better understanding, be it

of their associates or overall marketconditions

in both the selling and sourcing market.On

the vendor’s side, they are also not as ‘strict’

as retailers or brands are on many issues, be

A strong

segment of

buyers from India

When talking about buyers, more often than

not, we think of the retailers and brands that

source from the country. Gap, H&M, Walmart,

Zara, Tommy, Esprit, M&S…, the list is long, but

we tend to overlook a very important segment

of buyers, who in reality account for a majority

of sourcing from India – the wholesalers and

importers. Many small- and medium-level

exporters are thriving on orders given by

these buyers, and even bigger exporters are

happy working with wholesalers/importers

that are private label owners as they invest in

the business.

According to market estimates, these

seemingly obscure buyers account for around

60 per cent of buying from India. In this special

issue dedicated to the wholesalers/importers,

Team Apparel Online talks to every stakeholder

in the chain – from the exporters who work with

these buyers-to the buying agents who support

sourcing of this segment-to the wholesalers/

importers themselves, on the critical questions

of Why, How and What.

An important fact that emerged, and was

endorsed by a majority, is that these buyers

come to India for the products that we can

make, and given an opportunity, are willing

to increase sourcing… The onus lies with the

industry to be more proactive and service these

buyers better and with more product options.

Also, to be noted is the fact that despite

working in India for years, many of them still

find areas that need improvement and few are

very critical of the ‘chalta hai’ attitude that is

hindering growth.

In the following pages, Apparel Online

decodes the supply chain in sourcing for

wholesalers/importers…

WHOLESALERS/ IMPORTERS

WHOLESALERS/IMPORTERS

it delivery schedule or even in some

cases quality issues, they adjust while

it can’t be even thought of in the caseof

retailers orbrands.

But to avail these things, an exporter

must be backed by good financial

strength as wholesalers offer good

credit period to their buyers; so they

prefer vendors having strong financial

strength who can manage even incase

of long credit period and continue

with sourcing of fabric, etc. Vendors

do try to verify wholesalers/importers’

financial condition through their bank

accounts before starting to work with

them. Even after having reasonably

good relations over a period of time,

some of the vendors make trips 3-4

times a year to these wholesalers/

importers as it is necessary tosit

with them to get feel of their business

scenario and payment follow-ups.

“Normally it takes one trip in a year

if you have betterunderstanding

with retailers but when it comes

to the wholesalers/importers, we

have to travel 3 to 4 times whichin

fact increases our overheads,” says

one of the exporters working with

wholesalers only and who did notwant

to bequoted.

None of the exporters accepted that

wholesalers ever asked for third-party

audit regarding quality. Despite all

these odds or positive aspects, some

of the exporters are of the view that

there is less trust factor in working

with wholesalers and it is like ‘lala’

culture. Apart from exporters, there

are also many buying houses working

with this segment. Many exporters

are of the opinion that the scenario

becomes worse if working through

a buying agent as they get more

pressure on price due to commission

of buying house/buying agent. Also,

they have to bear all the ‘diktats’ of

buying houses.

Exporters’ speak…

“We are working with

wholesalers from the last 30 years

and to be safe about payments,

we prefer to work within our limits

and there are no major issues

when an exporter is working at

smaller level and with known/

long-term reliable wholesalers.”

– Rajiv Kapoor, MD, Affordable

Exports, Delhi

“Our 30 per cent business is

with wholesalers based in Italy,

US and UK and they offer nearly

10 per cent less price to us.

Sometimes there are issues when

further pre-approved orders get

cancelled, but I don’t see any issue

working with wholesalers through

buying houses as price should

get fit in our minimum pricing, all

other things don’t matter. There

is risk regarding payments in

this segment and we have never

noticed that any wholesaler has

asked us about compliance.”

– Uday Sehgal, Director,

Mariko, Noida

“We get bulk orders from

wholesalers, never work without

LC and don’t work at all if there

is even a small risk regarding

payments. We follow our standard

lead time, be it wholesaler or

any retailer.” – Animesh Halder,

Proprietor, Halder Garments,

Kolkata

“We are working with

wholesalers from almost a decade

and it is comfortable to work with

them. We prefer to serve with

quality products but it depends on

given price too as value for money

is always there.” – Rajesh Kumar

Gupta, Director, Megha

Overseas, Jaipur

“Our way of working is a little

different as we have partnership

with one wholesaler and working

mostly for him only.” – Udayan

Kapur, Good Earth India, Noida

Earlier, working

with this segment

did not require

too much of

concern with

regard to

compliance,

but now day-by-

day wholesalers

are asking for

compliance

audits and

certifications as

they are also

under pressure

from their clients

in this regard.

ESSENTIALS

Calliope Grigorea of Queen Calliope,

Athens, a wholesaler/retailer, sourcing

goods worth Euro 50,000 from India, even

in the backdrop of the Greece crisis says,

“I like the embroidered cotton garments

for ladies with hand block work, it is

appreciated by my buyers and sells well.”

Ilze Ports, CEO, Wandering Sage Inc.,

California, who besides being a wholesaler

also owns 3 stores and a brand, is annually

sourcing from India products worth US

$ 300,000. Her preference for variety of

handwork is something that has driven her

to source from Delhi, Varanasi and recently

from Jaipur.

Not only value-added garments, but few of

the buyers are also importing unique fabric

from India. Marina, Owner/Designer,

Rosarito, Argentina who is having 15

shops and is also selling women accessories

to multiple brands, is sourcing a lot of

summer garments from India as she likes

the styles and cotton fabric. “For eight years

we sourced Indian products through other

importers but now we are sourcing directly

from manufacturers and that too Pushkar,

Jaipur and Delhi. Pure white dresses with

embroidery and multi-colour dresses are

very impressive in India,” she says.

For some of the buyers there is no limitation

of products as they are sourcing variety of

products, though orders size may vary as per

products. Interestingly, these wholesalers/

hese are some ofthe common

Tstatements that small- and medium-level

exporters, who are mostly working with

wholesalers/importers, give when questioned

about their product capabilities… But

are these statements really true; and are

buyers happy with the products available

with the Indian exporters, is another story

altogether. Of course, there are also many

companies that are doing only niche products

from day 1 and wish to continue with the

same as they are enjoying the edge of being

niche. Apparel Online talked to some

wholesalers/importers on what works for

them and how happy they are with products

offered by Indianexporters…

No doubt majority of wholesalers/

importers prefer India for womenswear

and accessories which include fancy Tees

as well as kaftans apart from regular range

of blouses, skirts, tops, evening dresses…

The push for sourcing of such products is

the strength as well as niche that Indian

exporters have within the womenswear

category. Many of the buyers are sourcing

from Jaipur mainly due to hand-block,

hand-printed based garments; also

handwork value additions like embroidery

are considered specialities of apparels

from Delhi-NCR and Varanasi. Same

importers are also sourcing some amount

of home products as they have clientele

for the same also. Corroborating the same,

importers are adding new product categories

too. Mona K. Gyllenhammar, Manager,

Peter Korseth AS, Norway (agent and

associated with most of the buyers in

Norway) is sourcing mainly ladies’ garments

from India, and also picks up some kids and

men’s wear when she finds something new.

A year back she started sourcing all kinds

of bags, which is a new product category for

her. “In one of my visits to India I found a

rainwear manufacturer which currently is

not our focus but we may start sometime in

the future,” she said.

Despite all limitations and challenges

some buyers are not hesitant to source

such products categories from India

which is neither India’s strength, nor

is India manufacturing at good levels.

This is definitely an opportunity, that

exporters should look at. Of late, many

buyers have shown interest in winterwear

and even difficult items like skiwear.

Marina Potemkina, Head of Purchase

Department, Fashion-Sport, Russia having

17 stores and sourcing mens and womens

wear is keen to expand sourcing from

the country, provided exporters increase

their product offerings. “Indian exporters

should also increase focus on products like

jackets and skiwear. Many buyers are very

comfortable sourcing from India, but get

limited by the range of products on offer,”

she concludes, throwing a challenge to the

industry… Any takers!

“We can do whatever product/technique any buyer demands from us.”

“We are like a one-stop solution for our buyers.”

“We keep adding new product categories as our buyers push us for the same.”

“We want to serve our buyers better, so we are trying to offer them maximum productcategories.”

Wholesalers/importers looking for very wide range of products

Calliope Grigorea of

Queen Calliope, Athens

Ilze Ports, CEO,

Wandering Sage Inc., California

Marina, Owner/Designer,

Rosarito,Argentina

Mona K. Gyllenhammar, Manager,

Peter Korseth AS, Norway

tops for its core customers, including

American department stores, such as

Macy’s, Dillard’s,etc.

Some are disappointed that there are

only few vendors interested to invest

in this area. One of them is Kuldeep

Singh of Mahadev S.A. DE C.V.,

working in Mexico from the last 22

years and sourcing mostly from India.

Kuldeep says that he is not getting

any new vendor who can focus more

on research and development in his

products. Search of better designs is

motivating them to explore pan-India.

One of the wholesalers who does not

want to be quoted informed, “I was

earlier sourcing for the southern

corner (Karur) of India but due to

good PD skills, I moved to northern

region (Jaipur).” Theodore Aleksov

COO, Macedonia, working with

department stores, is sourcing 75

containers per year from Delhi for

the past five years, but recently nice

printing capabilities forced him to

source from Jaipur. These buyers also

added that manufacturers should do

some fusion of traditional styles with

westernculture.

Manijeh Khodadoust, Dastchin

Mina, Iran, associated with more than

100 stores, insisted that product is the

key in deciding an order or even in

ndian exporters often say that

Iday-by-day buyers’ expectations

from them are increasing and

these expectations are hard to

fulfil. Apparel Online questioned

wholesalers/importers on what they

are expecting from Indian vendors

and how capable and willing are the

exporters on these parameters. Most

of the expectations of these very

important India’s customers seem

necessary and something which must

be fulfilled.

Product development and innovation

in designs is one of the biggest

expectations for any wholesaler/

importer from an Indian exporter, and

they know that India has strength in

cotton base only, but new designs and

different value addition techniques

are something everybody is looking

for. “A lot of PD by companies is just

about showing us what everyone

else has produced. If I have the same

style every season it doesn’t work; to

blend a signature style and present

it in a different way every season,

doesn’t happen in India. Twice a

year I come to India and I find that

95 per cent of the stuff is the same,”

claims Joel Ratner, Executive Vice

President of Sales, IDG, a private

label manufacturer that caters to the

US market for woven bottoms and

Who l e sa l e r s / impo r t e r s ’ expectat ions fr om Ind ian ex p o r te r s

Theodore Aleksov, COO,Macedonia

Ralph Goodstone, Director, Le Cashmere, UK

Manijeh Khodadoust, Dastchin Mina, Iran

Kuldeep Singh of Mahadev S.A. DE C.V.

continuing to work with vendors, while

price is a secondary consideration.

“It is true that people want to buy

more but at less price, but before that

it is the look of the product which

attracts the consumer into the store,

so we follow the same principle,”

said Manijeh whose priority is

womenswear suitable to the Iranian

market. Dora Popova, Proprietor

Manager, Harmonia Ltd. Bulgaria

(retailer/wholesaler) says that Indian

exporters should think beyond

summerwear also. No doubt, India has

great designs, fabrics and patterns but

sometimes exporters don’t put them

together in a perfect way.

To work in a given price point is

another strong expectation of all

buyers, though they accept that

it is not always easy to fit into

their price requirement, but they

too are helpless, as global market

conditions are depressed. Sourcing

from Bangladesh and China, Ralph

Goodstone, Director, Le Cashmere,

UK, which caters mainly to 250

medium- to large-level retailers in UK

admitted, “There are good suppliers

in India having better products

and good quality, but still I need to

negotiate on price.”

Some of the wholesalers have

individual but interesting expectation

from Indian exporters and they

happily want to be associated

with such things. Ilze Ports, CEO,

Wandering Sage Inc., California

(wholesaler/retailer, owns 3 stores

and a brand) sourcing handwork-

based garments, is also interested

in women empowerment which

personally attracts her. “It is good

if we can together help women

operators/homeworkers through our

business,” she said.

Improvement on ways of

communicating, like proper and

prompt reply to queries was another

area where these wholesalers/

importers expect better service, while

some of the importers are of the

opinion that Indian exporters should

know more and more about business

practices in the country they work

with, it will help them to deliver better.

However, some of the wholesalers

are fully satisfied with their Indian

vendors as Rafael Yarto, Commercial

Director, Mexico sourcing garment

as well as fabric from India says,

“Everything is okay, I don’t have more

expectations or suggestions as such.”

n the present scenario when

I‘reshoring’, ‘nearshoring’,

‘offshoring’ are the buzzwords, and it

has become important for buyers to

justify why they are sourcing from a

particular destination, consolidation

of vendors as well as exploring of

new vendors is continuously going

on. In the processes, wholesalers/

importers are facing many challenges

when sourcing from Indian vendors;

and though these clients of Indian

exporters loudly appreciate the

improvements being made by their

vendors, they admit that there is still

a lot of scope for improvement. In

conversation with Apparel Online,

these buyers share their ‘pain’ areas,

while some of the issues are routine,

few are real irritants that need

immediateredressal.

Limitation ofraw materials…Raw materials base is somethingwhich

emerges as a strong challenge for

wholesalers/importers and limits their

sourcing activities. Some of the fabrics

are not available in India, or theytake

TraceyFarrington,

MD, Bondi Beach Bag Co., Fiji

SadrettinCoka,

Asude (Armanda/Kroren), Turkey

Dora Popova, Proprietor Manager,

Harmonia Ltd., Bulgaria

too much time to be procured, so some

buyers prefer to work on ready or

easily available fabrics. “I wish to shift

some orders of hats which we aredoing

from China to India, but the country

does not have many of the requiredraw

materials, and I am forced to continue

sourcing it from China,” says Tracey

Farrington, MD, Bondi Beach Bag

Co., Fiji – a wholesaler & importer of

fashion apparel &accessories.

“India is pulled back by its lack of good

textiles and innovations in the textiles

industry,” adds Joel Ratner, Executive

Vice President of Sales, IDG. I think

that’s the biggest limitation. So, buyers

like us have to utilize India in what it is

good at – cotton, rayon, etc. productsin

these fabrics can be donecompetitively.

It’s a global world, and you need to

source the strength of eachcountry.”

Another buyer claimed that exporters

are limited by raw materials even in

products that they are strong in. “We

are looking at partnerships for shawls

and scarves as we already have some

partnerships in Turkey and China;

our priority is something differentand

special compared to other countries.

CHALLENGES FOR

WHOLESALERS/IMPORTERS

Despite improvement, much scope to gear

up for Indian vendors

RogerKohli,

Creative Cute Options,US

AlisonOtway,

Marketing Vision sa, Panama

Natalie Centaine, Azure, Australia Paolo Zani, Art Director, Warli, Italy

From design perspective, India’s

products are good and the variety

is really interesting, but we fail to

find what we want, especially when

we consider the fabric base. Indian

exporters are reluctant to work

in different fabrics, as it involves

too much of hard work at various

levels,” states Sadrettin Coka,

Asude (Armanda/Kroren), Turkey

(Importer).

Another exporter, Dora Popova,

Proprietor Manager, Harmonia Ltd.,

Bulgaria who is sourcing for many

formats: retailer/wholesaler/online

sales, strongly recommends, “Material

which is being used by Indian

exporters now needs to improve and

the range also needs to be widened.”

Need to be more organized…Another challenge faced by such

buyers, mostly because they work for

small- and medium-level exporters,

is the lack of process-driven systems.

Most of the buyers agreed that Indian

exporters need to be more focused

and organized to give better attention

to order execution. Speeding up things

is the need of the hour not only for

delivery, but even for sampling also.

“Ideal sampling time should be a

maximum of 2 to 3 weeks, but some

Indian exporters take double the time

than this,” claims Natalie Centaine,

Azure, Australia, adding that many

orders are lost because of this. Azure

is a design-based wholesale company,

sourcing from India from the last 6

years. A common irritant so as to say

for most wholesalers/importers is the

fact that if they show interest in some

design of an exporter, the company

starts pushing for final orders. Paolo

Zani, Art Director, Warli, Italy (a

designer firm) says, “Exporters should

not expect orders in two days, as we

need time to develop our designs; by

pushing for orders, we lose interest.”

Lack of organized operations has also

affected deadlines, which is again a

major concern with many wholesalers/

importers. Sourcing from India since

last 30 years, Roger Kohli, Creative

Cute Options, US says, “I feel that

even in these difficult times, exporters

do not understand the importance of

being responsive and timely delivery

is still an issue. There is no dearth of

business but it is all about delivery

and price point.”

Quality challenges persist…It is more than clear that quality is

not more than something that buyers

will have to ask for or insist upon,

as it is a mandatory requirement.

Yet at the same time there are still

plenty of quality challenges for the

customers… Almost each and every

buyer was of the opinion that quality

issues are required to be addressed

on priority basis. Often buyers say

that quality of Indian products is not

always the best but is acceptable too;

sometimes there are even issues in

basic stitching also.

“India is pulled back by its lack of good textiles and innovations in the textiles industry. So, buyers

like us have to utilize India in what it is good at – cotton, rayon, etc. products in these fabrics can

be done competitively. It’s a global world, and you need to source the strength of each country.”

– Joel Ratner, Executive Vice President of Sales, IDG

A challenge

faced by

buyers, mostly

because they

work for small-

and medium-

level exporters,

is the lack of

process-driven

systems. Most

of the buyers

agreed that

Indian exporters

need to be

more focused

and organized

to give better

attention to order

execution.

ESSENTIALS

WHOLESALERS/IMPORTERS

here are many buying houses/

Tbuying agents in India who

are working with wholesalers and

importers. Some of them do have

apprehensions and admit that on

some point working with this segment

is even difficult for buying houses.

But they vehemently deny that

compromises are made in quality, as

suggested by some exporters.

None of the buying house

representatives acknowledged that

wholesalers/importers ever accept

any lacking on quality. Following all

the standard parameters of quality,

they said that third-party inspections

are always conducted and there is

nothing like value for money or that

quality moves according to given

price. At the end of the day product

has to be sold by retailers and why

would any retailer take chance on

quality. Even the wholesalers sell the

product under their own clothing line/

label, so he will also not take risk

with his own clientele. In fact, buying

agents claim that such exporters who

compromise on quality are losing

orders as wholesalers come to them

only when there is no other option for

him. Yes, price is always less when

working with wholesalers/importers

but most of the time they have good

order sizes, so it does not remain a

very big issue. Buying agents also

admitted that wholesalers never act

strictly for their given delivery date

and most of the time little margin is

built in as wholesalers generally place

their orders well in advance.

On the issue of compliance, there

is a twist, one of the buying houses

representative adds, “I have

noticed that wholesalers don’t ask

for compliant factory even if he

is sourcing for a reputed brand

while if the same brand is sourcing

directly from us, he is very particular

about the compliances and proper

documentation/certification of the

same. In case of sourcing through

wholesaler, these brands just ensure

verbally that factories are fulfilling

basic norms/law of the land.”

There is strong opinion among

exporters that working through

buying houses with this segment adds

more pressure on price as well as

working norms. “I completely disagree

that scenario becomes worse when

any exporter works with wholesalers/

importers through buying houses.

The value added by a buying house

is worth the little extra that they pay

Alison Otway, Marketing Vision sa,

Panama – sourcing from India since

the last 14 years still faces quality

issues. “Some suppliers are still

lacking on quality control which is in

fact very sad,” he says. Another buyer

raises concern about the discrepancy

in quality of samples and actual goods,

as sometimes they are different. “My

sales girls always ask me why there is

invariably a difference between what

we approve and what we get! Even in

small lots, of say 300 pieces, the goods

are not the same when compared to

the sample,” bemoans Koki Veber,

Director, Sariko, Slovenija (Central

Europe). The company has 10 stores

and has been sourcing from India

for more than two decades. She adds

that though Indian exporters are fast

improving their approach to global

business and the situation is much

better than a decade ago, still they

need to be more professional, because

‘we also have a business to satisfy’.

“Their production teams also have to

be more efficient, and many times we

feel that the follow-up on our order is

not proper,” avers Koki.

Other issues…Very surprisingly, some importers

felt that Indian exporters are only

interested in bigger orders, which isan

impediment to work here. “I am facing

a challenge regarding smallorders

as I need maximum 100 pieces ofany

style and for them I am ready to pay

a price accordingly, because I know

my order size is too small, but Indian

exporters are not too enthusiasticfor

this,” informs Karine Dupouy, Fashion

Designer, Seychelles, who as of now

is sourcing from Italy and Turkey and

has its own small factory. She has five

stores with own brand and specializes

inresortwear.

There is also an open talk that many

of the wholesalers/importers are very

reluctant to work with India, and

those who do work here agree onthis,

though shying away from sharingthe

reasons. A buyer says, “I know ofsome

fellow buyers who are reluctant to

source from India, but reasons are not

known to me.” One importer however

did share that many suchbuyers

have either had bad experiences

working in India because of the lack

of professionalism orprefer to work in

their comfort zone instead ofexploring

options, which takes a lot oftime

andmoney.

BUYING HOUSES WORKING WITH WHOLESALERS/IMPORTERS

BRINGING REGULAR BUSINESS TO THE COUNTRY

and how can they disregard the fact

that they are getting orders sitting at

home without putting much efforts,

otherwise it costs them at least Rs. 2-3

lakh for one overseas trip to finalize

an order. Most of the exporters never

accept their mistakes,” says one of the

buying house owners working majorly

with wholesalers/importers. Even in

the condition of order cancellation,

wholesalers/importers are in better

condition as they try to serve

shipments/products to their other

clients. If in a particular case any

wholesaler/importer is forced to get

an order at a very tight price, he tries

to accommodate it by giving a better

price on a further order.

As far as opinion of buying houses

on new vendors’ selection is

concerned, they are of the opinion

that wholesalers ask for new vendors

only when more orders are there, or

existing vendor base lacks resources

for something specific that the

wholesaler is looking for. Apart from

this, innovation at various levels,

including on washing and printing, do

matter a lot for wholesalers/importers.

How capable a factory is in terms of

sourcing of fabric and allied material

too matters a lot.

Take on PD…

“We are working with 7 wholesalers/

importers of the US. Working with

wholesalers/importers is a little more

challenging than working with retailers

directly, as they ask our inputs on many

things right from fabric, PD and quality.

While retailers usually give a tech-pack

kind of work, so involvement at that

level is far less.” – Jitendra Sodhi,

CEO, India Buying Consultants,

Gurgaon

Take on payment security and compliance needs…

“Among the wholesalers, the NRI ones

are most unreliable and apart from

few established NRI wholesalers,

most of them have least credibility

about payments. They never issue

an LC and it is hard to trace them;

today they are in the market strongly,

placing reasonable orders but all of a

sudden disappear. There is no support

by our law or any such platform to

raise such issues.” – Rakesh Saigal,

MD, Precision Design and Sourcing,

Gurgaon

“We are working with wholesalers

of US and Canada who further work

with prestigious companies like

Walmart, Woolworth, Truworths.

We work with 30 per cent advance,

as working with such buyers can be

risky, as one never has a security of

payment. I have noticed that day-by-

day more and more wholesalers are

asking about compliance and one

must accept that sooner or later, there

is no survival without compliance.”

– Anand, MD, Dean Textiles Buying

Services, Tirupur

Working with importers is no differentthan working withretailers…

“I feel price is workable with

wholesalers, as it is balanced by order

size. Be it matters related to quality

or lead time, wholesalers are equally

‘tight’ as retailers are. Same is true

with the growing need of compliance

with them. More and less payments with

them are also safe.” – Sameer Thapar,

MD, Montrose Knitwear, Delhi

Secret of

successful business

with wholesalers/

importers –

innovative product

at competitive

price

lready sourcing products worth over

AUS $ 5.5 million from the country, the

company is exploring options to expand their

market reach to more countries including

the US. “We are putting in efforts to enter

the US market. India, however, still has

some distance to cover when compared to

countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and

Indonesia, especially with regard to labour

and price,” averred Dr. Loganathan. He

emphasized that in today’s scenario, the

wholesalers and importers are looking for

only price to win the competition in their

markets. “Most of the buyers prefer to work

with India rather than other competitive

countries, but they expect the price of those

countries in India. Also, implementation of

technology is still in slow phase compared

to many other competitors,” mentions

Dr.Loganathan.

For a buying house working with

wholesalers/importers, emphasis on product

inspection and ensuring deadlines are

Working with several wholesalers and

importers across 3 European countries,

Dr. G. Loganathan, Managing Director,

The Imperial, Tirupur in an exclusive

interaction with team Apparel Online,

details the challenges, pluses and

relevance of commitment in today’s

business scenario, while sharing the

enriching experience he has had working

closely with wholesalers/importers

and retailers.

26 Apparel Online India | FEBRUARY 16-28, 2017 |www.apparelresources.com

imperative. “Commitment is the

key and nothing can substitute it,”

believes Dr. Loganathan. While

inspecting a product, in addition to

meeting all the required customers’

specifications, the appearance and

look of the product are also key

areas, as it is always the appearance

of the product that first captivates

abuyer.

With competition getting tougher

among wholesalers and retailers

worldwide, the gap between price

and quality is increasing each

day. “One of the key differences

Dr. G. Loganathan, Managing Director, The Imperial, Tirupur interacting with his customers

The variety of products offered by India in cotton is very wide

of working for retailers and with

wholesalers/importers is that while

the importers choose the price,

when narrowing into a vendor,

the retailers prefer working with

standard factories. Hence, the

importers would never think twice

before changing factories if any

factory quotes lower price,” states

Dr. Loganathan. Building and,

more importantly, maintaining a

good relationship is key to doing

great business, be it with retailers,

wholesalers or exporters. “If there

is anything that one really needs

to invest in, it is relationships

● It is buyers’ market

where the price is the

predominant factor.

● Demand in high

quality standards are

escalating day by day.

● In the recent years,

the gap between

price and quality is

increasing due to

hectic competition

among the wholesalers

and retailers at

importingcountries.

● The buyers’

expectation with

regard to product,

technology, service is

tremendous.

● Garment being a

consumer product,

everyone wants to fish

in the ocean across

the globe, making the

competition for good

bargaining and getting

it at lower price, more

confused.

● Most of the buyers

prefer to work with

India than any other

competitive countries,

but they expect the

price of those countries

in India.

● Candidly, buyers are

not so comfortable

with our production

because, implementing

technology is still in slow

phase in comparison to

Bangladesh.

● Buyer feels our

competitive markets

are improving faster in

terms of technologies,

quality satisfaction and

timely deliveries than

Indianexporters.

● In today’s scenario,

buyers are looking for

only the PRICE to win

the competition in

their markets.

ESSENTIALS– A trait that surges forward

any business,” reasons Dr.

Loganathan. This is even

more important in the case of

wholesalers/importers as they

have a very hands-on approach to

business.

One of the biggest pluses of

working with wholesalers/

importers is that one always

remains updated with

international fashion as they

ask for regular developments.

However, the biggest challenge is

that the wholesalers/importers are

constantly on the lookout for new

sourcing destinations, offering

products at a cheaper price.

“Indian exporters need to ensure

optimum production to achieve

the competitive price,” said

Dr. Loganathan. If the exporters

work on this shortcoming, the

challenge of losing importers

could be arrested.

On a scale of 1-10, while

determining the relevance of

product, price, infrastructure,

types of buyers/markets already

working with, compliances

and lead times for any buyer,

Dr. Loganathan was quick to

give 10 to product. “Product is

the one that finally sells,” said

Dr. Loganathan. Infrastructure

was rated 8. He also gave 8 to

type of buyers/markets as there

is now big competition among

buyers too and they are always

exploring new markets at less

price. Compliance was rated

7 and lead time, significantly 9.

Although the role of the

Government is improtant in

supporting the industry, exporters

too should upscale themselves

– it’s time to wake up. “If the

issues regarding labour and

the failure to achieve optimum

production are eliminated, then

India could rule the market and

be a force to reckon with in the

years to come, especially with

the huge talent that India has,”

concluded Dr. Loganathan.

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WHOLESALERS/IMPORTERS

TEX-FILE

Minister's assurance to address issues of powerloom sectorSubsidy for solar plants installation underway

Indian dye industry to take the ‘green route'Department of Scientific and

Industrial Research (DSIR) has

granted Rs. 4 crore to Indian

Institute of Technology Gandhinagar,

to set up a CommonResearch

and Technology Development Hub

(CRTDH) on Chemical Processes at

its campus to help dye industrymeet

the pollution norms and take an

environmentally safer growth path.

The CRTDH will develop a Chemical

Process Technology Lab along

with a pilot plant facility which

will demonstrate the process

intensification, waste reduction

and enhanced effluent treatmenttechnologies developed at the

campus. The centre will also

help MSMEs in the dye sector for

research, training and testing of

the raw materials and products

to give them an advantage in the

competitive market.

Union Textiles Minister Smriti

Irani has assured the powerloom

sector that their issues would

be addressed soon, though

she expressed her inability to

announce what she is having

in store for them, as currently

elections are taking place in a few

states.

Known for providing livelihood

to millions of rural peopleacross

the country for centuries, the

sector is a focus area for the

ministry. While responding to a

question raised in Rajya Sabha,

the Upper House of Parliament,

the Textiles Minister said that the

matter has been discussedwith

support in the form of buyer-seller

meet, yarn banks and setting up of

common facilitycentres.

In the meanwhile, the Textiles

Minister of Textiles has approved

a new financial scheme to aid

small powerloom units, hit hard

due to frequent power cuts, for

installation of solar photovoltaic

(SPV) plants. “The funds

requirement for the three years

(2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20)

would be Rs. 19.95 crore, covering

480 powerloom units in the

country,” informed Smriti Irani.

The subsidy is expected to

make power cost economical for

Several faculties from chemical

engineering, chemistry,

biological and materials science

and engineering department

of the institute will be jointly

working in the project. In

addition, the institute will put

industry stakeholders, but Model

Code of Conduct is refraining her

from making any announcements

on it. It may be mentioned here

that the Government has already

introduced multiple schemes to

accelerate the development of the

powerloom sector which include

In-Situ Upgradation Scheme

for plain powerlooms, Group

Work-Shed Scheme to help in

the construction of work-sheds,

Group Insurance Scheme for

social security, Integrated Skill

Development Scheme (ISDS) for

skill upgradation, and Integrated

Scheme for Powerloom Sector

Development (ISPSD) for extending

the looms and make the units

self-sufficient on the power

front while the Government

can supply grid power to other

industries. The decentralized

powerloom sector, which has a

share of nearly 55 per cent in

the total clothes produced in

the country, plays a vital role

in the employment generation

in the country. Currently, there

are 25 lakh powerlooms among

which only less than 2 lakh

are technologically upgraded.

The powerloom sector employs

65 lakh people, most among

them have high input costs and

reduced purchase of fabrics.

in about Rs. 2 crore to help the

dye and dyestuff clusters in

the Gujarat region to become

more sustainable.

Prof. Chinmay Ghoroi, Principal

Investigator – Project, IITGN

said, “The CRTDH will help

chemical industries to improve

their existing chemical processes

and waste treatment. The

initiative will be helpful to the

MSMEs in and around Gujarat

who do not have proper lab and

technical expertise.”

HAVE YOUR SAY

Tell us your news by emailing at

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BREAKING NEWS

To read the latest sustainability news, go to

http://news.apparelresources.com/sustainability-news/

s per the organizers of

AHeimtextil, despite snowfall

and storm, on the first and last day

of the event, it witnessed almost

70,000 visitors that is a little higher

compared to last year (2016: 68,277).

Similarly, this year there were 2,963

exhibitors from 67 countries as

against 2,864 in 2016. One of the

nearly 350 participants from India,

Amber Home, Mumbai continuing its

focus on sustainability, displayed a

wide range of products made from

sustainable dope dyed yarn (80 per

cent cotton and 20 per cent polyester).

Its products were selected for display

at the trend area of the show. The

company has a goal of sustaining

the future with sustainable products

by adding functionality to them with

added special finishes, and make it

hydrophilic and antimicrobial with

fragrance added to it. The company’s

inclusion in green directory with

green leaf accreditation itself is proof

of its achievements in this area. The

company also created new theme

of ‘denimology’ bringing denim

philosophy into home textiles, adding

to it batik and tie & dye effect using

3D concept, besides fragrance and

antimicrobial finish.

According to Pranav Ghelani,

Marketing Director, Sumangalam

Exports, Mumbai, Heimtextil 2017

had a higher number of exhibitors but

the same number of trade visitors as

last year. “At the beginning of the fair,

the Pakistan Government announced

an additional 6 per cent subsidy for

the textile made-ups sector. This

enthused the Pakistani companies

but added to the price pressures that

Indian companies already face on

account of zero duty imports in EU

from Pakistan and Bangladesh. The

volume, price-sensitive business has

moved to Pakistan and Bangladesh.

India is reliable in terms of deliveries

and quality so in those terms we

have moved up the value chain,” said

Pranav. Apart from having meetings

with regular customers he made

some good contacts in non-traditional

markets of Eastern Europe, South

America and Australia. “Presentation

of good, trendy designs and value

prices attracted customers to our

booth,” he added.

For some, the event proved much

better than expected and they were

quite happy. Riddhi Jain, Studio

Medium, New Delhi informed, “The

fair was very promising this year. We

met a couple of buyers interested in

our products; most of them were store/

boutique owners. As the company

participated for the first time in

Heimtextil, we were enthusiastic,

and the event turned out to be very

promising.” The collection showcased

by the company was called ‘re-’. It is

an upcycled collection of home textiles

made out of discarded cotton yarns.

The colour palette included bold

pastels inspired by the irregularities

of natural textures. There were ranges

of cushions, futons and wall arts.

The fairs as a whole highlighted

that there was no recovery inmost

European markets; weakened pound

and uncertainty of the effects of

Brexit have also negatively affected

sentiments. Likewise, in USA with the

new President focusing on “Make in

America”, there are possibilities of

higher duties on imports. This yearis

again going to be challenging forIndian

companies so it is important to develop

markets other than Europe and USA.

Interestingly, some Indian participants

were of the opinion that theydidn’t

find much issue with the enthusiasm of

the buyers. “Buyers were looking for

new things and price was not as big a

consideration as many were making

As usual, January witnessed major home furnishing fairs, Heimtextil, Domotex and Maison & Objet wherein

more than 700 exporters from India participated. Though their experience at these events was mixed

on issue of buyers’ footfall, there was unanimity on the fact that Europe has still not shown any major

recovery sign. Another point that stood out strongly was the increased focus of Indian companies on

product development as most of the participants with whom Apparel Online talked presented collections

with unique designs/blends in their products.

700 INDIAN EXPORTERS PARTICIPATE IN

HEIMTEXTIL, DOMOTEX AND MAISON & OBJET

EUROPE WILL TAKE TIME FOR STRONG DEMAND

‘Sleeping’ is

emerging as

a lifestyle and

combination of

bed linen with

accessories (lamps,

baskets), and

this was highly

appreciated at

Heimtextil. Many

innovations were

seen in the bed

segment like

Mediflow from

Hamburg, displayed

an improved

version of its water

pillow capable of

full adjustments

for firmness and

supportive effect.

ESSENTIALS

H2F

Studio Medium, NewDelhi Studio Medium, NewDelhi

it out to be,” said Riddhi Jain, adding,

“We realized that now is the timewhen

retailers are ready to experiment with

new and bold collections as their main

focus is on providing newproducts

to their buyers. They were also on

the lookout for products that are

sustainable for our surroundingsand

this really fitted well with our upcycled

collection, at Heimtextil thisyear.”

For many exporters, the Heimtextil

Trend Park was particularly very

inspiring, taking them through the

upcoming trends in technology

and textiles. As Germany is a very

important country for Indian home

furnishing exporters, EPCH organized

the participation of the stakeholders

of the Narsapur Mega cluster and

members in Heimtextil, through India

pavilion with 15-member exporters.

DOMOTEX 2017

Organizers of DOMOTEX 2017 claimed

that this dynamic event puts fresh

wind in the sails of the global floor

coverings industry with substantial

growth in number of exhibitors and

size of exhibition. It witnessed a total

of 1,409 exhibitors from more than 60

countries, and out of them nearly 350

exhibitors were from India. As far as

visitation is concerned, it was on a par

with the last comparable DOMOTEX,

staged in 2015 with 43 per cent coming

from EU countries. From the nearby

Middle East, it was up by 9 per cent,

while East and Central Asia increased

by 16 per cent. More visitors came from

the US and the UK, in particular. The

latest trends revealed a strong focus

on sustainability and natural-looking

designs. There is strong demand for

eco-friendly designer products, as well

as for laminate and designer flooring

with surfaces of such deceptively

natural appearance that they can

hardly be discerned from real wood.

One of the Indianparticipants

Ravi Chabbra, MD of Chhabra Home

Concepts, Panipat shared his opinion,

“Overall, the fair was okay and we

met 4-5 good buyers. Generally I think

Europe is picking up the daily use or

basic products, but not for exclusive or

luxury kind of things.” The company

offered regular range of bath mats at

the event. Pradeep Singh, Director,

Zoya Home, Panipat too had a similar

view as he said, “Fair was mostly

dominated by European visitors and

business was almost the same as last

year or even little less than that.”

Floor covering in natural fibres like

jute, hemp, wool was displayed by the

company. Pradeep also added that

exhibitors like him participated in such

international events through Indian

Government agencies/councils, which

should make more effort to get proper

locations so that more buyers can visit

their stalls.

Maison & Objet

In Maison & Objet, Paris there were

almost 23 Indian participants like

Shingora Home, Ludhiana; Kanodia

Global, Delhi; Condor, Gurgaon and few

designer brands. There were in total

2,871 exhibiting brands while more

than 1,35,000 visitors visited the show.

Amit Jain, MD, Shingora Textiles

shared, “Fair was just okay; I would

give it a 5 out of 10 as there were

visitors but business was missing.

Still Europe seems to be slow.” The

company displayed its blankets which

were made by cotton rather than

wool. On the contrary, Anil Sharma,

Senior Merchant of Noida-based

Janavi shared, “For us the event was

reasonably good and we are satisfied

with it.” The company highlighted its

strength in cashmere art in wide range

of designs, while products included

blankets and shawls.

Sustainability was

as usual highlighted

under the title

‘Sustainability,

Mindset,

Responsibility’.

Participating

for the first time

at Heimtextil

and dealing in

organic home

furnishing products,

Storyfabrics,

a Switzerland-

based company,

sourcing home

products from

Indian company

Rajlakshmi Cotton

Mills, was happy

with the fair.Martina

Unternaehrer,

Founder of the

company said,

“I met potential

customers from

Switzerland and

with whom I

couldn’t get a

meeting back in

Switzerland. Small

companies like

ours have to go to

the big fairs to be

taken seriously.”

ESSENTIALS

Amber Home,Mumbai Studio Medium, NewDelhi

Sumangalam Exports,Mumbai

DIRECTIONS BY

The whirlwind brought about by the biannual

menswear fashion weeks at New York and Paris,

has recently settled, giving way to future trend

predictions that would signal what the approaching

season looks like.

This season saw utility and comfort being given

an edge of importance over avant-garde fashion.

Loose tailoring and a fresh approach to the classic

double-breasted jacket made a case for the men

of the 21st century, who are more inclined towards

experimentation and functionality going hand-in-

hand. Gone are the days when the colder months

summoned darker hues; this season designers go

all out to incorporate bright pops of colour into

their winter wardrobes and go big on details such as

prints, patterns and surface textures.

In this issue, FFT reveals key trends from the runways

of New York and Paris for Fall/Winter 2017-18 as

showcased by ready-to-wear designers and labels.

FALL / WINTER 2017-18

Key Menswear Trends From

NEW YORK & PARIS

BOMBER BACKLASHBomber jackets continue experiencing a surge, with every label offering its own version of the trend. Channelling in the rebellion borrowed from the ’50s culture adopted by the (then) youth, through military pieces like theMA-1 bomber, the trend has found a solid spot in the current times.Designers are shying away from embellished looks that stormed last year and are tilting towards newer versions that incorporate materials like satin, velvet and details evolving towards two-stone styles and patchwork.

DOUBLE-BREASTEDMenswear suiting trends have

recently been resurfacing after

a much ‘Vetements-hijacked’laidback year of oversized drama,

overtaking the runways and

streets. Enter this season, and we see a majestic army of double-

breasted blazers and coats –

boxy, structured, button detailed and submerged in semi-casual

prints and textures. Layered over

shirts, turtlenecks and sweaters, the double-breasted suits make

a strong case for casual men’s

staple for the season.

POPPIN’ BRIGHTDesigners decided to add a

little colour boost to the dark

and gloomy winter months, by presenting collections that

included surprisingly bright

pops of colour in coats, jackets, knittted sweaters, trousers

and pretty much all else.

Shades of bright orange and yellow dominated the runways

rendering the colours ‘cool’ for

the new age man.

CHECKING INWe are sensing a major trend

here – with the classic Prince

of Wales check and plaids making an appearance, show

after show, and piece after

piece – checks take a definite seat in the front row for the

Fall/Winter 2017-18 season.

Layered under jackets or worn freely as prints on trousers

or scarves, checks have too

many options up for grabs this season.

BOMBER

BACKLASH

Dior

Rochambeau

Dior

Todd-snyder

Ovadia & Sons Balenciaga

Givenchy

AMI

CHECKING IN

POPPIN’

BRIGHT

DOUBLE-

BREASTED

Off-White Todd-Snyder

Dries VanNotan

Lanvin

FUR-TASTICTaking a cue from the

top trending styles of the

womenswear segment pertaining to last year, designers decidedly

introduced details in the form

of colourful furry patches over jackets, hoodies, gloves as well

as shoes – apart from classic

(faux) fur, mink and shearling coats. Feathered versions of

(faux) fur, over wide lapels

seemed to have gained a collective approval from the

menswear bandwagon this

season.

POWER PUFFComfort and utility-based outerwear is taking centre-stage this season with designers focusing on performanceas much as style. In contrast to the previously trendingslimmer silhouettes, voluminous silhouettes playing on proportion, shapes, lengths (cropped seems to be a favourite) and colour, found their way onto hi-tech materials. What grabbed our attention though, were the magical pairing of padded jackets with equally padded trousers to go along with them.

S‘LOGO’NThe slogans running through Lanvin, Sankuanz, Raf Simons and Ami channelled in a teen spirit voiceing ongoing contemporary politics and socio-political conditions around the world.It seemed like every designer needed to get something off their chest. Keeping the words simple and somewhat arbitrary is their way of addressing the issues at hand. Alternatively, themillennium inspired logo-revival continues to gain momentum as LV, Supreme and Dior stamp their garments with pun-induced identities.

PINSTRIPESVertical stripes – in all their glory,

have emerged victorious this

season. The bolder and much vibrant stripes from Spring/

Summer 2017, have given way

to the more mellowed down, menswear classics – pinstripes in

varying widths and contrasting

colours. Sharply tailored or slouchy and oversized – the

striped suit print has made a

definitive comeback.

FUR-TASTIC PINSTRIPES

S ‘ LOGO’NPOWER

PUFF

Berluti

Raf Simons

Dior

Louis Vuitton

Hugo Boss Balenciaga

John-Varvatos

Hugo Boss

Dior Uri-Minkoff

Sacai

Balenciaga

The fabrics and prints always form the bare bones of

every season’s underlying mood and silhouette. The coming

Fall/Winter season will see another wave of reimagining the

nostalgic shapes of bygone eras. However, the difference

this time is that it is not just about remembrance but taking

comfort in the memories and trying to escape from the

chaos of the present.

Therefore, fabrics like wool, corduroy and suede that are

the ones most in demand instantly signal a calm and luxe

coziness, but that does not mean luxury is out; rather the

opulence of the past is what everyone is craving for and

that is evident in the comeback of fabrics like fur, fleece,

corduroy and velvet.

Prints are also seeing a similar set of references where we

see modern application of retro motifs and plentiful checks

as well as strong stripes. Designers are constantly looking

at abstract/expressionist artworks to express themselves

and wherever art is not enough; they are using capitalized

slogans in clear words to get their ideas across theboard.

From Furs to Florals

T r e n d s F / W 2 0 1 7 - 1 8

1 FAUX FUR

Nothing says old school elegance

like lavish faux furs making a

strong case for the maximalist

trend that Gucci started with their

fur slippers. Fur is everywhere this

season from smaller accent pieces

like stoles and collar details to heavy

coats like the Vetements F/W 2017-18

opening look.

Some designers are embracing

the trend in all its boldness,

using animal prints and multicolours

to channel all the jazz while others

are keeping it clean with jacket

linings and wrap-ups. Fur is an

F ABRIC TRENDS

undeniable crowd favourite making

its appearances on the street style

scene just as much as the runway.

2 CORDUROY & SUEDE

Say hello to a fabric that is the

workwear brother to velvet and has

been doing its own rounds on the

runways of late. Though we cannot

discard velvet as a hit fabric but

looking ahead, we predict corduroy as

the next big throwback to the ’70s.

The construction details in corduroy

make it durable but soft and lustrous;

1 2

Kolo

r Mih

ara

yasuh

iro

FASHION BUSINESS

Erdem

a perfect match for trousers, casual

suiting and even overcoats. A similar

material that retains the softness

factor and emits a beautiful yet

understated sheen is suede and serves

as the perfect alternative to velvet in

outerwear.

3 CABLE KNITS

When puffer jackets were the

most experimental piece of the

season, how can we not expect

to see more ski outfits getting

an update? Ski garments have

been making their waves and

seemingly, the by-product is

the return of chunky cable knit

sweaters making a strong case for

‘bigger is better’.

While some designers are embracing

heavy knitwear and making large

sweaters in brighter colours, others

are sticking to classic shades but

creating more interest through

intense knitting styles.

4 SILK SATIN

You can never talk about luxurious

fabrics and forget about the

power of silk. Being a fabric this

versatile, silk is never really out

of fashion but this season it is

present in all its visibility through

the soft glistening satin weaves.

As the market for innerwear

has increased, thanks to its new

acceptance as outerwear, so has

the demand for satins.

Silk satin is coming in everything

from delicate slip dresses to bomber

jackets, suiting and of course, the

floor length gowns that were spotted

everywhere this award season.

5 WARM IN WOOL

Soft wools have their own place in

winter fashion and designers are

looking at ways to let the wools take

centre stage with tweeds this time.

Reminiscent of the grand English

countryside, tweed is easily the

wool on our mind. Going beyond the

obvious, wool is not just coats but is

being used everywhere from dresses

to twin-sets and suiting pieces.

Apart from the usual favourites,

cashmere is also having its big

moment because of its recognition

as an investment worthy fabric

rather than something that is

merely fashionable.

3

Todd

Snyd

er

4

Khait

e

5

Loew

e

INDUSTRY SPEAKS

“Camouflage is definitely a big-big hit and we’re

doing it in different colours like grey, green and

brown. Apart from winter favourites like berries,

burgundy and grey is a very big colour this season

and so is khaki green. We are working with a lot of

structure play this time in terms of heavy weight

oxfords, waffle and honeycomb knits. There are

no stripes in the works but checks are the prints

of the season. A lot of inspiration is coming from

the dandy look, so many heritage line references

are visible with buffalo, tartan, shadow checks

as well as many windowpane checks. Fabrics

like velvet, corduroy and un-cut corduroy are

looking sensational. We are not doing much

fur but polar fleece linings and sheepskins are

certainly happening.”

Meenakshi Patra,

Pearl Global

“We definitely think heavy is a big trend in knitwear

this season. We are using a lot of 4 gauge and 2.5

gauge for knitting sweaters. Hand knitting is also in

demand as well as fancy yarns. Though the knit is

much thicker; we are using very earthy colours like

brown and greens.”

SumitKhanna,

Khanna Knitwears & Exports

“We have noticed that there is a huge surge in

demand for textures. Therefore, we are using

fabrics like corduroy and fleece. Apart from fleece,

we are also using fur for linings in outerwear. Wool

is also in demand. We are using checks in collar

details and horizontal stripes on the front for T-shirt

brands like Polo and Bugatti.”

Amit Agarwala,

Genus Apparels

“We are not working on geometrics but more on

variations in stripes and florals this season. Stripes

are getting broader for Winter 2017 and they are

in contrasting colours for both womenswear and

kids’ collections. In terms of fabric, there is a lot of

texture in demand and we are achieving that with

crocheted laces, poly-taffeta and heavy georgettes.

There is a lot of shine as well in the collections as

we are using plenty of satins and scuba fabrics.”

Amit Kedia,

Chimera Threadkraft

PRINT TRENDS

crazy textile prints in colours

that were never anything less

than the brightest hue on the

wheel. However, designers are

reimagining the same lozenges

and eclectic florals in less

hideous ways that will work

for the modern aesthetic while

1 CHECKS ARE

WINNING

Gingham is going strong on both

the Indian and international

runways and can be seen in

supersized to miniscule sizes and

in an array of colours everywhere.

Plaid is another check that is

competing in this race, a pattern

that is significantly inspired

from the ’80s era suiting styles;

it was spotted in multiple winter

collections.

As a season focusing more on the

strong lines, you cannot end the

list without mentioning the print

that every designer is using for

coats and jackets – the Prince of

Walescheck.

2 STANDOUT STRIPES

Stripes are having its biggest

moment of all time, wherein we

are seeing more variation in

striping than any other prints.

The trend here is not just of

bold awning stripes but also the

crispness of pinstripes, which is

always stealing the show.

The use of stripes in flee flowing

silhouettes is creating a new

balance and imbuing a sense of

power in clothing. However, they

are not just endowing strong lines

to designs anymore but the bright

colour palettes and contrasts are

giving it a more animated look as

well.

3 EXPLOSIVE

CAMOUFLAGE

Maybe it is an answer to all the

unrest and ongoing violence that

doesn’t seem to stop or another

hunt for protection but military

references have been coming from

left, right and centre in fashion.

Ironically, the most prominent

retaining a hint of the past like

a secret.

What was once the quintessential

dad sweater pattern – argyle

is now the most hip style staple

coveted by all the ‘It girls’ in

fashion and is finding its place on

a wide range on silhouettes.

3

Ovadia

and

Sons

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4

Com

me

Des

Garc

ons

Hom

me

Plu

sof which is camouflage prints,

which is blasting the runways

and is present on everything

from T-shirts, outerwear to

flirty co-ordinates.

Designers are experimenting with

different colour combinations

and mixing other patterns with it

to make this disguise of a print,

stand out.

4 ABSTRACT ART

Fashion and art have always

shared a gallant relationship and

for good reason; who does not

want to look like a walking piece

of art?

This season is all about

expressing your feelings on the

surface and it is only fitting to

make use of abstract artists to

accomplish that. Designers are

using everything from paint

drippings to randomized line

drawings, sometimes as small

details but mostly going for the full

blast with dollops of colours as if

someone dropped buckets of paint

over their fabric inventory.

5 RETRO FLORA

One of the most iconic things

from the ’70s and ’80s were the

FASHION RESOURCE

Layered over buttoned-

up shirts, paired with suits

or worn over utilitarian

dresses, bralettes were

seen being paired with

anything and everything

this season. Details like

ruching and ruffle trims

cropped up at Miu Miu

and Altuzarra (who also

introduced printed styles)

whereas Alexander

McQueen decided to

go all racy by adding

studded details and

embellishments atop

their bralettes which

they layered over sheer

dresses. Fur, vinyl and

sheer were other favourite

fabrics that made a

case for this obvious

trend. Victoria Beckham

played with velvet

while Céline introduced

crochet versions over

shirts. Giambattista Valli

weaved a dreamy storyaround soft laces and Miuccia Prada went all

out with ostrich feathers signalling a bold and

ardent return of the bralette this season.

FASHIONFILE

ColourStory

S/S

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pantone18-5619 TPX

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pantone15-2215 TPX

pantone17-1514 TPX

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20

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Riccardo Tisci exits Givenchy

The LVMH-owned couture house

Givenchy has bid goodbye to

its Creative Director, Riccardo

Tisci after his contract ended on

January 31. The designer, who

had been at the creative helm of

Givenchy for 12 glorious years,

is responsible for completely

rejuvenating the house and

bringing it back to life. Owing to

his departure, the collection shown

at Paris Couture Week in January

will be his last for the French house

and they will not be presenting at

the next Paris Fashion Week. Apart

from creating the much celebrated

haute couture collections for

Givenchy, Tisci earned credit

for his strong friendships in the

industry with the likes of Madonna,

Beyoncé and Kanye West. There

are strong rumours that he will

now join his long-time friend and

muse Donatella Versace at her

namesakelabel.

Neiman Marcustries plus size instores

In the middle of dwindling sales,

Neiman Marcus has decided to

tap into a previously less explored

segment of plus size clothing. After

having experienced overwhelming

response from selling larger sizes

online over the last 2 years, the

retailer has realized the propitious

demand and is testing out thesame

through five of its outlets opening

shortly. Frank Crisci, VP of

Merchandising at Neiman Marcus

Last Call said, “There is a lot of

product out there but a curated

assortment of Tahari, Lafayette

148, Eileen Fisher etc. is harder

to find.” The company plans to

promote the new venture by calling

it “curvy chic”, connecting it with

Women’s Day and are expecting

this foray to bode well for sales.

In a bid to lure an elder

audience, A&F is introducing

a new in store concept that

looks immediately mature

and polished. Designed by

MJ Sagan Architecture, the

new look has a boutique

feel with a striking entrance

resembling a runway with 40

mannequins lined up at the

front signalling a clear shift

towards personal styling. The

store looks warm, inviting and inclusive opening its doors to the old teenage

consumers as well as a fresher customer base. With the unconventional fitting

rooms that look like suites and more space for movement, the brand is moving

towards a seemingly luxurious and high-end appeal. The first store to witness

this evolution will be in Ohio and is only the first of the seven that will be

opening up for business within this year.

Abercrombie & Fitch reinvents store strategy

INDUSTRY WIRE

Three start-up units in apparel export arena;

niche products their success route

planning to expand team in future.

Despite all odds, the company

expects to see 25 per cent growth

this year and also in the future,

from exports.

Not only in Delhi-NCR, this ‘tide of

budding apparel entrepreneurs’

can be seen in Kolkata as well…

Just a year old into apparel export

business, Tanushree and Pradipta

Basu, Founders/Designers and

Directors of Shorshe Clothing

feel proud in being called – the

limited-edition brand. All the

products of this company are

handwoven/khadi (sourced from

Bihar and West Bengal) but are

very modern in design. “With focus

on sustainability, we use vegetable

dyes…, and when it comes to

fashion, our silhouettes are very

western,” mentioned Tanushree,

who prefers small orders from

buyers. As top brands are coming

up with sustainable clothing lines,

both are enthusiastic about future

opportunities in the segment. The

FOB prices of the company start

from US $ 10 and goes up to US

$ 100. The firm that has shipped

orders to the US recently, also

participated for the first time in the

just concluded IIGF in the Capital.

confidence,” says Tushar who is

using in-house cutting, stitching,

sublimation facilities to produce

20,000 pieces per month.Average

FOB of the company’s product is

around US $ 6.

Mehjabeen Ansari, who has

designated herself as a Creative

Director of Mehjabeen, Noida

and rightly so because her strength

is designing, started garment

manufacturing, three years

ago. Although Mehjabeen and

Mohammad Imran, Head – Sales

& Marketing of the company have

extensive experience of the fabric

industry, it is their passion for

fashion which brought them into

garmenting. The focus is primarily

on Bohemian fashion, a product in

great demand in South America and

some parts of Europe. Even though

the markets are not responding

too positively, how they continued

to grow, is a strategy. “We produce

selective designs and that is why

we are never out of business. Our

designs are very rare in the market,

so buyers have to come to us for

that,” said Imran, who started with

one buyer and now has 10 buyers.

Mehjabeen, who creates her own

mood-boards and handles PD, is

n a time when established Indian

Iapparel exporters are finding

it difficult to survive because of

the near recessionary market,

few young companies are not

only entering into apparel export

market, but are growing too. All

these companies have a niche

focus, participate at international

sourcing fairs and are also

exploring new customers from

across the world for furthergrowth.

Meet Tushar Sharma, an IIT Delhi

pass-out… Rather than exploring

engineering, he forayed into

designer fitness apparels andvalue-

added yoga wear. Tushar, the CEO

of Yogue Activewear (Noida),

initiated this company two years

ago… “We tried to add fashion

elements to a normal ‘boring’ sports

clothing. My enthusiasm for fitness

brought me into apparel sector

and interest in manufacturing

and pushed me to start my own

factory,” he said. Apart from having

its own brand and manufacturing

for overseas labels, the company

is also exporting 30 per cent

of its production to the USand

European markets. “Things are

more and more clear to us now

and repeat orders are boosting our

Tushar Sharma, CEO (R) with his colleague JS Kohli of

YogueActivewear

Mehjabeen Ansari, Creative Director (L) and Mohammad Imran,

Head Sales & Marketing, Mehjabeen

Tanushree (L) and Pradipta Basu, Founders/Designers and

Directors of Shorshe Clothing

Silver Spark Apparel’s new factory in Ethiopia to start in May

Men’s suits specialist Silver

Spark Apparel (a subsidiary of

Raymond) is expecting to start

its new unit in Awasa, Ethiopia

in May 2017. As per schedule,

the factory which was to start

in April has now been pushed

back by a month. The company,

with turnover of almost

Rs. 450 crore in current fiscal,

is working on this project for

last 1½ years and is expecting

to grow by 150 per cent in next

2 to 3 years with the support of

this new factory.

Prashant Jain, DGM –

Marketing & Merchandising

of the companytold

Apparel Online, “Few issues

were there, but slowly we are

overcoming that, and in May

we will commence production.

Prashant Jain, DGM –Marketing &

Merchandising, Silver Spark Apparel

Initially the capacity of the

factory will be 4,000 suits per

day.” Having the privilege of

duty-free access, Ethiopia is

today the attraction for apparel

manufacturers. Low-cost

labour availability is another

advantage of this country; also

local Government is giving

some relaxations. The company

is also being provided land on

long-lease by the Ethiopian

Government, besides electricity

at a price which is one-third

compared to India.

Known for quality suits, Silver

Spark Apparel was set up in

2003 for manufacturing suits

and formal trousers.

INDUSTRY LIVE

o promote textilesand

Tapparels industry further in the

north-east states of India,Ministry

of Textiles (MoT) and Ministry

of Development of North Eastern

Region (Ministry of DoNER)

organized 1st North East Investors’

Summit in Shillong. The event,

inaugurated by Union Textiles

Minister Smriti Irani, witnessed

over 80 buyers and leaders of

textiles industry. About 20 MoUs

between various companies of

export promotion councils, and

associations took place. These

MoUs focused on promoting

collaboration in the textiles

sector in each of these states in

the north-east Region and also on

developing and promoting North

Eastern Region (NER) handicrafts,

handlooms, agro textiles & geo-

textiles in these areas.

Arvind Ltd. and Connect

Studio (Nagaland) will work to

operationalize apparel centres.

Apparel Export Promotion Council

(AEPC), Creative Garments

(Meghalaya), Fabric Plus would

facilitate handholding and

monitoring in technical design,

production, marketing and export-

20 MoUs signed to promote textile and apparel industry in North Eastern Region

Smriti Irani with other ministers during the summit

related matters and enhance

production & exports of garments

from apparel centres. Arvind Ltd.

has an MoU with Pinnacle Skills

(Nagaland) and Elam Industries

(Arunachal Pradesh) and will

support for technical design and

production in apparel centres.

Similarly, the Clothing

Manufacturers Association of India

(CMAI) and Sneha Textiles from

Tripura – to facilitate handholding

and mentoring by Arvind Ltd. –

agreed upon areas to operationalize

the apparel centres. HarilloomNaga,

Nagaland, Shopper’s Stop and EPCH

in a joint venture took an initiative

to increase the export of handicrafts

by providing training, design and

trend inputs platform for marketing

in India as well as overseasmarkets.

Carpet Export Promotion Council

(CEPC) also has an MoU with local

carpet exporters; the National

Institute of Design (NID) and The

Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s

Research Association (ATIRA) also

haveMoUs.

Besides the above, The Synthetic &

Art Silk Mills’ Research Association

(SASMIRA) also has an MoU with

Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) for

increasing the acceptability of

agro textiles. The MoT alone has

sanctioned projects worth more

than Rs. 1,040 crore for the NER.

Recognizing wide scope for silk

sector in NER, the Government

of India will support sericulture

in the region with infusion of

Rs. 820 crore. The Textiles Minister

also launched India Handmade

Bazaar Portal which will provide

direct market access facility to

handloom weavers and handicraft

artisans, and announced that the

master craftsmen from NER will

teach at various NIFT centres

across thecountry.

The summit was also attended

by Dr. Arvind Panagariya, Vice

Chairman, NITI Aayog; Dr. Mukul

Sangma, CM of Meghalaya;

Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union

Minister of State (I/C), DoNER;

Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of

State for Home Affairs; Ministers

and their representatives from all

eight North Eastern States (Assam,

Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram,

Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland,

Sikkim and Tripura), besides

investors across the country.

AEPC has initiated

cluster development programmes for

improving supply

side of Indianexportbasket. It was decided

to start this through

development of the Metiabruz garment

cluster which has

over 5 lakh small manufacturers and a

production capacity

similar to Tirupur.

TOADVERTISE

Contact Rani Mahendru+91-11-47390000 (512)

rani@apparelresources.com

GOING TO A GOODEVENT?

Send your industry gossip, photos and news toisaxena@apparelresources.com

he State Government of

THaryana (India) has drafted a

new textile policy with an aim to

create 50,000 new jobs and attract

investments of up to Rs. 5,000 crore

to become a textile manufacturing

hub. The policy is packed with

fiscal incentives and provisions for

better infrastructure; establishment

of textile parks; andfacilities

for skill development of textile

workers in the state. However,

if the incentives are measured

against other State Governments

(mostly new states eager to set

up apparel manufacturing in the

region to generate employment),

then the incentives fall short. Yet,

the advantage that Haryana enjoys

over a developed infrastructure

in garmenting and a very strong

supply chain base, is something

which new states getting into

garmenting will struggle to

provide, and may actually work

in Haryana’s favour. This sector

already provides employment

to about one million people, and

readymade garments worth US

$ 2 billion is exported from the

state annually.

According to an official, the draft

policy proposes capital subsidy

of 10 per cent for the eligible new

projects of all textile enterprises

across the state. It also eyes at

positioning Haryana as a preferred

destination for global textile majors

and boosting textile exports by a

Compound Annual Growth Rate

(CAGR) of 20 per cent during 2017.

Also, as the state is one of the

leading cotton producers in the

country, the policy has been framed

with an eye on the cotton belt of

theregion.

Under the policy, Haryana State

Industrial and Infrastructure

Development Corporations

(HSIIDC) will provide industrial

Haryana Government's Draft Textile Policy falls short of what other states are offering to set up industry

plots for a lease of 33 yearswith

5 per cent increase in annual lease

limit. Panchayat land will also

be made available on lease for

industrial development. The State

Government will also facilitate

setting up a textile park at Hansi in

Hisar district. The park shall house

weaving, seizing and garmenting

enterprises to augment the already

strong existing infrastructure for

ginning andspinning.

The enterprises that will enable

new technologies at their units

will get monetary assistance of

up to 50 per cent of the cost from

recognized national institutes,

along with electricity exemptions

from the Haryana Government. In

line with the PM’s visions for the

khadi industry, the Government

plans to facilitate retail space at

nominal rates. Locations such as

famous tourist spots, places with

heavy footfall such as airports

and retail hubs are proposed to be

explored for such opportunities.

The draft policy has been put in

public domain and suggestions

invited from stakeholders up to

28 February 2017, which would

be factored in while giving it a

final shape.

The advantage that

Haryana enjoys over a developed infrastructure

in garmenting and a

very strong supplychain base, is something

which new states getting

into garmenting will struggle to provide, and

may actually work in

Haryana’s favour.

Incentives Haryana

(established

garmenthub)

State developing

garmenting hub

Interest subsidy

6% per annum 7% per annum or

50% of the interest

rate, whichever is

lower on total loan

Capital

investment

subsidy

10% 20%

INR 36,000 per year INR 60,000 per

for SC/women year per worker

and INR 30,000 for for 7 years for

Employment general category SC/ST/women

generation for 5 years… it is INR 72,000…

subsidy Ceiling of INR50 additional INR 1,000

lakh (if 50% of per person towards

workers are from ESI & EPF for 5 years

Haryana)

Quality

certifications

Nil Assistance of

50% of the total

expenditure to

a maximum limit

of INR 10 lakh for

obtainingquality

certification

Electricityduty

100% exemption

for 10 years

100% exemption

for 5 years plus

reimbursement of

50% of power tariff

for 5 years

Skill

Development

Maximum INR

10,000 per trainee

Maximum INR13,000

per trainee

Ease of doing

business

No mention Special provision

for ease of doing

business

Incentives in new Haryana textile policy vs. incentives offered by

another state looking to establish garment industry in the region

INDIA CANVAS

An AO investigation…

WHY JAIPUR EXPORTERS

ARE STRUGGLING TO EVEN REACH

RS. 100 CRORE-MARK?

ome years ago, one well-known

SJaipur-based exporter having

3 factories, approached Tesco, H&M

and few other such top brands/

stores to work with his factories. The

factories were even certified but after

all this, the top brands refused to work

with this Jaipur exporter without

specifying the reason, eventhough

the rates offered by the exporter were

impressively less from those being

offered by exporters in Delhi-NCR.

Not the one to be disheartened, the

exporter then approached top Indian

buying houses and assured them that

he will get at least 4-5 big exporters

in the loop, as the buying office

clearly said that they did not wish to

come to Jaipur to work with a single

supplier, but even then the buying

houses refused by saying that it

would add to their expenses…!

The fact that buyers are not taking

the initiative to explore Jaipur,

preferring to remain in the comfort

zone of the NCR, which is close

to the city, is one of the biggest

reasons that not even one apparel/

made-ups exporter of Jaipur is

doing annual business of Rs. 100

crore. The city which has 200 good

apparel and home furnishing export

firms has only 5 to 7 companies

which are doing turnover of Rs. 50

crore or above. Apparel Online

approached both top and small

exporters of Jaipur to find out

their views on how the city can

expand and companies would be

able to touch the magical figure

of Rs. 100crore.

Suresh Agarwal, MD, Aman

Exports – doing annual business of

more than Rs. 50 crore and equally

strong in exports as well as domestic

market – insisted that whatever

export orders Jaipur has got so far

is totally through importers. “We

are still waiting for big department

stores or top brands like Zara,

Mango, Walmart, H&M,Tesco.

Whatever orders Jaipur has, were

given by importers and who are

getting ‘eliminated’ by the day.”

So, what is the solution? He adds,

“The only solution is to bring the big

stores to Jaipur; for this everyone

has to work collectively, be it our

Councils, Associations or the State

Government.” Agarwal rightly

points out that Jaipur exporters

are ready to give products at lower

price compared with any other

hubs as they have advantages of

less overheads and lower minimum

wages. He does not agree with the

opinion of fellow exporters that

there are no orders in the market

and even sentiments are low. “Few

of my Delhi-based friends, who are

also into garment exports, don’t have

time and are quite busy with orders

from US and Europe,” says Agarwal.

But he does agree that Japan, Brazil,

South Africa and Russia, which

High Street Fashions, Jaipur– known for its socks (diabetic socks, flight socks), wrist bands & head bands,knee support, elbow support, among other products, is the only company in the city exporting such products to well-known global brands and doing very good business.

ESSENTIALS

Suresh Agarwal, MD, Aman Exports Dalpat Lodha, Director, Lodha Impex Rajeev Dewan, MD, Ma’am Arts Mohammed Arif, Director, Kagzi Exports

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were the core markets for Jaipur

are not in good shape due to various

reasons.

Recently, honoured by AEPC for

maximum export to Japan, Dalpat

Lodha, Director of Lodha Impex

(turnover of Rs. 90 crore from

Jaipur operations) endorses the

view that buyers prefer not to place

bulk orders in Jaipur. But he is

positive that as soon as markets will

pick up, Jaipur-based companies

will have more orders. Ironically,

exporters admit that not many in the

city are interested in bulk orders.

One reason for this is the kind of

margins that Jaipur exporters enjoy,

which are far better than what

most of the other hubs have. The

attitude of most of the exporters is

to make more money by less work

or more profit in less orders, rather

than doing volume business which

gives such magical numbers, but

not necessarily the profitability. But

now as the situation is changing and

one doesn’t get so much orders, at

bigger margins, so the industry is

struggling.

Another veteran of Jaipur, Rajeev

Dewan, MD of Ma’am Arts,

adds that in Jaipur exporters

after attaining a certain level get

contented, as they have grown from

the grassroot level with 3-4 machines

and personally been involved in

all aspects of the business, so the

burn-out rate is higher. Many a times

this also results in lack of initiation

of technical and professional help,

which has hampered growth. Vivek

Khandelwal, Director, Pattern

India argues, “How many factories

in Jaipur have IE Department or

even IE staff. We need to think and

work in this direction.” Even in case

of companies that do want to hire,

retaining pass-outs from leading

institutes, is difficult.

In consent with all the above-

mentioned reasons for current

condition of Jaipur, Mohammed Arif,

Director, Kagzi Exports addsthat

raw material sourcing right from

fabric to accessory is another hurdle

to achieve bigger growth. “We need

at least 7-10 days to develop a sample

while in Delhi the same is possible

in 24 hours. It really matters.” On

the issue of top brands not coming

to the city, he says, “all of us have

to be aggressive in our approach to

catch them.”

Jaipur’s products are more suited

for boutique stores, as they

can give more value but not the

volume. The city is not making

any basic product or product of

mass manufacturing like shirts

or trousers. But exporters are

hopeful that such products will

be produced in the future as few

companies are expanding their

capacities. The industrybelieves

that even if one company shows the

way, others will follow it. Arjun Singh

Shekhawat, Director, Rainbow

Texfab says, “Fellow exporters need

to work more on quality as day-by-

day buyers’ quality parameters are

becoming higher. And one of the

main reasons to lose on quality is the

dependency on job-work, right from

the stitching to value addition.”

Many factors that are not in the

hands of exporters have also

affected the potential growth of

the city. Ashish Ahuja of Ahuja

Overseas says, “There is notenough

air connectivity that can bring the

buyers directly to Jaipur, similarly

logistics is also a hurdle. The city

doesn’t have big dyeing or printing

mills.” However, Agarwal and few

other exporters stress that it is only

the lack of sufficient orders which

hampers business, all other things

are secondary. “If any exporter gets

orders, all other issues, like lack

of trained professionals, and raw

material availability gets solved

anyhow,” he concludes.

“Our city started with traditional

strengths like tie & dye, hand block and

most of the exporters are still limited

to this, rather than mass production or

exploring different product categories.

Not only Jaipur, but the whole of

Rajasthan does not have very heavy

or big industry. Lack of Government

support is also a big factor. Rajasthan

has carpet, handicrafts, and furniture

units which come under the cottage

industry, so its beginning was slow.

Being a tourist city, it is costly too;

the land price is high and the state

is lacking in aggressive policies like

those of Jharkhand or Odisha. The

city doesn’t have a cluster with all

necessary facilities like dyeing, washing,

etc. The hub also misses a strong

political will, which is required for such

development; it is hard to get the job

done in Jaipur.”

–Ravi Poddar, President,

GEAR (Garment Exporters Association of Rajasthan)

An exceptional case is Bella Casa

Fashion & Retail Limited, the only

company doing Rs. 100+ crore from

Jaipur and that too mainly working

with domestic market and made-ups.

Harish Kumar Gupta, Chairman of the

company has some good suggestions

for the industry. He says, “Exporters have

to take risk and do lot of experiments.

Printing techniques too need to change

here; we have done men’s shirts for few

brands, so this city can manufacture

anything. People here are very content

and don’t want to take headaches.

They tell the buyer that we have this, if

you want, you are welcome, otherwise

bye-bye. This attitude needs to change.

I assure the industry that if they will

apply latest technology, they will

definitely get benefited and grow.”

EXPORT STATISTICS

Apparel imports by US conclude with negative trend in 2016

J a n u a r y - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 6

2017 is shaping up to be another uncertain year for clothing industry and its supply chain for the US as Trump factor

is still playing crucial role in clothing imports. US is officially out of the TPP; Border Adjustment Tax may be adopted,

resulting in hike in retail prices. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy as well as more complicated trade decisions by

the new Trump administration might trigger the trade uncertainties in the country.

Ladies dresses note positive trend forUS involumetermsThe growthof ladies dresses importbytheUS has notedasurge in volume by

7.85%, thoughthevalueof imports in thecategorysawdownwardtrend by (-

) 0.24% as againstthesame period last year.

T-shirts export from India falls in value termsWhile the decline in value of exports by India to the US in the mentioned

category was (-) 0.16%, volume saw a surging trend by 2.19%. Overall, the

US registered decline in both value {(-) 4.29%} and volume {(-) 0.55%} in

the import during the review period.

1

2

Global Apparel Imports by the US:

Jan.-Dec. 2016

Total Decrease in Volume

1.06%

Total Decrease in Value

[The information has been extracted

from US custom site and further analyzed.]

5.23%

Percentage Decrease in UVR

4.15%

(Average UVR in review period was US $ 3.00 as against US $ 3.13 in

the same period lastyear)

Change in Value

Cotton

7.84%

MMF

1.93%

Wool

11.28%

Silk & Veg

2.65%

Change in Volume

Cotton

3.86%

MMF

1.42%

Wool

10.04%

Silk & Veg

0.14%

Total apparel exports to the US by 6 major manufacturing destinations – Jan.-Dec. ’16(Qty & Value in M2 & US mn $)

Jan.-Dec. 2015 Jan.-Dec. 2016 %Change

Type ofApparel

Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value

Cotton 12245.05 41475.88 11771.99 38224.046 -3.86 -7.84

Wool 213.84 3699.61 192.363 3282.211 -10.04 -11.28

MMF 14446.85 38740.24 14652.29 37991.745 1.42 -1.93

Silk &Veg 309.91 1248.94 310.352 1215.831 0.14 -2.65

Total 27215.65 85164.67 26927.00 80713.83 -1.06 -5.23

Jan.-Dec. 2015 Jan.-Dec. 2016 %Change

Countries

Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value

India1023.55 3665.40 1044.238 3640.269 2.02 -0.69

Bangladesh1869.94 5401.45 1862.265 5305.668 -0.41 -1.77

China11385.72 30540.94 11174.81 27922.015 -1.85 -8.58

Pakistan 590.97 1433.39 534.705 1262.393 -9.52 -11.93

SriLanka484.12 2037.45 470.993 1967.302 -2.71 -3.44

Vietnam3135.56 10563.85 3352.373 10807.961 6.91 2.31

Total global apparel imports by the US – Jan.-Dec. ’16 (Qty & Value in M2 & US mn $)

Trousers, a growing category for Bangladesh for its exports toUSBangladesh registered growth year-on-year, in value terms by

0.79%, while quantity too saw an increase by 1.81% in its export

of trousers to the US.

Foundation garments export records massive growth for VietnamVietnam noted stellar surge in its export of foundation garments

to the US both in value and volume terms. Value increased by

181.03% whereas, volumes were up by 158.16%.

Legwear import by US tumbles both in value and volumeLegwear was not a delightful import by the US as the country noted

downfall in volume by (-) 6.04%, whereas value decreased by (-)

10.19%.

Ladies blouses import by US registersgrowthDuring the review period, the US noted surge to its import of ladies

blouses. While increment of 2.60% was recorded in value, the

volumes rose by 5.54%.

Exports of babies wear continue to grow for IndiaBabies wear exports from India grew both in value and volume. The

country registered increase in value by 4.67% while volumes were up

by 16.46% year-on-year.

China’s export to US sees downfall in sweaters categoryThe country has registered negative growth in the segment. There

has been a downturn in both value and volume. Though the value

decrement was (-) 19.03%, volumes were down by (-) 14.87%,

compared with the same period last year.

3

4

5

6

7

8Item-wise quantity increase/decrease in apparel imports by the US: Jan.-Dec. 2016 (Qty. in doz, legwear in dpr, babies wear in kg)

Item-wise value increase/decrease in apparel imports by the US: Jan.-Dec. 2016 (Value in US mn $)

APPAREL TYPE

Total Imports byUS

Exports toUS

China India Bangladesh Vietnam

2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change

BabiesWear 123,955,518 113,954,876 -8.07 60,485,685 54,839,888 -9.33 6,891,355 8,025,435 16.46 13,104,590 11,089,893 -15.37 10,053,813 9,394,530 -6.56

Foundation Garments

57,649,566 56,974,367 -1.17 33,892,455 32,134,885 -5.19 1,540,258 1,708,898 10.95 3,175,353 3,612,674 13.77 1,036,197 2,674,996 158.16

Jackets &Blazers 49,211,753 46,985,824 -4.52 18,749,984 18,324,668 -2.27 662,692 662,741 0.01 2,568,266 2,336,907 -9.01 8,099,797 7,680,354 -5.18

Ladies Blouses 52,840,754 55,769,282 5.54 21,461,124 22,979,284 7.07 8,132,320 8,223,359 1.12 2,248,325 3,185,632 41.69 7,541,510 7,890,521 4.63

Ladies Dresses 54,679,217 58,970,606 7.85 27,055,766 28,475,025 5.25 4,045,850 4,259,919 5.29 1,186,044 1,730,791 45.93 8,985,112 10,378,623 15.51

Ladies Skirts 17,266,455 14,797,417 -14.30 6,886,821 5,706,041 -17.15 846,002 671,463 -20.63 1,040,468 1,060,454 1.92 2,821,188 3,269,791 15.90

Legwear 353,523,703 332,161,873 -6.04 206,550,923 206,471,931 -0.04 3,178,940 2,771,342 -12.82 177,543 73,553 -58.57 2,125,924 2,768,282 30.22

Men's Shirts 43,250,968 42,776,378 -1.10 9,546,080 8,953,568 -6.21 2,869,591 3,133,962 9.21 12,376,823 12,356,714 -0.16 4,218,925 4,590,698 8.81

Nightwear 52,968,855 52,158,025 -1.53 32,079,382 31,679,078 -1.25 3,041,352 3,127,445 2.83 1,985,391 1,790,650 -9.81 4,157,698 4,871,086 17.16

Suits /Ensembles 14,108,164 12,318,920 -12.68 6,725,731 6,038,673 -10.22 498,759 564,761 13.23 371,638 242,817 -34.66 2,474,848 2,143,085 -13.41

Sweaters 20,767,998 18,104,829 -12.82 17,374,989 14,791,621 -14.87 105,950 49,148 -53.61 1,233,540 1,147,951 -6.94 369,288 375,022 1.55

Trousers 290,468,242 285,610,882 -1.67 85,173,086 81,980,955 -3.75 5,047,525 5,064,488 0.34 41,873,717 42,630,774 1.81 41,574,101 45,077,470 8.43

T-Shirts 563,450,215 560,365,769 -0.55 107,002,959 104,398,229 -2.43 22,543,541 23,037,628 2.19 22,107,903 20,789,044 -5.97 73,603,644 75,893,418 3.11

Undergarments 271,152,875 264,092,295 -2.60 51,491,681 50,619,944 -1.69 17,943,735 17,760,329 -1.02 28,375,435 25,418,008 -10.42 43,582,354 46,344,639 6.34

APPAREL TYPE

Total Imports byUS

Exports toUS

China India Bangladesh Vietnam

2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change 2015 2016 %Change

BabiesWear 2,554.83 2,314.22 -9.42 1,195.60 1,065.56 -10.88 158.10 165.48 4.67 239.56 204.83 -14.50 226.07 211.32 -6.52

Foundation Garments

2,601.86 2,580.10 -0.84 1,272.41 1,202.14 -5.52 107.94 126.50 17.20 72.11 77.04 6.83 53.55 150.48 181.03

Jackets &Blazers 7,600.18 6,834.56 -10.07 3,607.24 3,200.34 -11.28 102.70 91.19 -11.21 390.79 329.18 -15.77 1,423.38 1311.79 -7.84

Ladies Blouses 3,573.83 3,666.73 2.60 1,385.71 1,384.97 -0.05 614.69 615.54 0.14 126.17 176.83 40.15 399.73 424.06 6.09

Ladies Dresses 4,929.74 4,917.89 -0.24 2,411.15 2,289.49 -5.05 366.23 392.39 7.14 50.62 65.83 30.04 673.30 699.51 3.89

Ladies Skirts 1,087.09 914.55 -15.87 394.64 326.50 -17.27 67.21 54.12 -19.48 40.22 42.88 6.61 180.14 174.99 -2.86

Legwear 2,180.70 1,958.47 -10.19 1,220.12 1,137.57 -6.77 17.27 18.23 5.53 0.99 0.70 -29.51 12.68 14.77 16.50

Men's Shirts 3,687.53 3,496.98 -5.17 856.06 777.51 -9.18 247.24 244.17 -1.24 738.59 711.58 -3.66 340.00 368.77 8.46

Nightwear 2,387.44 2,270.76 -4.89 1,435.12 1,346.06 -6.21 100.20 109.80 9.58 61.00 55.67 -8.73 225.27 230.57 2.36

Suits /Ensembles 1,358.16 1,215.08 -10.53 312.42 291.16 -6.80 74.51 61.64 -17.27 24.87 17.36 -30.19 167.56 167.42 -0.08

Sweaters 2,225.28 1,850.91 -16.82 1,835.23 1,485.94 -19.03 38.60 28.70 -25.64 48.86 44.13 -9.68 29.10 21.88 -24.80

Trousers 18,731.42 17,869.03 -4.60 4,962.08 4,517.70 -8.96 381.91 363.00 -4.95 2,367.00 2,385.65 0.79 2,499.36 2669.57 6.81

T-Shirts 21,414.71 20,496.37 -4.29 5,111.96 4621.182 -9.60 919.009 917.56 -0.16 619.59 584.35 -5.69 3,146.44 3167.82 0.68

Undergarments 3,990.92 3,845.93 -3.63 808.49 794.30 -1.76 317.38 302.09 -4.82 311.21 285.86 -8.14 562.76 549.54 -2.35

Canada Apparel Imports

J a n u a r y - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 6

Canadian economy is under threat as Trump decides to end TPP agreement

Even though holiday season was around, Canada still did not see any positive turnaround in clothing import in the month of

December. The year 2017 is also projected to be uncertain as far as import of clothing is concerned because of Trump’s decision of

not proceeding with the TPP that will have significant impact on trade issues resulting in the skyrocketed retail prices within the

country. Hence, Canada is evaluating whether it wants to pursue specific bilateral trade agreements or work more closely with

another regional trading block, led by China.

2.48%While the knitted segment

saw decline of (-) 2.47%, the

woven segmentregistered

negative growth of (-) 2.49% in

valueterms.

CanadaImports Sri LankaExports

5.97%While the country saw hike in

knitted category by 3.45%, in

woven segment it registered a

boostof 9.83%.

B’DeshExports

3.63%Exports in woven category

increased by 4.01% in value, while

exports in knitted garments also

surged by 3.14%.

1.46%In knitted segment country

registered a surge in its exports

to Canada. While value of exports

was up 1.00% in knitted

segment, in woven also there was

a gain of 1.80%.

IndianExports

0.13%The country registered decline in

knitted garments by (-) 1.74% in

value, though in woven segment

valueofexportsgained 2.14%.

Vietnam Exports

Cambodia’s exports to US down by 7% in 2016, while Myanmar

registers huge rise of 145%

The uncertainties after Trump taking over as US President, rising exports from Vietnam and emergence of new market,

Myanmar resulted in 7 per cent decline in Cambodia’s total exports to the United States to US $ 2.8 billion in 2016 compared

to more than US $ 3 billion in 2015. However, the US’ withdrawal from TPP has given a ray of hope to Cambodia.

The TPP would have eliminated most tariffs in the garment sector and the country would have lost to Vietnam. In the

meanwhile, Myanmar has emerged as the “dark horse” in garment trade as it has come out strong with an aggressive

and concrete master plan. According to the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA), the Myanmar

apparel industry operating under the cut-make-pack system exported more than US $ 1 billion worth of clothing in 2016 as

against US $ 408 million in 2015, noting a massive increase of 145%.

Tra

de

Up

da

te

8.25%In the knitted garments segment,

the country registered declining

trend of (-) 8.33%, while the

woven garments also saw a

negative growth of (-) 8.17%.

ChinaExports

0.41%In woven category, there was a rise

of 12.77% in value, though knitted

segment exports registered a drop

of (-) 11.07%.

PakistanExports

Freudenberg

exhibits new

sustainable padding

Innovative technical textiles

manufacturer Freudenberg

Performance Materials Apparel

exhibited the new comfortemp®

fibreball padding at the ISPO

Munich 2017. Developed in

partnership with Napapijri (part

of apparel firm VF Corporation),

the comfortemp® fibreball

material is a padding made of

small interconnected fibreballs.

According to the company, its heat

insulation is comparable to that

of ‘down’, and its breathability

is twice as high as that of

conventional padding. Napapijri

will be marketing comfortemp®

fibreball Technology under its own

name: Thermo-Fibre® technology.

It may be mentioned here that most

of these paddings are produced

sustainably. The Group is one of

the largest recyclers of polyester

bottles throughout Europe. 50 per

cent of the fibres that the company

deploys are from recycled polyester.

In the sports sector, it does not

just depend on the feel and the

grip. Technical performance, rapid

development and implementation

– along with specific demands on

the product – play a much greater

role. “This is where Freudenberg

Performance Materials Apparel

is well positioned as part of the

Freudenberg Group because we

have the opportunity to generate

innovations throughout the Group.

Far beyond what a conventional

lining and textile producer can

achieve,” said Ulrich Scherbel,

General Manager – Global

Apparel Division, Freudenberg.

Invista’s Cordura

bags 51 awards

Invista’s Cordura brand has been

honoured with 51 awards across

six key textile categories in its

50th anniversary year at ISPO

Textrends, part of ISPOMunich.

The ‘Soft Equipment’ category

features performance products for

tents, backpacks, sleeping bags,

shoes and more, with 19 Cordura

A&E launches

new reflective industrial

sewing thread

American & Efird (A&E), a global

leader in industrial sewing thread

manufacturing, has announced the

official launch of a new product in

reflective innovation, Anefil™ Reflector

having polyester fibre type.

A&E’s Anefil™ Reflector is an industrial

sewing thread designed and engineered

for reflective visibility. Ideal for creating

a decorative, reflective seam in cover-

stitch and over-edge stitch applications,

Anefil™ Reflector can be used in a wide

variety of apparel categories including,

activewear, workwear, safety apparel,

swimwear, denim and footwear.

“A&E’s spirit of innovation continues

with this new reflective product, Anefil™

Reflector,” said Mark Hatton, Vice

President (Americas), A&E. adding,

“Offered in a Tex 120 size, the new

thread has twisted multi-filamentthread

construction. This product is a versatile,

decorative sewing thread and a valuable

addition to the reflective market.”

Unveiling the features of Anefil™

Reflector, A&E states this thread

reflects light back to the light source,

thus ensuring the maximum visibility

in low light situations. In addition, this

adds another layer of functionality

in sewing that has traditionally only

incorporated reflective tape. Hence,

Anefil™ Reflector provides maximum

luminescence and durability while

maintaining aesthetic appearance. It’s

worth mentioning here that through

its global network, A&E’s products

are manufactured in 23 countries,

distributed in 50 and sold in over 100

countries worldwide.

ISPO Munich 2017

I n t r o d u c e s m a n y i n n o v a t i o n s

The 2017 edition of the world’s largest sports trade show ISPO Munich

concluded successfully in Germany recently with an increase of 6 per cent

in visitors’ footfall in comparison to last year. The event attracted more than

85,000 visitors this year from 120 countries as against 81,368 at the 2016

edition. This noticeable surge in the number of visitors was from Italy, Russia,

UK, China and US. Many innovations were on display that made the event a

trendsetter for the sports and activewear segment.

The show noted 97 per cent positive response fromthe participants. Also, the industry’s optimistic approach was clearly visibleat the four-day show. On the exhibitors front, 3 per cent in rise in display was seen witha total of 2,732 participants who showcased their latest products, technologies and innovations at the fair.

RESOURCE CENTRE

fter being at the helm of Esprit, India for almost 5 years,AFarah Ahmed, Head of Sourcing said goodbye to the company.

Zahid Abed, her counterpart in Bangladesh, has in the meanwhile taken

up her responsibilities, but it is not confirmed whether Zahid will manage

both countries or is handling India office temporarily. Reliable sources

informed Apparel Online that Farah left the company for personal

reasons. As of now she has not joined anywhere. Graduate from Aligarh

Muslim University and having an Executive Program from ISB,

Hyderabad, Farah has worked with Triburg for almost 10 years followed

by a 7 years’ stint with Monsoon Accessories/Urban Craft India.

Zahid Abed has been working with Esprit from last two years and prior

to that he spent 7 years as V-P at Li & Fung Bangladesh Ltd. Currently,

Esprit is sourcing about 29 per cent from Bangladesh (almost same

compared to China) and 7 per cent from India (on fourth number);

Vietnam is contributing more than 8 per cent to global sourcing.

BCBG shuts 120 stores; Group may go for bankruptcy proceedings

BCBG brand, associated with California-based BCBG Max Azria Group

Inc. is closing down its 120 stores (mostly in the US). These stores either

are unprofitable or have untenable lease agreements and will be shut

after conducting closing store sales over the next eight to 10 weeks. The

company is reducing its physical retail footprint after being negatively

impacted by growth in online sales at its rivals. Media reports suggest

that the group is preparing for a possible bankruptcy filing as itlooks

to restructure its debt. The Group has more than 570 boutiques globally

(including more than 175 in the US alone).

Eyes & Ears

Farah Ahmed leaves Esprit; Zahid Abed takes charge

One of the stores of BCBG

Farah Ahmed ZahidAbed

fabrics recognized in this category

including Cordura TPX fabric by

Chang Ho, Cordura Lite, Ballistic,

Classic and HP fabrics and

Cordura AFT knits. The fabrics

in ‘Street Sports’ category range

from denim with new performance

levels to lighter functional fabrics

and finishes with a fashionable

edge. 10Cordura fabrics were

chosen as winners in this category,

including Cordura Combat Wool

Denim from Artistic Milliners,

technical performance, comfort-

driven Cordura denims from Kipas,

Turkey and long-lasting Cordura

4ever fleece by Yoonia.

The ‘Outer layer’ category features

lightweight but ultra-resistant

woven fabrics that can provide

protection against the elements,

which includes winners such as

ultra-lightweight Cordura Naturalle

fabrics all under 80 gsm from

Yoonia, LeeJo and One Chang mills

in Korea and Cordura Combat

Wool suiting fabrics from Italian

specialist Marlane.

Another category ‘Base layer’

featuring next-to-skin fabrics

for technical underwear, with

pre-shaping, support, thermal

or moisturemanagement

performance, Cordura 4ever knit

fabrics from Yoonia were honoured

in this category with Best Product

and three additional recognitions.

Also selected was a Cordura

Combat Wool knit fabric. ‘Second

layer’ category features fleeces,

lightweight protective fabrics and

performance linings usable for

maximum thermal characteristics.

Cordura 4ever wool flannel

shirting by Chia Her was among

the category winners. The sixth

category ‘Membranes & Coatings’

features technical membranes.

Cordura Naturalle fabrics by One

Chang and Yoonia and Cordura

Nyco fabrics from Samtex were

recognized in this category.

“We are pleased to see how our

valuable authorized mills are being

recognized for their dedication

to creating long-lasting, durable

Cordura fabrics, and we are truly

humbled to receive a record-

breaking 51 awards in our 50th

year. We believe the future of

innovation is collaboration, and as

we celebrate this major milestone

in our brand’s history, we are

dedicated to developing the next

generation of durable solutions

together,” said Cindy McNaull,

Global Cordura Brand and

Marketing Director, Invista.