CMYK 2 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

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8 VOL. XIII Issue 6 Editor-in-Chief DEEPAK MOHINDRA Deputy Editor ILA SAXENA Deputy Editor-Supplements VINITA PANDEY Column Editor LEELA KANUGA Copy Editor VEERESHWAR SOBTI Special Correspondent (Europe) CLAUDIA OLLENHAUER-RIES Advertising Team AMIT MAHARISHI Subscription Enquiry RANI MAHENDRU Creative Team RAJKUMAR CHAHAL SARFARAZ AHMAD (Sr.) Photo Editor JITENDER MEERWAL Publisher & Managing Director RENU MOHINDRA , Head Office Contact Communications B-32, South Extension-I, New Delhi Phone: , Fax: rmohindra@apparelresources.com Web associate: Apparel Online contact: contact@apparelresources.com editor@apparelresources.com Printing TARA ART PRINTERS PVT. LTD. B-4, Hans Bhawan, B.S. Zafar Marg, New Delhi Tel: , SUBSCRIPTION FORM Yes, I wish to subscribe to Apparel Online for INDUSTRY 1 Year Rs issues 2 Years Rs issues EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES / STUDENTS 1 Year Rs issues (For delivery by courier Rs.360 (NCR) and Rs.720 (rest of India) will be charged extra per annum.) BANGLADESH, PAKISTAN & SRI LANKA 1 Year US$ issues 2 Years US$ issues INTERNATIONAL (OTHER COUNTRIES) 1 Year US$ issues 2 Years US$ issues Name Company/Institute Address Tel TYPE OF BUSINESS Exporter Retailer Buying House Any other (specify) Subscription within India-Cheque/DD in Indian Rupees International subscription (in Dollar) - DD favouring Contact Communications, New Delhi/ Credit Card using Telegraphic transfer to Bank Account No (Swift No:SBININBBA 220) with State Bank of India, South Extension-1, New Delhi INDIA Send Cheque/DD to CONTACT COMMUNICATIONS, B-32, South Extn. Part-1, New Delhi , INDIA Contents June 16-30, MindTree 12. LighterMoments When Chitrahaar Helped...! Contributor: Taruna S Bisht 14. WorldWrap US Retailers Show Confidence in Asia as a Sourcing Base Opportunity is Knocking at your Door! 18. WhitepaperBangalore Bangalore Unplugged Professional... Progressive... Proactive... Bangalore Why Or Why Not! Be It Exports Or Domestic Advantage Karnataka Global Investor Meet in Bangalore 30. IndustryWire Latest Happenings in... BSL Ltd., AEPC, Shahi Exports, Swami Textile, Cantabil, Rainbow Fabart, Haus Mod 36. ManagementStrategy Sound Structure Positions Amann Threads as Niche Player 38. TextileUpdate Birla Acrylic Launches Anti-pill Acrylic Fibre Mercury Fabrics Going for Expansion 42. H2F [HOME FASHION FUTURE] Handicraft Exports Turns to Soft Textile Goods for Growth 46. ExportStatistics India s Exports to EU Witness 3.25% Growth in Value Volumes also up 23.67% in Jan.-Feb ResourceCentre 55. Eyes&Ears ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

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10 MINDTREE food for thought Q U E S T I O N The relevance of an Integrated Textile Policy is the subject of debate in industry circles today Do you think that such a policy would eliminate the problems that the textile chain from yarn to garmenting has faced in the last 8 months due to rising cotton prices? Please explain why? Babbu Sachdeva, MD, Mercury Fabrics, New Delhi Yes, the implementation of Integrated Textile Policy would improve the textile supply chain, from fibre to final fabric export. Export controls, incentives and tax benefits on cotton would improve the face of the industry all over. I definitely think every step of textile chain would support this policy as this would strengthen the textile industry. I believe if the textile industry does not have control over appreciating rupee, increasing wages, labour shortages and dwindling margins, control on cotton prices, tax reductions, etc. can help us strive through these tough situations with the help of this policy and textile industry will show an upward trend again. Shreyaskar Choudhary, CEO, Pratibha Syntex, Indore Looking at the present scenario it would be advantageous to have a policy where Government and its different departments, related to textiles trade, work in same direction keeping in mind the overall interest of the Industry. There is a need to keep balance the requirements of each segment of the textiles value chain. We need an Integrated Textile Policy where certainty with respect to raw material, manpower, import/ export policies, currency, labour policy, etc. is viewed and administered in a holistic manner benefiting the trade and textile and encouraging overall textile growth. If we are looking for a major share of textiles in global trade, than we have to support and expand our finished goods manufacturing base. If we see segment wise, garmenting provides maximum job opportunity and growth and value addition is also highest. Rising cotton and yarn prices has impacted garment production severely. With order cycle varying from days, garment producers are left high and dry as cotton and yarn prices increased 35% in the interim. R. Dhamotharan, Head-Strategic Business Development, Aditya Birla Group, Bangalore I believe textiles industry is highly fragmented in India and each unit works on Silos. Even though implementation across the value chain could be a challenge, it can facilitate in reducing the pain in administration as given perspective. Integrated Textile Policy provides a platform and guideline to the bureaucracy to act as an intervention. It can also provide an opportunity for 10 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

11 MINDTREE trade and business associations to bring seamless information transfer like the inventory situation, customers expectations, training and developments, excess capacity building, etc. The policy can identify the priority sector in the industry and provide support through policies. Bharat Chhajer, Director, Bumaco Fabrics, Ahmedabad Since last eight months, the Textile Industry is passing through a turbulent period due to unbelievable rise in prices of cotton yarn, other fibres coupled with depreciation of US $ and Euro. Hence, the Integrated Textile Policy is the need of the hour. Textile sector needs a serious and collective effort from both the Government side as well as the industry to chalk out a comprehensive plan which should take care of all the segments from fibre to apparels. Some tips for success of Integrated Textile Policy are: Exports of cotton in a selective manner so that domestic consumers can get cotton within price limits; measures like incentives to farmers and ginners if cotton is sold in domestic market; balanced rate of drawback for yarn exports; increase in rate of DEPB and duty drawback for fabrics exports among others. R. Jeganathan, MD, A. S. K. Apparels, Karur Mine is a cotton home furnishing field which has good global market potential but now are facing most critical situations due to yarn price hike. Apart from that we have our issues like labour shortage, power shutdowns, etc. The Integrated Textile Policy will not help Home Textile Industry in any way because for the Government textile means Mill Sector, Spinning Sector, Garment Sector and other mill-made fabric field. Our export share of Indian textiles is very minimum but most valuable. We want a separate policy for Home Textile Industry like for other sectors so that our specific issues can be focused. QUESTIONNAIRE After the US, it is now the EU which is sliding into a recession phase Do you think that this will slow down the orders that have been coming into India since the beginning of the year, as the EU is a major market for Indian exporters... Or have the exporters spread their market base enough to remain largely unaffected... Please comment. Write your comments to us by 21 st June 2010 at: contact@apparelresources.com or post your views online through our website: JUNE 16-30, 2010 ApparelOnline 11

12 L I G H T E R MOMENTS When n Chitrah ahaar aar Helped ed......! Contributor: TARUNA S BISHT, SR. MERCHANDISER, LF EUROPE It had been an extremely busy day for me in the office. We had buyers coming in the following week to look at new developments as well as the follow-up on current orders. The itinerary was being firmed up and so many calls to go to so many vendors and then juggle around appointments to make sure everyone could be fitted into the given time available with the team coming in from America. And during this peak season, my assistant had fallen ill so I had to look into all production status myself to make sure no loose ends anywhere! Ending a heavy day when I reached home this particular evening, I was simply ready to crash! After relaxing and spending time with family, I decided to go for a short walk which always helped to unwind. The cool breeze helped revive my sagging spirits and I tried to recall my day to make sure I had left office with all key jobs done. We had received a huge order of a ladies drawstring pant which was a very important order with my team. The style had a huge amount of trim detailing and all the trims had to be ordered through the buyer nominated trim sources in the Far East. In order to make sure that there were no delays or lapses our team had been given the responsibility to place all the trim orders on behalf of the vendor. My assistant had prepared a detailed trim ID sheet and before she could order these trims, she fell ill! And in the middle of a hectic week I had to take care of this additional work as well and make sure all the trim orders got placed. But by the end of the day it felt good that the day had been productive though long and tiring. I returned from the walk feeling pretty pleased with myself for having managed my time well and feeling fresh after a shower decided to settle down for dinner and also switch on the TV for some entertainment. Like any other family, ours too had its fights over who should keep the remote for surfing the channels! Each family member had his or her favourite channels and programmes to watch. For someone like me, the idea was to simply catch the news headlines and then switch over to some light relaxing thing to watch. So, dear readers, you are well prepared now with the scenario of what was happening in my life this particular evening as I finally managed to get hold of the TV remote and stopped surfing as I saw some Hindi film songs programme on the air like Chitrahaar a garland of Hindi songs! Our Bollywood movies are truly the best with all the emotions packed into not just the storyline of a movie, but even within a 3-minute Hindi song, the lyrics of the song along with the acting histrionics of the actors on whom the song was picturized, are able to transport us into a world of emotions from romance to joy to sadness to longing and what not! The first song that came on was on the lead pair of some Hindi movie, dancing and frolicking in the snows of what looked like the Alps and then during the same song, suddenly the scene shifted to the beautiful tulip gardens of Amsterdam and the leading lady had already changed into a seductive colourful saree matching with the myriad colours of the tulips all around! Illustration...Anni Jha I smiled as I watched song after song in this programme of Hindi movie songs which seemed to be a filler programme before the next serial or movie started. Suddenly a song caught my attention, the lyrics went something like this: Ki hum tum chori se, bandhe ik dori se Arre yeh bandhan hai pyar ka Bandhe ik dori se ki hum tum chori se So went the song and suddenly something in the song seemed to 12 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

13 L I G H T E R MOMENTS jerk my memory!! Why was my mind suddenly reacting so fast to this particular song as I kept repeating the words of the song in my mind? And suddenly it struck the word jerking my memory was none other than DORI My huge order of the pants had a fancy dori drawstring with jacquard branding, which was approved through a nominated supplier in Hong Kong. At the time of costing the garment, we had tried developing this drawstring from our Indian sources, but none could match the original one hence the customer had decided to pay the up charge and get it from the nominated source only. I jumped out of my comfortable position as I realized why this word was jerking my memory! While ordering the trims, did I or did I not place the order for the dori? The style had so many trims and all came from one source EXCEPT the dori which was to be ordered through a different supplier. Anyone working in this industry knows how suddenly stress peeps into our life in a situation like this when we feel all is well and suddenly something seems not well and we start thinking of our production sliding and delays moving up and customers on the phone all the time demanding explanations! In a jiffy I shut the TV, grabbed my laptop and quickly looked through the trim order list of this style. Sure enough, the order for the drawstring had not been placed! My next hour was spent going over the spec sheet to see the different lengths of the drawstring required for different sizes and filling the order form accordingly, writing to the vendor to have his office do all the follow-ups specially on this trim since it was being COLUMN EDITOR Hello Dear Readers, It s been a really hectic fortnight and I m sure all of you have had an equally exhausting time In this madness, we all try to take out some private time to enjoy and relax the rag trade can be very demanding. Of course one of the easiest ways to unwind is to watch TV and get lost in the world of beautiful music and drama. But, even that can remind you of work For all of us who enjoy Bollywood movies the songs and melodrama of our Hindi films is all too familiar for us. Taruna s story is an amusing anecdote captured by Annie in a colourful cartoon I do hope you will enjoy going through this in the middle of a crazed day of meeting production deadlines and answering all those s which keep popping up in our Inbox daily! LEELA KANUGA leelak@apparelresources.com ordered later than the rest of the trims and as the clock struck 12 midnight, I was done with this last trim order and heaved a sigh of relief. As I ended my day and crashed for the night, I found myself humming the song Ki hum tum chori se bandhe ik dori se The dori did not give me any jerks any more, rather I smiled as I slipped into sweet slumber, dreaming of the Alps and the tulips and me in the middle of all that happy and content in the knowledge that all my trims had duly been ordered Thanks to Bollywood s Chitrahaar... and its immortal Hindi songs!!! JUNE 16-30, 2010 ApparelOnline 13

14 WORLDWRAP US RETAILERS SHOW CONFIDENCE IN ASIA AS A SOURCING BASE Buying experts the world over may debate the advantages of sourcing closer to the point of sales and some even argue that from an environment perspective sourcing needs to move back to the West, but the ground reality remains that Asia is still the preferred sourcing destination for most retailers in the US. At a recent industry meet organized by the American Apparel & Footwear Association, buyers conceded in the East versus West debate for apparel sourcing, the pendulum swings firmly on the side of Asia, while the West has settled into its role as the go-to-source for close-to-home replenishment. Representatives from leading buyers like Li & Fung, Perry Ellis, Oxford Industries and VF Asia said the recession of the last two years entrenched many sourcing decisions and while many of their sourcing strategies will remain the same in seasons ahead, there are some tweaks being driven by a host of global factors, including rising costs, transportation challenges and increased competition from consumer markets outside the US. Apparel industry costs are increasing, said Rick Darling, President of Li & Fung USA, who sees an end to the deflation of apparel prices that resulted from the rise of China as a sourcing powerhouse. We re paying almost the same amount for T-shirts today as we did in 1980, he said. Li & Fung is a low-cost company. We move from country to country to create deflation [of apparel prices]. We believe that is over. There was unanimous agreement on the fact that increased costs and prices are inescapable in today s scenario and Asia was the only destination which could meet the requirement. We colonized the world for apparel. It s over, there s nowhere else to go, said George Feldenkreis, Chairman and CEO, Perry Ellis International. You can t outpace costs and that will lead to a tightening of the supply chain, he added. Darling predicted apparel costs are likely to increase 3 to 5 per cent annually over the next 10 years. Rising labour and raw material costs are unavoidable, he said, and the low freight rates seen in the last year-and-a-half are unsustainable. Buyers acknowledged that a bulk of their production is happening in China and its neighbours, and that is unlikely to change drastically though rising costs can provide a big advantage for the Western Hemisphere to leverage some of its trade benefits and other advantages to shore up apparel production. Ralph Iannazzone, Senior Vice-President of Supply Chain Management for Oxford Industries, said his company has moved its sourcing around the world gradually, driven largely by price considerations. The company has tried to look for balance, he said. It was emphasized that most buyers are increasing buying from the US too. The advantage of manufacturing closer to the US is the speed with which a company can meet its replenishment needs, said Tom Nelson, MD, VF Asia. The advantage to sourcing in Asia is the region s capability to produce a wide range of apparel, he added. You can t outpace costs and that will lead to a tightening of the supply chain. Rick Darling, President of Li & Fung USA Speaking of the countries that would dominate sourcing of price sensitive products, most buyers agreed that China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh are the countries likely to remain favourites. Many were of the opinion that over the next five years China is sure to retain its top spot though the pockets of manufacturing would shift. A lot of production in China will continue to shift away from traditional centres in the Pearl River Valley toward the interior of the country, Darling said. In addition, emerging markets could put additional pressure on supply chains as apparel manufacturers in Asia develop their own consumers and move away from purely export-driven manufacturing. Factories in China are becoming more vertical, selling their own brands to Chinese retailers, Darling said. That means US apparel brands looking to move into that George Feldenkreis, Chairman & CEO, Perry Ellis International We re paying almost the same amount for T-shirts today as we did in market aren t just fighting for market share with their traditional competition, but with Chinese brands sold by Chinese retailers. The sleeping dragon awakens, Darling said. China isn t yet in a position to surpass the US as the world s leading consumer market, he said, but the size of its consumer market will have an inevitable impact on trends. With the emergence of one billion new consumers in the world outside the US, Europe and other Western countries, the competition for raw materials, shipping, factories and other resources will only get tighter. If you believe that factories are not going to be built at the same rate that they have been for the last 20 years and there s another billion people in the world, it s a very simple supply and demand thing prices are going to go up, Darling concluded. 14 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

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16 WORLDWRAP B R U C E S I N S I G H T S Messe Frankfurt Wins Award for Best Promotional Campaign Messe Frankfurt repeated history by winning double award from The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) consecutively in the year The campaign Glove represented by the company, led to winning the award for its excellent design and peculiar core message that exhibitions are powerful marketing instruments. The French subsidiary of the company Messe Frankfurt France SAS impressed the international UFI judges with its event-specific campaign for Texworld. The event, 14 th international trade fair poster competition, had received 130 submissions from trade fair organizers across 17 countries. The jury members insisted that the competition was getting more intense year by year as the quality of campaigns both in terms of design and strategy was improving considerably. The UFI signalled at the event that customer care and service quality would be the key determinants in the coming years. Glove received tremendous appreciation on the occasion. CEO of SNK Oscar Todeschini said that the exemplary communication strategy of the Gloves campaign in terms of both the timing and incorporation are indications of a truly sustainable brand. Last year Messe Frankfurt s Faces campaign won the award. On winning the award for Texworld, Associate Director of Belleville mentioned that it was a conscious effort to change its image and recognize it as a brand utilizing fashion and modern art. Wolfgang Marzin Chairman of board of director s at Messe Frankfurt said that it was a great honor for the company for having received it twice and was extremely proud of it. He was also pleased with the work of Texworld team for having won the award for the company. OPPORTUNITY IS KNOCKING AT YOUR DOOR! You are sitting on what could be the perfect storm! India is not exporting cotton yarn; Pakistan has put a 15% export tax on cotton yarn, China imports most of its yarn from India, and their labour cost are rising rapidly. Rains have not come yet, or too much already for 2010 cotton crop. Though there might be a slight increase of cotton production in 2010, but the demand is much greater. If it has not already started to take place, I predict that you will see a large movement of sourcing to India The question will become Are you going for the short profiteering, and see how much (profit) you can make as long as the conditions I have described remain? OR Are you going to try and be competitive, and try to build a longterm relationship, to maintain a consistent customer relationship for the long run? Loyalty, respect, service, quality of production, and on-time delivery, will always be part of the buyers calculations, and of course the price. This Perfect Storm will eventually fade away, and then it will be only what you have built with your buyer. I can guarantee that if you take advantage of these conditions by taking the quick profits, which can be made, you will lose in the long run. I have just come from a very exclusive meeting with the major lending banks in the USA marketplace, and it seems those USA banks that have paid back the TARP monies to our treasury are now opening their credit lending requirements, to those of us that need operating, and purchasing power for growth, in the apparel needs of the USA marketplace. Bruce S.Berton Executive Vice President & COO, Roochi Traders Inc., USA Direct your queries to: bberton@roochi.com We still must run Lean and Mean, to run our businesses profitably, but there is money for accountable growth. Our stock market is going like a roller coaster, mainly because of the uncertainty in the EU and the total monetary system I am cautioning that the EU marketplace may be more unstable currently than is really being stated. Orders for fall, are now being manufactured, and will be in shipping now through September, and I only hope that our consumer demand will stay steady, and not become a discount market for our retailers. India now has the chance to win buyers from China, Bangladesh, Pakistan; this can be a great boost to the apparel industry. As far as the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) of 37 Sub- Saharan countries that have a Free Trade Agreement with the USA is concerned, it is almost considered a failure. The levels of export have fallen back to pre 2000 volumes, because of so many reasons that I could write another article on it. From long lead times, to political disruptions, to wars, border issues, and just complete disregard to ethical business principles, has taken AGOA backwards. This will be a shorter than normal article, as we have specific holidays, that will not allow me to make deadlines, but I thought these insights of what has taken place in the global market was needed to bring you into the immediate issues that will affect you. 16 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

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18 WHITEPAPERBANGALORE Bangalore Unplugged Professional......Progressive......Proactive... Over the time Bangalore has earned the reputation of being one of the most strategic destinations for professionally run apparel companies in India with proficiency in manufacturing tailored products and large capacities. The city is the home of big names like Gokaldas Exports, Gokaldas Images, LT Karle, FFI, Integra besides being the chosen manufacturing destination for exporters of other regions like Shahi Exports, Texport Group, Bombay Rayon, K. Mohan, Go Go International, Mandhana Industries, Raymonds, Madura, SKNL and a host of Mumbaibased exporters. Though there are hundreds of units in and around Bangalore, there are but 12 major players controlling the industry, all others are small and medium players with niche product strengths or working as contract factories for bigger players both in the international and domestic retail. In fact, Bangalore was the choice of many exporters moving out of Mumbai/Delhi, as it had the right climate, manpower, support structure in terms of technology and accessories, and attitude to foster bigger runs. With a down to earth approach to business, the work culture in the city is more committed than the north. Shahi s voyage to Karnataka started in 1988 with 200 machines and 400 associates and today the company has over 23,000 machines. Today we have 30 state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Karnataka with 200 thousand garments per day production capacity and 46,000 associates partnering the business. We produce woven, knits and home furnishing products, informs Subash Tewari, Director, Shahi. Further, the operators are predominantly women, calling for a more dedicated and disciplined work force. Also the workers are mostly regular employees unlike in the north where contract labour of migrant workers from Bihar, UP and Orissa is the norm. We don t have labour disputes and the maximum that happens is a worker changes factory if he/she has an issue with the management, says Sarbajit Ghose, Executive Director, Laguna Clothing, which chose to work in Bangalore 5 years ago after much evaluation of best options to setup a formal shirts factory. After four years of commercial production, the company has already achieved a turnover of Rs. 120 crore working with the best European shirt brands in Europe. Product Strengths and New Directions The traditional manufacturing stronghold of the region is in Shirts both casual and formal Bottoms denims and non denims Outerwear like jackets Suits formals and blazers Sportswear The new product direction for the industry is in knits and ladies wear Jole Clothing Gokaldas Exports Integra Apparels 18 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

19 WHITEPAPERBANGALORE Bangalore was the choice of many exporters moving out of Mumbai/Delhi, as it had the right climate, manpower,, support structure in terms of technology and accessories, and attitude to foster bigger runs GOKALDAS EXPORTS RESTRUCTURING MANAGEMENT Indeed some of the best international and national brands in the above categories are sourcing from Bangalore. Factories like Silver Spark, Gokaldas Images, Silver Crest, RVV and Arvind have excelled in fully constructed garments, while LT Karle, Gokaldas Exports have expertise in outer wear and sportswear. Casual bottoms is the forte of companies like Texport Overseas, Golden Seam, Texport Industries, K Mohan and Denim is being manufactured by companies like FFI, Ever Blue, Gokaldas Images, Shahi. Shirts are coming from factories like Laguna, Integra, Bombay Rayon, Go Go International to name a few leading ones. Laguna claims to have the only dedicated setup in India for very high-end formal shirts at par with Italian standards and in the four years of operation the company has already crossed Rs. 120 crore turnover. While the list of exporters is not exhaustive, it suggests that there is specialization in product range and even companies like Gokaldas Exports, Gokaldas Images and Shahi Exports which are doing multi-products have dedicated factories for different product range, unlike in the north, where most factories are flexible units that can manufacture many products as per buyer demand. This need for specialized factories is of course fed by the nature of the product which is more technology-dependent. A casual bottom for A&F could require as many as 65 different machines for its unique operations. Having attained recognition for providing good quality tailored goods, the industry is not resting on its achievements and the new direction for the industry is in knits and ladies wear. A good number of factories for Shahi Exports are doing knitted garments and Gokaldas Exports is also looking in that direction. The only really competitive integrated knit units are in Tirupur, but there again the focus is more on mass products and not fashion knits, so there is a gap which can be fed, says Dinesh Hinduja, Executive Director, Gokaldas Exports. BOMBAY RAYON END-TO-END SOLUTION Even as factories in the north rule, the ladies wear market with interesting techniques, handwork and product development strengths, Bangalore is slowly but surely moving in that direction. Hindustan Clothing and Marketing (HCM), started just a year ago is already offering fashion ladies wear. Small but niche player Jole, which specializes in high-end fashion wear and bridal wear is now looking for a major growth projectile. We have been doing a lot of handwork items like those done in Delhi and have created a positioning in the market with our professional approach and commitments on deadlines, says Gautam Jain, CEO & MD, Jole Clothing. In fact, most players felt that the North has taken fashion as an excuse to be disorganized and habitual of working with systems they believe they can give a new direction to the category from India. Watch out, says Dinesh Hinduja, in a few years time Bangalore will be giving very serious competition to Delhi-NCR. We want to be an end-to-end solution under one roof for quicker response time, says Aman Agrawal, Vice-Chairman, Bombay Rayon Fashions. As an integrated player in the textile segment, BRF with a turnover of about Rs. 900 crore in garmenting has been one of the fastest growing companies in Bangalore with 22 factories in the vicinity. The strategy for achieving competitiveness for BRF is to manufacture all accessories needed in garmenting under its own roof. The company already has a button unit of 30 machines, which it is increasing to 120 machines. Other products that are being added are laces, elastics, cartons, tags, polybags, threads, in fact except for hangers and metal buttons, all other requirements will be in place by December The next phase will see the addition of hangers and metal buttons also. While there is no plan to expand operations in Karnataka, the company is adding an additional 12,000 sewing machines in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. In the fashion industry everything is yesterday, how can we talk of the future, says Dinesh Hinduja, Executive Director, Gokaldas Exports. Considered the biggest player in Bangalore, Gokaldas Exports with a turnover of Rs crore in FY , operates 46 fully equipped manufacturing factories in and around Bangalore with a workforce of around 50,000 people. They are also now moving into Andhra Pradesh with a factory in Hyderabad. GE is following the modular process of manufacturing, producing outerwear, blazers and pants (formal and casuals), shorts, shirts, blouses, denim wear, swim wear, active and sports wear. The focus of the company today is not in expanding capacities, but in consolidating its operations by turning all its units into lean factories. The company, which is partly-owned by Blackstone, a private equity firm, is also restructuring its management setup and is looking to add on 8 COOs who will report to the CEO Gautam Chakravarti, a former Hindustan Unilever India honcho brought in by Blackstone and Dinesh Hinduja. The strategy is to develop specialist verticals within the company for more effective management. JUNE 16-30, 2010 ApparelOnline 19

20 WHITEPAPERBANGALORE There are around players who have 1000 machines or more under one roof. The IE department is an integral part of most units where production processes and schedules are based on using various management tools Working with Systems Because of the nature of product manufactured in the region, most of the garments are made in modular setups though batch system and assembly line are also popular formats. The average size of factories are also much bigger than what is found in Delhi and there are around players who have 1000 machines or more under one roof. Some of the best technologies for manufacturing of structured products are available in the city and management concepts like six sigma, 5 S, lean management are found extensively at the production units. Shirts and trousers are bulk products and they require scales to be productive. Issues like productivity are very important and factories have to implement Golden Seam. Even a company like HCM which is into fashion relies on the IE department. We don t start any style till the IE department breaks down the operations and we know exactly how the process has to flow. 99% of the times the calculation by the IE department is right, says Mukesh Agarwal, MD, HCM. ERP and other IT-enabled software are used to create TNAs and online monitoring systems. For on-time LAGUNA CLOTHING NICHE IN FORMAL SHIRTS performance (OTP) we have implemented FastReact, which helps us to monitor critical events that are integral to the smooth operations of the style, informs Ashish. Adds Sarbajit, In formal shirts the product is standard but the stitching and finish is critical for quality, so precision is what we need and systems brought by IT-enabled technology is the only way to get desired results. INTEGRA APPARELS ENGAGING WORKERS Hindustan Clothing & Marketing Bangalore is a city on the move and a change which most companies are moving towards is management delegation to employed persons as CEOs, COO,, etc. systems to achieve targets, says Ashish Kumar, CEO, Integra. Adds Aman Agrawal, Vice-Chairman, Bombay Rayon. The only way to strengthen the bottom line is to keep tight control on production processes right from the moment an order is placed. No wonder, the IE department is an integral part of most units and production schedules are laid out based on SAM calculations. Our IE department is involved in the production stage also. Just giving some mathematical calculation is not enough, they are also responsible for practical implementation, says Sanjeev Mukhija, Director, We are directly building our customer base, which gives us an edge in servicing the needs of the brands more sharply, says Sarbajit Ghose, ED, Laguna Clothing. A 50:50 joint venture between Gruppo Tessile Monti of Italy and Aquarelle of Mauritius, Laguna Clothing was set up 5 years ago at Bangalore to manufacture formal shirts for the international market. Growing in leaps and bounds, the company has already recorded a turnover of Rs. 120 crore in four years of commercial operations working with high-end European brands. With current production capacity of 2,500 shirts per day the company is expanding with a new plant in Kanakpura about 60 km from Bangalore. The expansion will take the production capacity to 8,000 shirts per day. The plant is a completely modular setup with all specialized automated machines to produce formal shirts. Only a scientific approach to manufacturing can keep a company competitive, says Ashish Kumar, CEO, Integra. Integra is a part of the Ashok Piramal Group manufacturing tops for both men and women from 3 units in Bangalore with a turnover of Rs. 100 crore. While the unit which manufactures formal high-end structured shirts is running on modular system, the other two manufacturing ladies casual tops and men s casual shirts respectively are working on part and assembly system. Equipped with FastReact the company has a very systemdriven approach to manufacturing where on-time performance (OTP) is around 90-95%. A company driven by design, Integra has a PD team which brings out seasonal trend forecast and catalogues. A lot of effort is also being made to engage employees through HR initiatives. The company is consolidating to improve bottom lines while adding another 20% YOY growth to its top line. 20 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

21 WHITEPAPERBANGALORE Companies moving towards CEO Culture Bangalore is a city on the move and a change which most companies are moving towards is management delegation to employed persons as CEOs, COO, etc. Even today, many companies are run by professionals though the designation may not exactly be that of a CEO. We have to delegate responsibility if we want to grow, says Dinesh Hinduja which is inducting one CEO and 8 COOs into its operations. Even a small company like Jole is looking to handover operations to a CEO. Only when day-to-day operations are handled by a professional, can the owners/ promoters work on strategy to take the company forward, reasons Gautam. It all sounds very nice but is the industry ready to hand over the authority with the responsibility? At Integra, I have the authority to take all critical decisions including whether to accept or reject an order, says Ashish. However, he is quick to add, We have a strong check and balance system to monitor performance and if things are not going right over a period of time, the CEO is answerable. Most feel that the industry is ready for delegation but there is a dearth of mature industry professionals who can take up the challenge. Bringing a CEO from outside the industry is good for the image of the company, but if he is not acquainted with the way the industry moves and the dynamics of the clothing business it will not add value to the company, says Hinduja. Where are the people we can trust, says Aman Agrawal. He feels that the industry is so hands on that the involvement of the owner is must Even the smallest of error can be very costly, he adds. What is the most important pre-requisite for a CEO is that he must think like an entrepreneur. In fact the new companies are creating stock options for the CEOs so they feel as if it is there own company. When the involvement is more than 100% then the decisions are not guarded but confident and assertive, that is the quality, which a true CEO must have or the designation is just another designation, argues Sarbajit. At Laguna, the core team is a part owner of the company, where the promoters/owners sit in Mauritius and attend two board meetings a year to update on what s happening! Every exporter in the region is spending a good amount of time and money to work out strategies on how to retain labour and also seek out new pool of workers JOLE CLOTHING EXPORTS AND DOMESTIC MARKET We have created systems to service both the international and domestic market, says Gautam Jain, CEO & MD, Jole Clothing. Running seven units in Bangalore and manufacturing high-end ladies wear, Jole Clothing is a small player with big dreams. Even when the majority of players were specializing in tailored products, Jain had the conviction to do women s wear from Bangalore 15 years ago. All handwork is done in-house and the major fabrics that he works on are cotton, linen and silk. The FOBs range from $ 8-$ 40. The factory also sells its women s wear brand Jole at retail stores in the country. The company is now looking for expansion in capacities to handle bigger runs and in another 5 years time, expects to grow 100% from his current turnover of Rs. 40 crore. GOLDEN SEAM AUTOMATED LINES FOR CASUAL BOTTOMS When we set up the factory three years ago, we wanted all systems in place from day one, says Sanjeev Mukhija, Director, Golden Seam. A lot of planning has gone into setting up the Golden Seam factory, which is an offshoot of Mandhana Industries. Currently running 500 machines with a capacity of 80,000 units per month, Golden Seam supplies a wide range of casual bottoms to some of the leading brands of the world such as Tommy Hilfiger, Pepe Jeans London, Benetton, Rip Curl, New Yorker, Charles Vogele, JC Rags, French Connection, to name a few. The company is now looking at two levels of expansion one, adding another machines to take the production capacity to around 1,50,000 pieces per month and secondly, adding a new factory for a new fashion-oriented product for which R&D is in progress. Equipped with all specialized machines for bottoms, Golden Seam is providing design options to buyers based on the in-depth understanding of buyer s signature styles and needs. Shortage of Labour the biggest Challenge Even as the city expands into the outskirts to unfold the growing industry, shortage of labour is crippling operations. In fact, beyond the macro issues like escalating prices of cotton, appreciating rupee, shrinking margins and increasing wage rates that are impacting the apparel industry in general, the biggest constraint in Bangalore today is the shortage of labour. Every exporter in the region is spending a good amount of time and money to work out strategies on how to retain labour and also seek out new pool of workers. At any point of time there is a 15-20% shortage of operators on the sewing floor. Talking to exporters in Bangalore, the key reasons for the acute shortage are many, only adding to the woes. Increasing opportunities in alternate industries like retail, automobile, electronics and IT-related assembly units, NREG Scheme, which is a respite for less efficient workers, Back to back festivals in the region over the past few months, Piece rate system during peak season. Some of the initiatives to tackle the problem of labour problems include: Taking factories into the interiors, Aligning with skill development initiatives like IL&FS for regular supply of trained manpower from BPL section of society, Running buses into the nearby villages to pick up workforce from outside the city, Tapping migrant labour from other states by providing hostel facilities, Tapping NGOs for workers also a part of CSR effort, Conducting intensive training programmes to skill fresh hands, Relying more on automated solutions to cut down manpower requirement. JUNE 16-30, 2010 ApparelOnline 21

22 WHITEPAPERBANGALORE ADVANTAGE KARNATAKA INCENTIVES TO TEXTILE & GARMENT INDUSTRY To reduce regional imbalances the State of Karnataka has been divided into three zones for incentive purposes namely, ZONE-1, ZONE-2 & ZONE-3. ZONE-1 consists of most, more & backward taluks like Belur, Savanur, Malur, Koppal etc. as stated by the High Power Committee for Redressal of imbalances receives the maximum incentives. ZONE-2 on the other hand receives normal incentives and comprises of most backward and backward Taluks of Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural and Ramangra districts. Also the identified potential taluks like Udupi, Karwar, Tiptur, Kolar, Mysore, etc. fall under ZONE-2. The developed taluks like Ramanagara, Nelamangala, Devanahalli, etc. come under the category of ZONE-3 and receive minimum incentives. With 30 manufacturing units in Karnataka, mostly in Bangalore, Shahi is expanding its operations to smaller towns of the State namely Shimoga and Mysore. They are investing Rs. 270 crores in Phase I in Shimoga district to set up a spinning unit with 50,000 spindles Proactive is the only word that can describe the response of the industry to the increasing gap between the supply and demand of workers in the city. One of the major thrusts is to take factories into the interiors. In fact most of the new units that are coming up are in rural areas around Bangalore within 100 km of the city. These villages and small townships have a pool of labour that is desperate to have work, says Sarbajit. Adding, If we want to build capacities we have to go to villages, that is where the fit is the best. The new unit of Laguna is coming up at Kannakpura around 60 km from the city. Companies like Gokaldas Exports, Bombay Rayon, Integra, Texport Garments, Scotts Garments, Arvind Mills to name some prominent ones have tied up with IL&FS to absorb workers trained by the IL&FS from remote areas. Already most of the bigger units have busses running for workers living in villages around Bangalore. While this is a major expense, it is a source of steady workers and the employers are assured of committed labour. Further, some companies like Golden Seam feels that while the labour wages are cheaper in the 22 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

23 WHITEPAPERBANGALORE HINDUSTAN CLOTHING & MARKETING FASHION WEAR CREATOR We have a very flexible factory, which can manufacture a wide variety of products based on buyer need. For this we have in stock specialized machines for specific operations so we don t have to say no to a buyer, says Mukesh Agarwal, MD, HCM. Initiated around one-and-a-half years ago HCM has in just one year of operations shown a turnover of Rs. 20 crore driven by the passion to deliver fashion products in mass quantities. Working with buyers like Landmark, Primark, New Look, Zara, C&A and Jones Apparel the company runs 750 machines in two factories with a production capacity of 2 lakh pieces per month, specializing in ladies and kidswear with an average FOB of $ 4-$ 8. Working in both basic and value-added garments, blouses with hand work is one of the core strengths of the company. In a major expansion drive, HCM is planning to add another 2000 machines to its Bangalore operations while initiating a factory in Delhi to serve as a small run unit for buyers looking at smaller quantities. Quality according to Mukesh is the key driver for growth. Apparel production figures of Karnataka are: Exports Domestic Rs. 6,000 crore Rs. 2,000 crore Total Rs. 8,000 crore Employment Approx. 4 lakh workers of which 2.75 are in Bangalore Total No. of garment factories 800 in Karnataka mostly with headquarters in Bangalore. villages by around 15%, the consistency in quality is an issue. So they prefer to induct raw hands and train them internally to suit their product profile and working culture. Meanwhile, the rising number of companies offering subsidized hostel facilities has increased the number of workers from outside the city and even outside the State. We want 50% of workers to be migrant and for that we are leveraging our group strength which has a wide geographical reach to bring in workers from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, where we have a major CSR project, informs Ashish Kumar, CEO, Integra. Integra is part of the Ashok Piramal Group. One of the advantages cited for encouraging migrant labour is that with a mix of workers from different regions and communities the chances of lines closing down because of a festival common to all is less, further workers are less inclined to waste time talking and socializing. However, on the reverse side if one person from a particular region leaves, he takes the whole group with him! As Aman Agrawal says, the labour situation is only going to get worse and we have prepared ourselves by bringing in greater automation on the lines. Indeed, factories are gearing up to deskill operations and substitute manpower with technology wherever possible. Other reasons to move into the interiors As factories in Bangalore move to interiors, it is not only about finding labour in abundance but also unlocking value and taking advantage of cheaper land rates and in case of industrial parks incentives offered by Government. JUNE 16-30, 2010 ApparelOnline 23

24 WHITEPAPERBANGALORE Bangalore Unplugged Bangalore Why Or Why Not! Piyush R Vyas is CAO of Mandhana Industries Ltd. Piyush R Vyas is CAO of Mandhana Industries Ltd. Bangalore did not imitate Mumbai or Delhi style of production using full finish garment system. Instead it worked on assembly line system Golden Seam Making outwear jackets in India Bangalore was the preferred place. The factories here were geared to make the most complicated garments In the 1970s, the garment industry was concentrated around Mumbai, which was typical small scale though there were some large ones like Usha, Excel, Paville, Miltons, Burlingtons, Klassik, Rallis, Leela and Metropolitan. But most of the industry was borne out of small galas or what we call units. One unit would be approx sq. ft. With time, operating in Mumbai became difficult. Customers demanded better infrastructure, better quality systems. But with real estate and rentals getting too high and in certain areas, local gangs (goons) also asking for their pie from factories, it was difficult to expand. Unions added to the woes of the factories This is when the industry in Mumbai started looking south to Bangalore. Bangalore with its serene climate, greenery, less expensive rentals, calm industrial climate was the ideal place to shift their venture. In fact the supervisors and masters in Mumbai factories were mostly from Karnataka (Naiks & Shettys) and Kerala, which also helped the migration. In the meanwhile, the industry in Bangalore was also coming up. It was around end of 1980s that Bangalore got two of the greatest exporters Gokaldas Exports and Gokaldas Images. Sometime in the mid 70s L.T. Karle started their operations. It was around this time that quite a few Mumbai exporters started to settle down in Bangalore, viz. Gemini, Sonal, Texport all group companies, Shirt Co., Zodiac, K. Mohan, Leela, B. Sorabjee, Kalyani, among others. From Delhi, Shahi started their first factory some time in 1988 followed by Richa Global, Fabrictex, J. B. Advani, etc. Not to ignore another group Prateek Apparel (Dalmia group) making its presence felt both in exports and domestic market. What made Bangalore Click? Mumbai and Delhi always had gone for system of full finish garment. Whereas Bangalore changed the system. It worked on assembly line system. The consistency in quality of product was evident. Bangalore could make a good stand pack shirts. The biggest advantage Bangalore got was manpower be it supervisors or managers. Of course the workers were willing to be trained. There was no term like tailors. It was operators who did the job. The process of training the operators was so smooth that the inflow of workers continued, untrained were trained and put on commercial production. Low rentals prompted the owners to set up larger (then it would mean machines) factories. The housekeeping was quite good (again compared to Mumbai and Delhi factories). The product quality difference was obvious. In fact this was the time that customers started insisting that their production be done in Bangalore factories. You talk about Bangalore garment industry and one cannot ignore the supporting industry machinery suppliers, laundries and embroideries based out of Bangalore who supported the growth of the industry. What went wrong then? Companies that could not survive the change Around year 2000 quite a few factories were turning sick and slowing down, quite a few names closed down. Smaller job workers got hit and turned sick. I purposely did not mention one of the great factories then Ashoka Exports. It was truly ASHOKA. EK (Edith Kumar) and his company had their own brand in Germany. Ashoka was one of the largest factories then. Binny, one of the big names in textiles had a well equipped shirt factory in Bangalore with machineries from UK. This factory was taken over by Anjali Apparels. Anjali was a well known exporter of silks, cotton garments and also outerwear. The decline of Anjali started some time end of Bangalore Clothing Co. (BCC as it was called) had one of the best customers on their list. Pradeep Hingorani comes from a family who has contributed a lot to the Indian garment industry, the Liberty brand. Finally curtains were drawn. Reflex Overseas Lalit Jain originally from Delhi started off well in Bangalore with diverse product range catering to major customers in USA and Europe. They also did outwear jackets 24 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

25 WHITEPAPERBANGALORE The Karnataka Government is coming forward to help industry expand in rural areas with many incentives. With good connectivity to port and of course Bangalore, no place in Karnataka is far off from imported raw materials. Finally the venture turned sick and had to close down. Not going into details, but quite a few of the well known factories finally had to close down or have slowed down like Krishna Krishna, A.G. Exports, Continental Exports, Cuthberts (a relatively new entrant with most modern factory), Fabritex Exports (now taken over by Integra), Ganeriwal, Garments International (Satish Mahajan one of the well known person in apparel industry), Gemini Fashions, Sunsu Garments, Khemka Textiles, Manipal Apparels, Sun & Ski, Theme Apparels not to mention many a small players. Not one but many reasons contributed to the slow down or closures. All Bangalore factories were and in many cases still are ruled by so called PM Production Manager. His authority was unquestionable. Gone are the days when the output was not monitored nor questioned. Today the basic qualification of same PM is being relooked at. There might be exceptions, but even in today s competitive scenario, the PM lacks technical and scientific skills. This does not (and did not) allow the I.E. Department (Industrial Engineering) to groom and take charge. In fact the production team has to learn a lot on basic maths/science while the I.E. department has to learn a lot on construction of garments and psychology of handling people. The growth of other industry in Bangalore (especially IT) has made the real estate prices soaring. Thus the high rentals have added to the cost of manufacturing. Most of the factories face labour shortage today s norm is around 20% going up to even 30% in certain areas. Who is at fault? Minimum wage notified by Government of Karnataka is not market-driven probably is a need-based wage. The Government of Karnataka had revised the minimum wages twice in and with the new revision w.e.f , has made the minimum wages for an unskilled to Rs. 3,600/- per month. Most of the workers in Bangalore are also not native of Bangalore. They come from far off places in Karnataka. Bangalore is paying the price for being a Metro with cost escalating in operations. The power scenario is not satisfactory. With unruly power cuts, the industry depends on Integra Apparels captive power generation (DG) cost of DG power works out to approx. Rs. 12 per unit while cost of power per garment works out to approx. Rs per garment. Infrastructure one example is of Peenya Industrial Area considered one of the largest in Karnataka till recently lacked even good roads. Even today it does not have UDG (underground sewage line). Garment industry is considered polluting, but with no sewage line, the industry has to depend on disposal of sewage at a cost and also grease the palm of the PCB. Another example is of Doddabalapur Apparel Park with promise of ETP/STP plant as a part of infrastructure, but the Government agency could not give the infrastructure to the occupants in time, thereby delaying a lot of projects. But there are Visionaries Too There are visionaries in this critical time who have thought otherwise. One of the names that crops up is Bombay Rayon Fashions Ltd. (BRFL), a relatively new entrant in apparel industry. They were a textile company from Mumbai. Keeping aside all the above negative aspects of the trade, BRFL jumped into garment manufacturing and today is one of the largest exporters in Bangalore. They took over quite a few existing exporters, viz. Leela, LNJ, Maryan Apparels, etc. JUNE 16-30, 2010 ApparelOnline 25

26 WHITEPAPERBANGALORE Gokaldas Exports have started to consolidate their operations, introduced new systems to make it cost competitive and market competitive. They are now into lean implementation and also working to achieve manmachine ratio of 1:1.2. Shahi with over 3 million pieces output per month, 30 factories and 40,000 workers in and around Bangalore is on an expansion spree. In fact they are going out of Bangalore to set up factories and even process houses. The company is investing in induction and training programmes for their greatest asset (human). Further, the company is systems-driven and allows work to continue even if key personnel move on. Fibre and Fabrics International (FFI) is an exception to the trade. Kothari always had a different approach to modernization and incorporating one of the best processes. They were the first ones to invest heavily in modern machines. The dividends are obvious. In fact they are probably the only one in Bangalore to run three shifts and in real sense sweat the machineries to squeeze out the maximum. Bangalore is dying!...no, I would say. Bangalore is evolving into a new place. The companies are now more method driven, productivity and quality are benchmarked against the best and training and retraining the worker is a continuous process. Let the industry reconsider their decision to move out to other districts of Karnataka for the obvious advantage AVAILABILITY OF MANPOWER. The Karnataka Government is coming forward to help industry expand in rural areas with quite a good incentive. With good connectivity to port and of course Bangalore, no place in Karnataka is far off. Bangalore Unplugged Be it Exports or Domestic Today, we cannot ignore the large domestic Ready-to- Wear (RTW) market. Sometime from year 2000, the retail industry started getting organized (more corporatized). So where does Bangalore fit into domestic market? Looking back Mumbai always dominated the domestic brand market. In days of made-tomeasure, RTW market was limited. Consumers had apprehension of wearing readymades. They could not comprehend that readymade garments could fit all. Hence in RTW segment we had mainly men s formal shirts and kidswear. There was no mention of so-called casual wear. From the years 60s-70s some of the famous men s wear branded shirts were: Tata Cordell, Liberty, Zodiac and then came: Climax, Wembley, Nine AM, Cityman, Sero. One of the most fancy shirt brands was Double Bull being fancied across India. Not to forget the famous one-shop-one-brand CD Chiragdin both in basics and hi-fashion shirts and trousers. To add to the above mid price and high price range came Cambridge Shirts that created a niche market for them. All the above brands were Mumbai-based. How can we forget the ace stroke of Apeego Corpn (Anil Goyal) a Mumbai-based knitwear (and woven) exporter. Some time in early 80s, Apeego launched smash hit brand Smash line of knitwear T-shirts with heavy TV advertisements, a success story not repeated thereafter. We still did not have casual wear fashion apparels. While the export sector continued to supply to Europe and USA fashion garments, the domestic The change in domestic retail scenario came in from Bangalore in the early 90s when two of the biggest exporters from Bangalore Gokaldas Exports and Gokaldas Images set up retail ventures for men s and ladies casual wear. Major players in domestic market like Arvind, Madura, Crocodile, Raymonds, S. Kumars, Pantaloons and future brands, Levis, Lee, Wrangler,, Indian Designs, Prakeek Apparels source most of their requirements from Bangalore. market was starved off these lines of garments. The Indian customers had only export surplus to fall back on rather compromise on size and fit. Mumbai s Fountain area and Delhi s Palika Bazar were the place to shop for casual fashion wear garments (ill fitted of course as not made to Indian sizes). Both men s and ladies could find their taste satiated from foot path at a very economical price. The change came in from Bangalore. It would be early 90s. Two of the biggest exporters were from Bangalore Gokaldas Exports and Gokaldas Images. They sensed the vacuum in the Indian market for men s and ladies in casual wear market. Gokaldas Images came up with their brand (and store) weekender, a range for kids/ children/ladies and men s wear in casual line. They held on to the brand until couple of years back when they sold off the brand to Primus. While Gokaldas Exports started with wearhouse, a name synonymous literally with warehouse. They used their export surplus fabric and converted their styles to fit the Indian consumers. Today, they have curtailed their retail exposure reasons, obviously, best known to the Hindujas. Both Gokaldas were a hit with Indian consumers and at the same time took care of their export surplus garments and export surplus fabric. Around the same time, Arvind (mills) made a base in Bangalore and set up their modern factory to manufacture jeans and their formal men s shirts range. And of course Madura Garments/ Apparels also had their domestic and exports division operating out of Bangalore with three dedicated factories. How can Raymonds be far behind they have one of their group company Silver Spark manufacturing jackets and trousers in Apparel Park in Doddabalapur (Bangalore) and Everblue Apparels catering to denimwear. Only recently they have added another factory Celebration for shirts. As exports grew from Bangalore, smaller job workers grew in Bangalore. And these 26 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

27 WHITEPAPERBANGALORE Advantage Karnataka Global Investor Meet in Bangalore smaller factories now started doing contract manufacturing for domestic brands. To cater to export market and also support the domestic brands Prateek apparels set up their factories in Bangalore. Today they have a large manufacturing capacity to cater to domestic market with their brand and also have a design cell specific for the market. In fact they have set up a separate company Munch Design. Munch has developed into a design solutions and strategy provider in the apparel, accessory and textile design space. Among the major players in domestic market Arvind, Madura, Crocodile, Raymonds, S. Kumars, Pantaloons of Future Group, Levis, Lee, Wrangler they source their most of the requirements from Bangalore. One cannot ignore a name in exports and now in domestic market Indian Designs both brothers Humayun and Javed. They supply to some of the best labels in the world. It was their vision that they started their domestic retail chain Idenditi in late 90s. They cater to high-fashion in mid price segment. Bangalore has an edge over other manufacturing centres Bangalore has evolved over the years learning from exports has helped them to cater to the quality demands of domestic market. In fact the people in domestic market do have their background in exports. The systems, procedures, quality systems, factory compliance of exports have been well incorporated in policies of big retailers and brands of India. All industry leaders should come forward and invest in Karnataka. We will facilitate new investments and also set up a single window to speed up the process, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa. B.S. Yeddyurappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka inaugurating the Global Investors Meet in Bangalore by lighting the lamp. Also seen in the picture are other ministers and industry stalwarts Karnataka-based companies and companies which have made substantial investments in the State participated in the Global Investor Meet which took place in Bangalore in full strength. The meet was inaugurated by Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa and the Textile Industry was represented by Dr. A. K. Krishna, COO, ILFS (Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd.) Rajendra J. Hinduja, Managing Director, Gokaldas Exports, H. S. Bhaskar, Ex. Director & CEO, Gokak Textiles, Subhash Tewari, Director, Shahi Exports, Dr. Darlie O Koshy, D-G & CEO IAM & ATDC to mention a few. 11 Cluster-based development proposals being examined in Karnataka Name of District Activity 1 Bellary* Garmenting (Denim) 2 Belgaum Weaving (Powerloom) 3 Bagalkot Weaving & Garmenting 4 Chikballapur Garmenting & Weaving 5 Chitradurga Integrated Development 6 Gadag Weaving (Handlooms) 7 Gulbarga* Garmenting 8 Hasan Integrated Development 9 Kolar Weaving & Garmenting 10 Mysore Garmenting 11 Tumkur Integrated Development [* Bellary and Gulbarga are already approved and in Mysore the land is being developed for industry.] Development of the apparel business in Bangalore is at higher level when compared to all the other Indian manufacturing centres and I am confident that this Rs. 8,000 crore figure can reach Rs. 16,000 crores by 2015, Rajendra J. Hinduja, MD, Gokaldas Exports. Government is setting up 18 industrial estates and five industrial corridors. Land banks have been created and as part of this 53,000 acres of land have been earmarked for acquisition. The new textile policy of Karnataka - Suvarna Vastra Neethi ( ) expects to attract new investments to the tune of US $ 2.4 billion and create half-a-million jobs over a period of five years. The Karnataka State anticipates an investment of at least Rs. 4,00,000 crore in 12 sectors including textile. The traffic congestion in Bangalore is likely to ease as several projects with the help of private players are soon expected to be implemented like High Speed Rail Link to Bangalore International Airport, the monorail feeder service and the Metro and Peripheral Ring Road. JUNE 16-30, 2010 ApparelOnline 27

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30 INDUSTRYWIRE BSL Putting Up New Vertex Spinning Plant Appoints J.C. Soni as Business Head BSL Ltd., a subsidiary of LNJ Group is putting up a new vertex spinning project in Bhilwara. The unit will produce 100% viscose yarns for the export market. On the occasion of foundation-laying ceremony, R.N Gupta, CEO, shared that this project is one of its kinds in Rajasthan in which 5 Murata Vertex machines imported from Japan would be installed with a capacity to produce 120 tonnes of viscose yarn/month. Besides this, LMW and Rieter machines are being imported from Switzerland. While talking about the properties of viscose yarn which would be produced in this unit, Gupta says, 100% viscose is mainly used to manufacture high-value knitted fabrics and we are going to export it. According to Gupta, the plant would be commissioned by November this year. On demand from Jaipur garment exporters, Apparel Export Promotion Council s (AEPC) regional office in Jaipur has introduced MPDClick software facility. MPDClick is a commercial online fashion trend forecasting service, offering design, fashion and retail creative intelligence. Premal Udani, Chairman, AEPC during his Jaipur visit in March took the plea of exporters seriously and promised them a quick action on the same. Till now this service was only available in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. ATDC Principal and AEPC In-charge, Jaipur Pramod Yadav shares, The response so far is extremely good as this service is free of cost. Welcoming this service, Rajendra Bhatia, Managing Director, India Today Fashions states: Definitely this software is going to be very useful for us. Apart from this, the CAD system of ATDC centre is also available for AEPC members. MPDClick Free Design Forecasting Software for Jaipur Garment Exporters Shahi Exports takes Immediate Action after 42 Employees Fall ill due to Excessive Heat R.N. Gupta digging the land for Bhoomi Poojan along with newly appointed Business Head J.C. Soni In a move to strengthen the management cadre, BSL has inducted J.C Soni as Business Head since May 1. A CA of 1978 batch, Soni has a vast experience in the textile industry being associated with Aditya Birla Group since Prior to joining BSL, he was President and CEO of Jayshree Textile, Kolkata A unit of Aditya Birla Group from 2004 to Widely travelled across, Soni was also Executive President (Operation) Gwalior Bhiwani Textile Limited (Formerly: Grasim Industries) from 2000 to He is Vice- Chairman of ICWMF. Shahi Exports was in the news recently as 42 employees, mostly women of its unit on Mathura Road, Faridabad fell ill as the intense heat wave that has gripped the region took toll. While five of them fainted, 36 including a man complained of giddiness following which they were rushed to the local Sarvodaya Hospital. Shahi has been a very labourfriendly organization and the management was taken by surprise at the incident. Since the situation witnessed was unusual, we immediately closed operations on the second floor, where the incident occurred and the remaining employees present were asked to go back home, said the company in an official press release issued the next day. There were about 400 workers on duty at the time of the incident and although there was enough ventilation on the three floors, there were not enough water coolers and fans according to the investigating authorities. On being contacted by AO, the management has shared that adequate steps have already been taken to ensure that such a situation does not arise again. The numbers of desert coolers and exhaust fans have been increased up to 58 to make sure adequate ventilation and to constantly maintain comfortable level of temperature. More number of windows have been opened for supply of fresh air as per prescribed norms. Further, to warrant optimum working space for each worker, few machines have been removed from the floor. The company has also provided sufficient and wholesome drinking water coolers now totalling 11 placed at convenient and accessible points throughout the factory. Says Harish Ahuja, MD, Health and comfort of our employees is always at the core of our heart and will remain so in future as well. By showing such deep concern for its workers and rectifying to the cause in time, Shahi Exports stands brightly as a pillar of strength in the industry. 30 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

31 INDUSTRYWIRE SWAMI TEXTILE FORAYS INTO DOMESTIC MARKET EXPECTING TO GROW BUSINESS BY 30% Ludhiana-based export house, Swami Textile, manufacturer and exporter of fashion and home furnishing items like scarves, stoles and throws has entered into domestic market with its own brand Hang N Hold. An integrated company with 34 looms for weaving and 40 machines for stitching, Swami Textile is exporting to buyers in Japan, US, Spain and Canada. Ashish Jain, Director, while interacting with Team Apparel Online in Ludhiana shares, We find huge potential for our products in the domestic market. While talking about his strategy to be successful in the domestic market, Ashish adds, I personally feel that catering to the export market gives an edge in the domestic market as we just know manufacturing quality products. The only difference is about the consumer taste which is different in terms of styling and colours. With an annual turnover of Rs. 20 crore per annum in its export business, Swami Textile is looking for growth of 30% in its domestic business. The company is looking at selling its brand through distributor s network in various states. CANTABIL ON EXPANSION PATH New units to come up in Bahadurgarh, Sonepat Cantabil Retail, which has three factories in Delhi to manufacture clothing for men, women and kidswear for the domestic market, is looking for opportunities in the export arena with increased capacities from new factories coming up in Bahadurgarh and Sonepat (Haryana). Currently, the company is producing one lakh pieces per month and outsourcing 3 to 4 lakh pieces, mostly knitwear from Ludhiana. With the new units, the production capacity of the company will increase by another three lakh pieces per month. Talking to Apparel Online, Vijay Bansal, MD said, We are very enthusiastic about future plans, which include an IPO (Initial Public Offer) of Rs. 105 crore. The company has already received a nod of approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for the forthcoming IPO. Bansal is looking for the funding to expand operations both in the retail and international market. We are working to open 145 more stores and also explore opportunities in exports, he said. Adding Our quality is no less than what exporters are Vijay Bansal offering, as from day one we are targeting Italian fashion trends and quality standards. We wanted to first establish our foothold in the domestic market before going all out to offer products to the buyers. JUNE 16-30, 2010 ApparelOnline 31

32 INDUSTRYWIRE Technology Providers Short of Machines as Industry goes on Expansion Spree In an obvious case of miscalculation on the part of sewing machine manufacturers, the year 2010 is progressing very positively for the export industry with exporters looking to expand capacity to meet the projected increase in buying over the next few seasons. In fact, many technology providers share that there is a shortage in stocks of machines as most manufacturing units had cut down the production so as to save on inventory, which has been piling up over the last two years. It is a tough situation as the demand is far outstripping supply, says Prem Singh, Pegasus. The situation was particularly bad till April with technology providers giving lead times of two-six months depending on the machine. We had to airlift some machines to ensure that we do not lose out on business, says Veeru Maknur, Vibemac. However things have improved. We are now better positioned and are able to make commitments for days, which is reasonable time, says Gopal Kukreti, Juki. In the meanwhile, suppliers working with the Chinese industry are still facing shortage and bemoan that they are not in a position to fully exploit the increased demand for sewing machines. With organic category seeing 65% growth in sales in 2009 despite global economic slowdown, the potential for increased business is immense. Realizing this, NCR-based Rainbow Fabart running 1400 machines in 5 factories in Noida and two in Gurgaon with a turnover of over Rs. 100 crore, has converted two of its factories to suit organic production. In another two weeks the formalities for GOTS certification will be completed and commercial production will commence. In the meanwhile sampling is underway and a catalogue is being created to showcase the new 100% organic line. Raman Dutta, General Manager who was earlier associated with Pratibha Syntex has been given the task of developing the new organic line from scratch. I have a challenging assignment to support the company s movement towards organic and sustainable textile, says Raman. Rainbow Fabart is manufacturing high-end fashion for European customers like Zara, Cortefiel, Bershka and New Look to name a few. We will be manufacturing women s wear in organic cotton and already many European and UK buyers have started showing interest, says Raman. The average FOBs for the organic line will be $ 5-$ 7 and the company is looking at 20-30% growth in business with the introduction of the organic line. RAINBOW FABART CONVERTS TWO FACTORIES FOR ORGANIC PRODUCTION EUROPEAN, UK BUYERS SHOW INTEREST HAUS MOD EXPANDING TAKES OVER MANUFACTURING, LAUNCHES LABEL IN DENMARK Haus Mod, a Noida-based buying agency and exporter of readymade garments, has just launched its own label in Copenhagen, Denmark called Happy People by Aroona. The label would be focusing on express fashion apparel for ladies aged between years. Targeted to the value for money segment the label will be sold both through the distribution channels and the net. The company further plans to add another feather in its cap by setting up a manufacturing unit with a production capacity of over 50,000 pieces per month. About 200 machines would be installed at the factory. Currently, the company is in process of gaining compliance certifications for the unit. THE SHOWROOM AT THE NEW MANUFACTURING UNIT OF HAUS MOD Fashion Top from the collection of Rainbow Fabart We want to work in the ethical way and there is no compromise being made on such issues, says Aroona Mann, President Haus Mod. The new manufacturing unit would be headed by Aroona s son Rizvaan Singh Mann, a management graduate who joined the company recently. The company s current turnover is 9.5 million USD and Aroona expects a growth of about 25-30% with addition of the new factory. Presently the buying office is sourcing T-shirts, blazers, denim, ladies wear shirts, trousers and bottom wear for its customers in Europe. 32 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

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34 INDIACANVAS No NREGA for Textile and Apparel Industry Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran claims Successful One Year Union Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran has claimed significant success in first year of his term. However, analyzing the scorecard with what the ministry claimed as achievements on completion of 100 days, there is no real change and the achievements remain more or less the same. Whether it is releasing of Rs. 2,546 crore for 12,514 beneficiaries, one time grant of Rs. 200 crore for common effluent treatment plants in Tirupur or finalizing of national fibre policy which is now on ministry website for public consulting. At the occasion of completing one year, Maran also released the booklet Textiles: Resurgence Milestones Talking to the media, the Minister said last year when I assumed office, the biggest challenged for me was to protect the textile industry from recession. After one year I am happy that we achieved 100 per cent of all targets. Ministry has utilized 99.4 per cent of their enhanced allocation of Rs. 4,500 crore for meeting the various targets set. Highlighting his achievement, Maran informed that the ministry has started the process of preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for five new clusters Mirzapur, Bhadohi (Uttar Pradesh), Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir), Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu) and Murshidabad (West Bengal). Further, 18 NTC mills have been modernized and made operational during Informing the gathering that the present stock of cotton was only 34 lakh bales, equivalent to one-and-a-half month s requirement of the industry, Maran said to ensure fibre security for the textile industry, he would urge the Textiles: Resurgence Milestones , a booklet being released by Union Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran on completion of his ministry s one year rule. Also seen are Panabaaka Lakshmi, State Textile Minister and Rita Menon, the Textile Secretary Though the Textile Minister claimed that 99.4% of their enhanced allocation of Rs. 4,500 crore for meeting the various targets has been utilized, he remained silent on issues of FDI in Textile Industry and skill development mission of training 30 lakh workers. Finance Minister for an increase in the export duty, which is at present Rs. 2,500 a tonne. Maran also announced an export target of $ 25 billion for the current financial year, $ 6 billion more than last year s performance. He also announced a 17-point agenda for the ministry for the next one year, which included a reorientation of the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme to boost investment and technology upgradation in weaving, knitting, processing and garmenting segments. Though, Maran is optimistic about more FDI (foreign direct investment) in the textile industry for which he has made many foreign visits, he could not share any names of such companies who intent to invest in India. All that he indicated was that some investment is in the pipeline. The Minister also mentioned the skill development mission to train 30 lakh workers in five years. But he had no answer to the question from where these people will be brought for training. He said, We will increase the skill levels of those who are already working with industry and also try to find new entrants for the industry. He also mentioned that under the development agenda, special emphasis on promotion of man-made fibre, non woven and technical textiles will be made. When asked by Apparel Online, if the Textile Ministry is doing something to correlate NREGA with Textile Industry to tackle labour shortage, he said NREGA is a scheme for social security. If we try to correlate it with garment manufacturing industry, it will be abusing of such scheme because garmenting or textile is a purely commercial activity and not within the preview of NREGA. However, this scheme is benefiting the jute farmers marginally. Made in India Show a big hit in Dubai Over 250 companies showcase their products Over 250 representatives from small, medium and large sectors including those from sectors like garments, textiles, home products, fashion accessories, food and gift items showcased their products in the Made in India Show organized by the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Dubai recently. The threeday business bonanza was inaugurated by UAE s Trade and Commerce Minister Sheikha Lubna on 8 th June. At the inauguration ceremony FIEO President A. Sakthivel said that India is expecting huge growth in export to UAE. He pointed out that India became UAE s largest trading partner in 2009 with exports reaching $ 24 billion, a growth of 56% on a year-on-year basis. Both countries are hoping that total trade may jump to $ 96 billion in 5 years. Sakthivel claimed, There is high amount of interest in the show. It is a good platform for exporters and we expect good business to be generated from here. The event is exclusively for importers, traders, and other volume buyers who purchase consumer products for resale to markets throughout the Middle East and North Africa region. 34 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

35 INDIACANVAS Saroj International Group Celebrates its Silver Jubilee Sets up Awards to Encourage Commercial Designers in Leather Madhumita Buragohain (L) ) receiving the Most Collection Award for Leather Accessories from Ritika Sethi, V-P, Saroj International Group (R) and Motilal Sethi, CMD of the Group is in the middle Celebrating the completion of its 25 years in the leather industry, Saroj International an ISO 9001:2000 and exporter has instituted two yearly awards to be presented on the occasion of final Graduation Show of Leather Department by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) beginning this year to encourage commercial designers in India. The awards known as Saroj International Group Most Commercial Collection Award 2010 (Leather Garments) and Saroj International Group Most Commercial Collection Award 2010 (Leather Accessories) consist of a trophy and a cash award of Rs. 5,000 each for both garments and accessories. Instituting the Awards, Ritika Sethi, Vice-President of Saroj International Group and a NIFT Alumni, stated Inspired by my experience while studying at Harvard where lot of industry encouragements are given to the students, I feel that encouragement given by the industry to the students gives them a lot of boost, motivation and recognition. India is known for quality innovative leather products and this move will further promote these objectives. Saroj International Group with captive vertical operations has been manufacturing and exporting world-class and highly innovative high-fashion leather apparels for men and women, and fashionable leather bags catering to highly sophisticated fashion markets of the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Spain, Europe, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, Japan and Australia. In the inaugural year, Ishani Capore and Madhumita Buragohain emerged winners of the converted awards Saroj International Group Most Commercial Collection Award 2010 for Leather Garments and Most Commercial Collection Award 2010 for Leather Accessories, respectively at a function INNOVAZIONE 10 organized by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) for its Department of Leather Design. Sunil Sethi, President of Footwear Design Council of India (FDCI) and Rajiv Takroo, Director General, NIFT, gave away the awards. Till August no Change in Yarn Prices; TEA-TASMA in Pact It is good news for the exporters who are suffering a pinch of high yarn prices. An agreement to this has been reached between Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA) and the Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association (TASMA). According to the agreement reached between A. Sakthivel, President TEA and Appukutty, President of TASMA who were present along with other members, it was decided that the yarn prices will remain unchanged till August this year. Confirming this, G. Karthikeyan, General Secretary of TEA said, This agreement is going to be very beneficial for exporters as now they can book orders at the same yarn price up to August. Due to regular hike of yarn prices, exporters were facing problems in order booking. Almost all the mills that come under this agreement are producing knitting yarn. All the mills related to TASMA will supply yarn on the fixed price and exporters from all over India can enjoy this price. Earlier, Dayanidhi Maran, Union Textile Minister, had requested both sides to come with such valid solutions. For the various types of yarn in different counts, prices will be Rs. 157 per kg for 20S, Rs. 165 for 24S, Rs. 177 for 30S, Rs. 184 for 34S and Rs. 194 per kg in counts of 40S. We are an American based, Multinational Apparel Sourcing Operation looking to strengthen as well as expand our sourcing operations and seek to appoint the following personnel for our Dhaka operations. Head of Sourcing JOB PROFILE: Head Apparel Sourcing Operations in Dhaka Report to Vice President International Sourcing Will be responsible for price negotiations, order placement, production monitoring, shipment planning, inventory management, order forecasting. REQUIREMENT: Textile professional with proven track record and a good academic background Min. 5-7 years experience in apparel sourcing in a similar capacity. Previous work experience in Bangladesh will hold additional advantage Team player with team building and team leading ability Capability to plan, execute and ability to gain commitment of vendors Good communication skills in English and Bengali In-depth knowledge in areas of Apparel manufacturing, Costing and Cost analysis, Production planning budgeting, Inventory management and manufacturing process in knitted and Woven apparel Exceptional negotiation skills International raw material sourcing ability Not Over 45 years. Manager Quality Audit and Control JOB PROFILE: Hold independent charge of quality department Report to Head Sourcing Will be responsible for vendor sourcing and development, Quality systems implementation, Quality audit and control, Production planning and control. REQUIREMENT: Textile professional with a good academic background Minimum 5-7 years experience in Quality audit, control, production monitoring, in a similar capacity. Previous work experience in Bangladesh will hold additional advantage In-depth knowledge in areas of Apparel manufacturing, and manufacturing process in knitted and woven apparel and quality requirement of major international buyers Exceptional people skills Team player and team leading ability with good communication skills Not Over 35 years The above positions require personnel with high level of passion and integrity in business behaviour. Remuneration offered as per industry standards. Potential candidates, satisfying the requirements are invited to forward complete CV, with a recent passport size photograph to lee.hrcc@gmail.com JUNE 16-30, 2010 ApparelOnline 35

36 MANAGEMENTSTRATEGY SOUND STRUCTURE POSITIONS AMANN THREADS AS NICHE PLAYER The Amann Group is a company on the move and the direction today is deeper access into the Asian markets. Nearly two years ago, the company had opened its own office in India and into its second year of commercial operations, the company is already strategically positioned as a supplier of high quality threads for specialized markets. Under the leadership of Sanjeev Grewal, MD India Operations as well as Regional Director Asia, the focus on how to penetrate the market is crystal clear and the synergy of operations between its three core offices Chennai, Bangalore and Gurgaon is synchronized for growth. Team AO recently met the head of operations of all three locations to understand what drives business in India for this dynamic company. S. SURESH YOGESH SETH R.M. VINAY KUMAR With Chennai as its headquarter and logistic hub, the office serves as the nerve centre for the Indian operations. The operations are headed by S. Suresh, CEO & CFO of Amann Sewing & Embroidery Threads Private Limited. While Chennai is looking after marketing efforts for the leather industry, besides administrative and logistic works, the Bangalore operations, headed by R.M. Vinay Kumar, Regional Sales Manager based in Bangalore, is handling markets in southern India. The sales team in Chennai also reports to the Bangalore office. In the North, an office in Gurgaon is responsible for marketing pitch in Delhi-NCR, UP, Bengal, Gujarat, MP and Maharashtra. Yogesh Seth, Regional Sales Manager North India is the nodal person in the region. Rajat Yadav Sales & Marketing Manager, who is part of the Regional Office in the North, is also responsible for liaisoning with Buying Houses & Brand offices for global key accounts management and developments. Suresh emphasizes that India is very important for global expansion of Amann Group. Strategically located, India has the potential to develop as a regional base besides being an important market by itself, he says. The country provides a huge market in diverse product range with focus in three core areas apparel, leather and technical textiles. The three offices are strategically positioned and are handling different product markets. The Gurgaon office while catering to export needs also has experienced persons placed as representatives in key markets of Baroda, Kanpur and most recently Kolkata for deeper access to the designated region. All these three markets have very specialized needs in threads. In the South, the Bangalore marketing team is currently servicing the constructed garment industry in the city, besides home furnishing market in Hyderabad and knit industry in Tirupur. Chennai is mostly about leather industry, which is the forte of Amann. SERAFIL is one of the world s renowned and well established brands in leather industry proving its leadership position in India too. Indeed, India is an important base for the company and the focus of the marketing team is to create awareness in the market for the wide range of products available with the company. In addition to our 36 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

37 MANAGEMENTSTRATEGY Besides the range in specialized threads, the ability to deliver consistent quality and colour shade, batch after batch, even after a long time, is one of the most important factor that differentiates Amann Threads from others extensive standard thread range, many of our offerings are targeted at specialized products, where sales is less driven by price and more by the properties and quality of the threads, says Yogesh. So what is it that makes Amann Threads so different Besides the technical quality of the product and range in specialized thread, one of the most important factors that differentiate Amann Threads from others is the ability to deliver consistent quality and colour shade, batch after batch, says Yogesh. Batch numbers are not only mentioned on the packaging but on the spools also, which shows the confidence in the quality. Even when threads are delivered for repeat orders, months later, there is no variation in shades. The move to strengthen operations in the Asian region has already been made with a new manufacturing unit coming up in China. Commercial production at the unit is expected to commence at the beginning of 2011 and the factory is being positioned as the gateway to serve the ASEAN markets. Taking the initiative forward, Amann is also planning new production facilities in India. The project is in the pipeline and once the China project is settled, we will concentrate on India, says Suresh. In the meanwhile, lead times are a major topic of Amann. We concentrate on specialized markets at the moment and slowly extend our services to the casual mass markets because our focus is to increase the backend support just as fast as we penetrate additional segments. Our main goal is to always be able to deliver as per our commitment, Sanjeev Grewal heading the discussion at a training schedule in Germany for team India says Vinay Kumar. As of today, sample threads are delivered within 24 hours and bulk orders can be made as early as 2 days with maximum cap of 6 days. Working in targeted markets, the stock of supplies is predetermined based on forecast and nature of market. Since we are working with structured suit players, we know that there are shades for men and about 50 shades in women formals, so we can store our requirements accordingly, reasons Vinay Kumar. We interact with the merchandisers and production managers to keep abreast of what developments are happening, so when the requirement of thread comes in after the fabric is approved, we are not taken by surprise, adds Yogesh. The strategy is not to flood the market with a wide range of products but to develop one segment at a time and ensure that the segment can be serviced well before moving to the next. Most people treat threads as a commodity at Amann, we treat it as a solution, says Vinay Kumar. The company is making special effort to train its sales & marketing team to give hands on solutions to any query that the shop floor may have. All people who join the team undergo an intensive training schedule at the Amann Group headquarter in Germany. From suggesting the right thread type and thread thickness for a particular fabric/ product to adjusting a machine setting for greater productivity, less puckering and flatter seams, the sales & marketing team is well equipped to give solutions. In addition, Magesh Kumar who is the Sewing & Technical Advisor located in Bangalore brings to the table more than 30 years of experience in the sewing thread industry. As solution providers we are constantly building a client base that looks up to us for answers when they face new challenges in production, says Suresh. In the technical textile segment, the know-how that the company has is unmatched and it is one of the core reasons for rapid growth in that segment. Though the Indian market is still evolving and the highly technical innovative solutions like anticounterfeit threads are yet to find takers, the market never fails to surprise the team with its unique demands. Buyers are always throwing new concepts at the exporters and many times they show them to us. In one such incident we found a demand for reflective thread, which was earlier never a requirement, recalls Yogesh. Going forward, the company is projecting an exponential growth in the ensuing years with apparel export market and technical textiles being the engines for growth. Strong expansions are also expected in the leather segment, and Amann is positive that the hardwork that the India team is putting in today to develop the market will help the company to expand reach to neighbouring countries as well with India as the regional office. JUNE 16-30, 2010 ApparelOnline 37

38 TEXTILEUPDATE BIRLA ACRYLIC LAUNCHES ANTI-PILL ACRYLIC FIBRE Birla Acrylic, a US $ 400 million brand and the world s 5th biggest acrylic fibre company, has developed an innovative fibre which will reduce the pilling over repeated usage. A part of the Aditya Birla Group, Birla Acrylic operates out of Thai Acrylic Fibre Co. (TAF), Thailand and Alexandria Fibre Company, Egypt. The brand exports 85% of its fibres across the globe. Apparel Online caught up with Ambrish K. Maheshwari, CEO, Acrylic Fibre Business, based in Thailand and Egypt at the launch of this new fibre in Ludhiana, to know more about the company s business plans and new areas of penetration. Birla Acrylic is targeting both the domestic as well as the export market for anti-pill fibre Ambrish K. Maheshwari, CEO, Acrylic Fibre Business The core product with Birla Acrylic is acrylic, which is basically a man-made substitute for wool and is used for manufacturing of winter wear, as besides its brilliance, range of colours, appearance and shine, it also provides warmth. In addition to normal acrylic fibres, the group also produces a wide variety of speciality fibre; gel dyed and pigment dyed fibres. In fact, Birla Acrylic continuously innovates on its products to address consumer s functional needs and the most recent developments include Anti-pill and Amicor (a medical textile and anti bacterial fibre). Pilling is a perennial problem in any garment made out of synthetic fibres like polyester, nylon and acrylic. Since acrylic is largely used in sweaters and winter wears which have a very low twist in yarn, the pilling problem is much higher. Our R&D team worked with Asahi Kasei, producers of Cashmilon to develop anti-pill which has shown good results so far, shares Maheshwari. In India, Birla Acrylic is targeting both the domestic as well as the export market. The company is also looking at targeting school uniforms segment. Children tend to use their uniforms ruggedly rubbing their shoulder, elbow, etc. so their uniforms start getting pill very quickly; we feel that for this segment anti-pill is extremely effective. In fact we have already launched this product with some of our spinner partners in UK, informs Maheshwari. The anti-pill technology introduced by Birla Acrylic can take any number of washes because it is inherently present in the product. Through a newly developed technology special properties are imparted to the fibre at the point where before the pill is formed, it falls off automatically. This is done with a combination of both chemical and mechanical procedures at the fibre level. It s a pretty complex process starting from modifying a few ingredients in the polymer and processing of the fibre, informs Maheshwari. Even the impact of the price on the final garment will be insignificant though the benefits are enormous when one looks into the product-feel, comfort and the shiny look, he says. The anti-pill fibre has been engineered to give sustainable performance throughout the life of the garment. This has been tested and proved by several international accredited agencies. Flexible in application, the new innovation can be blended with other fibres like viscose, wool, etc. and is lighter in weight than other fibres like cotton, polyester, silk, among others. The anti-pill fibre is available in various deniers in tow and fibre from 1.5 D to 2.5 D and 38, 51 mm fibre length in both bright and semi dull-lustre options. 38 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

39 TEXTILEUPDATE Capacity Expansion The Aditya Birla Group has been aggressively positioning itself in the specialized yarn segment. It has through its subsidiary Birla Acrylic two plants, one in Thailand and one in Egypt. The Thailand plant has the capacity of 100,000 metric tonnes which they are expanding and by the end of this year it will reach to 120,000 metric tonnes. The plant in Egypt till last year was producing18,000 metric tonnes. Recently we have completed phase-i of the expansion and the plant has reached to 36,000 metric tonnes capacity. Now we are implementing one more expansion in Egypt and by the end of next year the plant capacity will become 60,000 metric tonne, shares Maheshwari. With design, both Birla Acrylic s plants are strategically located close to major markets. While Thailand is taking care of the whole of Asia, Egypt is taking care of Africa which is a growing market, along with Europe and US. Today, Indonesia is the biggest market for the company which has more than 45% of market shares followed by Thailand, India and China. Team Birla Acrylic at the launch of Anti-Pill fibre in Ludhiana Within two years, Birla Acrylic s capacity is projected to increase by 50% which will allow the company to grow from the 5th largest producer of acrylic fibre in the world to the 3rd largest producer. While the largest producer of acrylic is Aksa a Turkish company, the second company Jilin & Geemont is based in China where it has two plants. Environment Concerns In yarn manufacturing and fabric dyeing, a lot of energy is consumed as also chemicals which give rise to effluent treatment issues. The Egypt plant of the group is producing more of 90% gel-dyed product in which at the fibre stage itself, there is substantial reduction in energy requirement as well as there is no dye-wastage; almost 100% of dye is utilized. It is very environment-friendly process, argues Maheshwari according to whom countries like Europe, America which are more environment-conscious are opting for dyed fibre. Countries in Asia at the moment are using mostly accrue fibre (white fibre) but we believe that future is going to be dyed fibre, he adds. New Areas of Penetration Technical textiles are the area which Birla Acrylic is seriously looking at. It has already entered into meditech with the AMICOR brand which the company had acquired two years back from Acordis, UK. This is a proven and popular product in Europe already and from next year we are planning to promote it in Asia also. It is a very interesting product which has antibacterial, anti-fungal and antiallergenic properties, shares Maheshwari. He further adds that workwear is also on their agenda. Today Birla Acrylic is a brand worth US $ 400 million and by next year it would go up to US $ 500 million plus, hopes Maheshwari. Products on display made out of anti-pill fibre TAF produces more than 30 different types of fibre including speciality fibres for highend applications. Marketed under the Birla Acrylic brand, the product range comprises a variety of acrylic fibres used for making sweaters, jogging suits, socks, stuffed toys, blankets, carpets and upholstery. The finished fibre can be easily adapted to cotton, modified cotton, worsted and woollen spinning systems. In blends, it possesses excellent compatibility with other synthetic and natural fibres. TAF is producing a wide range of Texlan brand Acrylic Staple Fibre and Acrylic TOW from Micro Denier (0.8) to 15 Denier with staple lengths in the range of 38 to 150 mm for spinning in cotton, modified cotton, semiworsted, and worsted spinning system. Our end-products are extensively used in textiles, knitwears, carpets, toys, blankets and apparel industries. JUNE 16-30, 2010 ApparelOnline 39

40 TEXTILEUPDATE Mercury Fabrics Going for Expansion With fully automated knitting and processing facilities and online production control, Mercury Fabrics situated in Bawal, Haryana specializes in high fashion ladieswear knitted fabrics producing 250 tonnes per month. The company is now going in for major expansion to add capacity of another 120 tonnes to take the total production to around tonnes of fabric. Presently, Mercury has 19 circular knitting machines and offers high-tech blended yarns, cotton modals, slubs, PVs, modals, Tencel, cotton modals, 100% viscose, viscose blends with blended yarn like polyester viscose, cotton polyester, spandex etc. On special requests it gives customised fabrics on the specifications given by its clients be it blends, colour or finishes. Mercury has recently obtained Oeko-Tex certification for organic processing, both for its yarn and fabrics. The company s Managing Director and promoter Tajinder Sachdeva started his business in 1991 as a fabric trader for woven fabrics and today stands as one of the most promising knitted fabric manufacturer with target to touch a turnover of Rs. 100 crore in another three years time. He shares his expansion strategy with AO. Excerpts from Interview: What prompted you to go for expansion? It s mainly to meet the growing requirement of the customer base. Our products have been well taken by both the domestic brands as well as the foreign brands. We are exporting to various sectors in Sri Lanka and recently, we have also started exporting to Italy. Further, we would like to grow our domestic business which is both garment exporters and domestic brands. We have positioned Mercury as a valueadded producer and today very few knitted fabric manufacturers can offer the variety we do. Besides ladies garments tops, dresses, etc. our fabric is being used for kidswear as we manufacture very soft fabric. We also make a lot of fabric for lingerie. Within the next three months we should be operational with our new expansion which will add not only more capacity but also product variety. In which areas are you expanding? Our expansion is multi-layered and will enhance all areas of operations. As a new product offering, we are adding open width spandex knitting which has great demand with us. Our ultimate dream is to manufacture printed spandex fabric which has huge demand in the international market but great dearth of quality suppliers. There are only a few knit manufacturers in India mostly in Ahmedabad who can handle printed knits, so most of the exporters are importing the same from China. Our factory has been designed to handle printed process and we just need to put some additional machines to manufacture printed fabric. As of now we are watching the market closely and our next expansion will be in that direction. Besides new product offering, we are also installing one more stenter which will enhance our production capacity. Additionally, capacities in dyeing have also been increased. Any kind of new finishes you give to your knitted fabrics? Our product line is going more towards rayon, viscose and modal based. In cotton we are doing pretty good volumes for brands like Puma which are very conscious of quality and we are developing very special cold finishes for them. In fact, buyers are increasingly asking for special finishes and we have full back-up from companies like Huntsman and Clariant to provide different finishing requirements. Our technical team is fully qualified to handle any type of finish which the market may demand. Mercury s latest development in feeder strips and slub fabrics with softner, gold finish, heat-set and bio-wash finishes Tajinder Sachdeva MD, Mercury Fabrics You mentioned that you have recently started exporting your fabrics to Italy. Who is buying in Italy? I would not like to name the brands but they are very well known and fashionforward brands. To meet the immediate requirement of the season they retain certain fabrics in the stocks for which they feel would get repeat orders. To avoid the gap between demand and supply, they are manufacturing these garments in Italy. That s how they can afford to retain their manufacturing unit in Europe. 40 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

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42 H O M E F A S H I O N F U T U R E HANDICRAFT EXPORTS TURNS TO SOFT TEXTILE GOODS FOR GROWTH SAURABH KALRA, CEO, WHITE ROCK GROUP The handicrafts sector has been playing a significant role in the country s economy providing employment to a vast segment of craft persons in rural and semi urban areas, preserving its cultural heritage while also generating substantial foreign exchange for the country. According to estimation by Frost & Sullivan, the global market for handicrafts and gifts is worth over US $ 260 billion. India is holding less than 3% of this market, but the potential for growth is immense as more and more soft goods made from textiles is becoming a craze with international lifestyle stores. Bird s eyeview of home fashion products Colour pallete that is currently running in home fashion At the beginning of the millennium the Indian handicraft industry was sitting at Rs. 7,170 crores and in a decade has grown to Rs. 8,183 crores (2009), administering an approx. growth of more than 12.5%. While the US accounts for 27.57% of the exports, European nations hold an approximate share of 17% with Germany, Italy and France being the three major markets. Amidst recession, the global market was down nearly 30% over the past one-and-a-half years, but over the past 3 months the surge in demand has been encouraging. Buyers have again started looking for agents in India who specialize in the handicraft industry, and are able to manage sourcing, merchandising, quality and logistics needs from the country. The sector has, however, suffered for some obvious reasons being unorganized, additional constraints of lack of education among the artisians, low capital investment, poor exposure to new technologies, absence of market intelligence, and a poor institutional framework. The segment from India is driven by utilitarian craft products like handcrafted cushions, curtains, bedcovers, sheets, metal furniture, wood furniture, boxes, cabinets, terracotta items, utensils, garden pots, paper-machine products, brass and silverware, carpets, rugs and durries, jute and coir items, wood and stone sculptures, traditional paintings, decorative pieces, embellished wooden sculptures, stone and wood carvings, with many more new crafts being added. The buzz today is traditional art with a touch of contemporary designs and patterns. Wherein the new direction that has been witnessed by buying agencies is that all buyers and importers have started to demand cross combinations of soft furnishings with lifestyle hard goods and there sourcing needs are going apt only with those exporters who are able to service them for both items. Design Influence of Soft Furnishings Talking about the soft furnishings market, the trends for the 2010 collections are primarily focussed 42 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

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44 H O M E F A S H I O N F U T U R E upon eco and environmental themes including recycled and organic products and materials. Shapes and silhouettes are ranging from traditional looks to modern and contemporary with the detailing of designs being minimalized. Prints are back to garden florals, which have strong Indian Asian influence with natural designs giving sophistication. Product trends have been more towards chenille and malai dori rugs and bath mats because of low price points in the flooring category. Less embroidered or side embellished table mats and covers are in vogue. Printed story lines have been the focus this year so as to curb the price points. It s been seen that the overseas buyers especially from Scandinavia and France who missed the IIGF fair in Feb. 2010, are visiting India for the new season and booking orders and samplings. Countries like France, Germany and also Australia are picking up on the soft furnishings front and buyers have again been busy travelling all over Jaipur, Jodhpur, Panipat, Mumbai and Noida for bookings for the upcoming seasons. It s also been seen that the buyers are more keen to visit facilities of the exporters than to travel to the mart where they are only able to see a basic range of the products. All clients have off late shown interest in seeing the live production or sampling happening of there merchandise. The thrust areas in this hard goods handicraft sector towards the northern India have been metalware from Moradabad and Jodhpur, glassware from Firozabad, antique furniture and artefacts from Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Saharanpur which has been attracting buyers/importers from USA, all parts of Europe, Scandinavian countries and Australia. It is interesting that the IIGF (India International Gifts Fair) held in India at Noida, twice a year has seen a rise in its membership from 3,769 members in to a whooping 6,223 members in Trade fairs like Ambiente in Germany, Maison de Objet in France, Formland in Denmark, have also been growth drivers and helped industry move forward, as many exporters have been participating in these half yearly seasonal fairs. Not only have the exporters been able to build contacts with big buyers but they also have been able to captivate the smaller ones to their basket, and on the other hand have been able to witness the latest trends, colours, shapes, styles, material being incorporated all round the world by visiting these fairs. This has been to the advantage of exporters as sampling for upcoming seasons has grown stronger. System and Technology Intervention on the Rise Though price considerations have been the key to orders in the past year, delivery and quality as before have also been the prime concern; therefore technology upgradation and new machines have been prime issue for exporters to deal with. Investments by exporters over the past five years for getting better methods of production in-house to give support in giving best of price and quality has been rising. There has also been a greater awareness of social compliance, as big buyers and importers have started to evaluate factories like they do in apparel. Some of the progressive companies are Globe Enterprises, Malani Impex, Fashion Line, Golden Peakock Overseas, Kohinoor Crafts, Ashoka Exports to name a few. Even traditional sectors of handicraft like Moradabad, Firozabad, Ahmedabad, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Saharanpur have seen a geared shift in their respective industries with effort to get organized in terms of infrastructure and compliance, as per buyers demands so as to retain the share of exports to all countries. Big exporters of these places have been investing in departmentalising there operations and also have been thinking of waste disposal methods, raw material regeneration and recycling. Crafted Handwork the Driver The reason why Indian art and craft is highly appreciated and constantly flourishing in foreign markets are due to its utilitarian nature. The hand beaten and churned metal, the hand blown glass in shapes, the hand embossed and hand chiselled artefacts, the sculpted hand furniture and antique wooden items have been the strength of Placemats are increasingly supporting handicraft exports Saurabh Kalra is CEO of White Rock Group. The company is into Intl. Buying Services of Lifestyle Products, Domestic Retail and Consultancy. Saurabh is also a Fashion Consultant, Mentor, Visiting & Guest Faculty with Pearl Academy of Fashion, IAM, INIFD, JIMS, and FDDI in field of International Trade, Intl. Marketing, Intl. Retailing and Entrepreneurship. the Indian Handicraft Industry and shall remain in the times to come. New inceptions, new combinations, churning and mixing of 2 separate raw materials into one product, giving varied multi finishes are the new trends setting in the industry. Use of leather on metal, glass and wood has also grown in the market and is bound to increase in times to come for hard furnishings. 44 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

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46 EXPORTSTATISTICS EU Import Analysis Jan.-Feb. -Feb INDIA S EXPORTS TO EU WITNESS 3.25% GROWTH IN VALUE VOLUMES ALSO UP 23.67% IN JAN.-FEB. 10 Europe is currently in the midst of a debit crises, which will negatively affect the level in consumer spending and though retail sales have seen an upswing in the early months, experts feel that moving ahead in the year the consumer confidence will take a fall from May onwards. In UK, the new Government has already announced a series of spending cuts and a possible rise in the VAT which are expectedly depressing consumer spending. Leading clothing retailer Next said it remains cautious for the year ahead. In the meanwhile, apparel imports by the EU during the first two months of 2010 continued to remain low with negative trends in bo th value and volume of (-) 8.09% and (-) 0.52%, respectively. The UVR too, at Euro (per kg of fabric equivalent), was lower than the same period last year. The UVR stood at Euro last year. Indeed the prices have really taken a beating in the last year and all manufacturing destinations saw a fall in their UVRs. Additionally, most countries under review witnessed a decline in value of exports to the EU, with India and Sri Lanka being the exception. Both countries witnessed positive gains in both value and volumes in the first two months of 2010 in their exports to the European Union. While India saw 3.25% growth in value, it registered high double digit growth of 23.67% in overall exports in volume terms with substantial growth of 51.90% in woven garments. Knitted garments too registered positive volume gains though they were more marginal at 2.95%. The overall UVR for Indian apparel exports was Euro (per kg of fabric equivalent) down from Euro (per kg of fabric equivalent) last year. Interestingly, while the UVR for knitted garments remained stable at around Euro 14.49, the same for woven garments dipped sharply from Euro (per kg of fabric equivalent) to Euro (per kg of fabric equivalent). China during the period Jan.-Feb. 10, witnessed a downfall in its shipment to the European Union with (-) 11.82% decline in value of exports and (-) 2.38% downfall in volume terms. The average UVR were down from Euro to Euro Bangladesh despite its duty free access to the European Union saw a decline in values of (-) 4.59% though its volumes increased 3.67%. The downslide in value was in both the knitted category and in woven garments. The average UVR as with every country was also down from Euro 9.73 (per kg of fabric equivalent) to Euro 8.96 (per kg of fabric equivalent). As mentioned earlier, Sri Lanka registered positive growth in both values and quantities of 7.01% and 16.88%, respectively. The country saw increase in volumes for both knitted and woven garments of 19.30% and 13.80%, respectively. The average UVR declined from Euro (per kg of fabric equivalent) to Euro (per kg of fabric equivalent), the highest in the region. In both Pakistan and Vietnam the scenario was similar with declines both in the value and quantities. While in Pakistan the decline was (-) 8.73% and (-) 2.23%, respectively, Vietnam registered dip of (-) 6.10% and (-) 5.79%, respectively in value and volumes. The products from Vietnam are however commanding better prices than those coming from Pakistan with UVR of Euro (per kg of fabric equivalent). The UVR for Pakistan in the review period was just Euro 8.14 (per kg of fabric equivalent), the lowest from the region and down from Euro 8.72 (per kg of fabric equivalent) last year. EU GLOBAL APPAREL IMPORTS JAN.-FEB. 10 TYPE OF Jan.-Feb Jan.-Feb % increase/decreasse APPAREL Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value WORLD Knitted Woven Total CHINA Knitted Woven Total INDIA Knitted Woven Total BANGLADESH Knitted Woven Total SRI LANKA Knitted Woven Total PAKISTAN Knitted Woven Total VIETNAM Apparel imports by the EU during the first two months of 2010 continued to remain low with negative trends in both value and volume of (-) 8.09% and (-) 0.52%, respectively Knitted Woven Total Qty & Value in mn Kg & Euro 46 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

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48 EXPORTSTATISTICS EU Import Analysis Jan.-Feb. -Feb Analyzing the item-wise value of imports by the EU from various countries in Jan.-Feb. 2010, some key findings are: The major losers in the first month of this year were ladies skirts, undergarments, jackets & blazers, sweaters and nightwears with (-) 26.21%, (-) 24.91%, (-) 21.36%, (-) 19.44% and (-) 19.05% decrease, respectively. In China too, all categories registered negative growth. Major losers were undergarments (-) 31.41%, ladies skirts (-) 27.08%, jackets & blazers (-) 24.06%, nightwears (-) 20.77% and trousers (-) 18.48%. For India, the gains mostly negative with only one category registering positive value increase suits/ensembles with 5.96% rise. The categories which saw maximum decline were foundation garments with (-) 73.41% downfall, ladies skirts with (-) 25.32% decline and men s shirts with (-) 18.02% dip. Bangladesh could record value gain in six products, undergarments with 73.95% increase, nightwear with 40.71% rise, foundation garments with 39.58% upswing and babies wear with 19.07% upsurge were the major gainers In all other products the decline is substantial with jackets & blazers leading the downfall with (-) 51.24% decline. All products imported by the EU saw a fall in value in January and not even one category could register growth. This is a clear indication that prices are dipping very sharply in the EU and exporters have to be prepared to work at lower prices Percentage Value Imports of Two Categories by the EU Exports from Vietnam were up in value in only one product undergarments by 42.81%.The biggest losers were legwear, ladies skirts, babies wear and men s shirts which were down (-) 54.80%, (-) 45.94%, (-) and (-) 33.72%, respectively. For Sri Lanka, the major gainer was babies wear with 76.81% increase and major loser was sweaters with (-) 20.41% decline in value. Undergarments which are usually a strong category from the country also saw a decline of (-) 17.66%. ITEM-WISE VALUE INCREASE IN APPAREL IMPORTS BY EU: JAN.-FEB Exports to EU APPAREL TYPE Total Imports by EU China India Bangladesh Vietnam Sri Lanka Babies Wear Foundation Garments Jackets & Blazers Ladies Blouses Ladies Dresses Ladies Skirts Legwear Men s Shirts Nightwear Suits / Ensembles Sweaters 1, , Trousers 1, T-Shirts 1, , Undergarments Value in mn Euro 48 ApparelOnline JUNE 16-30, 2010

49 EXPORTSTATISTICS EU Import Analysis Jan.-Feb. -Feb Analyzing the item-wise imports of the EU on quantities from various countries under review in Jan.-Feb. 2010, some interesting facts that emerged are: All other categories imported by the EU recorded a downfall. The major losers in quantities were suits/ensembles with (-) 18.63% decline, legwear with (-) 16% fall and ladies skirts with (-) 14.61% decrease. In China ladies dresses, foundation garments and ladies blouses saw increase in quantities in the review period with 15.34%, 11.94% and 2.01% gains, respectively. The key losers were suits/ensembles with (-) 20.47% downslide, undergarments with (-) 17.26% decline and T-shirts with (-) 14.97% dip. From India, the only category which recorded quantity gains that too very marginal was ladies dresses with 0.47% increase. Surprisingly, ladies blouses, one of the strongest categories to the EU saw quantity decline of (-) 19.81%. Men s shirts too saw a decline of (-) 24.57%. Bangladesh could record volume gain in many products, the three major being foundation garments, undergarments and nightwear with 85.36%, 65.90% and 57.11% rise, respectively. The decline in jackets & blazers, legwear and suits/ensembles were noteworthy with (-) 47.13%, (-) 46.17% and (-) 19.09% declines, respectively. In terms of quantities there were increase in imports by the EU in only two products ladies dresses of 10.71% and foundation garments by a marginal 4.90% Percentage Quantity Imports of Two Categories by the EU Exports from Vietnam were up in volumes in undergarments and foundation garments with 62.75% and 5% gains, respectively. The biggest loser was legwear, which was down (-) 54.80%. For Sri Lanka, the major gainer on quantities were suits/ensembles, babies wear, men s shirts and jackets & blazers with 82.61%, 73.73%, 43.69% and 28.33% increase, respectively. Major loss was surprisingly recorded in undergarments with (-) 15.12% decline in quantities. ITEM-WISE QUANTITY INCREASE IN APPAREL IMPORTS BY EU: JAN.-FEB Exports to EU APPAREL TYPE Total Imports by EU China India Bangladesh Vietnam Sri Lanka Babies Wear Foundation Garments Jackets & Blazers Ladies Blouses Ladies Dresses Ladies Skirts Legwear Men s Shirts Nightwear Suits / Ensembles Sweaters Trousers T-Shirts Undergarments Quantity in mn Kg JUNE 16-30, 2010 ApparelOnline 49

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51 RESOURCECENTRE Pearl Academy Presents its Graduating Students to the Industry As students from various fashion institutes prepare to enter the industry, it is time to evaluate the projects that they have embarked upon in their journey to add a fresh perspective to the industry. In this endeavour, the Pearl Academy of Fashion (PAF) recently organized a seminar for its final year students named SYNTHESIS 2010 at New Delhi. The event saw the two best chosen students from their respective courses showcasing their project presentations to a select gathering of industry watchers. Manjula Krishnan, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development who presided over the event was very vocal in her appeal to the industry to help generate employment opportunities in rural areas. The garment sector has the potential to generate huge employments and we need more companies to come forward with commitment for skill development and eventual gainful employment, she said. Reacting to her plea, Rakesh Vaid, President, GEA said, The Rakesh Vaid, Ex Chairman AEPC with Dr. A.K.G. Nair, Group Director, PAF during Synthesis 2010 industry is a willing partner in skill development projects, but the Government must come forward to help the industry grow in these difficult times so that more employment can be generated to absorb the additional manpower. The topics presented by the students were very diverse and covered many directions. A few of the interesting ones appreciated by the industry were: A study on selling craft product through organized retail setup, Application of industrial engineering tools and techniques in frame sequin and bead embroidery, Multi brand outlets vs. exclusive brand outlet, New ways to Retail vending machines, Analysis on adaptive garments for paraplegics, Marketing to the gay community, Aspiring class seeking fashion at value price and Packaging of FMCG products affects consumer buying behaviour. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. A. K. G. Nair, Group Director, Pearl Academy of Fashion said, Behind conducting this seminar, our aim was to create an environment for our students where they can revise their course study and get more information about contemporary fashion industry and its different procedures. Maersk Line Introduces New Priority Service Effective 1st June, a new priority product upgrade service is being offered by Maersk Line, a leading global shipping line. The new offer makes it convenient for customers to prioritize its products. It basically entails that certain shipments could be transported urgently which otherwise would have been delayed or rejected. The shipping vessel would be having a separate section for loading priority products. The service can be availed by the customers at the time of booking. The service also promises that in case a cargo cannot be delivered through priority update due to some reason, then the company would refund the cost of upgrade and reschedule the cargo for the next available departure with a free upgrade to priority product. JUNE 16-30, 2010 ApparelOnline 51

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55 FAR EAST TRADING ASIA SEARCHING FOR VENDORS IN KNITS LOOKING TO INCREASE SOURCING BY 50% Mumbai-based buying office Far East Trading Asia (FETA) working for a wide range of customers in the European market including importers, wholesalers, department stores, boutiques and retailers is searching for new vendors with integrated set ups in knits. The buying office which sources 90% products in woven category is keen to increase its sourcing in knitwear. The quantities in knits are much higher and being a volume business, the returns too are better, says Anil Paul, CEO, FETA. With offices in Mumbai and Delhi, the majority of vendors too are from this region. Few orders are however executed in Tirupur and Bangalore when required. Delhi of course is handling ladies high- fashion, while Mumbai is more into children and fashion accessories. In knits, the company is looking at both basic T-shirts and value-added tops. While Tirupur factories are the obvious choice to develop the segment, vendors outside Tirupur, who can give right price are also being explored. Another product range that is a growth segment for the buying office is kidswear. We are looking to expand in this category, but are moving cautiously as there are many norms in kidswear and finding the right factory is not always easy, says Anil. Factories that are working with kidswear in the European market and fully compliant to stringent quality and technical parameters of the EU are the preferred suppliers for FETA. The buying office is servicing its buyers from development to shipment and though 90% of its customers are asking for samples based on technical specifications created in Europe, 10% of the buyers are asking for fresh developments from Indian vendors. Most of the buyers know exactly what they want, but in the last year we have seen that many buyers are asking to see what exporters in the country are offering. But still the major chunk of business is for production excellence and not product development, avers Anil. Even though the buying cycle from the US has seen an upswing, orders from Europe are still slow. However, Anil is very positive of the business that can be generated by expanding deeper into knits and kidswear. We are looking for at least 50% growth in the running financial as our buyers are willing to pick-up bigger orders in these two categories, concludes Anil. JUNE 16-30, 2010 ApparelOnline 55

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