Apparel Online India

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8 Apparel Online India | SEPTEMBER 1-15, 2016 | www.apparelresources.com

World Wrap

Fashion Business

Value Addition

Market Update

Tex-File

CONTENT Vol. XIX ISSUE 11 September 1-15, 2016

‘Dad Brands’ Tap Urban Youth; Finding growth amongst a younger consumer demographic Primarily catering to a core demographic of middle-aged mountaineers and outdoor sport enthusiasts… p14

Indian exporters ready with their take... Sheer fabrics ruling runways are all set to influence retail styles!

The Logo Revival! Brand logos on garments are back with a bang for 2017 p36

European S/S 16 Bad for India… Exports Struggle; slow market conditions play spoilsports p20

Fabric companies bring out innovative fabrics for intimate wear p22

H2FJodhpur: After Furniture and Handicraft, Home Furnishing is the Growth Avenue p26

FFT TrendsResort 2017: Prints and patterns, the heart of summer collections

29

32

Zenitex Mill: Flag Bearer of Sustainability in Surat Windmill that generates power of 1.5 Mega Watts, 5,000 trees and plants with drip irrigation facility, water recycling, rainwater harvesting, heat recovery...

16

Sustainability

9 Apparel Online India


I was about to start writing my editorial piece and suddenly remembered a few lines from a popular old hindi song… ‘Jayen to jayen kahan…’ The context in which I remembered those classic lines is because of the Delhi Government’s decision to increase the minimum wages by about 40-45 per cent!

Though I appreciate the move, and agree that we should start giving living wages to our workers, but not without due diligence to how to go about the increase and make provisions for balancing the excess cost to the industry, especially one like the garment industry which is built on the foundation of large worker base and is already losing a battle to stay competitive in the wake of fierce competition from other sourcing destinations.

Further, at a time when the garment industry is reeling under the pressure of economic slowdown in its major markets and the banks have tightened their purses, in addition the input costs going up…, a wage increase of that magnitude could ‘kill’ the industry which is working at 7 to 10 per cent margins. Besides the labour cost impact on the production cost is around 20 per cent…; a 40 per cent increase in wages will push the industry into further losses.

I was recently in Bhubaneswar to understand the Government’s thrust on the apparel manufacturing industry and their intention to invite the industry to establish units in the state… No doubt Odisha is the cleanest and the cheapest of the emerging manufacturing destinations as of today, as was stated in a report commissioned by StitchWorld and Apparel Online in 2011.

Odisha has the maximum number of workers who have migrated to other places, especially in Gujarat (Surat in particular) and Bangalore, and boasts of the district of Ganjam, which has produced the most number of people working in the apparel industry, both at the worker and management level. The state also has abundant land banks owned by the Government to give out at cheap rates and the electricity charges are much more competitive than any other state.

I met the IAS officers responsible for developing and promoting the state as a manufacturing heaven for the garment industry and had a long discussion with them… Though I appreciate their earnestness and the zeal with which they are promoting the state, but I see little understanding of the apparel sector, an important pre-requisite to the successful development of the industry. Actually, this is a problem not only in Odisha but at the Centre also.

Another state that I keep hearing about is coastal Andhra Pradesh. When the state started inviting exporters almost a decade ago, the experiment failed, but now things seem to have changed, at least some in the industry think so. Many feel that armed with past experience and better understanding of the industry, the situation is much more conducive.

All this is a very good news, but I end off where I started… wage rates… If industry insiders are to be believed, a national policy on wages is in the offing… If this happens, all the states promoting themselves on the plank of lower wages will no longer be interesting for the industry. Ideally, I would suggest that wages in remote areas where cost of living is much lower than in metropolitans be kept lower to encourage the industry to head there and generate employment…; this is an experiment in Vietnam which has proved successful.

Meanwhile it will be interesting to see how the Government will offset the cost of production when the wages increase... A real challenge ahead for the industry!

FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’s DESK… EDITORIAL TEAMEDITOR-IN-CHIEF Deepak Mohindra

EDITOR Ila Saxena

COPY EDITOR Veereshwar Sobti

ASST. COPY EDITOR Sahil Sehgal

ASST. EDITOR-NEWS Dheeraj Tagra

ASST. EDITOR Neha Chhetri

SR. CORRESPONDENT-TEXTILES Sanjogeeta Ojha

SR. CORRESPONDENT-FASHION Kalita Lamba

SR. EXECUTIVE-ADVERTISING D K Chugh

CREATIVE TEAM Raj Kumar Chahal Peeush Jauhari Satyapal Bisht Deepak Panwar

PHOTO EDITOR Himanshu Kumar

OPERATION DIRECTOR Mayank Mohindra

PUBLISHER & MANAGING DIRECTOR Renu Mohindra

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After much deliberation, The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, popularly called the GST Bill, has been passed unanimously by both Houses of Parliament. Do you think that the implementation of GST will impact competitiveness in the garment business…? If yes how, and if not why not? What are the concerned areas…, both in terms of exports and domestic business?

MIND TREE

After 27 years, Dr. A Sakthivel is stepping down as the President of Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA). How do you see his overall efforts and achievements for the growth of Tirupur as well as for the Indian apparel export industry? You must be having some experience/memory with him…, do share the same with Apparel Online.

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

[email protected]

Q-and-A

Ajay Mehta, Director, Nidhi Design, Jaipur

Based on my limited knowledge of this issue, I feel that more than competitiveness in export, it will impact domestic garment manufacturers. It will help exporters as it is being said that tax process will be easy and more transparent. Being an exporter I am more concerned about its impact on logistics and courier services, like what will be the rate applicable on such services; will these be more cost-effective or will they remain as it is.

Anil Gupta, VP, Corporate Sector Ratings, ICRA, Gurgaon

The 12 per cent GST rate (lower) recommended by the Arvind Subramanian Committee

is likely to have a negative impact on the textile sector. The cotton value chain is currently attracting zero central excise duty, unlike the man-made fibre sector, where the fibre attracts excise duty at the manufacturing stage.There is an incentive for the downstream players in man-made sector to avail the Input Credit Tax (ITC). With an optional duty structure at the cotton yarn stage itself, the downstream sectors, which are weaving, processing and garmenting, are also operating under the optional route. This is reflected in the less than one per cent effective excise duty rate applicable to 480 spinning and weaving companies, which accounted for Rs. 57,000 crore (US $ 8,770 million) revenue during FY ’15. The duty-drawback will lose its relevance under GST.

However, sectors where the drawback rates are higher than actual indirect taxes on inputs may face profitability pressures. Under GST, textile companies which are oriented towards domestic markets will be able to avail ITC on domestic capital goods (but not the import duty) as their sales will subject to GST. With GST on textile, the textile value chain will become more organized as it will make GST non-compliant; suppliers uncompetitive compared to GST-compliant suppliers, as the buyers won’t be able to take ITC.

Praveen Sadh, Partner, Shree Krishna Dyeing & Printing Works, Mumbai

Our main concern is about the refund mechanism. Currently we follow up a lot for refund, and other taxes and duties. SMEs like

us or merchant exporters have to manage documentation and work hard to get refund. So we want that this process should be made easy and time saving. As far as impact on competitiveness in the garment business is concerned, I feel it depends on rate which is yet to be decided.

Aasim Nadvi, Director, Uptodate Impex, Delhi

Whatever information is coming through media seems positive about GST. Though I can’t say surely about the competitiveness, but removal of multiple taxes is a good thing which will anyhow benefit all. Its systems, like one window for all kinds of taxes will create an ease of doing business. We expect the Government to focus on making refunds easy and quick.

Team Apparel Online randomly called up many exporters operating in all the main garment exporting hubs to know their opinion about the issue raised in this ‘Mind Tree’ column. We discovered that GST is an issue that most medium-level exporters are not clear about…, and majority of them said: “Our CA handles all this…; I have no Idea…; Still we are in the process to understand it…; etc. etc.” In fact industry’s associations should come forward to update and guide the industry on GST and its implications… – Editor-in-Chief

www.apparelresources.com | SEPTEMBER 1-15, 2016 | Apparel Online India 13


‘Dad Brands’ Tap Urban Youth

Primarily catering to a core demographic of middle-aged mountaineers and outdoor sport enthusiasts, the outdoor brands or ‘dad brands’ as they are popularly known as have always found favour due to their product innovation and performance value such as the water-resistant parkas, sturdy fleece and waxed-cotton duffle bags. But increasingly brands such as The North Face, Columbia, Penfield, etc. are collaborating with streetwear brands to target young urban consumers, giving a young twist to an old story.

F i n d i n g g r o w t h a m o n g s t a y o u n g e r c o n s u m e r d e m o g r a p h i c

WORLD WRAP


A smart and well thought-out business and marketing strategy

directed towards the urban youth is enabling previously boring and predictable ‘dad brands’ to earn high-profile fans such as Kanye West, Drake and A$AP Rocky. Amongst the most popular outerwear brands, The North Face has been favoured by all age group consumer demographics due to its evolving product innovations and collaborations. The North Face’s first collaboration with Supreme started in Autumn/Winter 2007, which this year marks a decade of collaboration between the two brands. The partnership earlier comprised of two new versions of the outdoor brands staple Summit Series jacket that sold out within minutes and

kick-started a collaboration, which is now in its 17th consecutive season. Both the brands’ most recent Spring/Summer 2016 waterproof jackets are currently on offer for US $ 935 on eBay and US $ 910 on luxury menswear resale site Grailed, i.e. double the original retail price of US $ 388. Moreover in 2016, The North Face also launched Black Label, its own streetwear-inspired line in Europe, which is a take-off from the Purple Label that was initiated in Japan in 2003 with great success.

The direction being taken by The North Face is not a case in isolation, though it is among the first to take the path and create a trend. In the early 2000s, Penfield – the outerwear apparel brand, teamed up with contemporary streetwear labels and retailers including Stüssy, Wood and A Life for wider audience. Now many other popular outerwear brands are targeting the urban market, which was valued at US $ 75 billion in 2014 by market research firm – WeConnect. Since 2014, the extreme weather outerwear brand, Canada Goose has been working along with Drake’s streetwear label OVO to put a new spin on its popular items such as the dope waterproof shell jacket and a coordinating baseball cap that comes in a black and military green camo print. More recently, in December 2015, Columbia Sportswear, the outdoor clothing retailer launched a collaboration with Ronnie Fieg, Founder of New York streetwear store Kith, for its products such as the Bugaboo jacket, hat and gloves. Experts believe that these outdoor brands can experiment with younger consumers, whilst still being able to fall back on classical sales that generate the most revenue and are derived from their classic consumers who are looking for the heritage products.

The partnership with streetwear labels has presented an opportunity for the outdoor brands to find new growth avenues, which sometimes is hard to obtain from traditional consumers, who value long-lasting and non-trend products. “The targeted older generation is in replenishment mode, only purchasing when the current apparel wears out, thus forming a slower cycle. The younger generation is in the building mode, so they’re in a faster

purchasing frequency cycle,” believes Marshal Cohen, Chief Retail Analyst, NPD Group. This push towards incorporating and widening a brand’s scope of consumers has led to Columbia’s revenue increase by 11 per cent to US $ 2.33 billion last year, while VF Corporation that own The North Face, Eastpak and Vans reported US $ 12.4 billion in sales.

Meanwhile, streetwear collaborations also provide opportunities for outerwear brands to secure their future consumer base as the outerwear brands are focusing on ensuring that current streetwear consumers slowly but surely move towards the classical side of the brands. According to experts, the urban demographics who buys an item from the collaboration when they are 15, create a relation of trust with the brand, and will eventually buy products from the main line when they turn 30, cultivating brand loyalty. According to the latest report from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), ‘Emerging Demographics,’ between 2015 and 2030, three quarters of global consumption growth will be driven by individuals spending more. Moreover nine groups of urban consumers will generate nearly 75 per cent of global consumption growth from 2015-2030, having the power to reshape global consumer markets over the next 15 years and these young highly impressionable youngsters are one of them.

However, targeting the younger consumer base comes with its own set of challenges of putting the brands at risk of alienating its core consumer base. For example, Timberland ventured so much towards streetwear that it lost its core consumer base. Before Timberland was acquired by VF Corporation in 2011, the footwear focused outerwear brand moved into streetwear so aggressively that it saw its core consumers lose interest, contributing to its revenue falling from US $ 1.57 billion in 2006 to US $ 1.29 billion in 2009. Nonetheless, brands such as The North Face are successfully balancing both its consumer segment, focusing on the importance of making a clear distinction in the way they communicate to two target markets, selling to multiple generations the same message but with two different and distinct languages.

The direction being taken by The North Face is not a case in isolation, though it is among the firsts to take the path and create a trend. In the early 2000s, Penfield the outerwear apparel brand teamed up with contemporary streetwear labels and retailers including Stüssy, Wood and A Life for wider audience. Now many other popular outerwear brands are targeting the urban market, which was valued at US $ 75 billion in 2014 by market research firm – WeConnect.

WORLD WRAP

ESSENTIALS


Zenitex Mill Flag Bearer of Sustainability in Surat

Windmill that generates power of 1.5 Mega Watts, 5,000 trees and plants with drip irrigation facility, water recycling, rainwater harvesting, heat recovery, use of natural light and installation of inverter control systems, auto coal-feeding system and many campaigns from time to time creating awareness on various serious issues are the sustainable initiatives of Surat-based Zenitex Mill. The brain-child of young entrepreneur Viral Desai, Zenitex Mill (ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certified) is just 13 years old, yet its sustainability achievements are impressive. In Financial Year 2014-15, the total water savings by the company was of 43,854.779 M3 and total electricity savings was 2,88,608.858 KwH. The company’s Hearts@Work Foundation is also aggressively working in the area of social welfare. It is really heartening to see that in a highly commercial hub like Surat which is working mainly for domestic market and doesn’t have much focus on sustainable actions, there is a company that strictly follows sustainable processes and takes care of nature, and nature has its own unique way to give it back in abundance.

These efforts of Zenitex Mill

are highly noticed and appreciated as the company is the winner of the Best Industry of Gujarat and National Energy Conservation awards for three consecutive years. There are many more such recognitions. Viral, an MBA armed with enriching case studies of international companies and others discovered on entering the industry 13 years ago that there was a lot of scope to implement theoretical knowledge on realizing that almost every textile player of Surat, including his own family business of processing was running in a conservative style. As there was a lot of scope for change and Viral was vocal about it, change happened. “Once we started saving water, we felt the benefits of the savings in terms of energy, thermal and also on the revenue side. Textile being a price-sensitive business, these savings and benefits were a welcome change. Once we made these changes, we started to get awards and recognitions which motivated us and inspired us to set new benchmarks in energy savings every year. As goes the adage, “Adversities give birth to innovations,” said Viral. The new

office is an example of energy conservation and environmental protection initiatives followed by Zenitex.

Good thing about the company is that it takes such initiatives as a continuous process and does not believe in resting on its laurels. In June 2016, it launched ‘Green India-Clean India’ initiative, under which so far it has planted 2,700 trees in two phases. Further, it is in talks with institutes and associations to plant more trees and this initiative will be continued till June 2017. The uniqueness of this programme is not only to plant trees, but about educating the locals and students to make each tree a part of their daily routine so that they take care and nurture the tree until it is self-reliant.

Unlike most other companies in sustainability, Zenitex Mill has not set any specific targets. “Having targets for reducing carbon footprints or green cover plantations

Viral Desai, CEO, Zenitex Mill

SUSTAINABILITY

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SUSTAINABILITY

or reducing the pollution makes us lazy thinking that we will meet our targets and the rest is to be done by others. This reduces the zeal by which we intend to do our duty. Hence, our target is global and not limited to ourselves, we have pledged to keep working towards a greener future and cleaner environment,” says Viral.

Zenitex being an SME, doesn’t have separate teams for different purposes so same is true with sustainability but Viral feels very lucky to have had an excellent team which includes its workers too. “Our staff and workers are always ready to support and associate with any social cause wherever it is carried out. Whatever we do, be it business or social service, we do it with our hearts and this feeling of ‘love and giving’, has given birth to our Social Responsibility/Community Welfare

Awareness session on breast cancer in which women participated enthusiastically

The company focuses a lot on ‘Quit Tobacco Campaign’ and is organizing various camps for the same

The company has dyeing & processing capacity of 50,000 metres per day and recently diversified into designer scarves, stoles and blouses. Wherein, one part of the income from garments business will go to Hearts@Work Foundation. Currently it is at sampling stage. These products will be for Indian market as well as for exports. The tools/equipment that have enabled the company conserve energy, are mostly manufactured indigenously.


initiative named Hearts@Work Foundation. The activities that we have done under this foundation have always been carried out with the support of all like-minded people from all walks of life who feel their responsibility towards the society and nature,” shares Viral. Some of the initiatives include Rehabilitation of Jobless Diamond Workers – 2008; many awareness steps like Bikers Rally; Free Cancer check-up camp on Quit Tobacco Campaign; Pink Ribbon Day regarding breast cancer; celebrations like World Forest Day and World Water Day. The company also regularly holds training sessions, lectures on first aid implementation, safety while at work, and general health care information camps at regular intervals wherein not only the workers but also their family is provided free check-ups and medication.

Though the efforts are impressive, it does not happen without its many challenges. “Being an SME, we are facing many issues like the carbon credits that we earn are smaller in numbers and hence, we are not able to find consultants who would broker the sales of these points for us. Corporates who use renewable energy and green energy are given benefits such as PAT, we request the authorities to look into the possibility if an SME who is abiding all the principles of energy conservation and environmental protection can also avail the same as a motivation to do more. Similarly, at times when there is surplus electricity generated due to more winds and weather conditions, we have to sell the same to local grids at around Rs. 6/- per unit. Whereas, when we need to buy extra units we have to purchase it at around Rs. 8/- per unit. If the Government can intervene and reduce this gap of buying and selling for green energy compliant SMEs, it would motivate many others to join the larger cause,” concludes Viral.

SUSTAINABILITY

In association with WebAble – a digital marketing & social media agency in Bangladesh, C&A Foundation, a corporate foundation affiliated with the global apparel retailers and brands, is launching an online initiative called ‘Made in Equality’, a story-telling platform aiming to highlight the improvements in the RMG sector of Bangladesh. “Our primary audience is people in Bangladesh who aren’t really involved in the garment industry,” avers Maeve Galvin, Grant Manager, C&A. The online platform will feature people working within the RMG sector of the country, especially the garment

Focusing on sustainability, the German online fashion retailer Otto will draw consumers’ attention towards sustainable cotton from the ‘Cotton made in Africa’ initiative for its new campaign. The film’s footage conveys impressions of Africa and Germany, and seeks to raise awareness of sustainable

fashion among consumers. “Otto is demonstrating how important the ‘Cotton made in Africa initiative’ is for the company. It additionally shows that it offers value addition for the customers, while shining the spotlight on the concerns of small-holders in an advertising campaign is a major step forward for the future,”

conveys Tina Stridde, Managing Director of ‘Cotton made in Africa’. Further, Dr. Micheal Heller, Member of Otto Management Board adds, “Otto has been backing ‘Cotton made in Africa’ for over 10 years now and helps almost 7,00,000 African small-holders to grow cotton more efficiently and more sustainably.”

workers. It will also present the images of individuals and small groups of individuals alongside a

quote from those photographed, illustrating their life experiences ‘in their own words’.

C&A Foundation aims to highlight improvement in Bangladesh RMG sector

Otto emphasises on African cotton

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shipments for Spring/Summer are underway. Germany, another major market for India, also took slightly less orders from India with decline in imports by (-) 0.28%, though the value was slightly up at 0.29%.

The UK, which has a major share of the European market from the Indian perspective saw a downfall of (-) 12.16% in quantities though the value of imports was slightly up by 1.69%, mostly because of the currency fluctuations. France, considered an important market for India, also saw imports decline from India by (-) 21.66% in quantities and (-) 15.57% in value. Between these two countries, Indian exporters lost a lot of business, though small gains did happen from Belgium, Sweden and Austria, the countries which are niche markets for smaller players.

Though, China saw a decrease in order booking of around 39.79 million kg in the period January to April 2016, Europe maintained its imports as Bangladesh picked up extra orders of 30.7 million kg, during the same period, which only

Since the beginning of the year buyers and exporters alike have

been giving very confusing signals as to the market trends… While the general feedback has been: ‘Markets are bad, but I am doing OK’; the fact of the matter remains that India is going through a bad patch in exports... These kinds of statements are actually harming the industry as there is no clarity or direction which can support strategic decision making for collective growth of the industry.

Buying houses working with the EU market, share that though they were positive of good business this year, mostly because ‘Indian fashion’ is big, but the bad market and price pressure did not allow the region to do well. The big markets for India within the EU are Spain, Germany, Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom, comprising a good 80% of the business. Of these, only Spain with 20.56% growth in volumes and 16.28% increase in value of imports, has registered worthwhile imports from India during the period November 2015 to April 2016, a period when

The statistical reading of total European apparel imports over the last year and first four months of this year shows that the imports were steady, and the same is true for the overall export of India to the EU, meaning that in real terms it has been stagnated due to the slowdown in apparel uptake and overall retail scenario in Europe. Europe being the

biggest market for Indian exporters, this downslide is impactful. On the ground, this easily translates into lower revenue of exporters as fixed cost from wages to logistics has been on the rise, but returns are more or less the same. This stagnant business in effect means an average 5% to 10% loss in overall revenue for the companies and also since the order position is not equitable, many companies have gone under. Many of the exporters who are working primarily with Europe are now looking at shifting focus to other markets.

European S/S ’16 Bad for India…

Exports Struggle

Slow market condi t ions p lay spo i l sports

MARKET UPDATE


confirms that Bangladesh is getting a major chunk of the business moving out of China. Vietnam too saw an increase in quantities of 2.13 million kg; even Pakistan saw an increase of 5 million kg in its orders from the EU… Between these few countries, the business shifting from China has almost been compensated, while India has been left behind. The question is who is to be blamed? Many feel that India is not competitive enough to grab the business, but the UVR of Vietnam during this period is actually higher than India at Euro 23.15, so cost cannot be the only reason!

Smart as they are, the big European buyers are tightening their supply chain; and while they may not necessarily be cutting into FOBs, they are asking for more ‘services’ which in all reality translates into more money spent by the suppliers, in the process reducing their cost of manufacturing to stay lean and competitive. These retailers are cleverly passing on as much cost as possible to the source… Direct to

store shipping, modularity and assortment of packing to be done in a ‘store ready’ method are the new requirements. Further, as the SKUs get smaller, buyers want to buy closer to the season, making sure that they have no stocks.

It is important to understand that when orders reduce, the first segments to be hit are the medium level exports with machine strength of 200-500 machines. While the smaller exporters who have fewer overheads and fixed buyer base of small chain stores and boutique are able to survive, the big exporters are flexible enough to pick-up the smaller orders and keep their factories running (of course the financial standing they possess, helps them to wither the storm). It is the medium level exporters who take the cut. No wonder there has been news of many medium level companies, mostly in the Delhi-NCR region, which are either closing down or substantially downsizing operations.

Yet on the other hand many companies are also expanding and over the last one year many companies have increased their capacities. A critical question that needs to be studied and analysed is who are these exporters and what type of buyer base are they working with?

Performance of retailers/brands in top markets reflects stagnant growthEuropean brands apart from a few big ones are all struggling. With lesser styles and lower quantities, increasing demand for upgrading ethical standards, reducing prices, dropping lead times, requirement of ‘newness’ faster and faster and some differentiation combined with desperate hit and trial methods of product launches is spoiling the planned supply chain.

The big 6 European clothing buyers from India include Inditex, Next, M&S, H&M, C&A and Primark, though there are many smaller brands actively buying from India, however in much smaller quantities. From market inputs, it seems that only Inditex has kept its orders going strongly from India while the others have cut-down or consolidated with bigger exporters.

In fact Inditex, the Spanish retailer that has taken the fashion world by

storm, has outpaced its competitors to register 12% increase in net sales and 6% increase in profits in the first quarter of 2016. Its ZARA brand clocked Euro 11.59 billion in sales in 2015 and is today the undisputed leader in the fast fashion market. Since Inditex imports all products to Spain, and through a warehouse model distributes throughout the world, it has played a big role in keeping imports into Spain positive. No wonder, exporters working with the Inditex group are doing well and they are a preferred buyer to work with. Other Spanish brands buying from India and are also on firm footing, including Mango, El Corte and Cortefiel.

Brands in the UK are struggling and though Next has seen a small 3.9% increase in sales in first quarter, the retailer has not recorded any profits and has reportedly shifted to more competitive bases. Also M&S another major UK-based retailer has reported (-) 8.3% decline in sales in first quarter of the year, both of these brands signify the retail condition in the UK which is responsible for many Indian exporters working in Europe facing a tough time.

Though Primark, also from the UK has reported 8% increase in revenue in 2015, but the products are mostly basic and cheaply priced with China and Bangladesh being the major sourcing destinations. India gets a very small share in overall business. Other retailers from UK include Tesco and Harrods.

Sweden-based, H&M group’s sales increased by 7% in local currencies during the first six months of the current financial year (December 2015 to May 2016), yet the sales increase was below plan, which naturally had an impact on profits. Major buying from the country is from Bangladesh and it has maintained a steady buying from India. Other Swedish retailers buying from India include Lindex and Lidl.

Peek & Cloppenburg, Kik, Karstadt are some of the major buyers from Germany and according to market feedback they are pushing for lower prices making it very difficult to work for them. The same is reflected in the stagnant imports from India. C&A is the big buyer from Netherlands, which is also keeping orders steady, but not looking at increasing them from India.

INDIA - QTY

COUNTRIES Nov. 2014-April

2015

Nov. 2015-April

2016

%tage

AUSTRIA 0.96 1.17 21.61

BELGIUM 7.63 8.58 12.45

DENMARK 3.68 3.32 -9.98

FRANCE 19.13 14.98 -21.66

GERMANY 22.22 22.16 -0.28

ITALY 8.93 9.28 3.88

NETHERLANDS 15.64 15.24 -2.52

SPAIN 12.22 14.73 20.56

SWEDEN 2.26 2.30 2.04

UNITED KINGDOM

32.53 28.55 -12.23

INDIA - VALUE

COUNTRIES Nov. 2014-April

2015

Nov. 2015-April

2016

%tage

AUSTRIA 19.34 22.77 17.77

BELGIUM 100.26 148.64 48.25

DENMARK 104.64 93.32 -10.82

FRANCE 411.69 347.60 -15.57

GERMANY 491.49 492.94 0.29

ITALY 188.63 187.37 -0.66

NETHERLANDS 272.98 262.42 -3.87

SPAIN 277.09 322.22 16.29

SWEDEN 63.61 62.73 -1.39

UNITED KINGDOM

604.38 614.61 1.69

Total (K+W) Apparel imports

MARKET UPDATE

[Quantity wise: Nov. 2015 to April 2016 over Nov. 2014 to April 2015]

Austria noticed maximum rise of 97.22% from import to India in babies wear and 52.96% in men’s shirts.

Undergarments registered 383.87% growth in Sweden, 113.33% in Denmark, 48.67% in Netherlands and 47.57% in Austria.

India’s T-Shirts export increased by 88.06% to Belgium and 49.57% to Austria, but was down (-) 33.74% to UK.

Trousers export of India to Belgium increased by 96.29% and to Austria by 52.75%.

FACTS


Mercury Fabric Creations, Delhi having expertise in circular

knits, has some new developments in modal and viscose-based fabrics. The company is now working on micro modal with lycra, though it is expensive and the price can go up to Rs. 6,000 per kg. “Circular knits is the base fabric of lingerie and intimate segment, so there is lot of potential for us in this segment and a good thing is that even medium-level companies that are just entering into this segment are equally concerned about quality and stringent for testing parameters. As a company, we are investing in many sustainable aspects with focus on carbon footprint, water recycle and ‘no’ use of any kind of harmful chemical,” informs Pranav Sachdeva, Director, Mercury Fabrics. The company is already

supplying fabric to brands like Enamour (Gokaldas Images), and is aggressively growing in its capability in reactive prints and has invested in a continuous 19 chamber washer which is like a prerequisite for superlative quality of reactive prints.

A leading player in lifestyle fabric, Arvind’s knitwear division is also looking at new developments for the intimate wear market. “Fabrics made from the blend of Modals, Viscose and Bamboo, are enhancing performance of intimate wear products. The major R&D that is happening is in the yarn play and finishes. Similarly, we are also working on sustainable production, in order to reduce the carbon footprint. We have focused on finishes like ‘eco finish’ which is a bio mimicry concept to abate wicking. The other one is ‘eco wash’, which devoid the use of detergent on washing fabrics where the fabrics have self-detergent properties so that performance and sustainability go hand-in-hand,” says Anand Singh, Design & Development Manager, Arvind Lifestyle Fabrics – Knitwear Division.

Fabric companies are also of the opinion that the perception that a specific type of fabric can only be used for a particular product category is now changing. Now the same fabric is being used for intimate wear as well as for manufacturing palazzos. Strongly noticing this observation SVG Fashions, Mumbai is experimenting with digital prints on cotton knits and

Enthusiastic with the market growth and interest of intimate wear manufacturers in new concepts, fabric companies are investing in product development to come up with new products in many new prints, textures and blends to suit the market needs and demands. Most of them have added capacities and invested in advance infrastructure too. Interestingly, the fabric manufacturers and suppliers are equally targeting exporters as well as domestic companies, as both are showing interest and their products fulfil high quality parameters.

Fabric companies bring out innovative fabrics for intimate wear

Wide range of fabrics from Mercury Fabrics: The company offers lycra fabrics (up to 20% lycra), jerseys, piques (including collar & cuffs), ribs, fleeces, plaited, waffles, feeder stripes, interlocks available in many fibre options

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cotton spandex knitted fabric. “We have come up with some very natural and original prints. The company is doing discharge, pigment and disperse prints under one roof. It also does solids for activewear. Raj Kumar Agarwal, MD of the company informed, “In innerwear, prints are really becoming important, so we have focused on it.” The company with a capacity of 47 tonnes per day in knits, also does home furnishing and garments. It is further planning to add processing capacity to enhance its capabilities.

Along with awesome prints, few fabric companies are also focusing on effects like Kamal Export, Mumbai, which represents Carvico Italian Fabric and has introduced mélange effect in nylon fabric, a rare product in India. Abhay Chhapia, CEO of the company

which is focusing only on the high-end segment says, “Earlier there were only two options – solid or prints, but we have given mélange effect, which is a new entity for the market. It is breathable fabric and suitable for innerwear and other high-end fashion products. Our Italy-based manufacturers have created this fabric after a lot of R&D.”

Blends are something which always attract garment manufacturers, and some of the companies are using blends beautifully to create new effects. Shree Ginger Enterprises, Mumbai has recently developed PV poly fabric which is a polyester viscose blend suitable for intimate wear. Similarly, it has focused on grindle fabric which is blend of 50 per cent polyester and 50 per cent cotton, and mechanically blended where only the cotton part of this fabric is dyed that gives it a different effect. The way it’s blended makes it a stable fabric that can be used in any product category. Aditya Kumar Tayal, Director of the company informed that such developments of the company are being appreciated by the customers. The company is purely into tubular knitted fabric and has increased capacity into knitting and processing by 15 per cent. “We have worked to decrease the price by working on various aspects which is also attracting the garment manufacturers,” he added.

More and more Chinese fabric companies are exploring Indian intimate wear market with their innovative fabrics. So the Indian fabric manufacturers are also aggressively working to give something new; be it in designs, blends, feel or performance of the fabric.

Team Mercury with its Director Pranav Sachdeva (C)

Aditya Kumar Tayal (R), Director; and Amit Mehta, GM, Shree Ginger Enterprises, Mumbai

Raj Kumar Agarwal, SVG Fashions, Mumbai

Anand Singh, Design & Development Manager, Arvind Lifestyle Fabrics – Knitwear Division

Tex-Find

When 3D printed technology first cropped up, did we have the faintest idea that 3D printed hair will be a reality? I guess not! Scientists from MIT Media Lab’s Tangible Media Group have devised a way to three-dimensionally print hair-like structures on both flat and curved surfaces. The technique, dubbed ‘Cilllia’, after the cilia filaments that project from nearly all mammalian cells, involves a software platform that allows a user to design and fabricate 50-micron “hair geometries” based on predefined attributes such as angle, thickness, density, and height. Like the motile cilia and flagella found in eukaryotes, MIT’s Cilllia can be assigned sensory functions for the purpose of creating interactive textured surfaces.

Inspired by the way hair achieves different properties by way of its unique high aspect ratio, MIT scientists set out to create fine, bristle-like structures that can not only sense touch and be actuated but also manifest digital information on the physical plane.

PROGRAMMABLE, 3D PRINTED ‘FUR’ – CILLLIA

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and made-ups. “Afghanistan is a promising market for the export of textile fabrics from Surat and other MMF centres across the country. We are expecting to triple our direct export from India to Afghanistan in the next couple of years. Afghanistan traders are more than willing to enter into direct

Synthetic and Rayon Textile Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) – an apex body of Indian textile industry, and Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) – have jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a delegation from Afghanistan to boost export of polyester fabrics

Afghanistan stands at around US $ 165 million, which also includes fabric exports worth US $ 161 million, made-ups worth US $ 3 million and polyester yarn worth US $ 1 million. Now with this MoU in place, it is expected that trade between the two countries will further increase.

business with traders in Surat and other places,” Narain Agarwal, Vice Chairman, SRTEPC told a leading Indian daily.

Currently, Indian exporters are not extensively engaged in direct trade of textiles with Afghanistan which they sell to it through third countries. At the moment, trade with

India inks MoU to increase fabric exports to Afghanistan

cater to the larger demand arising from India and overseas markets after the accomplishment of project. With much larger production capacities and product baskets, our aim is to emerge as the biggest denim manufacturer in India, and perhaps Asia, during the current Financial Year,” states Deepak Chiripal, CEO, Nandan Denim Limited.

In another development the company has been honoured as one of the ‘Giants of Tomorrow’ by

Nandan Denim Limited (NDL), Asia’s largest denim fabric manufacturer, has reported a surge of 3 per cent in its net profit in the first quarter of fiscal year 2017 to Rs. 15.97 crore as against Rs. 15.50 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY 2016.

In the period under review, profits before tax increased by 18 per cent to Rs. 23.46 crore compared with Rs. 19.84 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net sales soared 7 per cent to Rs. 300.39 crore over corresponding quarter’s net sales of Rs. 280.51 crore. Also, the company reported a healthy EBITDA and PAT margin for the first quarter of FY 2017 at 16.2 per cent and 5.3 per cent, respectively.

Additionally, the manufacturer has undertaken an expansion project to build up potential for product and market diversity through backward integration apart from making in-roads into yarn dyeing shirting business while the denim manufacturing competence increases by 55 per cent. “Partially commissioned project has started yielding positive results despite the volatile prices of inputs. We expect that the company will be able to

is indeed an important moment for us, as the company’s efforts have been recognized by a leading and globally reputed publication. We are now further motivated towards continuing our efforts for quality excellence and commitment,” Chiripal said.

World’s fifth largest integrated denim fabric maker, Nandan Denim Limited, is a part of leading conglomerate Chiripal Group and is headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Fortune India in its 500 Biggest & Best Midsize companies’ rankings, celebrating organisations that fuel India’s economy. The company ranks at No. 38 as against the earlier 42nd place amongst the Fortune India Next 500 (2016) companies for wealth creation over 3 years with a CAGR of 59.64 per cent. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping presented the ‘Certificate of Honour’ to Nandan Denim CEO at a ceremony held in New Delhi. “It

Nandan Denim's net profit up 3%; honoured as ‘Giants of Tomorrow'



The company has a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility unit near Ahmedabad and exports its denim fabric to over 28 countries across the globe with a team of 3,000 employees.

Deepak Chiripal, CEO, Nandan Denim Limited

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Jodhpur, the second largest city of Rajasthan with proximity to other

hubs like Jaipur, Balotra, Pali and Ahmedabad, is increasing its stature in home furnishing because of three main reasons. Firstly, buyers that come to the city for furniture prefer to source home products from the same exporters; earlier few exporters of Jodhpur were sourcing the home products from Panipat but now they choose to make the same themselves. Secondly, local exporters are very proactive, working on complete stories to give entire range of home products under a theme to their buyers rather than just furniture, which adds to the appeal. And most importantly, a container of furniture has enough space to put home products with it and so there is no extra cost of logistic. “We strongly observed that rather than products, it is the story in its entirety which really sells, and as such we entered into home products. Now after one year we have realized that our decision was quite correct,” says Akshay Bohra, Proprietor, Arrkaa Art N Exports. Leading the family

the cushions in faded green colour made by this fabric were appreciated by the buyers. For us recycled products is one of the main reasons for the growth of home furnishing business,” says Pankaj Baheti, Director, Art Design who started home segment three years ago. The company is also into furniture as well as cotton bags. Bonafide Exports that uses old sarees, and garment leftovers for bed covers and other product ranges, has also seen good

O F T H E 4 0 0 C O M PA N I E S E X P O R T I N G F U R N I T U R E , 1 0 0 A R E I N V O LV E D I N H O M E S E G M E N T

J O D H P U R : A F T E R F U R N I T U R E A N D H A N D I C R A F T, H O M E F U R N I S H I N G I S T H E G R O W T H AV E N U E

business of furniture for the last 25 years, Akshay started cushion covers, runners, poofs, and bolsters. Exporting these products to Germany and other European countries, the company recently added US to its buyer list.

Manufacturing rugs, cushions, pillow covers, etc. Apurv Bhansali, Proprietor of Bhansali Art and Craft talking about the advantage of a buyer to source from Jodhpur adds, “In some cases buyers have to pay logistic cost of Rs. 200 per kg, but when they are sourcing it from Jodhpur, they save it completely. Sometime they give little extra price to accommodate the orders with same shipment of furniture.” One of the other important reasons for the growing demand of Jodhpur-based home products is recycling concept and local strength in techniques. Most of the companies manufacturing cushions here are using recycled fabric and local strength, be it hand-block or handwork and antique/vintage look. “We are playing on recycled fabric; recently we used fabric made from old army tents and

Despite having NIFT in Jodhpur, local exporters are not getting enough trained staff even for middle-level management.

Jodhpur has variety of products with vintage as well as contemporary look and that too made by recycled fabrics. Seen are products from Bonafide Exports

Known for its furniture, handicrafts and fabric processing industries, Jodhpur is now also growing its footprint in home furnishing (soft goods). There are many reasons supporting the growth to this industry, which has been aided by the fact that some SMEs, having furniture or handicrafts business since decades, added home furnishing few years back and are now enjoying the benefits as a regular product category. Though, the players have dissent on many issues, they unanimously agree that this city will grow further in home furnishing, but will not achieve ‘hub’ status like Panipat or Karur. Despite few local benefits and challenges, entrepreneurs are going ahead with investments in the home segment.

Birendra Kumar Bengani, MD, Bonafide Exports

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Some exporters feel that fabric availability needs to increase for further growth of business in this hub as it does not have enough mills and ancillary units. “Most of the time we face problem in getting raw material which is equal to western standards, Supplier base needs to improve a lot,” argued Apurv.

Whatever industrial areas exist in the city, they are already occupied and costing is very high, so entrepreneurs now need proper space to grow

growth in business. Birendra Kumar Bengani, MD of the company says, “We have seen double-digit growth in home product category and its main reason is that we only use recycled fabric, which is very popular with the buyers. Patchwork is also our expertise. Special prints of Pali and Balotra do attract the buyers.” As many companies are into leather furniture, leather patches are also easily available with them and which are used in home products.

Along with the above mentioned advantages there are some companies that have individual strengths and getting the advantages of the same too. Siddarth Mehta, Director, Fortune Exports claims, “Some of the companies here are very much dedicated to product development and we are also one of them.” Though it is the efforts of the management rather than PD team, but they are creative enough and getting business due to this. Yet, the players doing PD are few and Apurv feels that the city-based exporters have to increase their focus on product development.

here, however not all agree. According to him, the city has capabilities to uplift the status of workers as Akshay has seen the workers growing here and becoming contractors too. But Birendra Kumar disagrees with Akshay’s view and says that the city is very costly and like in other parts of India, Jodhpur too faces shortage of labour. Jodhpur has the potential to grow in the home segment and it should increase its reach.

further. Though the city has a good road and rail connectivity, it is lacking in direct flight facilities in India. Besides there is not a single direct international flight for the city. “Whenever we have to travel, we have to think and plan well in advance as we have limited flight options. Due to this, sometimes we avoid travelling,” says Birendra Kumar. Despite the limited flights, buyers from across the world still visit Jodhpur purely for business purpose, and to meet new buyers many local exporters participate in international fairs too. Surendra Bhandari of Bhandari Exports informs, “Buyers do visit our units, offices on regular basis as it is the only city where he can get furniture, handicraft and home furnishing products. We also participate in the India Handicraft and Gift Fair and get new buyers. However, buyers are not coming purely for home furnishing segment, as yet.”

On the issue of labour availability, opinion is divided as Akshay says that enough labour is available

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Welspun India Ltd., one of the biggest home furnishing companies of India, is facing the heat as Target Corp. is severing ties with the company. Target, which is one of Welspun’s biggest customers and the second largest discount retailer in the US, said in a statement that Welspun substituted Egyptian cotton with a cheaper variant of cotton while supplying it bedsheets. Taking this into account, Welspun has said that it will appoint an auditor to probe into the matter. “This is an issue of highest priority for us and we will take all necessary steps to address it. We have commissioned ‘one of the big four’ accounting firms – a term used to refer to Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG and Ernst & Young – to investigate its supply systems and processes,” the company said. The home textile major has reportedly lost more than Rs. 2,000 crore in market capitalization after this announcement. Walmart Stores Inc., is also reviewing Welspun India Ltd.’s cotton certification records after Target Corp. Meanwhile Ikea has said that it will continue business collaboration with Welspun’s though it is awaiting outcome of Welspun probe into sales practise.

“Welspun Global Brands was one of the producers of Egyptian Cotton 500-thread count sheets under the Fieldcrest label for Target. After an extensive investigation, we recently confirmed that Welspun substituted another type of non-Egyptian cotton when producing these sheets between August 2014 and July 2016. Neither Target nor Fieldcrest had any knowledge of this substitution. These sheets were produced by a number of vendors and only one of those vendors was substituting product. This was a clear violation of both Target’s Code of Conduct and our Standards of Vendor Engagement, and was contrary to the high ethical standards to which we hold ourselves, and our vendors. Due to this conduct, we are in the process of terminating our relationship with them,” Target said in a statement.

Target contributes about 10 per cent of Welspun’s total revenue. Welspun is selling the same product to few other customers as well…, they will also react on this matter. They might insist on reducing prices or ask for compensation or may even cut ties like Target did. Nearly two-thirds of the Welspun’s business comes from the US. As per the latest input, Walmart Stores is also reviewing Welspun’s cotton certification records after Target.

Welspun commenced operations in 1985 and supplies to Walmart Stores Inc., Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., Macy’s Inc. and JCPenney. It noted sales worth US $ 878 million in the year ended March 31, 2016. The US is very strict on quality and safety issues and recalls product if there is any issue. This is a warning to all the companies working on the international platform to be vigilant and ensure that no compromise is made in parameters defined by the importing country.

Welspun gets a jolt; Target terminates

business ties

On ‘Target’ is Welspun

Siddarth Mehta, Director, Fortune ExportsPankaj Baheti, Director, Art Design

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Summer collections would be nothing without the interesting prints and patterns that represent the mood of the season and the general theme of each collection. Stripes, as a print, have been on-trend for a few seasons but now it has spread across to various looks – sporty and elegant. Checks were popular on the runways as were tartans as they were displayed on stylish dresses, skirts and outerwear. Florals are a must for Spring and this year, it was all about the tropical flora and fauna… Read on to discover how these trends were interpreted on the runway.

Prints and patterns, the heart of summer collections

Resort 2017Move over the oversized florals, as it’s all about the tropical blooms this coming season. Designers displayed palm fronds, hibiscus and used bright colours that were used on all over prints. Full-throttle tropical exuberance has never looked fresher as it did on the Chanel runway where the dresses were sporty yet feminine, Gucci’s pattern was more haphazard though the style of the midi-length dresses was same as the former. Just Cavalli decorated their slip dresses with palm leaves that were accentuated with the ruffles. Rochas put parrots on the map and Valentino’s inspiration were tropical fruits like pineapples in addition to the flowers.

Tropical Florals

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Resort 2017 was not all about florals and beach-inspired hues; typically autumnal fabrics like plaid and natty tweeds found a whole new life for warmer weather. Alexander McQueen used it on his shot tweed coat in classic shades of red and white, whereas Balmain’s look was more for the modern corporate as he incorporated the pattern on blazers. Gucci pulled out all the stops with a larger-than-life tartan off-the-shoulder dress; Suno’s was understated and incorporated fresher shades like mint green and orange; and Rosie Assoulin displayed the print on a flared sleeved top and skirt that fit perfectly into the romantic theme of the season.

Whether tiny Swiss dots or generous spots – the size of coins, Resort’s print of choice has quirky charm to spare. Michael Kors showed his love for polka dots by using it not just on his garments but the accessories too, including the scarf and bag. Monse used small spots like Kors but they came on a one-shoulder dress. Oscar de la Renta made the perfect case for eveningwear with his tiered gown in white that had black polka dots of varying sizes, placed strategically. Carolina Herrera’s version was again in monochrome shades, like the others and was on an A-line dress with cut-outs, whereas Gucci’s style was far more relaxed than the others and came in a diaphanous fabric.

Tartan Polka Dots

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ROSIE ASSOULIN GUCCI

OSCAR DE LA RENTA

MICHAEL KORS

MONSESUNO ALEXANDER

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Easy-to-wear knits get amped up, thanks to the addition of athletic-looking graphic stripes. They never really went out of style, but this season stripes were everywhere, in multi-colours that conjured moods like preppy, sporty, and even elegant. Versace used it on a sweatshirt, horizontally and on a knit skirt, vertically in primary shades of blue and red and Rochas did the same but with more subtle shades and sequin. Etro’s stripes came in all colours possible that lent a folkloric vibe to the looks, Pringle of Scotland put stripes on knit dresses that looked minimal yet complex and Tome’s version involved bold stripes on a shirt.

Bold checkered prints were everywhere on the runway, in some cases they were obvious, while in others discreetly placed. Louis Vuitton’s take on it was simple and impactful as he displayed the pattern on a monochrome sweater, worn on a skirt and so was Philipp Plein’s version that involved being placed on pants in a biker chic look, with the addition of a few vintage cars being placed on the pants. Fendi played with colours as he demonstrated a more delicate look using red and white checks on a ballroom dress. Designers like Fausto Puglisi and Dsquared2 infused the print in more innovative ways by adding to the side pleats of a skirt and to the bottom half of a trench coat, respectively.

StripesChecks

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‘Sheer favours the bold’! The runway collections this year

validate that; transparency need not be subdued. The other aspect of sheer is utterly feminine with those long flowing silhouettes, alongside triggering a slight mystery. Likewise, adding an extra layer under those sultry sheer dresses can balance out the transparency, conserving its effectiveness in day-to-day life. Considering its global presence, sheer factor has already marked its impact on retail styles. The popular elements of the trend are lace, tulle, net and chiffon. Delicate voile, organdie, georgette and dotted Swiss also fall in the category of see-through fabric. Sheer materials are preferred by designers for creative patterns due to its light weight, but stiff structure. Sheer has undergone a magical evolutionary process in the fashion realm, from the ’60s till the present time.

Designers ExpeditionInternational designers have approached sheer factor in diverse ways, generating unique grandiose collections this year. Gucci & Burberry Prorsum have exercised the mixture of sultriness and simplicity in their respective collections, fusing a hint of cute prints or embroidery and dainty ruffles with sheer material. Aquilano Rimondi and Vera Wang have

successfully revived the classic white shirt using transparency, highlighting the details with geometric structured cuts and cut-out shoulders. DKNY and Vera Wang have put an unexpected mix of sexy sheer silhouettes with cool relaxed silhouettes, thus adding an edge to sporty chic clothing style. Dolce & Gabbana has created a plethora of sensational sheer looks playing with embroidered patches, nets, tulle gowns in their S/S collection ‘sheer luxury’ while Missoni went with the sheer look which ‘suggests rather than reveals’ in S/S 2016 Milan Fashion Week.

While Alberta Ferretti & philosophy showcased bohemian vibes in sheer long lacy dresses, Givenchy’s theme was feminine with trivial revelation of certain body parts. Dior & Miu Miu experimented with peek-a-boo cuts and sheer textures. Ellie Saab’s A/W 2016-17 sumptuous collections display the signature use of sheer and lace in a dark rebellious mood. Edgy sheer black lace dresses substituted feminine gowns stirring a dash of variety. Monique Lhuillier puts up an artistic array of sheer fabrics, ornamented by grand vibrant hues. Resort wear designers tend to avail sheer fabrics profusely in numerous collections, be it crop tops or shorts or voile dresses. A sheer kimono or a tulle skirt is indeed ideally suitable for resort wear.

Retail QuestSheer affair appears to be progressively commencing in the retail market, not in a widespread manner though. Few renowned brands have embraced sheer in their collections while some have constrained sheer usage to the detailing only. Zara, one of the world’s biggest popular retailers, has a wide range of sheer products like dresses-skirts-tunics in tulle, mesh tops, lace dresses – tops, sheer detail bomber jackets available in a plethora of patterns. J. Crew, another prominent brand, includes sheer tops, dresses in silk-chiffon-lace material as well as Tulle skirts.

Another leading brand in retail business, Topshop, provides a limited array of tops displaying partial, but admirable use of lace & mesh. Topshop’s few apparels project a hint of embroidery on sheer surfaces additionally. Forever 21, famous for its trendy budget shopping, presents an abundant mélange of see-through clothing. Tops – dresses in mesh & lace, printed sheer shirts, semi-sheer tops in off-beat patterns and cut-outs, embroidered sheer, sheer skirts-trousers, panelled sheer tops are accessible in its extensive range. International brands like M&S, Guess, Pull & Bear seem to play it safe for the time being.

FASHION BUSINESS

Sensual sheers are one of the prominent trends which continue to rule the fashion charts in 2016 as well. Sheer fabrics have become omnipresent on every runway, be it in New York or Paris. This Spring showcases sheer in the most daring form possible. See-through fabric can be either super sexual or super feminine, depending on the mode of usage.

S h e e r f a b r i c s r u l i n g r u n w a y s a r e a l l s e t t o i n f l u e n c e r e t a i l s t y l e s !

Indian exporters ready with their take

Monique Ihuillier




FASHION BUSINESS

Exporters’ experimentation with sheer fabricOverall, fusing the sheer trend in ready-to-wear ranges will eventually be accomplished with the flow of time. Fellow retailers are bound to accompany the leading brands soon enough in this evolutionary journey, since sheer has already set its foot in the retail arena. The Indian exporters are also experimenting with sheer fabrics, sensing a growing trend…

Vishal Dublish, Director, Silver Line ExportsSheer fabrics is the next big calling from the international markets. We are trying to feed the demand by using embellished sheer fabrics on kaftans and tunics. Embellishments of sequins, rivets on these fabrics provide a subtle bling to the designs.

Uday Sehgal, Partner, Mariko Plus Pvt. Ltd.We are using sheer fabrics, especially nets on covers and camisole dresses. The idea is to cover the skin but keep it slightly revealed. Cover-ups and capes in brighter tones of fuchsia and greens over printed innerwears usher a chic yet bold engagement. Our new backless dresses with beads work have added an edge to our product category.

Gurpreet Singh Kohli, Indo Transworld ExportsA lot of sheer fabrics in whites and blacks have taken the lead this time. Both these colours have distinctive features and add a lot of value to the designs done on them. We are using flat georgettes, chiffons and nets for skirts and shrugs with value additions of chemical laces and beads work on the hemlines to create a cut off asymmetrical effect.

Neetu Singh, CEO, Sini Designs Pvt. Ltd.We are playing with chiffons and different types of georgettes on our Spring/Summer collection. Since these fabrics are light and delicate we are trying to give a texture to them by doing embroideries like chickankari, aari work and stone work. Sometimes the blend of these value additions brings an equally different design which is totally relatable with party wear dresses. There are top trending colours of sheer fabrics this season which are in the hues of teal, indigo blue, salmon and fuchsia.

Praveen Sharma, CEO, Click Clothing Company Pvt. Ltd.Sheer fabrics are very light and delicate fabrics. I believe they should be kept simple thereby maintaining the essence and character of the fabric. So instead of using these fabrics on garments, we have made scarves and sarongs with different textures on them. One of the most popular sheer scarf is 100% wool diamond structure. There are a miscellany of prints like digital and screen in floral, nature influenced and abstract prints. Such colours of sheer fabric provide grace to the design as well as the one wearing it.Dolce & Gabbana


Former Issa London Founder and Creative Director Daniella Issa Helayel is back in action, teaming up with the British high street retailer Monsoon on a capsule range of dresses. Known for her figure-flattering, brightly coloured silk wrap dresses, Helayel made headlines around the world when the Duchess of Cambridge wore a royal blue Issa London design for her engagement announcement to Prince William in 2011. The Daniella Helayel for Monsoon 15-piece range

features Helayel’s signature ladylike designs. The collection includes 13 dresses – long and short – a shirt and trousers. Prices range from US $ 116, for a shirt to US $ 194, for a dress. It is being sold exclusively at Monsoon stores and on the label’s website.

Alexander Wang has been awarded US $ 90 million in damages after successfully suing over 45 defendants operating 459 websites that sold counterfeit goods bearing its name. The brand, however, is unlikely to receive the actual amount, as the owners of the domains selling the illegal goods are impossible to trace. “The court system regularly awards very large amounts for the symbolic significance, as a means of deterring other individuals and parties. In other words, Alexander Wang is unlikely to

receive US $ 90 million,” according to a spokesperson for the brand. It is the first counterfeit case that the company has pursued. Its chief Principle Officer, Dennis Wang, stressed that it “takes its Intellectual Property Rights very seriously”.

Daniella Helayel teams up with Monsoon

Alexander Wang wins legal battle

After emerging from bankruptcy six months ago, American Apparel is now said to be looking for a buyer. Global investment bank Houlihan Lokey has been hired to sell the company and is reaching out to the “usual suspects” as potential buyers. The US-based retailer has seldom been in the headlines over the last two years, after experiencing difficulties getting the brand back on track following its lengthy battle with former Owner and Founder Dov Charney. He was vocal in his critique of the way that the company has managed its position.

“In December 2015, I submitted a US $ 525 million indication of interest, and now less than a year after they

went bankrupt, they’re struggling and trying to sell the company. That I find astonishing. They’ve stripped the company of its assets. They’ve fired all the creatives with a brutal corporate control battle. They’ve lost hundreds of workers. It’s astonishing,” he said

American Apparel looking for a sellout

There’s never been a better time to play with proportion than now. From oversized sleeves to extremely flared pants, these are the most balanced, yet out-of-order, looks of the season. Bell sleeves, flared trousers and huge peplums distorted the silhouettes for the designers. Delpozo and Carolina Herrera went for oversized trousers, cropped and wide-legged, respectively while cinching the waist for an exaggerated effect, giving a

peplum look to the tops. Ellery opted for a pair of extra wide-legged trousers too, but went a step ahead by choosing bell sleeves. Monse’s version included a supersized cargo pants and Adeam redefined relaxed silhouettes with a sweatshirt on top of a loose grey dress.

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FASHION RESOURCE

The first look at Gigi Hadid’s collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger makes it clear that the theme was nautical – Tommy X Gigi, the collection that the model has co-created with the designer. With signature nautical nods and all-American style, the capsule collection – which features women’s apparel, footwear and accessories in cosy knits, sleek leather and cool denim – will be shown on the catwalk during New York Fashion Week. This is Hadid’s first collaboration with the label, of which she was named global brand ambassador last year. Tommy X Gigi will be available to buy at tommy.com and is in stores now.

Tommy X Gigi collection revealed

The Los Angeles label for Spring debuts a small collection of breezy pieces that were conjured up with the help of six influencers in a partnership that’s a first for the brand. “It’s just a different approach to something,” Wildfox Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder Jimmy Sommers said from the trade show floor of the recently wrapped Project Women’s market in Las Vegas, and added, “These are very talented people.” The 19-piece collection retails from US $ 118 to US $ 198 and consists of jumpsuits with cut-out detailing, striped dresses and off-the-shoulder tops and joggers in a crisp palette of black, white and marine blue. The influencers involved in the collection, called Sun Kissed, included Halley Elefante of The Salty Blonde, Jill Wallace of Little Black Boots, Los Angeles wardrobe stylist Ann-Marie Hoang, fashion writer Alyssa Coscarelli, Whitney Scherillo of Whitney Bearr and Nikia Provenzano of Mad Maven Style.

Wildfox turns to influencers for Spring collection


Logomania hit its peak earlier in the millennium when designers started putting their brand names all over their clothes. And now the slogans and logos are enhancing T-shirts as the most comfortable yet powerful fashion statement without uttering a word. This Spring, designers resurrected the big, bold brand logos. While minimalism has been ruling the runways for several seasons now, logos on the entire length of the garment and the prominent block lettering of labels like Hermès and Chanel, are becoming a rage amongst consumers. With unlimited possibilities on offer, logos give in way for a plethora of printing techniques to come together and deliver great outputs. Being able to cater to consumers in every segment and age, logomania is here to stay and will only get better and more powerful in future…

The Logo Revival!Brand logos on garments are back with a bang for 2017…

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are very brand- and icon-oriented. Batman, superman logos, and brand logos are amongst some keen choices in this segment. Coated leather like effect is also seen being achieved through wet heat transfer printing process using transfer papers. Abhishek Kochhar, CEO, Diamond Overseas (India), explaining further on the developments said, “We have been developing T-shirts, T-shirt dresses, dresses, etc. with logos in silver and golden foil for our buyers. Nowadays, logos are not being used as is and the forms are highlighted with sequins and beadings to enhance the look of the garment.”

The Resort ’17 collections came branded to the hilt, from Loewe and Lanvin to Pucci and Vuitton. The house’s signature monogram had seemingly leapt from the clothes, bags, lust-worthy leather vests and jackets. The reason the trend is popular right now is that it’s less about status, and more about re-appropriating the cool-girl possibilities of wearing a house logo in a way that’s not letting it wear the customer. Today is the time when it is impossible to find a handbag or clothing that isn’t emblazoned with logos.

In fact, belts, T-shirts, sweatpants – not a surface is spared. Wang rendered his own moniker in laser-cut leather and delicate lace on gloves and other garments, while DKNY covered sporty separates in black and white letters that spelled out the brand’s name. The designers who showed logo-laden looks for Spring did so in a way that seemed cool and trendy, but blatant logos all over shirts, pants, dresses came across as too much, therefore, one logo on one garment is an approach exporters seem to adopt.

Due to the increased requirement and changing lifestyle, producers are offering several colours and designs that attract kids. Many designers are focusing on creating patterns inspired by cartoons, fantasy in metallic, and foam/puff heat transfer printing to play around with logos. “To cater to the engaging need of the kids and to add the fun element, patterns are mostly printed in iridescent effects giving dual tonality in colour. Flock transfer papers are also quite popular in this segment,” says Vineet Kumar Sadh, MD, Ellora Enterprises. Companies like A.T.E. and Cheran Machines offer heat transfer presses

Looks inspired by the 1990s have been popping up on the runways

for several seasons now, but one trend inspired by the decade that made a really strong appearance is logomania. As we all know by now, fashion is cyclical – which means it’s about time for the logomania obsession of yesteryear to make a comeback. On the recent Resort 2017 runways, Gucci, Hood by Air, DKNY, and even restrained labels such as Loewe experimented with placing their brand name or logo on bags, belts, tops, and pants. Gaurav Chopra, Owner, RG International, elaborating on the growth of logo prints said, “Prints have been ruling the domestic and export markets for a longer period of time now, but the scenario seems to be changing. Now the prints required are minimal in nature. And going with this minimalistic attribute, brand logos are the best options, which are easier to be experimented with and are quite popular amongst buyers.”

Fashion is what fashion does, and what was once considered egregious, came back with new life. Unlike its previous run, designers this time have found ways to slip brand logos into their collections complementing the complete look. Alessandro Michele not only brought back the iconic green and red stripe at Gucci but also sent out a full look with the brand’s name all over it. Then there was the overcoat with Lanvin’s flagship address in the label’s signature font. Louis Vuitton had monogrammed vests sending the message out loud and clear. Jeremy Scott at Moschino had each piece covered in their brand name. Even underground labels Vetements and Hood By Air gave the trend their stamps of approval. Iconography isn’t dead yet. And this typography fashion seems to be here for many seasons to come.

Indian exporters are also taking this trend very seriously and working with varied digital printing technique to achieve the same. The women’s wear segment being the most experimental, one witnessed a wide range of logos printed in varied assortment of printing techniques. Transparent print, where only a transparent, glossy or matt surface is imprinted in shape of the design of logo, metal print which is mostly in the shades of powdered silver and gold and many others. The design choices in this segment

and digital fusing machines designed for flocking through transfer paper techniques.

Talking about printed logos we know that digital printed logos are the most popular logo types amongst the customers. Heat transfer paper printing is one technique which is becoming a staple with every garment manufacturer. Heat press transfer comes in numerous paper types to suit the imprint method used, and the product the imprint is transferred to. Ujjal Biswas, Proprietor, Galaaxy, talking about the printing technique says, “Traditional heat transfers are screen printed, but modern transfers can be printed by inkjets and laser printers using special papers. The basic function of all heat transfer papers is to ‘transfer’ the printed image onto an item by use of heat and pressure.”

Logos in 2017 are getting incorporated into clothing in varied printing and embroidery techniques. Digital transfer paper printing technique amongst all has appeared to be the frontrunner. Other than that, screen printing, foil printing, foam printing and mix media printing are some other ways.

VALUE ADDITION

Chanel No. 21


Texport Industries (TIPL), one of the leading readymade garment export manufacturers in India and the co-founder of American luxury designer brand, ‘Robert Graham’, has made its first appearance in the domestic e-commerce apparel business with a premium menswear brand ‘Punctuate’ – exclusively created for millennial customers and stitched from premium material. The collection is meant for every Indian and assures style, functionality and quality. It is also equipped with authentic

functional designs, including a range of shirts, T-shirts, jackets, hoodies and fashion casuals, which are ideal for flaunting fresh looks. In near future, the company plans to add more product categories in the brand.

Speaking about the new venture, Neeraj Goenka, Director of the company said, “The current e-com offerings emphasize on cheap price and compromise on quality. But we maintain radical transparency by manufacturing goods at reasonable mark-up in our own factories. Moreover, savings from eliminating brick & mortar expenses is passed on to our customers.”

Inspired by ‘Make in India’ initiative, ‘Punctuate’ products are handmade by women in Bangalore. Goenka elaborated, “Our aim is to build India’s truly global fashion brand, which will instil a sense of pride among all stakeholders and make people feel good about them.”

Texport’s ‘Punctuate’ targets domestic menswear segment

INDUSTRY WIRE

Tirupur has earned the reputation of being a very proactive garment export hub with even smaller companies having 150 to 200 stitching machines opting voluntarily to get certified for compliance. Knithome Garments is also one among such companies. Recently, the company completed procedures for Disney audit and it is now working to get GOTS certification. As of now, Knithome is doing small orders of pyjamas for Disney (for European markets) and is working to develop other products too. D Saravanan, Managing Partner of this SA8000 certified company with 150 machines, in conversation with Apparel Online informed, “The Disney audit was quite complicated

but we successfully completed it and got certificate; now moving forward our target is GOTS. Furthermore we are investing in digital printing as it seems to be a growth opportunity. We are collecting information about it and may invest in machines like M&R, MHM, etc.”

Nightwear and tees are the core products of the company and it is shipping mainly into Poland and France. Working with wholesalers and chain stores, Saravanan shared his opinion about the market, “As far as our experience or our buyers are concerned, I can say that market is booming now. We are expecting a good growth in current fiscal.”

Knithome Garments exploring GOTS and digital printing

(L to R) D Saravanan, Managing Partner and Ravi Ganesh, Business Development Manager of the company exploring digital printers

Casual chic in the shirts of Texport’s ‘Punctuate’

Naresh Gupta, Director, Jujan Markfin

With changing market conditions, exporters are also changing their strategy to stay competitive, be it by changing market or product focus. Jujan Markfin, a Noida-based export house, which was exporting high-value embellished garments, has now shifted focus to basic garments keeping in mind the latest trend and international needs. Shifting of focus has worked for the company as its turnover increased one-and-a-half times compared to last year and the company is now trying to double the same in current fiscal.

Naresh Gupta, Director of the company informed, “We are focusing on premium machine embroidered garments for the prêt (stylish casual) market. We have also added new customers in UK, USA and Australia.”

Jujan Markfin shifts its focus

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INDUSTRY LIVE

At last, change in TEA! A. Sakthivel quits; elections next month After serving for almost three decades (27 years to be exact), Dr. A. Sakthivel is stepping down from the post of President at Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA) to pave way for youngsters and others. Elections for the new President are expected to be held in the last week of September…

Exactly three years back, Sakthivel faced competition in the

elections for TEA’s President when out of the 497 votes casted, he clocked 334 votes and his opponent Velusamy got only 162 votes. The 66-year-old Sakthivel, who had been conferred Padma Shri Award in 2009, is among the forces responsible for the development of Tirupur as an ‘apparel exporting hub’ which is today exporting knitwear garments to more than

Textiles Minister asks to support GST Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani recently held a series of meetings with textile businessmen in Surat where she insisted that textile sector needs to work with Government on GST. The Minister also said that textile industry should use organic dyes and work towards branding like ‘Garments Without Guilt’. She also inaugurated the ‘Source India 2016’ exhibition, organized

by Synthetic and Rayon Textile Export Promotion Council. “Those against its implementation must ponder and think of its benefits. India has taken a revolutionary step by passing the GST bill. We must not let this advantage go away now and start working with the Government,” the minister said. BS Agarwal, President, SGCCI (The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry) sought excluding textile

It seems, very soon a Government administrator will be appointed to take over Apparel Export Promotion Council’s (AEPC) management, as Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani has given the go-ahead for the same. It has been reported that Rashmi Verma, Textile Secretary, wrote a letter to Corporate Affairs Secretary, Tapan Ray, and said that keeping in view the large-scale fraud of Government grants by the Council, it has been decided that the Government may appoint an ‘Administrator’ to take over the management of the Council so that its functioning may be streamlined to protect the public interest. Verma wrote in the letter, “I would request you to examine the possibility of appointing a ‘Government Administrator’, superseding the existing executive body of the Council as provided in Section 397 to 400 of the Companies Act.”

Verma also wrote, “AEPC, despite clear directions from the Ministry under Article 101 (i) has shown disobedience and not willing to improve its corporate governance.” Though Apparel Online approached AEPC for comments, there was no reply. Under the Act and Section 8, a company such as AEPC can be “superseded” and a Government administrator can be appointed only through the Company Law Tribunal under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Ministry of Textiles becomes ‘strict' with AEPC

“I’ve stepped down, but will remain active as a guiding force,” says Dr. A. Sakthivel


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INDUSTRY LIVE

100 countries worldwide. Last year (2015-16), the region recorded apparel exports worth Rs. 23,050 crore and is currently providing employment to around 6,00,000 workers directly, of which women account for 70 per cent.

Talking exclusively to Apparel Online, Sakthivel averred, “I am stepping down from my post at TEA, but will continue to serve Tirupur and the industry. I will work as a guiding force for the youth of Tirupur,” adding, “Right from 1987, Tirupur has never faced ‘strike’ issues, which is in fact a success for me as well as for all the industry stakeholders of

Tirupur apparel industry. Labour, staff, management of all the apparel factories and associations were always cooperative.” When asked about his biggest achievement in these three decades, he replied, “Providing enough water supplies for both industrial as well as drinking purposes through New Tirupur Area Development Corporation Limited (NTADCL) is the biggest satisfaction for me.”

All the associations in Tirupur have decided to convene a felicitation function to honour Dr. A. Sakthivel on September 1, for his lifelong support to Tirupur apparel export industry. It may be mentioned here that he also served at the top posts in FIEO (Federation of Indian Export Organisations), AEPC (Apparel Export Promotion Council), and owns Poppys Group of companies too. Besides this, Apparel Park Project, Knitwear Fashion Institute, Knitwear Technology Mission, Inland Container Depot, Netaji Apparel Park, India Knit Fair Association, TWIC-IKFA Convention Centre, are some of the significant efforts that he has made for the growth of Tirupur apparel industry.

Eagerness to learn from the basic level, knowledge about shop floor and creativity, are some of the primary elements that the apparel industry is looking in the young professionals of today. Experts from various segments of textile and apparel industry recently discussed “Industry Expectations from Young Fashion Professionals” at a welcome session for students of 2016 batch (UG & PG) of Amity School of Fashion Technology (ASFT).

Organized by ASFT, the event witnessed participants, including Sanjeev Kingar, Customer Care Associate & Area Controller, Shoppers Stop Limited; Ridhi Arora, Fashion Designer & Founder, Ridhi Arora Fashion Label; Dheeraj Jha, MD, A.S. Fashions; Charneeta Kaur, Head – Design & Visual Communication, De & Di – Integrated Marketing Agency; and Dibyanshu Tripathi, Manager, Value Channel Business, North, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Company Limited.

‘Shop floor knowledge is a ‘must'

sector from its ambit on the plea that it remains disorganized. The Minister asked SGCCI to start a research programme for advancement of technical textiles and assured for Government help.

Members of Southern Gujarat Textile Processors Association, Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association, Federation of South Gujarat Weavers Association also met Smriti Irani.

(L to R) Darshana Jardosh, MP, Surat City; Smriti Irani Union Textiles Minister; BS Agarwal, President, SGCCI; and Dr. Kavita Gupta, Textile Commissioner in a meeting

TEA was set up in the year 1990 under the leadership of Dr. A. Sakthivel and has been doing a yeoman’s service for the development of exports and also Tirupur.


The only show for players in the lingerie and intimate wear supply

chain – ‘Galleria Intima’ – organized by Intimate Apparel Association of India (IAAI), Mumbai, completed 5 years of its establishment at the recently held Delhi edition. The exhibition which witnessed good participation from over 50 companies in the fabrics, accessories and technology segments of the industry, mainly from India and China, saw good visitation of many intimate wear manufacturers from across the country.

The intimate wear industry in India has come a long way from being branded as manufacturers of a utility product to being a fashion industry. The products on display at the fair also reflected the same. As far as fabric is concerned, Modal with spandex was the favourite due to its softness and hand feel and in coming days it will be like a basic fabric for intimate wear. In value addition, digital printing was very much highlighted. Along with latest prints, new textures were also seen in many of the displays. All segments of the industry, be it exporters, big or small brands, or even unorganized players are happy as the industry is growing and the expectation is that it will grow further, irrespective of all odds. “Most of the companies in this sector are growing in double digit; so we are happy that we are into this

trade which is consistently growing. Even my company is expecting more than 25 per cent growth in the coming year. It further has immense potential and scope,” shares Rakesh Grover, MD, Groversons Apparel, Delhi and President, IAAI. At the show he appreciated modal-lycra fabric, new prints and beautiful laces of few companies and embroidered fabric from Twenty First Century Creations, Delhi. Exhibitors confirmed that some new companies are also entering into this product category which will ensure more growth of the industry.

Digital prints dominated as the most sought-after technique at most of the fabric companies’ booths. Visitors too were enthusiastic about digitally printed fabric. “We have introduced digital prints in our products. In the premium segment, it is very much in demand as now consumer is ready to pay the price for fashion elements. Digital printing is really helpful to us to offer something new. Companies can create a niche in their brand as

there is no MOQ in digital printing,” says Rakesh. His opinion

was strengthened by Raj Kumar Jain of

Zonac Knitting, (Bonjour) Noida, who added, “We are also increasing our focus on digital prints, as it is the

current market demand.”

One of the largest vertically integrated

undergarment manufacturers, Pratibha Syntex Ltd. also displayed its products at the fair. Mukesh Matta, VP-Business Development & Sustainable Initiatives informed, “We are here to make a strong presence in the intimate wear segment. I think despite having good visitation the fair could achieve more.” The company, famous for its sustainable initiatives, is now more into manmade fibres while cotton products are just 30 to 40 per cent of company’s product basket. The company is

Five years on…, and growing stronger

Review: Galleria Intima, Delhi

INDIA CANVAS

Juki, H&H, IIGM, Mehala,

HCA and Morgan displayed their latest

machines for the segment at the show. Visitors were also keen to explore the machines.

Not only the top brands of intimate wear, but even

job-workers are also adopting the latest

machines.

Many Chinese companies had interesting presentations at their booth. Dong Guan Yong Dian Clothing Co. Ltd. too displayed interesting products




experimenting with fibres like viscose, tencel, modal and polyester but within these fibres the thrust is towards more sustainable fibres like recycled polyester, use of spun viscose, etc. “Whenever we develop our product, we try to map overall environmental footprint of that product also. We try to give a message to the industry that sooner or later our business practices have to be more sustainable in terms of environmental concern,” added Matta.

The fair which was inaugurated by Textile Secretary, Rashmi Verma, also had thought-provoking discussions and seminars on various topics related to this industry in which many experts took part. A White Paper ‘Indian Men’s Innerwear Segment – Insights and Perspective’ by Wazir Advisors was also launched on this occasion.

Along with fabric, the fair also had some interesting displays in accessories. Kamal Export, Mumbai, a one-stop solution for variety of products, as it represents some international companies including Lila Turkey, displayed products like laces, fabric and moulded PU bra cups. “The bra cups we are offering are of international standards especially the half piece bra with underwire insert, which is the most appreciated product and we got orders for the same at the fair,” shared Abhay Chhapia, CEO of the company. The company is focusing only on high-end segment.

Offering full range of packaging material, Delhi-based Packing Box Products was happy with the event. “We tried to give a new view to old thinking and old systems, like rather than saying plastic or PVC packing we insist them to use the term ‘see-through’ packaging. We offer transparent packaging in PET which is 100 per cent hygienic. No harmful chemical is used for it. All these efforts increase the sale and durability of products,” says Sandeep Bansal of the company. His partner Sanjay Bansal adding to the details says, “We have a new range in polypropylene which was earlier not available in the market; more branding options are available for products in these kinds of packaging. We have also introduced kappa board (especially in khaki colour) which was mainly used in Europe earlier. Most of these products are eco-friendly and recyclable.” They further added that medium-level manufacturers are also concerned for the environment, which has made the market for sustainable products more viable. The company also has a range for small-level manufacturers like florescent/neon colour packaging range on ITC paper.

In accessories segment, companies are really geared up for the domestic market. Sanjeev Jain of Jain Narrow Fabrics (VIVIA), Delhi sharing his product range said, “Our products are quite new for domestic markets as till now we were focusing only on exports. The designs, quality and finishing we have, were really a surprise for domestic manufacturers. We are enthusiastic for domestic presence as it is a huge market and orders too are of good size.” The company is known for high-class elastic tapes & webbing.

Sanjeev Jain (second from right) from Jain Narrow Fabrics (VIVIA), with his team

Review of products by accessory suppliers…

INDIA CANVAS

Raj Kumar Jain of Zonac Knitting, (Bonjour) Noida, exploring products at the booth of Pratibha Syntex Ltd.

Rakesh Grover, MD, Groversons Apparel, (C) exploring fabrics at the booth of Twenty First Century Creations


The show witnessed participation from most of the technology

providers in printing segment, be it digital, screen or direct to garment, whether based overseas or indigenous, as more than 15 international and Indian companies were displaying their printing solutions and interestingly some of them were quite new. The prominent ones who displayed their printing machines include Digital Graphics Incorporation, ROQ, MHM, Negi Sign Systems & Suppliers Co., Dhaval Colour Chem, Lordz, Wenli, Apsom Infotex among others. The companies which were earlier into only screen printing machines have now entered into digital also like Grafica Flextronica displayed digital printer of Aeoon Technologies, Austria. Bhargav Mistry, MD, Grafica Flextronica and Angelo Schiestl, MD of Aeoon Technologies were quite enthusiastic as their booth was full of visitors. Similarly, Coltex, China was launched by Cheran Machines India, Coimbatore. Till now Cheran was only in screen printing and heat transfer.

Be it technology provider, exporter doing in-house printing or printing job-worker, everyone was enthusiastic

about the future growth prospects of all kinds of printing in Tirupur. This is indeed a positive development as far as innovation in the printing domain is concerned and almost every company dealing in printing equipment opined that all kinds of printing will grow in Tirupur. Indigenous companies were also strongly present with their latest developments like Sri Sowbarnika Tex, Tirupur which displayed its self-developed oval-type screen printing machine connected with a servo motor.

Knit Show also witnessed presence of cutting room solutions by Serkon Textile Machinery, Turkey (Rainbow Garment Machines, Tirupur) for the first time in India. Expressing his pleasure over the response at the fair, Burak Uystal, Sales and Marketing Coordinator from the company said that he was quite hopeful about its demand in Tirupur as well as other parts of India. Yin Japan Co. Ltd., (New Tech Garment machinery, Tirupur) from Japan, offering cutting

Dominated by printing and accompanied by stitching machines, cutting room solutions, fabrics, accessories and other segments of the apparel manufacturing supply chain like job-workers and consultants, the recently concluded 16th edition of Knit Show, Tirupur was ‘a must visit’ event for apparel manufacturers. Quality visitation from Tirupur-based garment manufacturers, buying houses and job-workers proved that they are hungry to see and adopt new products and technology. Exhibitors and visitors, both were happy and are expecting good business in the current fiscal.

Knit Show impresses with potpourri of apparel manufacturing solutions

Right from printing job-workers to advance technology suppliers or garment exporters who visited the show, all were positive about the growing demand… Some of them are also planning to enhance their infrastructure and upgrade their machines. Tirupur’s increasing interest in synthetic fabric was also noticed.

Sylvester Saldanha, President (R) and Sid Saldanha, Director of Evesyl Enterprises, Tirupur exploring the technology on display

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room solutions also displayed for the first time in Tirupur. Both were of the opinion that nowadays, it is not just top level exporters who are investing in such advanced technology, but even medium-level companies are equally aggressive for such solutions. Various stitching and specialized machines of Juki, Brother, Pegasus and Kansai were also on display.

Many Indian companies offering technology for various segments of garmenting too claimed innovations

and new offerings. RVR Machinery Tech, Coimbatore presented auto spreader machine which is suitable for open knitted, woven and denim fabric. Knitcare Automation, Coimbatore offering various kinds of products for shop floor like cutting table, trollies, storage racks has come up with printing support machines, line screen stretching machines, washing booth screen dryer, etc. There were many more such examples. Accessories companies also fetched the attraction

of visitors as vertical groups like Mithra & Company offering sewing thread, sequins and having many such other products were a big attraction at the show. On the other hand, specialized companies like Coastal Impex, offering leather and PU badges, belts; and Sri Mahalaxmi Enterprises which focused on lingerie segment, too had good visitation. Similarly, in laces K C Astir & Co. and Nilesh Impex India displayed their latest collections.

Visitors' response…Overall, the fair managed to impress people with its avant-garde exhibits and attracted visitors from Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and other cities also. Sylvester Saldanha, President, Evesyl Enterprises, Tirupur observed, “Printing segment is good enough here but we were expecting more fabric manufacturers and suppliers.” Joshni Anbuthambi, COO of Anbu Apparels India (All Times), Karur added, “Most of the companies displaying their fabrics at the show were having cotton/knitted fabrics, but we would have liked to see woven fabric manufacturers too. The good thing about the exhibition was that it had many suppliers in machinery as well as accessories. Ajay Agarwal, Outerwear Development/Factory Coordinator, Rupa & Co. (Macroman) also felt that the fabric section should be strengthened. “For blended fabric, we are totally depending on Ludhiana, the event should showcase more such companies,” he said. Agarwal appreciated the HD logos and digital printing displays at the show. Shivam Gupta of Shivam Exports, Tirupur, who is currently getting his print work done from job-workers, is planning to invest soon in in-house digital printing, expressed satisfaction on the variety displayed at the show. Apparel Online met many exhibitors at the show and all of them said that that they were pleased with the footfall and visitors’ response. Buying house teams from Next Sourcing, Crowntex Clothing, to name a few also visited the show.

FACTS

Many overseas technology providers mark their entry in Tirupur through the Knit Show.

Amritsar-based fabric manufacturers are now opening their offices in Tirupur to have better control over this hub.

Energy saving/solar system was also displayed at the fair and was noticed by visitors.

Visitors were very keen to know about the digital printer introduced by Aeoon Technologies. It was displayed for the first time in Tirupur

In south India, women operators are the backbone of apparel manufacturing industry… The Knit Show also witnessed good visitation by women workers

INDIA CANVAS


Apparel imports by EU in first four months see growth in both value and volume

J a n u a r y – A p r i l 2 0 1 6The EU seems to be little on the satisfactory track as in the first four months of the year its apparel imports have increased by 2.11% in quantity and 1.71% in value. Although these four months were not enthusiastic for India, the country registered fall in overall apparel export to EU by (-) 0.38% in quantity and (-) 0.42% in value. India’s export of woven-based garments was down (-) 3.17% in quantity but up by 0.50% in value. While knitted-based apparels was up by 1.80% in quantity, it was down by (-) 1.47% in value.

Percentage decrease in UVR

0.37%

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EXPORT STATISTICS

Global Apparel Imports by the European Union during Jan. – April 2016

Volume Increase

2.11%

Value Increase

1.71%

Quantity 3.24%

Quantity 0.78%

Value1.11%

Value2.25%

Change in Knitted

Change in Woven

[The information has been extracted from EU custom site and further analyzed.]

Apparel imports of the EU: selected countries

Country/Category

Jan.-April 2015 Jan.-April 2016 % Increase/DecreaseQty Value Qty Value Qty Value

WORLDKnitted 766.75 12437.35 791.63 12575.55 3.24 1.11Woven 654.79 13781.56 659.92 14091.84 0.78 2.25Total 1421.54 26218.92 1451.55 26667.39 2.11 1.71CHINAKnitted 252.18 3967.23 233.07 3559.77 -7.58 -10.27Woven 261.12 5079.21 240.45 4648.28 -7.92 -8.48Total 513.30 9046.43 473.51 8208.04 -7.75 -9.27INDIAKnitted 54.76 964.86 55.74 950.63 1.80 -1.47Woven 42.84 1097.23 41.48 1102.72 -3.17 0.50Total 97.60 2062.09 97.23 2053.36 -0.38 -0.42BANGLADESHKnitted 209.28 2643.23 228.73 2823.43 9.30 6.82Woven 133.26 2138.04 144.51 2399.24 8.45 12.22Total 342.54 4781.27 373.24 5222.67 8.96 9.23

SRI LANKA

Knitted 17.78 312.56 22.34 313.86 25.62 0.42Woven 10.55 248.46 9.35 225.90 -11.35 -9.08Total 28.33 561.02 31.69 539.76 11.85 -3.79PAKISTANKnitted 27.93 294.98 31.27 336.85 11.98 14.20Woven 31.94 467.29 33.59 485.99 5.17 4.00Total 59.87 762.26 64.87 822.83 8.34 7.95VIETNAMKnitted 11.80 230.36 12.46 274.86 5.62 19.32Woven 26.92 610.96 28.39 670.64 5.44 9.77Total 38.72 841.31 40.85 945.50 5.49 12.38

Qty. & Value in mn Kg & Euro

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APPAREL TYPETotal Imports by EU

Exports to EUIndia Bangladesh Vietnam

Qty % Change

Value % Change

Qty Actual

Value Actual

Qty % Change

Value % Change

Qty Actual

Value Actual

Qty % Change

Value % Change

Qty Actual

Value Actual

Qty % Change

Value % Change

Babies Wear 0.73 3.79 6.72 219.22 17.12 14.57 10.31 186.01 -1.45 9.98 0.22 6.55 -11.73 6.91Foundation Garments 3.99 1.21 0.11 6.14 11.76 2.18 2.16 71.31 39.45 25.22 0.52 29.01 23.08 44.26Jackets & Blazers 4.98 7.68 1.02 26.22 27.62 17.75 4.13 70.12 35.51 41.05 3.77 83.88 -0.21 9.18Ladies Blouses 8.98 7.40 9.37 297.56 7.48 4.12 5.71 127.29 32.88 25.30 1.88 37.27 2.10 3.65Ladies Dresses 5.68 2.84 9.73 265.99 -4.93 -3.75 7.81 118.76 24.86 28.39 1.78 40.85 15.81 21.73Ladies Skirts -4.91 -1.31 1.54 38.68 -34.75 -17.41 2.83 43.66 -17.82 -3.19 0.46 10.32 8.82 17.95Legwear 8.79 7.34 0.69 9.01 29.08 36.98 0.60 6.39 23.76 23.98 0.11 1.85 42.77 25.98Men's Shirts -3.47 -3.73 9.45 216.17 -9.15 -4.86 42.58 650.33 4.41 3.96 3.74 96.26 -10.37 -5.17Nightwear 2.66 -1.46 8.32 103.54 1.97 -2.00 7.38 81.52 21.70 23.54 0.69 7.58 -28.45 -3.05Suits/Ensembles -13.24 -4.23 0.64 13.09 -4.99 2.48 0.93 12.75 22.63 23.49 0.20 3.78 3.73 41.52Sweaters 2.86 1.46 3.31 63.48 -12.82 -10.76 31.80 470.48 17.61 18.85 1.93 37.89 40.91 31.71Trousers 1.47 1.89 15.36 271.06 -0.77 2.92 124.15 1775.01 9.64 10.10 12.68 246.24 5.55 8.35T-Shirts -0.63 -1.34 18.69 325.67 -0.89 -3.23 108.17 1198.25 2.14 -1.60 2.56 56.22 0.05 23.68Undergarments 8.26 3.12 3.05 50.35 1.08 -2.32 7.61 127.13 49.72 41.02 0.67 18.45 95.24 59.27

Value in mn Euro and qty. in mn kg

Item wise percentage increase in total apparel imports by EU from India, Bangladesh and Vietnam: Jan.-April 2016 as against Jan.-April 2015

Ladies skirts record maximum negative impact for India Ladies skirts can be said to be the most hit product category for India as quantities in this category were down (-) 34.75%, while values dropped (-) 17.41%. Even Bangladesh also noticed decline in the products’ exports to the EU. Only Vietnam noticed growth in terms of volume as well as quantity in this segment.

Sweaters register growth in exports from Bangladesh and Vietnam While exports in sweaters by Bangladesh were up 17.61% in volume, it increased 18.85% in value terms. Vietnam too noticed increase in quantity of sweater export to the EU of 40.91% in volume and 31.71% in value.

Maximum growth in undergarments for Vietnam and Bangladesh Vietnam has registered a whopping 95.24% increase in volume and 59.27% in value of exports in undergarments to the EU in the first four months of the year. Bangladesh also registered stupendous growth in the category with volume increasing 49.72% while value saw growth of 41.02%.

Import of ladies blouses registers substantial growthIn the review period, EU import of ladies blouses increased 8.98% in volumes; values also grew by 7.40%. For India, the segment also registered growth of 7.48% in volumes and 4.12% in values.

Bangladesh sees good growth in suits/ensembles For Bangladesh, substantial growth continues in suits/ensembles category with increase in both quantities by 22.63% and values 23.49%; despite that EU’s import of the same was down by (-) 13.24% in quantity terms.

Babies wear, a growth category for India, but not for Bangladesh India registered growth in babies wear export to the EU of 17.12% in quantity and 14.57% in value. Bangladesh noticed fall of (-) 1.45% in volume in the export of same product to the EU while value grew by 9.98%. Vietnam lost volume wise (-) 11.73% in babies wear but there was growth in its value by 6.91%. Even China lost both in volume as well as value in this category.

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EXPORT STATISTICS


EXPORT STATISTICS

As usual, volume of apparel imports positive but values show declining trendData of Japan apparel imports is almost on similar trends seen in last few months as it is negative in value terms, though a small increase in volume has been noted in the period under review.

Japan Apparel ImportsJ a n u a r y - J u n e 2 0 1 6

Value of exports during the first six months of the year declined (-) 9.83%, the volumes were down by (-) 3.32%. There was decrease in volumes of exports of knitted garments of (-) 2.89%, while woven garments saw a decrease in volumes of (-) 3.51%.

India ExportsThe country saw increase in the volume of exports in the first six months of 35.58%, while values increased by 17%. Growth was seen in knitted garments with 43% increase in volumes, while in woven garments the increase in volumes was 19.91%.

Bangladesh Exports In the period under review, the country registered an increase in value of exports to the Japanese market of 0.48%, while volumes were up 9.07%. Knitted garments registered increase in volumes of 10.66%, while woven garments saw 5.94% growth.

Vietnam ExportsThe country saw a setback in exports to Japan with decline of (-) 11.79% in value and increase by 0.61% in the volume of exports in the period under review. In volumes, knitted garments registered increase of 1.11%, while woven garments saw decline of (-) 0.99%.

China Exports

Malaysia’s textile and apparel exports jump to RM6.99 billionMalaysia’s textile and apparel exports rose 10% to RM6.99 billion in the first half of 2016 (1H2016) from RM6.33 billion a year ago, Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said.

He said the surge was driven by increasing global demand for high quality textile and clothing from Malaysia, as well as rising purchasing power in major importing countries, namely the US, European Union countries, and Canada. “The demand for textile and apparels is expected to increase to US $ 160 billion (RM641.2 billion) at the end of 2018. “In terms of volume, the global demand is expected to reach 30 million tonnes by 2018, with Asia being a major source of imports from the US and EU nations,” he told reporters after visiting a textile mill owned by D & Y Textile (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd in the Sedenak Industrial Park.

Meanwhile, Ahmad said 970 garment and textile factories were registered with the Ministry, of which over 400 were making readymade garments, 80 are of thread and 108 of knitted fabric.

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Quantity Value

7.68%

1.82%

7.03%

2.67%

6.44%

2.45%

864202468

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Knitted Woven Total


RESOURCE CENTRE

THE LATEST NEWS HAVE YOUR SAYFor the latest news on apparel and textile, make sure that you visit http://news.apparelresources.com

Write to Apparel Resources, B-32, South Extension-1, New Delhi (110049), India, or email: [email protected]

Vardhman A&E Threads has recently unveiled in India its first mobile app

in the field of thread colour identification, communication and management. The A&E Colorlink application is the latest innovative tool that makes the process of selecting from thousands of industrial thread colours faster and easier. This highly useful thread colour app has been designed specifically to support apparel industry professionals who are in the design, development, or manufacturing of apparel.

Available for both Android and iOS phones and tablets, Vardhman A&E Colorlink has been developed to serve as an end-to-end tool to connect designers and production managers in the thread colour selection process. The app offers a vast array of digital colour choices and provides more control over thread colour selection from design inception to the manufacturing floor, assuring designers that the personal connection to their colour story is maintained through production. Currently over 1000+ colours are immediately available for use. Colorlink can be downloaded for free from App Store and Google Play store.

Thread colour selection is a fundamental element of garment design and production, but too often this decision is left to the end of the process. The objective of Colorlink is to give designers and manufacturers an easy-to-use, go-to thread colour collaboration tool that not only provides colour inspiration, but also streamlines access to expansive global colour platform and Colorlink palette. Colorlink empowers garment designers and colour professionals to be confident that the colours they select at

the garment’s inception will be the same inspired colours used in the finished product, ensuring their vision stays true. One can save up to 5 colours in each of My Color Collection with no limit to the number of collections that can be created.

Colorlink features include:

• Opportunity to easily specify thread colour and manage ideas on-the-go

• Create personal thread colour collections

• Locate complementary thread colours

• Place selected colours on sample stiches and fabric types

• Ability to easily organize and share project and thread colour details with colleagues and supply chain

• Request physical thread colour samples for confirmation

• Connect with A&E global representatives

In addition, Vardhman A&E Colorlink supports a companion device called COLORCATCH NANO. The COLORCATCH NANO is an advanced hand-held colour tool that will identify colour on a variety of smooth, structured or patterned surfaces with the touch of a button. The integrated camera and optics of the COLORCATCH NANO increase the image six-fold. This magnification assists by enhancing the past, what the eye can see to give more control when selecting thread colour.

Available on

Vardhman A&E Threadslaunches Colorlink App and Innovative Thread Color Identification and Color Communication Tool – COLORCATCH NANO

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METALLIC MULTI COLOUR FOILSHANGERS / PACKAGING ACCESSORIES

ELASTICS / TAPES ELASTICS / TAPES

HANGERS / SIZERINGS

RESOURCE CENTRE

From the basic to the inspirational...

We make it all...Manufacturers of : Plastic Hangers, Metal Hangers, Sizerings, Household Articles

H.K. ACCESSORIES PVT. LTD.Plot No. 2040, MIE Part-B, Bahadurgarh-124507 Haryana, Ph.: 01276-268640, Mob.: +91-9811168018, +91-9416211810 E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], Website: www.hkaccessories.com

From the basic to the inspirational...

WE MAKE IT ALL...Manufacturers of : Plastic Hangers, Metal Hangers, Sizerings, Household Articles

H.K. Accessories Pvt. Ltd. Plot No. 2040, MIE Part-B, Bahadurgarh-124507 Haryana, Ph.: 01276-268640, Mob.: +91-9811168018, +91-9416211810 E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

HK

LABELS / TAGS / BARCODES


THREADS / YARN

RESOURCE CENTRE

BUTTONS / BUCKLES

KNITTING / WEAVING YARN

EMBROIDERY FABRIC / LACES

LABELS / TAGS / BARCODES

EMBROIDERY FABRIC / LACES


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EYES & EARS

Crowntex Cloth ing looking for t remendous growth

After Delhi-NCR, Tirupur is the only hub of the Indian apparel

export industry where medium-and small-size buying houses are developing in large numbers. Youngsters having experience of one decade or more are starting their own companies and creating business opportunities for themselves and others also. Crowntex Clothing, a two years old buying house set up by textile graduate E. Karthikeyan and Castro, has grown 2½ times since its inception and is further looking to grow by 4 times in the next two years. Having experience of 17 years, both partners of the company in conversation with Apparel Online shared, “Last year our turnover was US $ 4 million and in next 2 years we are targeting for US $ 15 million. We are in process to start working with two more buyers in UK and Germany. Furthermore we are exploring the US market.” Sourcing entire range of knitted garments for kids, women

and men, the company is working with 11 apparel manufacturers of Tirupur and supplying to 3 buyers (1 importer and 2 retailers), in UK and Germany. They further added that their vendors have enough production capacities to cater their needs and they can increase it too, without any issue if the quantities increase.

“We are also setting up a fashion studio where we will be focusing on developing new fabric blends as Tirupur is mainly into jerseys in cotton, and factories are not strong enough in synthetic fabrics. However, we are getting more enquiries for synthetic base products today. We will try to give technical support to our vendors and increase their space in synthetic segment and blends also,” concluded Karthikeyan who has worked with Sergent Major, a French buying house before venturing out on his own.

THE COMPANY IS WORKING IN MULTI-DIRECTIONS

FOR ITS AMBITIOUS BUT ACHIEVABLE TARGET OF

US $ 15 MILLION IN NEXT TWO YEARS, WHICH IS 4 TIMES

OF ITS CURRENT TURNOVER.

(L-R) Murthi from PGM international (Tees’ vendor of Crowntex Clothing) with E. Karthikeyan and Castro

Documents

Apparel Online India