Textile Manufacturers India

1. ApparelResources.com Apparel Resources provides latest news, features, analysis, retail & sourcing trends of the apparel and textile industry.  Apparel Resources is also a sourcing platform for the textile value chain that connects you to partners who can help in smooth functioning of your business process.

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11. VOL. XVIII Issue21 Editor-in-Chief DEEPAKMOHINDRA Editor ILASAXENA CopyEditor VEERESHWAR SOBTI Asst. CopyEditor SAHILSEHGAL Asst.Editor-News DHEERAJTAGRA Asst.Editor NEHACHHETRI Sr.Correspondent-Textiles SANJOGEETAOJHA Sr.Correspondent-Fashion KALITALAMBA Sr.Executive-Advertising D KCHUGH CreativeTeam RAJ KUMARCHAHAL PEEUSH JAUHARI SATYAPALBISHT PhotoEditor SUMITTHARAN SubscriptionEnquiry RANI MAHENDRU 011-47390000 Operation Director MAYANKMOHINDRA 09810611487 CON NTS February 1-15,2016 16 22 24 34 38 Publisher & ManagingDirector RENU MOHINDRA 09810058986,9810438653 HeadOffice ApparelResourcesPvt.Ltd. B-32,SouthExtension-I,NewDelhi-110049 Phone:91-11-47390000 E-mail:rmohindra@apparelresources.com Web associate:www.apparelresources.com ApparelOnlinecontact:91-11-47390000 contact@apparelresources.com editor@apparelresources.com Printing TARA ART PRINTERS PVT.LTD. B-4,HansBhawan,B.S.ZafarMarg, New Delhi-110002 Tel: 23378626,23379686 ---------------------------------------------------------- SUBSCRIPTIONFORM Yes, I wish to subscribe to Apparel Onlinefor BY REGULARMAIL WorldWrap Going out inpyjamas becomes fashionable as‘loungewear’goeschic No longer is pyjama-style clothing restricted to home only, pushing the popularity of loungewear in the age of casual and comfortdressing... 16 22 BuyerStrategy Man-made fibres… The futureforIndian textiles, predicts ItochuIndia With approximately 122 bases in 65 countries, andpresentin India since early sixties, Itochu is positioned amongstthetop Japanese trading companies in theworld... 24 Tex-File Vardhman urges for an industry-specificpolicy Textile conglomerate Vardhman Group has a laser-sharp focus on excellence, continuous customer-driven innovation, original strategies and a series of technologicalcollaborations... India BYCOURIER Delhi/NCR Rs. 1800.00 24issues H2F Review:Heimtextil Desired beginning for Home Segment in2016 The increased participation, purposeful visitation andpositivevibes received at the Heimtextil, held recently in Frankfurt,proveda perfect beginning to 2016 for the home furnishing industry... Rs. 2400.00 24issues 24issues 24issues 28 Rest of India Rs. 3600.00 International USD 264.00 Name Designation Company/Institute Address Tel/MobileE-mail 34 FashionBusiness Oversize on the Rise: Womenswearwitnesses subversive silhouettes in Pre-Fall2016! Although the previous seasons repeatedly reflected the obsession for oversized coats and jackets, these larger than life silhouettes gained the maximum attention on the recent pre-fall 2016runways... TYPE OFBUSINESS Exporter Retailer BuyingHouse Any other(specify) Subscription withinIndia- Send Cheque/DD to Apparel Resources Pvt.Ltd. B-32, South Extn. Part-1, New Delhi-110049, INDIA International subscription (in Dollar)- Credit Card using www.apparelresources.com TelegraphictransfertoBankAccountNo.03192320003806 (Swift No:HDFCINBB) with HDFC Bank, D-9, SouthExtn. Part-2, New Delhi-110049.INDIA ValueAddition 38Creating waves on the Runways! Different techniques for achieving wavyeffects When designing clothing for fall, designers as well as exporters try and create surface ornamentations which are not very heavy looking, minimal in nature and still make the garment look unique andvalue-added...

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13. FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’SDESK… HAS IIGF LOST ITS PURPOSE? It is just about repositioning the fair to credibly supplement the strength of the country... Instead we have a confused exhibitor and an even more confused visitor who is often disappointed. Another option could be to make the show a platform for all SAARC countries... This way the buyer would be forced to make India an important destination in its buyingcalendar. I often wonder why AEPC officials do not apply the years of learning in organising the fair and take concrete steps to ensure that it becomes an important destination in the itinerary of buying teams around the word... Serious thought needs to be applied on why buyers are willing to give India askip. Another area that needs serious thought is the type of buyers visiting the fair... I have often said that the IIGF is a ‘boutique fair’ for ‘boutique buyers’. But sadly, even that niche is losing its sheen. Thefair is not serving the need of even small- and medium- level exporters, because of the lack of innovation in making the fair attractive to buyers in thatcategory. Buyers are invited and given free travel and accommodations, with commitment to spend three days at the fair! Other similarly placed events around the world are now charging entry fees from the buyers to ensure that only serious ones come in. But we are still only worried aboutshowing the exhibitors that there are ‘buyers’ roaming the corridors... What aboutquality? Quality can come only with a better organised fair, not in terms of infrastructure, but insmall detailing, promotional activities, studying of market trends, cooperating with exhibitors toensure that the collections are in line with the promised expectations, and having activities centred around the event to interest the buyer, like trend seminars, fashion shows (missing since the last two editions), talks on sourcing and other such ways to engage both the exhibitor and thebuyer. I remember the time when AEPC had a team of fashion technology experts who guided the industry on what to showcase. Is it not time to revisit the same and help the industry on theircollections? There are modalities that need to be followed and also some ethics to be observed when participating at international fairs... Why can’t we follow the same system to improve the event...? There are hundreds of small interventions that could help, but only if the governing board members stop obliging the AEPC by giving few hours in a week and instead sincerely concentrating on working towards solutions... And as I said in my last editorial, take the help of professionals to manage theshow. All international sourcing fairs are a learning experience but the IIGF is like a mall..., walk in, have a look around and window-shop. Is this the way we want to promote exports from thiscountry! It was amazing to hear that therecent PM-initiated ‘Start-up’ programme attracted 1.5 lakh participation requests, but only 1,500 were sent invitations. I wonder what goes into making such a successful event... There is a lot to be learnt on skilful eventpromotion. Back to our domain... the first industry show of the year – IIGF – touted as the most important sourcing fair for the Indian garment export industry, failed to bring cheer to its participants. And it was not only about the less than usual exhibitors, or the absence of many industry stalwarts that made their presence felt on day 1..., but it was about the smallnumber of buyers who thought it was important to be at theevent! Is India losing its charm as a garment manufacturing destination, or has the IIGF failed to build the reputation required to pull in the buyers...? Almost everyone, including speakers at the inauguration admitted that the event was coinciding with two other major sourcing events in Hong Kong and Paris..., both a priority, for major buyers. Why these fairs would be a priority, does India not feature high as an important destination or is it the weakness of theauthorities of not being able to position the fair as an important destination...? When GAP can buy US $ 1.5 billion worth of garments from India, then why notothers... The excuses for failure to get visitors at events have become repetitive and yet no action is being taken to make amendments. Clash of dates..., I would believe should be the least of the worry as datesare announced one year in advance and workingaround that should beeasy. Why is there such a casual approachto exportpromotion? The January edition of the IIGF has always been a low participation event, as it has little relevance to buyers who are mostly looking forfall/winter collections. Maybe we should scrap the edition and instead hold more targeted BSMs with the money and concentrate on making the July edition a ‘must visit’fair. On the surface, this sounds very reasonable, as Indian exporters focus more on summer collections and buyers too over the years look at the country for such collections. But is the market actually being driven by seasons any more...; while one buyer may be looking at winter, the next may want fast replenishment for the currentsummer. Then again, why we are only working with traditional markets where summer is in the first half of the year...; why can’t the organisers bring more buyers from the southern hemisphere to the Januaryfair and also promote it as a fair for fast fashion, where buyers can look at summer collections for the current season, so buyers know in advance what to expect and accordingly plan theirvisit.

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15. groupratherthansharingwithallexporters,or toeventothesidelinepersonswhotrytoget this information. Secondly, they never update the industry about market trends and real opportunities, as such dedicated professionals are very much required in the AEPC at every level who don’t have any personal interest or any close relation with EC members or such groups. Our PM is working hard to promote ‘Start-ups’, but all ‘Start-ups’ stop where such groups step in. How many new persons are thereinanyofthecommitteesofAEPC…? Isitthattheydonotwanttogiveanychance to anyone apart from their group? These groups are creating new companies to get the maximum benefit fromAEPC. MIND Do you think that the Textile and Apparel Industry needs professionals with specific capabilities to represent and liaison with the Government for better negotiations and results; or do you think that the AEPC through its EC members does the job rightfully and there is no need to invest in skilled people/agencies to do thejob? TREE TOPIC OF DEBATE canbetoomethodicalsometimes,sobothcan worktogether;afterallministriestooworkwith consultants or professionals to articulate the requirementsandpresentthemacroview. Rohit Bhatiani, Director, Strategy and Operations,DeloitteToucheTohmatsu India, Gurgaon In my opinion, more than negotiations,theareawhereprofessionalscan help is ‘articulation of requirements’ through compressive data analysis and stakeholders’ consultations,beitanincentive,scheme, or demand, etc. One has to present the perfect picture to the Government with right articulationwhichprofessionalscandobetter. But one has to remember that whatever the professionalswilldo,willbebasedondata providedbytheexperts.AEPCtoohasenough data to present the case as EC members are doing the job right and they have better understandingoftheindustry.Professionals NakulKapahi,Director,RavelsApparels, Gurgaon We can see that EC members aredoingtheirbestbutwecan’tdenythat professionals have better knowledgeor workingapproachtogettheresults.Ifeelthere are already some professionals in AEPC who aredoingorsupportingsuchactivities.On the other side, business is already difficult and tough time is coming; so AEPC has to be more active as there is always scope ofimprovement. Thereisnothingwrongintakingtheservicesof any professional/agencies ifrequired. ManmohanMehra,Partner,FashionFusion, Noida I am in this trade since 1978 and have worked both as a job worker as well as an exporter. AEPC was also incorporated in 1978andIhaveseendrasticchangesinAEPC from that period. There is a lobby that has controlled the AEPC and works only for their own vested interest. Whatever information theygetfromintentionalorgovernmental level,theyjust pass itontotheirownpeopleor

16. give annual fees and vote somebody in its elections. There is no other major activity or support from AEPC which we can say is helpfulinanyform;thereisno use ofAEPC after quota system. Also there should be fullytrainedprofessionalswithspecific capabilitiesnotonlyfortherepresentationand liaison with the Government and for better negotiationsandresults,butalsoforeachwork related to AEPC. We are mainly into kidswear and that too in denim, so despitehaving nicheproduct,wedon’tgetanysupportor benefit fromAEPC. • AkhilKhanna,MD,SRVKnit-Tech,Bangalore • AEPC through its EC members is doing the jobproperlyandthereisnosuchneedtoinvest in skilled people/agencies to do negotiations for better results. Professionals have their own mindset, thinking and limitations as well, they can’t have the same feeling about the industry which EC members or any other garment exporter can have. The EC members are garment exporters and face all the challenges sotheyhavebetterunderstandingoftheissues and solutions aswell. The January edition of IIGF was a very dull affair with few buyers and many disappointedexhibitors... What do you think can be done to revitalize the fair and ensure that the event is an important destination on the buyer’s itinerary of a ‘must visit’ global sourcing event? Do you think changing the timing of the event would help? Please share yourviews. Be a part of our latestdiscussions... Post your comments on www.apparelresources.com AnilSachedeva,CEO,PanoramaExports, Faridabad No doubt, EC members are doing their best and there are some results also but with the help of professionals the drafting and representation will be better. When two experts (professionals as well as EC members) will work together,naturallyoutcomewillalsobethebest. Our council needs to look at the international standardsandshouldthink,andactaccordingly. If both the professionals and EC members work together,itwillbeinfavourofourindustry. S.S.SakthiPrabhu,Director,Amazing Export Corporation, Tirupur In AEPC, there are two types of members: one is the member exporter and the other is the registered exporter. Most of the exporters are registered exporters and very few are member exporters. Theregisteredexportersdonothaveanyvoting rights, and only member exporters have the votingrightsinAEPCelections.Sincethere is not much awareness about the member exporter’sstatus,nonewmembersarebeing elected to AEPC. As such the same old teams arerepeatedlyelectedamongthemselves.In Tirupur,thereareveryfewmemberexporters and so AEPC is notvery active here. RPJain,Chairman,WreckerJeans&Casuals, Noida Being a garment exporter, we don’t seeanyactiveroleofAEPC;justwehaveto

17. G O IN G O U T IN P Y J A M AS B E C O M E S F A S H I O N A B LE A S ‘L O U N GE WE A R’ GO E S C H IC Nolongerispyjama-styleclothingrestrictedtohomeonly,pushingthepopularityofloungewearintheageofcasualand comfort dressing, which is donning the runways and stores. Though this trend has been around for a long time, starting withafewretailersofferingvariedstyles,butoflatetherehasbeenanindefinitesurgeinretailersaddingloungewearto theiroffering.Nonetheless,theeventualpushwascelebrity-led,assuperstarssuchasRitaOra,Rihanna,MillieMackintosh, Kate Moss, Fearne Cotton, Russell Brand, Colin Farrell, etc. took this relaxed approach to thestreets. Sfiguresfromthesaleof John loungewear clothing, as anyone in their teens to sixty-something are donning this trend with equalpassion. In short, the lines of demarcation that earlier were a clear-cut divide between various spheres of life such as bedroom, office, streets, shops, office, are clearly disintegratingwith age. Where once people had wornonly pyjamas in bedroom andchanged into ties, shirts, heels, dresses, etc. for work, are now wearingcrossover items such as leggings, sweat pants and deluxnightwear. What puts this trend on the map is the increased amount of time that people are spending at home and according to the Office for National Statistics, there were a record 4.2 million home workers in the period fromJanuary to March last year, up 1.3 million from 1998 when comparable records began. This has been partly due to the more flexible working hours, enabled by the rise of the internet; so at home, working is increasingly becoming the norm and with it the relaxed workwear clothing. Also, social media has a positive impact on this trend with celebrities such as Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, Cara Delevingne, and more postingtheir selfies round the clock on Instagram, Facebook, etc. which has helped loungewear to clock in hugeboost in sales. Even heads of states and political leaders are no longer averse to being seen andphotographed inloungewear. upporting the movementseen in loungewear are therecent Lewis’ own brand ‘loungewear’, which saw a 29 per cent increase in the week before Christmas to last year, authenticating that the trend is here to stay. Also, plus-size retailer Simply Be reported sales of pyjamas rocketing by 63 per centrecently. Going by these figures, it is obvious that people are no longer shy to take their relaxing silhouettes to the street and it is no longer about just looking gorgeous but also being comfortable. Progressively people are wearing stay-out home clothes to their offices as well. As rightly said by Soozie Jenkinson, Head, Lingerie Design at Marks & Spencer, the boundaries between formal and casualwear is increasingly getting blurred; while modern loungewear, both for wearing at home and outside, has become a popular category that has seen a surge over the past decade. Jenkinson defines the concept as “super-soft fabrics layered incontemporary yet easy silhouettes”. In response to the “surge in popularity of the loungewear trend”, the store has increased the cashmere offering in its premium Rosie forAutograph collection. John Lewis claims its sales reflect the trend for people to look for “relaxation time” athome. Apart from lines blurring between casual and formalwear, similarly age does not seem to be a barrierfor Loungewear is the new casualwear for people looking forcomfort

18. Not just restricted to high street retailers and luxury brands such as M&S, NEXT, H&M, ZARA, Derek Rose, Aeropostale, Under Armour, Chanel, Victoria’s Secret, Forever 21, Ralph Lauren, JCPenney, GAP, Macy’s, Target, CK, etc., loungewear is also being seen on the runway. While Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and Alexander Wang have presented silky pyjamas as a relaxed yetelegant take on eveningwear, pyjamas were a hit on the Spring 2016 menswear catwalk as Versace, Dries van Noten and Louis Vuitton also displayed various versions. Meanwhile brands offer stop-at-home essentials,from zip-up hoodies by Hugo Boss toHenley ‘grandad’ T-shirts by Ralph Lauren, pure cotton dressing gowns by Paul Smith, ‘Night & Day’ pyjama sets by Hanro and navy-checkered flannel trousers by British heritage label Derek Rose. “There has been a clear trend for loungewear over the pastfive years, especially at a premium quality level. Sales prove that the demandfor Amongst the 10 biggest trends from New York Fashion Week Spring 2016, loungewear stood out, amongstwhich silkpyjamas and pipingwere popularchoices. T-shirts from Kolor, Neil Barrett and Sunspel. “When a man likesa product he will buy into it heavily;so once he has found a style of T-shirt that suits him, he is likely to buy five of that same style,” reveals Alannah Sparks, Fashion Editor, Farfetch. ASOS, one of the UK’s largest online stores selling over 850 brandsalso hosts a collection of men’s loungewear on its website ranging from slouchy jersey tops and bottoms totanks andsleepwear. However, part of the success and acceptance of loungewear comes from the fact that consumers love wearing these products for long-haul flights, at the gym, tennis court, etc.where comfort is of primary importance. Today, people are unwilling to compromise on comfort and style, and why should they whenthey are getting the best of both world’s combined – Fashion and Comfort – and this is giving the loungewear a much needed push from retailers, designers and onlineportals. high-quality, stylish loungewear has grown. The younger generation wants to be comfy to enjoy downtime and is drawn to a more relaxed look,”shares Sacha Rose, Chief Executive of DerekRose. Online sales of loungewear also seems to be increasing, amongst which is Farfetch, a designer luxury fashion for men and women offering luxurious basics such ascotton

19. IBG:Coveringallaspects ofSustainability In a short span of time Indo-British Garments (IBG), Faridabad has travelled an impressive sustainable journey, covering and connecting aspects like workerwelfare and efficiencies, and material management with workers’ comfort as well ascost-effectiveness. With multi-focused approach to workers’ involvement that include initiatives related to his/her health, motivation levels, work-life balance, ample opportunities for further growth, better education for their children, they have just one aim – happiness – to be on the faces of their workers. Team Apparel Online met Raj Kamboj, Deputy Managing Director of IBG Group, who is passionate about his staff’s welfare to get an update on sustainable efforts at thecompany. Under theleadership of its MD, Chandni Sachdev, IBG, Faridabad is known forworkwear and uniform. The company has a workforce of around 700, and itsgarment exportturnover for the fiscal 2014- 15 was US $ 5.38 million (Rs. 35 crore). The IBG group has business in India, Jordan, Canada, Netherlands, South Africa andMalaysia. Raj Kamboj, Deputy Managing Director of IBG Group efficiency and have entire focus on efficient production. This is also achieved through better material management, useful research and development; so after 80 per cent, each 1 per cent up gets Rs. 125/- a month extra. It takes a lot to make sure that lines are fixed to product types. This also ensures mastery in product making and workforce is less stressed as it is the same product they are sewing,” shares Raj. This approach has led to IBG sacrificingon the profits as they insist on a product profiling. Minimum changeover brings about greater efficiency and helps workers take back more money home. They ensure discharges are limited and although waste is not measured, the cutting room reports 91-93 per cent cutting efficiencies. IBG also assures that waste issegregated and given for recycling, in turn to be made into rugs with the cut wastein Rajasthan and EasternUP. Defining sustainability as keeping stakeholders in a mutuallybeneficial positions and an ecosystemwhere it is functioning fully, IBG claims that it is a 100 per cent safeplace to work in with investments in the right infrastructure, ability to evacuate safely, with comfortable work positions and allequipment calibrated timely. Formulating policies for workers, respectingwomen, and ensuring there is no sexual harassment as a priority; usingample sunlight and having a basic green building design with better energy usage and saving, as also keeping disposables at a minimum, IBG has used the Nike codes of conduct for sustainablegrowth. MaximumEfficiency, MinimumWastage The company takes special pride in reduced overtime, which is a chronic problem in many factories. “IBG provides 10 hours of wages in 8hours of work, thus ensuring efficiencyin 8 hours. They work at 83 percent workers every year. Focus is also on education of girl child; 4-5 employees have their children studying B.Tech; and one of them is in Poland studying in University of Warsaw. It is amatter of pride for us that ouremployees are largely happy andprosperous,” addsRaj. In a health and safety initiative, IBG ensures full body check-up for its all employees; this check-up includes kidney and liver examination and various blood tests to take advantage of. IBG also speaks regularly on safety at workplace which is further extended into safety on the roadtoo. The company provides waterpurifiers and helmets for bikers asDiwali gifts. As a resultant it has 5 per cent attrition and a satisfied andmotivated Focus onWorkers Engagement Workers engagement remains afocus and investment into welfare as an integral part of CSR. IBG supports and helps the workforce in obtaining maximum benefits from Government schemes that are available for workmen. Very few organizations participate in such activities.Workers that have sustained more than one year, get a cycle and scholarship for children’s education. “Our group provides up to Rs. 1 lakh per month as scholarship which is availed by3-4

20. workforce. With career paths well drawn, helpers at the plant havegrown into line supervisors, trained computer operators and taught ERP. Some helpers have developed themselves and now take responsibility of packing supervisors and logisticsin-charge. Setting up a small computer centre which is for around 50 workers and opened even after work hours, hasbeen highly appreciated by the staff. Free internet is provided and people here learn computers. This centre is open to their children as well on Saturdays and 50-60 people avail this centre out of the total workforce of 640 workers. Apart from these, as long-term steps the company tries to make events a regular affair so that the workers and even the middle-management staff can benefit. Recently a radio jockey was invited to host a talk session on ‘life motivation’ in a lightertone. Though the company admits that sustainability is largely buyer- driven, and they give the maximum contribution, most of the problems come from the customer side. But at IBG the initiatives are self-initiatives with no mandate from customer side and the company sees this as their responsibility to give back to society. Because of this approach, IBG claims that it does not lose itsemployees to competition and does not have its employees work after the working hours, thus keeping them fully charged for the dayduties. “Products are from customers and the choice of sustainable products lies with retailers and brands. Here contract manufacturer cannot take a call. However, a manufacturer can ensure that the value chain it passes through is controlling allnecessary factors for sustainablemanufacturing,” concludesRaj. sunlight and turn up the same in absence of sufficient sunlight and occupancy sensors turn off the lights when room becomes vacant. Peak-load cooling is supplied by high energy efficiency water- cooled central chillers that use 0.67 KW per tonne instead of the normal 1.5to 2 KW per tonne. These units use outside air only and a non-ozone-depleting refrigerant. The chilled air is delivered through air handling units (AHU’s) using VFD (Variable Frequency Drive)Motors. M. Y. Noorani, Founder-Chairman of the company, started his journey as a small trader, surveying the rolls of scarf fabric that lay before him. His entry into garment is quite motivating as a client had just cancelled a large order.Noorani quietly converted all that material into ties, which he then went aboutselling. His enterprise was duly rewarded as he made enough money to give birthto fashionable apparel in India, and with it the ‘Zodiac’ brand. Now a public limited company, ZCCL has consolidated revenue of Rs. 394 crore (US $ 60.62 million) as against Rs. 411 crore (US $ 63.23 million) the previous year (according to the annual report of the company for fiscal 2014-15). It is a vertically integrated andtrans-national that controls the entire clothing chain – from design, manufacturing, distribution – to retail sales. With a manufacturing base of 7 million shirts and sales offices across India, UK, Germany and USA, ZCCL has 2,500 workers in itsfold. Happy with theachievement, Salman Noorani, MD, ZCCL toldTeam Apparel Online, “If all commercial buildings in India were asefficient as ours, the country could cut energy production enough to meet the demandsof the Kyoto Protocol, (the international pact to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming). This surplus could be used by the nation for areas where our country is short ofpower.” s www.apparelresources.com| FEBRUARY 1-15, 2016 | Apparel Online India 19

21. Primark and DFID partner to improve the lives of garment workers The British fashion retailer, Primark, has recently announced its partnership with Department for International Development (DFID) to improve working conditions of garment workers in developing markets. This partnership will bring together the presence, networks and expertise of both the organisations to improve the health and well-being of local workers, therein boosting national economic development and helping alleviate poverty in five of Primark’s key markets which DFID alsoworks in: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burma, Ethiopia andIndia. Gender equality training in garment factories to training female nurses, a large part of thisprogramme will focus on creating positive change for women working in the developing world. Together, Primark and DFID will concentrate on achieving transformative change across three key areas, namely, Women’s Economic Empowerment, Market Development and Disaster Response. “At Primark we are committed to ensuring that the people who make ourproducts work in good conditions are treated properly and paid a fairwage. That’s why we now have more than 60 people working for our Ethical Trade Team across our supply chain to ensure that high standards are met,” said Paul Lister, responsible for Primark’s Ethical TradingTeam. Green Fund for textiles setups by BangladeshBank Recently, the Bangladesh Bank established the Green Transformation Fund (GTF) to promotesustainable growth in export-oriented textile and leather sectors conducive to transformation of the greeneconomy of the country. With a fund of US $ 200 million, the GTF will provide low-cost loans to textile and leather industries to make their production process more eco-friendly. “We want to let the world know that we will manufacture green apparel and green leatherproducts. We want to brand our country as Green Bangladesh,” spoke Atiur Rahman, Bangladesh Bank Governor, at a conference on ‘Green Finance for SustainableDevelopment’. Through the GTF, textile and apparel industries are expected to get loans for waste management, water conservation and management, recycling, water efficiency in wet processing, energy efficiency and renewable energy. The timing of this fund is critical as the global demand for environment-friendly goodsare continuouslyincreasing. TEA explores a common wageagreement The Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA), the South India Hosiery Manufacturers Association (SIHMA) and four other textile associations of the textile hub are exploring a new common wage agreement for the workers. Currently, there is no common wage agreement for the textile workers in Tirupur, as SIHMA, along with a few other associations, signs a separate wage pact for the workers in agreement with the labour unions, while TEA along with a few other associations signs a different wagepact. Under both these agreements, the pay scale for the different verticals of the textile and garmenting sector like packing, knitting machine operations, tailoring, damage checking, ironing, fabrication and labelling is alsodifferent. A common agreement will bring parity in the pay scale of workers across the entire textile cluster, while makingthe negotiation procedure with labour unions easy. An introductory meeting regarding the same has already taken placeand it was attended by representatives of various Tirupur-basedknitwear associations, and various trade unions have been asked to submit their joint demands before the wage revision talks areheld. Odo denims introduces wash-freedenims Odo denims, a start-up brand, claims to have developed the world’s first self- cleaning fabric which repels stains and doesn’t allow bacteria to accumulate, which means that one doesn’t have to wash their denims. Due toscarcity of water in places like California, coupled with high laundry costs, people are urgently looking for sustainable solutions. In order to eliminate sweat and stains from denims, Salman Chaudry, Founder, Odo Denims, drew inspiration from space suits that need no washing because ofsilver. “After all, 200 years ago, people used to put silver in water to make it anti- bacterial. We’re weaving silver right inside the fabric, it’s permanent. It’snot a layer or coating on top, it’s a part of the fabric itself. Even if you wash it a hundred times the silver won’t go away. It’ll last for the life of the garment,” reveals Salman. As far as stain-repellent isconcerned, the brand integrates nanoparticles in the denims, which significantly lessens the surface area so that liquid does not slide off. Currently, an Odo pair of denims is available for US $95.

23. MAN-MADEFIBRES… THE FUTURE FOR INDIAN TEXTILES, PREDICTS ITOCHUINDIA Wbasesin65countries, ith approximately122 and present in India since early sixties, Itochu is positioned amongst the top Japanese trading companies in the world. Headquartered in Delhi, the company alsohas offices in Mumbai andChennai and is actively involved in trading (both export and import) of many products including metals, minerals, plastics/chemicals and food,yet the textile segment is still the strongest business forItochu. Under the textile segment, the company is handling raw materials (yarn),fabrics and apparels. The focus of the segment is currently on speciality man-made fibres. In conversation with AO, Sanjeev Kothavade,Country Head, Raw Material & Fabric, Itochu India, shares the growth strategy of thecompany. Sanjeev Kothavade, Country Head, Raw Material & Fabric, Itochu India has helped the company’s business to grow in India. “If you see the sale of silk in India, which was a popular choice earlier, its price is growing higher, while consumption is shrinking. The alternative is in substitution yarns which give the rich look without the cost. That’s how business in cuprammonium will continue to grow here in India. It’s very skin-friendly, breathable and very close to silk. Many 100 per cent silk export companies have shifted to polyester in Bangalore and are searching for more substitutes. Going ahead, these silk companies have to come into the rayon category,” believesSanjeev. Though the company has been selling this yarn in India for a long time but its awareness is limited due to limited supply. “Now that a lot of products are coming up in man- made options, we are thinking of a longer strategy with Asahi to feed the market better,” addsSanjeev. While the textile and garment exports division is handled by the Mumbai office, Itochu Indiaalso by Surat customers to make fabric and supply to apparelexporters. It is environment-friendly and soft to touch. In fact the biggest market for this is Delhi, which is known for ladieswear, but unwittingly they don’t know they are using this unique yarn,” reveals Sanjeev,a hard core sourcing professional who has been with the company for over 10 years prior to which he worked with C&A and FrancisWacziarg. Itochu gets this yarn from Japan- based Asahi Kasei Fibers which has a monopoly in this technology and is the only company making this yarn. A leader in environment-friendly solutions, the company develops next generation businesses that contribute to “living in health and comfort” and “harmony with the natural environment”. Since1978, Itochu has been selling this yarn in India, with Surat being the main market; sales are also now picking up in Bangalore and SouthIndia. As man-made fibres are increasingly being projected as the future of the textile industry,this For Itochu, India is a big market for textiles with its trading activities in the range of US $ 110million. While it sources cotton yarn from the country for exports to China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Japan, the Indian market is demanding speciality and man-madefibres. The popularity of man-made fibres is increasing in India and the demand for polyester, acrylic, nylon, etc. are very much on the rise; of late there has also been a significant interest inregenerated cellulose, which is picking up in the international arena. For the past 39 years, the company has been consistently supplyingBemberg™ cuprammonium rayon (cellulosic fibre) of Asahi Bemberg Brand and its business is constantly growing every year. “This product isone of the most premium categories of rayon and is extensively beingused

24. factories and only develops those that follow international norms, while also remaining updated regarding the sustainable measures being followed by European and US companies. The key products that the company picks up from India are womenswear, men’s tops, scarves, stoles, towels,etc. The growth area for Itochu in India is catering to quality products at affordable prices through consistent supply. “Everyone wants to take advantage of the situation, but Japanese companies have their prices fixed. Also, the variety of products, the kind of functional yarns that Japanese have, others don’t have,” claims Sanjeev. What keeps Itochu ahead is looking at new technology and itsfuture, while matching it up from the raw material till the garment is made. “In terms of marketing, we always try to take advantage of our global linkages and then explore the business. This is how we succeed in maintaining a leadership position,” concludesSanjeev. buying good quantities as well, but somehow they are not fully convinced on the credibility of India. This needs to change and is possible only if exportersare more vigilant and committed to the promises made during business negotiations. Nonetheless, weas a company have seen major growthafter FTA and we are doing a lotof buys and sells to overseas offices of Itochu. Furthermore, the Itochu Group invests in a big way in innovative textile companies and gets the marketing rights of their products. “Many international apparel brands in Japan are managed by Itochu’s expertise, which means a huge market for exporters. Majority of garments that are sourced by Itochu from India are for Japanese market, also premium Indian brandsuse Itochu’s expertise for their sourcing,” shares Sanjeev. As sourcing for the Japanese market is entirely design- and quality-oriented, 100 per cent inspection is a norm. Though the FTA with Japan had given rise to hopes for increased business with Indian exporters, things have not picked up as they wereprojected to. “Quality is the major issue. The attitude and mindset of Japanese brands/retailers is such that they do not under any circumstance compromise on quality, besides following strict delivery schedules, which still is a grey area in India. Though some of the retailersare Manyinternational apparel brands in Japan aremanaged business to and from the Japanese market,” avers Sanjeev. He also shares thatthough Japanesebrands by Itochu’s expertise, which means a huge market forexporters. do not have their own compliancenorms, they prefer to work with compliant factories catering to international brands such as M&S, NEXT and ZARA, which are known to be upfront on complianceissues. Following the trend, Itochu India is not working withnon-compliant

25. VARDHMAN URGES FOR AN INDUSTRY-SPECIFICPOLICY S E E K S A T T E N TI O N T O WA R DS C H A LL E N G E S S TI LL BE I N G F A C ED has also acted as a barrier for investment friendliness in the field of garmenting. Though, China’s labour cost is increasing, but due to higher factor productivity, they are able to still maintain their strong hold on the global market, specifically in value-added garments. Vietnam’s productivity and labour costs both are competitive, therefore the country is seeing a surge in business; and while Bangladesh’s factory productivity is almost similar to India, labour factor cost is much cheaper. Apartfrom this, transaction costs in logistics and indirect taxes in India are much higher than many othercountries. In addition, the direct freight costs are also amongst the reasons behind India losing out. It is easier to get materials shipped from China to India rather than from Delhi toMumbai as the time taken and working capital engaged becomes costly. “There are so many ‘costs’ which are built into the final costing of the product but are not considered when calculating drawback rates. When you talk about fabric exports, one is actually incurring a cost of 9-10per cent on duties and taxes out of which the exporter is only compensated for 4-6 per cent and the rest is absorbed in the final price,” informsSharma. Meanwhile, the Government’s initiative to bring reforms with Goods and Services Tax Bill (GST) is a welcome one as it will help in formalisation of unorganised trade, but exclusion of electricity duties and fuel from this scheme will dilute thebenefits. While other countries have advantages in global trade, like Bangladesh, being an LDC country, can export to Europe with zero duty, Pakistan too has the GSP plus advantage in the EU. Now even Vietnam will soon have the TPP that will make them beneficiaryfor apparel export to the US, besides the country has also signed FTA with EU bringing high advantage for them in export of garments to two major global destinations. India does nothave any global trade pacts exceptFTA DL Sharma, MD, Vardhman Yarns & Threads Acompeteagainstthe lthough India hasthe Textile conglomerate VardhmanGroup potential to beamongst has a laser-sharp focus onexcellence, the best in textilesand continuous customer-driveninnovation, likes of China, still in terms of market space, the country hasn’t taken its rightful place, much to the disappointment of theindustry. Even in recent times, despite China’s increasing costs, Indian textile industry has not been able to take advantage in the global market primarily due to the failure to meet stringent delivery schedules and also parameters of price-competitiveness. “At the far end of the value chain, spinning was doing well but because of over-capacity it has lost out presently due to soft demand. The fact is that India has good capacities in spinning and weaving due to adequate raw material availability, but large portions of this is shipped out to garment destinations in other countries, whereas India is losing on the value connect due to various challenges in the system,” reasonsSharma. Amongst the main challenges in the Indian textile chain, according to Sharma, is relatively higher labour cost as compared to other competing countries,which original strategies and a seriesof technological collaborations.The company has successfully positioned itself as one of the strong playersin the textile value chain withsizeable capabilities in cotton yarn, acrylicyarn, fabric and sewing threads.Vardhman also boasts of a longstandingassociation with globally recognized partnerslike A&E for threads, Marubeni Corp.for cotton yarns, Nisshimbo Textiles Inc.for readymade garments, and TokaiSenko for fabric dyeing in order to bringinto the country world-class textileproducts. In a freewheeling conversationwith AO, DL Sharma, MD, VardhmanYarns & Threads, shares hisperspective on many topics of importance tothe textile industry, most importantlyon why India is missing opportunitiesin the globalscenario…

26. norms, meaning that a factory should recycle all its effluents and not release even a drop into any waterbody. Yes, as a responsible corporate it is important for industry to address this concern but we may examine it more effectively, and with less cost burden techniques. It is also worth noting that nowhere in the world is ZLD being propagated. What is being propagated is treatment ofaffluent to convert it into water for irrigation purposes, which whenadopted can be cost-effective to serve the purpose and also put less burden on the industry. Certainly, there are issues in some states that arewater deficient such as Tamil Nadu, and the industry has responded well in such areas. Incidentally, the sewing thread division of Vardhman, VYTL is one of the first companies in sewing threads to install a ZLD facility in their plant at Perundurai in Tamil Nadu. “We must always remember that there are major costs incurred for ZLD and its technology is very expensive, soit should be adopted wherever necessary,” statesSharma. Though the industry has a lot of challenges and needs support from the Government forfavourable policy framework, Vardhman Group is doing fairly well by focusing on in-house consumption and continuous value addition in all products of different verticals to manage its production optimally. Today, Vardhman Group offers the complete solution in textile value chain. Although 2015 had been a tightrope for the industry,Vardhman is hopeful for 2016…, as the initial phase still looks challenging. For the time being Vardhman is not going for any major growth, except for marginal expansion in areas where the company further balances its product mix or where it can set its processesright. “It is that time for the textile industry when you stop and introspect. The country needs to focus on the apparel side, once you do thatbackward integration will happen and value will come automatically to the complete chain,” concludesSharma. with Japan. “We have been pressing for such benefits, but to no avail. So, an Indian exporter is competing in a very niche space, where small quality and higher value-added products provide an edge. If you see garment manufacturing today, there arehardly any expansions happening and the cost of the management of thesefactories is increasing. Some entrepreneurs have shifted to other places (countries) to do volume business. We are now wondering whether India can be considered as a real garmenting country. Sadly, wehave all the factors/resources in our favour, including a large number of people who need to be employed, but the thrust is missing,” assertsSharma. He further adds, “The Government needs to understand that this industry is helping in employability of unemployed youth. All it needs is restructuring of policies and labour laws. The laws need to be designed, focusing on the lowest level person, giving protection on minimumwage, social security, health, besides flexible hiring as suited to the textile industry without harming workerrights.” Though the Government’s new proposed code on labour laws has raised hopes for theIndian industry, the Government still needs to address certain issues from the point of view of maintaining the cost-competitiveness of labour for wage goods industries like apparel, footwear, food processing, etc. For example, proposed definition for “wages and employees” inthe code wherein an outworker is also proposed to be an employee. “Lot of outsourcing happens in the garmenting where the manufacturers sendwork at home to outworker as a part of manufacturing chain. The outworkers are specialized in certain activities and many employers send work to them; therefore the outworker is doing work for a lot of garmentexporters. So such work practices evolved due to various work needs should be handled appropriately keeping in mind the industries’ requirement and outworkers earning and social security needs,” says Sharma. Also, because of high turnover of workers, we suggest that the trainee employed under certified standing orders, should not be considered as an employee. He/she may be given the employee status once he/ she gets absorbed as a regular worker,” believesSharma. What is more important to compete against such evolving global manufacturing hubs is that the whole integrated chain needs to be cost- effective and competitive. Though the labour cost is important on the garmenting side, but on the material side the cost of capital & poweris equally important as they areboth capital-and power- Vardhman Groupis doing fairly well by focusing on in- house consumption and continuous valueaddition in all products of differentverticals. intensive. A veryhigh cost of electrical power due tothe present tariffpolicy incorporating highercross subsidies makes material product more expensive, which adds to the ultimate cost of the garment. Though Indian apparel export is cotton dominated presently, in order to have wider presence, the industry should also build up the value chain for the apparel made of man-made fibre and their blends. China has a huge advantage in this respect that is why their apparel export is dominating. “If you want to make the value chain competitive, a policy to address the major factors of production cost on the material and labour needs to be checked. In this aspect, it is advisable that excise duty on man-made fibres are rationalised,” argues3Sharma. Another area of high cost for textile is dyeing and processing due to high cost of water treatment. A draft notification of the Governmenthas directed the textile industry to strictly follow Zero Liquid Discharge(ZLD)

27. K I N G DOM HOLDI NG I N T E R AC TS WITH C U S T OM ERS IN I N DIA AT ‘ K IN G D OM L IN EN M U M BAI D A Y’ GROWTH STRATEGIES AND POTENTIAL OF LINEN MARKET DISCUSSED Wtheexclusiveevent, segment. “Using linen in our collection of offerings, not only attracts high-end buyersbutalso gives value to the supply chain,” reasoned Vijay Puniyani of Vardhman. Linco Textiles, Erode is making 100 per cent linen fabric fromKingdom yarn to supply exclusively to Grace Lanka Apparels, which produces 80,000 linen pieces per month for the international market. “This exclusive tie-up has given edge and growth to both companies,” shared Ullas D Nair of LincoTextiles. Mohamad Azam Habib,MD one of the fastest growing markets on linen consumption in the world. Kingdom, as an active linen yarn supplier in India, takes it as ourresponsibility to provide better quality linen yarn, to meet the continuous upgrading demand in the market. With our third spinning mill, we will have sufficient capacity to meet the quantitative demand in India and I firmly believe India will be one of Kingdom’s major marketsin the future,” he said. Many of the guests sitting in the room were in agreement to thestatement. In a first of itskind elcoming the guestat effort, KingdomHolding Ren Weiming reiterated the dedication of Kingdom Holding to the linen business with enduring passion for pure linen. “We arecommitted to upscale efforts to ensure the most advanced linen spinning technology ahead of the linen industry, aiming at the best quality of linen yarn in the world. Kingdom now is running three linen spinning mills, located inthe two most developed textile centres in China –Zhejiang and its IndianPartner SundaramsTexventures LLP invited itsIndian customers to sharenot only the successstory of the company,but also the strategygoing forward. More than30 companiesparticipated at the “KingdomLinen Mumbai Day”recently and wereenthralled to be updated onnew (L-R) Manish Mehta, Sundarams Texventures; M. Ramesh and Vivekanand of WFB; Balachandar, Raymond Zambaitti; Ren Weiming and Eric Sun, Kingdom Holding The large gathering of industry interested in linen was a clear indication of the growing acceptance of linen both in the international and domestic markets and Jiangsu Provinces, and now we are building a fourth spinning mill in Ethiopia,”said Mr. Ren. Kingdom, who currently has total installed spindles of over 1,00,000, with an annual capacity of more than 18,000 tonnes of wet spun linen yarn, making them one of the largest linen yarn spinners inthe world with 35 per cent share of the export of linen yarn from China to the high-end markets including Italy, Japan, Korea and other countries inEU. Mr. Ren also stressed upon the fact that India wasan important and growing market for Kingdom. “India hasbecome of Grace Lanka Apparelshad flown down especially for the event to share his enthusiasm and positivity of the potential inlinen. A presentation given on Quality, Innovation andDevelopment, by Wang Jian, Sales Manager of Kingdom Holdings Limited was well received, while the presentation on the flax industry in Europe by Jean Claude Lambert from Teillage De Lin Du Vert Galant, one of the best flax scutching enterprises in France and Marc Devoldere from Devoldere – traders in flax, updated the guest on the current developments inEurope. “We make 100% home fashion products, including double width bedspreads using linen for the international market, and the demand is increasing consistently,” said Ramasamy Arasu of Master Linen, Karur. The SA-8000 & ISO- 9002 company exports to the US, Norway, Sweden,Denmark among other countries and has a turnover of around Rs. 100 crore (US $ 15million). Even representatives of textile giants that work with numerous other fibres like Arvind, Mafatlal,Vardhman, Raymond and Donear werevery positive of growth in thelinen developments,while using theplatform to network withlike- minded companies.The team from Kingdomwas led by RenWeiming, Chairman of theBoard of KingdomHoldings Limited.Manish Mehta ofSundarams Texventuresand his team werethe perfect hosts ofthe evening whichstarted withpresentations and ended witha networkingdinner.

28. TEX-FILE “We started with a mere 300 MT sales in the year 2009-2010, and in last calendar year (2015) we achieved sales of 2,400 MT of Kingdom’s linen yarn in India, which alone accounts foraround 20 per cent of the total 12,000 MT yarn shipped from China to India during thisperiod.” Manish Mehta, SundaramsTexventures “We are committed to upscale efforts to ensure the most advanced linen spinning technology ahead of the linen industry, aiming at the best quality of linen yarn in the world. Kingdom now is running three linen spinning mills, in China – and now we are building a fourth spinning mill inEthiopia.” Ren Weiming, Chairman of the Board of Kingdom HoldingsLimited Kingdom’slinen yarn production on the present capacity is around 18,000 MT per annum out of which around 70 per centproduction isexported out ofChina to Italyand other European Unioncountries, Japan, Korea, Turkey, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan,etc. Kingdom caters to around 15 per cent oflinen yarn production in China and enjoys market sharesof linen yarn consumptionin Italy of 50 per cent, Japan 90 per cent,Korea 60 per cent, andTurkey 70 per cent, which is a result of consistent yarn quality spun out of the best flax fibre fromFrance. counts mainly 44 Lea to 66 Lea. The minimum order quantity per colour for mélangeyarns is as low as 300 kgs per colour. Further development of wet spun linen blends with silk, wool, Tencel, etc. is underway to be launchedshortly. Kingdom has another facility Kinglino Flax Fiber Company which is refining the flax fibre for cotton, wool and silkspinning systems. The refined flax fibre when bended with other co-fibres during spinning and converted into fabric come very close to looking and feeling like100 per cent linen fabrics. “We are offering this fibre for cotton spinning systems in India and also promoting and marketing a blend of our linen fibre blended with Lyocell fibre and marketing it as Lincell Yarn. Lambodhrara Textiles, Palani ismanufacturing lincell yarns from 9s to 46s counts and the same is being marketed in India and overseas by us,” sharedManish. Among the guest, many agreed that the sustainable edge of linen is a major attraction today. “Not only in the company making sustainable products, but it is also manufacturing under ethical and sustainable processes. Thiscombination of sustainability with updated technology and manufacturing capabilities makes Kingdomthe market leader in Linen and a preferred source for companies like us,” concluded Raja Palanisamy of KKP Spinning Mill, echoing the sentiments of other Kingdomcustomers. But what really attracted the attention was Manish’s address which gave the direction for India business.Associated with Kingdom since 2009 and a motivating force in bringing the company to India, Manish candidly said, “At that time the consumption of linen yarnin India was at a very nascent stage but I had a definite idea that it was going to grow very fast. I explained the future potential of linen yarn in Indian market and Kingdom believed me that was how this business association started.” Kingdom appointed Texventures as their exclusive agents in the year 2009 for promotion and sales of their wet spun linen yarn in Indianmarket, later neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka were added to this exclusive arrangement. “We started with a mere 300 MT sales in the year 2009-2010, and in last calendar year (2015) we achieved sales of 2,400 MT of Kingdom’s linen yarn in India, which alone accounts for around 20 per cent of the total 12,000 MT yarn shipped from China to India during this period,” said Manish proudly. Today, India is consuming around 15 per cent of total linen yarn produced in the world and that too prominently for its domesticmarket. Kingdom realized the potential of Indian market very early and took an initiative to come closer to customers by starting the warehousing oflinen yarn at Arshiya Free Trade Warehousing Zone, Nhava Sheva in the year 2012. Manish shared that customers in India havethe choice to make the payment by LC or TT to Kingdom in USD and clear the goods in India from FTWZ out of ready stock by paying the duty at FTWZ. And the customers who are exporting the fabrics, garments or home textiles etc. can clear the linen yarn from FTWZ against their duty-free advance licences as well.Customers can book their monthly or quarterly requirements of linen yarn and can clear the goods from Arshiya in small lots of even 12 MTs as per their consumption. “This way there is no need to keep the stock at your factory after importing in container loads on CIF basis. You may kindly tell us your requirements over a period, we make the contracts and then keep the goods ready todeliver to you as per the consumptionat your factories,” averred Manish to the delight of theguests. The product range on offer from Kingdom includes 100 per cent wet spun linen yarn from counts 10 Lea to 44 Lea in Short Fibre and Long Fibre, and from 50 Lea to 140 Lea only inLong Fibre. Except for very fine counts like 80 Lea to 140 Lea, all the yarns are available in natural and semi-bleached options.Apart from regular yarns, the company is also offering full bleached yarns, circular and flat knitting yarns, 2-ply yarns, high twist crêpe yarns, organic yarns with GOTS certification. Inaddition to semi-bleached, full bleached and natural options, Kingdom is also producing 100 per cent linen top dyed mélange yarns for weaving and knitting inthe www.apparelresources.com| FEBRUARY 1-15, 2016 | Apparel Online India 27

29. H O M E F A S H I O N F U T U R E MparticipantatHeimtextil REVIEW:HEIMTEXTIL DESIRED BEGINNING FOR HOME SEGMENT IN2016 The increased participation, purposeful visitation and positive vibes received at the Heimtextil, held recently inFrankfurt, proved a perfect beginning to 2016 for the home furnishing industry. Asper the organizers, there were over 69,000 trade visitors (2015: 67,861) and2,866 exhibitors (2015: 2,723) from across the world converging at the event. This time, near about 400 Indian home furnishing exporters participated in the show, and many in discussion with Apparel Online, accepted that this year’s fair and buyer visitation was more beneficial than the previous year, setting the tone for business in 2016. As usual very few Indian exporters focused on a particular theme or story in their product line and most of them were having mixed collections to appeal to a larger buyersegment. compared to their expectations and so were not too happy with the buyer footfall. Rajiv Bahl, Proprietor, Design East, Delhi, who showcased rugs at the event informed,“For us the fair was slow, but we cannot really pinpoint whether it was due to slow international markets or any otherreason.” The overall business scenario remains quite challenging, as the main markets for Indian home furnishings of Europe and the US have been experiencing a slow down for almost a year. In this scenario, prices are becoming critical and India is losing out to Pakistan and Bangladesh since they have duty- free access to EU and also their currencies are weakervis-à-vis the Indian Rupee. China has also devalued its currency with the objective of making its exports cheaper. Indian exporters do face a difficult situation, but what keeps them in good stead is emphasis on quality and reliability indeliveries. Detlef Braun, CEO, Messe Frankfurt was of the opinion, “The positive economicindicators also boosted discussions between suppliers and purchasers.”Few Indian exporters also expressed the same opinion as they were not only able to meet good number of buyers, but even the mutual discussions about business in coming months were also positive. “On the basis of feedbacks and whatever I discussed with buyers, I must say that it is a good beginning of 2016 and more orders should come in, be it fromEurope or any other international markets. Buyers were enthusiastic and asking for various products, which reflects positivity,” reasons Samarth Sangal, CEO of textilestock.in, Delhi who booked five orders within the fair and met more than 50 goodbuyers. According to him, floor covering was most appreciated and demanded product at his booth. “As it was my first experience of this event, I found buyers are quite serious here and they decide immediately and believe in closing the order on the spot. Next time we will participate in a bigger way,” he added. But there is a different point of view also, as Pranav observed, “Most of the buyerswe umbai-basedSumangalam Exports, aregular is satisfied with this edition of the event, “I would rate this year’s Heimtextil successful since there were more visitors and exhibitors compared to last year. Messe Frankfurt also made the effort to promote the trade fair through celebrity appearances. We had a good range of visitors from Western Europe, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Australia. Another positive sign for Indian companies was the good number of visitors from Russia that wereinterested in Indian products. Non-traditional markets also offer an opportunity,” shared Pranav Ghelani,Marketing Director, SumangalamExports. Participating for the first time at the event, Kaushal International, Delhi was also satisfied with the visitors he received. “Ourfocus on display was quilts, and buyers liked our products; the only issue I saw was pricing. Overall it was a good experience for us as we met buyers from various countries,” says Ajay Verma, Proprietor of the company whose collection was based on colours that arepopular in Europe. Many more participants agreed with the above opinion but like all other fairs there were some participants that met less buyers JayantGhelani(L),ChairmanwithPranavGhelani,MarketingDirectorofSumangalamExportsattheirbooth

30. H O M E F A S H I O N F U T U R E interacted with do not see a recovery soon. It will be the most efficient and financially strong companies that would eventually ride through this lean phase in globaleconomies.” As far as particular product or range is concerned, buyers liked most of the products displayed by Indian exhibitors. Few Indian companies also launched new collections/ products at the event. Amber Home (India), Mumbai displayed many products and claimed that Fouta/ Hamam Towel collection was liked by existing as well as newcustomers. “Table Cloths packed in Jars were a hit at our booth,” says Nimish Shah, Director of the company. He added that his approach was more towards sustainability, following thetheme of ‘Save Our Planet by Making Home Textile from Recycled Yarns’. The company used recycled PC yarn wherein 80 per cent is cotton and 20 per cent is polyester. The company has also reduced some dyeingprocesses for the sake ofenvironment. On the other side Anil Madaan, Madaan Overseas, Panipat displayed a mix collection rather than focusing on one particular story or theme and he was happy with the overall response at the fair. “We displayed bed covers, curtains, cushion, etc. Most of the buyers we met were from Europe, and a good numberof buyers came from Italy,” informed Anil. Gurgaon-based Panache (India) International having specialization in leather cushions also displayed accessories in hard goods. Gitanjali Khokha, Ownerof the company informed that buyers appreciated their products, though the fair could have been better in terms of buyer visitation. Few other participants also shared that they focused on regular designs and did not experiment much on fabric as cotton-based products still seem to dominate thedemand. Booth of textilestock.in. The company got good response andconfirmed 5 orders on thespot

31. 30 Apparel Online India | FEBRUARY 1-15, 2016 |www.apparelresources.com ApparelOnlineIndia 30

32. DIRECTIONS BY Pre-fall Pre-fall collections always bring new and exciting trends that we typically can’t wait to try. There have been several trends this pre-fall 2016 season that popped up in many collections all over the fashion capitals. Quilting was one of them and as the season sees garments revisited with extra large proportions, blowing up separates and sets with oversized shapes, the details were presented in a similar style. Classic coats became fierce statement piecesowingtoboldfelineprints,texturingyourknitwasamessage sent loud and clear for fall and the wide-legged pants have been replaced with a sportier luxe version for the new formalwear. 2 016 Quilting IsIn Diesel BlackGold Dpre-fallcollections,using esigners looktowards quilting once again forthe it on skirts, dresses, tops, and obviously – various styles of coats. Diesel Black Gold used bolder,and in your face quilting on a cape- like coat, while Maiyet’s version was more detailed and the brand only utilized it on the lower half of the coat bringing about a textural divide. New life was given to the trend by designers sending out head-to-toe quilted looks – Adam Lippes went for a ’60s button-up skirt with a bomber and Chanel decided to mix the bodyconskirt and cropped top with sensuous lace in differentpatterns. Chanel AdamLippes Maiyet

33. DIRECTIONS BY Wexaggerated detailsare e knew with theoversized ruffle trend from resortthat Ring In TheBell in trend this year. Blurring the lines between formals and casual dressing this season, it is all about thesleeves – bell-shaped and dramatically big. Christian Siriano made a loud statement with a fuchsia pink ensemble with extra large flared sleeves at the hem. Fendi went the same route but with a shorter sleeve length and on a rich red dress with ample ruffles on the sleeve. Escada and J.W.Anderson proposed billowing sleeve styles in shiny fabrics, whereas Delpozo opted for a structured sleeve for hisovercoats. ChristianSiriano Escada Fendi Delpozo Coach1941 Tseason belongedto thefeline here is no doubt that themost popular animal thispre-fall family, Gucci and No. 21 made that abundantly clear by putting cats on their knitted pullovers. Spotted at Coach, Maison Margiela, AdamLippes, McQ, Rochas and AlexanderWang, it was all about cat prints. Coachand Maison Margiela, both madeuse of plush fur surfaces and ponyskin, giving classic short coats a quirky update. Alexander Wang kept it simple by using the tiger print on a wool coat, styled in a modern Londoner look, for Rochas it was all aboutthe AlexanderWang Feline Friends cheetah print and the coat wassimply styled with a knot belt, which looked ratherdecadent. MaisonMargiela Rochas 32 Apparel Online India | FEBRUARY 1-15, 2016 |www.apparelresources.com

34. DIRECTIONS BY Hdesigners, mixing various eavily textured knitswere the way forward forall Texture Knits techniques on a single piece. While Delpozo offered a beautiful knit in white and blue that featured cable knitting on the top and atype of thick fringing at the bottom, No. 21 presented a striped ribknit that looked positively ’70s, and Preen designed anasymmetrical knit that featured traditionalcables. It was at Oscar de la Renta that you found yourself witnessing a knit fringe skirt that was midi-length and in a neutral palette, andChanel stuck to their matching knitwear sets that were colourful and boasted of intricatebeading. Chanel PreenLine Oscar de laRenta Delpozo PacoRobanne Lwith slouchy trousersand ast season majorlyrevolved around wide-leggedpantsuits relaxed fitting. This season the pants turned into comfortable luxe track pants with drawstrings that aligned with the comfort factor and the new formal wear quotient. Both, Ralph Lauren and Paco Robanne featured such styles by pairing the pants with shimmering tops and slim-fit blazers. Then, there were the likes of Lisa Perry and Max Mara who ditched the shirts and presented straight-fit pants with sleeveless long tops and jackets that are structured and even go asfar as making use ofleather. MaxMara The New Pantsuit LisaPerry RalphLauren

35. FASHIONBUSINESS Oversize onthe Rwom ensIweSarwitEnesses Oversize is definitely on the rise! Oversize is stepping up this season, especially for fall and winter collections, forboth men and women. Much toour disappointment, Indianexporters who are too busy with summer collections rarely showinterest in developing fall collectionsand that’s the reason most of the runway ruling trends are never able to get transformed into big orders for them. But those who do take notice are in tunewith what is the direction, asdesigners are making sure that oversize does not look sloppy, and believe in giving the fabrics a certain weight and quality, so that the natural fall of the garment looks beautiful. Kanchan Kumari, Designer, Volta FashionsPvt. Ltd., exporters of garments said, “Fuller tailoring is less grungy and lazy, in fact more chic and feminine, and in this season these oversized looks are embracing more daintycuts andpatterns.” The flexibility of wearing an oversized garment is attracting designers to explore this lucrative trend. The change began with big, bulky, and sculptural coats that gradually caught on to the rest of the products. The biggest benefit of oversized fashion is that it fits any figure. Exporters are trying to develop styles in their staple sizes which are fitted and loose at all the right places. Dressing over proportion is making itsway in fashion and is a rising trend; everyone seems to be sporting it. Roberto Cavalli’s knit resembled a laidback robe coat which was cinched with a knot; Salvatore Ferragamo opted for length as his textured version was open from the front and went up into a cosy muffler. Versace kept things classy and simple by throwing on a lightweight oversized shrug on a brown leather jacket. Most of the collections thatincorporated subversive in P re-Fall silhouettes 201 6! BurberryProrsum PublicSchool Fendi Although the previous seasons repeatedly reflected the obsession for oversized coats and jackets, these larger than life silhouettes gained the maximum attention on the recent pre-fall 2016 runways. Knit pullover sweaters, lightweight cover-ups and open printed cardigan sweaters, took a back seat to let oversize coats take thecentre-stage. Oversize silhouettes have lately been looking flawlessly perfect, and these runway collections proved that ‘size does matter’. For a long time, custom fits and skin tight clothes have been in power in the fashion scene. But the latest trend is to goloose. Taking the cue from the runway trends some exporters are recognising oversize as a growing trend but some exporters surprisingly are completely unaware of thetrend… 34 Apparel Online India | FEBRUARY 1-15, 2016 |www.apparelresources.com

36. FASHIONBUSINESS The flexibility of wearing an oversized garment is attracting designers to explore this lucrative trend. The change began with big, bulky, and sculptural coats that gradually caught on to the rest of the products. The biggest benefit of oversized fashion is that it fits any figure. Exporters are trying to develop styles in their staple sizes which are both fitted and loose at all the rightplaces. and Christopher Kane created interesting closures in neutral and dark shades for thisyear’s runway collection. Oversized leather jackets are a big hit too. However, the shorts and trousers still remain fitted for men. Oversized leather jackets didn’t get famous only in the men’s section, but equally in the women’s collectionstoo. Rebecca Minkoff’s pre-fall, envisioned a Penny Lane-music festival look with floral dresses, off-the-shoulder ruffled topsand cute little suede dresses topped by oversize leatherjackets. Kriti Singh, Designer, Shahi Exports, discussing about the colours being in use this season said, “The oversized clothing collections are being developed in hues of neutrals, navy blues, browns, blacks. As mostly we are developing outwears instead of bottoms andtops.” Pre-fall sees garmentsrefreshed with standout proportions, blowing up separates and coordinates with oversized shapes. XXL tailoring makes a masculine-look statement, blurring the boundariesbetween formal and casuallooks. Meanwhile, seasonal layering allows for directional styling, as billowing outerwear isworn over long-line dressesand chunky knits are bulked out with heavyweight sleevelesscoats. Inspired by Sonia Delaunay’s paintings, graphic treatments were seen on cozy needlepunch cashmere knits and an oversize blue-and-white sweater that hinted at subtle maritime theme, in the collection of AquilanoRimondi. It is wide sweaters, loose shirts, and relaxing pyjama-styled pants that are creating newstyle waves. Swati Sood, Assistant Merchandiser, Li & Fung said, “Baggy but cropped cotton pants are preferred for thesummer, this trend stuck to neutrals like greys, blacks, browns andbeige. Topshop Unique’s pre-fall collection ranged from the oversize and sturdy, to the flowing and fanciful.Outerwear was a big part of this youthful, commercial collection, and highlights included a roomy, leopard-patternedcloque coat and a chartreuse crackled leather coat – both with a shearling collars – as well as oversizecorduroy Crombie. Similar to this look was created by Burberry, where a khaki jacket adorned over Denim also came in maxi proportions, as in wide-legged boyfriendjeans and a black maxiskirt. Varsha Bhawnani, MD,Vinegar Exports Pvt. Ltd., exporters of readymade garments to Europe, Russia and the US, explained the importance of oversized clothing, “Oversized clothes if wornin the right way can also look just as chic and smart as the skin- hugging ones. Bulky bottomslike balloon skirts, flared palazzo pants, are also anotherway of carrying out the oversized boyfriend fashion.” Theseclothes were seen on the runway and collections with large shirts, tunics, skirts, pants,jackets, and dresses were showcased by designer labels like Gucci, Balenciaga, Chloe, and Moschino. Oversize isbreaking all the fashion rules and is making clothing comfortable. Sizing up is the new fad, rather than sizing down. A sporty twist came via oversize puffed jackets in geometric patterns with a magnified versionof the brand’s new Blasonelogo in the collection showcase of Emilio Pucci in the Pre-Fall 2016runways. In fact, oversized men’s coats are the next big thing for the upcoming fall/winter season; Trussardi, Chanel, Michael Kors, Celine Chloe No.21 Fendi while the winter look includes large silhouetted woollen cardigans, puffy roundsleeved jackets, and huge eccentric collared coats.” The oversized trend is being embracedby trendsetters, and has carved a place for itself among men and women, of all sizes andshapes. The ultra-comfort fit and soft cosiness of garments makes it most suitable forwinters.

37. FASHIONRESOURCE Tamara Mellon back with namesake brand Tamara Mellon has bounced back after two months offiling for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, putting her Tamara Mellon Brand (TMB) back on the map. The designer and businesswoman, who made her name at Jimmy Choo before departing to start her own brand, has secured new investors in venture firm New Enterprise Associates,which she said “allows us to transition our business model to focus on direct sales to customers via online platforms and company- operated stores”. A Delaware court found the case in her favour, praising her“spirit and sacrifice” in order to keep her business alive. Mellon, meanwhile, has been quoted as saying, “We look forwardto implementing thisrevitalised approach, shortening thedesign and manufacturing process and further enhancing our mission to provide customers with the fashion they want to wearnow.” FISHING FORNET The sheer fabric ‘net’ made its way to the Spring/Summer ’16 runways by beingswathed all-over one-piece dresses unapologetically. Stella McCartney used net for heavypanelling on her flowing dresses that came in colour pop shades of yellow,orange and iris blue, whereas Proenza Schouler used the fabric for his body- hugging dresses with cut-out detailsand cinched waists. Valentino, known for his red carpet ensembles, used it as an overlay for a shorter dress underneath with fringed hems. Alexander Wang and Chanel made use of the trend more demurely by attaching it to the bib of the dress and using it as an overlay for a sporty shirt. The interesting pattern that was noticed this season was that net is being used in a variety of shades and also indresses for variety ofoccasions. Osman debuts menswearline The celebratedwomenswear designer, Osman, is making his first official foray into menswear, launching his debut collection soon. The London-based designer added a few menswearlooks to the ready-to-wearshow in September as a first look for clients. “The launch of menswear has been quite organic for us because for several seasons the clean tailored lines of the coats, particularly the oversized bombers and outerwear, and looser trousers, likethe culottes and palazzo pants, have regularly attracteda private menswearcustomer,” said designer Osman Yousefzada. Yousefzada’s own style, which he says veers between“dandy and more relaxed”, may generally be lessflamboyant than his menswear pieces, but the collection is created to merge perfectly with his women’soffering. Next Big Designer: NabilNayal Karl Lagerfeld himself became a private client of Nabil Nayal after he got shortlisted for LVMH’s annual prize, which isn’t a small feat. “I metKarl during the LVMH Prize and he was really fascinated by my bonded pleating methods and said he had notseen it before. I think he really appreciated the level of craftsmanship thatgoes into each and every one of my pieces,” Nayal said. Syrian-born and Britain- based, Nayal first came into focus afterwinning the 2008 Graduate Fashion Week award and became a finalistof the 2011 Fashion Fringe Prize. His distinctive aesthetic, melding modern sportswear silhouettes with Elizabethan techniques, may seem incongruous, but Nayal believes that the more he understands about both the old and new elements of fashion design, the better his workbecomes. COLOUR STORY A/W 2016-17 by FASHION FORWARDTRENDS PANTONE 19-1420TPX PANTONE 12-0807TPX PANTONE 18-1048TPX PANTONE 16-1412TPX PANTONE 19-1102TPX

38. www.apparelresources.com| FEBRUARY 1-15, 2016 | Apparel Online India 37 ApparelOnlineIndia 37

39. VALUEADDITION Creating WAVES ontheRunways! DI FFERENT T ECHNI QUES FOR ACHI EVING WAVY EFFECT S Wmanipulations, creating undulated When designing clothing for fall, designers as well as exporters try and createsurface ornamentations which are not very heavy looking,minimal in nature and still make the garment look unique and value-added. And the biggestsurface ornamentation trend for 2016 is ‘waves’. Exploited through an array of techniqueslike, printing,embroidery, fabric manipulation and quilting, waves are literally creating ‘waves’ not only on the runwaysbut are ready to take the retail sector by ‘storm’ as well. With exportersmaking a conscious effort of producing value- added products in line with buyers’ requirements,wavy contours seem to be the attention-grabbing value additionof theseason… giving in varied ideas for inspirationand interpretation ofwaves. The pre-fall ’16 collections witnessed multiple interpretations of theclassic pleating technique in amalgamation with arty twists, folds and curves among other ocular techniques. Emerging from a structured and buckled waist, pleats fell out on one side of the calf-length skirts forming, what is called as the double skirt at ALC. An assembly of heat set creases were elegantly put together in separates and dresses by Paule Ka and Cushnie et Ochs. Whereas, a series of knife and accordionpleats – a favoured technique for the season – were elegantly laid on leather and panelled skirts, short flowy dresses and knitted versions by the likes of Givenchy, Ohne Titel, Temperley London and VeroniqueBranquinho. Fabric manipulation for creating waves includes various techniques which produce a 3-dimensional surface on the garment, andis not just restricted to techniques like gathering, pleating, smocking and wrinkling of the fabric. Rajesh Kumat, Director, GangaExports Pvt. Ltd., exporter of readymade garments said, “Heat set effects on polyesters chiffons, ruffled nylon stripes on skirts and tops, wrinkled knit long cardigans, smocked knit sweaters, pintucks garnished over the entire silhouette, double controlled ruffled pleats on skirts and undulated tucks on blouses and shirts pinpoint to the forever building approach towards creating fluid textures and structures with a richlook.” Techniques like the beaded diamond smocking are used for creating glittery but flexible surfaces. As already seen on ample runways, fluidity is a must for this season. Mostly used in skirts, different sequins run on top of the smocking whereas the base thread runs on the opposite, generating an attractive surface with beaded effect, creating rippling effects. Simple cable stitches, stem stitches, wave stitches, honeycomb stitches, trellis stitches and bullion stitches are giving thewave aves achieved either throughprint tucks, irregular stitching methods or through varied pleating methods, have found its way into the product development process of many garment export units. Waves as an element find roots from the ‘under the sea’ influence of last year. Getting magnified this season in the form of wavy surfaces on fabric, silhouettes and prints, designers on the pre-fall 2016 runways were seen embracing this under-sea element in fullforce. Tibi’s idea of waves was through dropping in hints of not so feminine ruffles into their tough collection. Tibi, a New York-based advanced contemporary womenswear and accessories brand founded in 1997 by Amy Smilovic thought about what was missing in their wardrobes, and using the rich shades of brown; stronger shoulders; and quirky, not girly, rufflescreated waves on the runway. Ruffles were also the main showstopper at Norma Kamali as well, infusing sporty ethos with a sensual femininity. Done in red, black and white, Kamali’s leggings, skirts, mini-dresses, floaty off-the-shoulder tops and swimwear came in tiered ruffled layers. Imbuing graphic interest, some digital prints brought out the feeling of 3D ocean cover, on jersey sleeveless jumpsuits and reversibleblazers. On the other hand, Mary Katrantzou excelled at print and embellishment and double-face cashmere. In one-piece and two-piece styles, getting inspired from the ’60s sci-fi movies and books by Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick, the designer produced embroidered, mixed-print dresses with undulated waves in a mix of tucks and prints. The overlay of 2D and 3D created the perfect illusion of wavy surface. Providinga bright range of digital prints, drawing inspiration from oriental kimono artworks and curvilinear shapes reminiscent of paper folding, Katrantzou inculcated a wide range of printing and fabric manipulation techniques in the samecollections

40. VALUEADDITION DenisBasso Altuzarra Fendi creation a further scope of expanding. Uneet Chhabra, Director, U & I Exports Pvt. Ltd. said, “We are creating fluidic lines and wavy structures through beading and hand painting. In non-silk we are using polyester-based fabrics, viscose-based fabrics, mixed blends and knitted fabrics which give us the liberty to create texture using heatsetting.” The translation of this ocean-inspired wave effect led many interesting things to happen. Inder Mohan Bhambri, Director, Srigan Exports, explaining about the effect said, “Be it by coral and seashell motifs patch worked onto black mesh trousers and shifts; sea surfs printed on todiaphanous trench coats and asymmetric shifts; or clams appliquéd on to a chiffon top and full-sleeve ivory dress, waves are huge this season. Knitted fluidic motif creations and crocheted waves formations,recreate the dreamy aesthetics ofthe sea.” For instance, thecoral Techniques like the beaded diamond smocking are used for creating glittery but flexible surfaces. As already seen onample runways, fluidity is a must for thisseason. red sequined shift layered over a longer off-white lace dress at Pucci or 3D waves embroidered on the bralet-skirt combination at Fusto Puglisi depicted different ways the sea could be brought to life in the world offashion. Surface ornamentation has always been India’s strength and with the global fashion scene looking for eye-catchers, product development teams are busy developing innovative techniques for that one exclusive ‘look’ that creates the wow factor. Loveleen Dubey, Designer, Bittoo Overseas says, “With overdose of conventional embroidery and printing techniques for value addition, fabric manufacturers and garment exporters have started to experiment within the fabric to create a plethora of textures using techniques which are easily available in-house to induce freshness in surface ornamentation.” And the creation of wavy textures points towards exactly the samething.

41. INDUSTRYWIRE Kapoor Fashions to start its own label inoverseas markets Changed ‘attitude’ helps Patterns India reach newheights Jevenafterhaving completed25 we did that before too, but the attitude and the way of working was different, but suited the need of the hour. We have now given more power in the hands of the senior- and middle-level staff,so they can take decisions at their own level, and come to the management only when they feel very strongly about something. Now, there is more team spirit among all the departments and nobody plays the ‘blame game’ anymore. There is also more transparency. We hold regular meetings; besides there is much better communication among all departments now and there is increase in mutual coordination among all. We have been working on this change for a yearnow and the work is still in process,” continuedVivek. He went on to add that the existing buyers of his company have demanded kidswear from his company, and also helped him develop this category with PD guidance and techpacks. The company is going to start off with that category very soon. The company is also set to increase its capacity to 85,000 piecesafter expansion, which has been proposed to take place within ayear. The FOB of products offered by Pattern India starts from US $ 5 and goes up to US $10. aipur-based PatternsIndia, years in this business, claims to have changed its “attitude”, and got good results for it too. Witha production capacity of 50,000 pieces a month, the company, which exports ladies garments to Latin American countries, Europe and the US, has witnessed 30 per cent growth.It now plans to start a new product line of kidswear and also expandits productioncapacity. Vivek Khandelwal, MD, Patterns India told Apparel Online, “Withthe changing global market scenario, we felt the need to shift our focus, and now our top priority is ‘consumer satisfaction’. For this we have changed our attitude.” Vivek,who is also the President of Garment Exporters’ Association of Rajasthan (GEAR), which is a 37-year-old association having 140 members, maintained, “Due to worldwide fluctuations in the currency, everyone, everywhere is facing the price pressure – be it an exporter or a brand/retailer, and this pressure will continue. So we have to bebetter in every aspect of the business in order to succeed in the garment exportbusiness.” The company has triple QC level system to assure quality in all aspects, be it fabric checking, colour, measurement, etc.“Although, ESingapore, tobothdepartmentalstores xporting kidswear to the Middle-East and and wholesalers, Kolkata-based Kapoor Fashions is planning to launch its own label in the international markets. “As we are into this trade for the past 22 years, we know the buyers very well, and now is the time for us to bring out our own label. In the long run, one can get better value through its ownlabel. We will now insist on selling apparels by our own label in the overseas market, as we have already built our marketing network. We know exactly what they want or what sells there, so we hope to introduce this label in the current year. Initially, it will be not on a mass scale, but later it will definitelybecome so,” shares SatishKapoor, MD, Kapoor Fashions. He added that therewill not be much competition for him, ashis price segment isdifferent from most other playersand he has strong relationswith theoverseas retailers. The company completely outsources its manufacturing process and believes that it increases its product range without any extra investment. “Our quality control people stationedat the job working units check each and every piece, so I don’t find any quality-related issue. Secondly, our job workers are less, but organized. Through the job work, we have managed to keep our overhead costs very low, and can offer reasonable prices to the buyers,” Satishadded. Kapoor Fashions, which is 100 per cent into export, started its operations at Paridhan Garment Park in Kolkata when this park had just started. Today it has a target toexport 4 lakh pieces in the nextfiscal. Satish Kapoor, MD, KapoorFashions Vivek Khandelwal, MD, Patterns India with his daughter Sajal who is also learning the business

42. INDUSTRYLIVE AEPCinitiatesfreshtalksforsolutionstoApparelHousedeadlock Iappreciatedmove, thenew next step forward. Holding two events in a year would not serve the purpose he felt, but the AHEA assured him that the hosting of the IIGF would be the right trigger to set other activities in motion. They felt that empty showrooms would be lapped up immediatelyand exporters would willingly open showrooms regularly to ensure that they do not miss any activity planned for thecentre. While Amit Goyal did not make any false promises, he was very confident that a compatible solution could be worked out. He assuredthe exporters present there that the next meeting would soon be called for negotiationson hard core solutions. The team of AHEA was also happy with the discussions and the proactive approach. They expressed hope that the matter would finally be resolved thisyear. the IIGF only twice and no analysis has been given as to why the event was discontinued at the Apparel House. It was argued that the location of the premises in Gurgaon is very appropriate for hosting the event, as many exporters and buying offices are located in the area; besides theairport is not far away. Even staying arrangements for participants and foreign buyers are easier in the area as Gurgaon boasts of many business and luxury hotels being the epicentre of business for theNCR. The disappointment and frustration of the group was writ large on their faces, and Amit Goyal, as an exporter himself, appreciated their stand. However, he said that a proper roadmap has tobe made on how to draw attention to Apparel House throughout the year before takingthe deadlock. While the members of the AHEA, led by Rajiv Kapoor, Sushil Aggarwal and Ratnesh Malhotra, explained in detail the ‘degradation’ of the Apparel House from what it had been promised to be atthe time of allotment, and now to an ordinary office premises for the AEPC. “The centre was built with a vision to be the ‘happening place’ for garment exporters, where constant activities related to export promotion and export excellence would take place. But since then, most of the showroom holders have let go of the premises allotted to them out on lease for 10 years, as a bad investment and a few that remainare fighting a difficult fight for their rights,” said Rajiv Kapoor very forcefully. It was pointed out that even after being promised, the venue was used forhosting n a proactive andhighly Chairman of AEPC, Ashok Rajani, has instituted a sub- committee to look into the options of export promotion, including the revival of the disputed showroom premises at ApparelHouse. Heading the team, Amit Goyal of SarjuInternational, Mumbai flew down especially to meet the members of the AHEA, who have in the past raised their voice againstthe attitude of the AEPC. Both sides of the table were happy with the positive vibes at the meeting, and Amit Goyal promised that he would discuss the options with the Chairman and come back with concrete solutions, which he was sure would be acceptable toall. In an informal setting, the meeting was a good base to openly discuss reasons forthe ‘TextilesBeyondHorizon’:Ichalkaranji’sentrepreneurstakelessonsfromSurat TMaharashtra,knownasone he town of Ichalkaranjiin of India’s biggest cotton (greige) fabric producing hub, is moving ahead with finished and value- added fabric. To explore more opportunities within the textile business and to pick up new things in the industry, a group of 40 entrepreneurs visited Surat. The trip, ‘Textiles Beyond Horizon’, was organized by the Rotary Club of Ichalkaranji Heritage and Signature Looms, Surat. The idea behind this tour was to learn how to add value to the industry and its operation in Ichalkaranji by taking a leaf out of Surat market’s book. The group visited several factories in Surat, learnt about the latest technology andmachinery Ichalkaranji’s entrepreneurs at a factory during their trip sample rack in their fabric museum for products from Ichalkaranji. Ichalkaranji manufactures high volume of cotton-based fabrics. But these fabrics currently go to other hubs for furthervalue-addition. discussed the various issues of market opportunitiesand products and shared them with the group. The South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry also supported this visit, and allottedindependent and also discussed the various techniques used there. Ashok Advani, Owner, Signature Loom and Prashant Lahoti, Project Chairman, Rotary Heritage, along with several industrialists fromSurat,

43. INDIACANVAS Review: IIGF2016 NOT ENOUGH BUYERS AT INDIA’S BIGGEST GARMENT SOURCINGFAIR The 56th IIGF was a very slow affair this year with very few buyers turning up at the fair grounds for the three-day event though the organizers claimed that 800-plus buyers from across the globewere expected to visit. The general response among most of the participants was ‘disappointment’. Many of the exporters blamed the bad timing of the fair as the reason for poor footfall. They stated that holding the fair twice a year serves no purpose, particularly the one in January, which is an A/W show, a season that is not the strength ofIndia. Mhavebeentakingpartat compared to their expectations, yet they did find some interesting products. It is good to know that these buyers are reasonably happy with the Indian products, suppliers and their way of working, also most of them are enthusiastic about growth in the coming months. Greater flexibility and more knowledge about the global market and business practises are two important suggestions made by the buyers to get moreorders. held from January 22 to 25, is also very similar to the IIGF and most of the international buyers preferred these two fairs rather than IIGF at this time of theyear. However, even in the dull scenario there were few garment exporters who expressed satisfactionat the enquiries they received, and Apparel Online also managed to meet a few buyers who said that though the fair had far less participants this timeas ost of the exhibitorswho this event for years were of the opinion that the fair was never as dull as it was this year. One of the biggest reasons for this was the collision of dates with the world’s second largest and one of Asia’s largest fashion events, organized by the HKTDC, the Hong Kong Fashion Week for Fall/Winter, held at the HKCEC from January 18 to 21. Another big show ‘Who’s Next’,Paris, VARVARA BELOVA (L), HEAD OF MENSWEAR DEPARTMENT AND TROFIMOVA YANA, BUYER, BEFREEBRAND (MELON FASHION GROUP),RUSSIA Profile: 600 stores in Russia and Ukraine, three brands – ‘Zarina’, ‘Love Republic’ and‘Befree’. Looking for: Menswear – shirts,tees. Sourcing from India: In Spring/Summer 70 per cent (last season) of products come from India and in Autumn/Winter 30 per cent. What do you like about Indian suppliers/Indian products: In shirts and tees, quality is fine and some interesting styles can be seen, like exporters are using mélanges, garment dyed and other types of techniques. Growth:Lastyearwegrew22percentandthisyearweexpect15percent. Any suggestion: Indian exporters should be more flexible when client asks for some specific goods; exporters must also come up with more ideas, suggestions for productimprovement. Comment on fair: Small fair as we are used to visiting the Canton Fair, China. NANCY MENDELE, SENIOR BUYER, APPAREL AND FOOTWEAR CATALOG CLASSICS, UNIVERSAL DIRECT FULFILLMENT CORP., HUDSON (US) Profile: Catalogue and onlineretailer. Looking for: Ladies apparels andaccessories. Sourcing from India: Our direct sourcing from India is less than 10 per cent, but overall we are buying 70 per cent of Indian products. We also source from US-based companies and importers that directly source from India. What do you like about Indian suppliers/Indian products: I found some exporters who were very professional and it is easy to deal with them. Growth: Business is good and we are expecting double digit growth and are happy with thisgrowth. Suggestion: Indian exporters should know more and more about US business practices; it will help them to deliver better. Comment on fair: We found a lot of new vendors at the fair, offering good variety of products at a descent price level; and appropriate products for my business.

44. INDIACANVAS MONA K. GYLLENHAMMAR, MANAGER, PETER KORSETH AS, NORWAY IIGFTrend Spotting While scanning the Autumn/Winter 2016-17 collections at the recently concluded fair, there were common trendsthat confirmed our predictions for the season done in the past Fashion Businessand Value Additionstories. Starting with a galore of bright abstract prints,along with other tribal influences, the fair witnessed ‘comfort’ as the keyword for all collections Loose palazzos, off- shoulder blouses, kimono sleeves, flared crop tops, layered tubedresses and maxis werepopular merchandises. Neon colours fadedaway, though some hints were seen in thecollections ofsome. Whites, shades of blueand a gush of subtle summer neutrals emerged as the colours of thefair. Simple shrugs went on to become biggercover- ups in printed and woven versions. Cover-ups could be easily and undoubtedly crowned as the‘silhouette of theFair’. Crochet again emerged as the most popular perforated fabric and trim choice for exporters, winning over lace. Many variations with combination of crochet panels withhosiery wereseen. Cord embroidery made an appearance this season in winter collections through detailing. There were exporters who opted for PU leather, cotton piping, satin pieces and broad cotton braided ribbons to carryout this trend on theirstyles. Profile: Agent and associated with most of the buyers inNorway. Looking for: Mainly ladies garments, but some kids and menswearalso. Sourcing from India: Not sourcing much from India, as most of our sourcing is from China and I see some buyers who are little reluctant to source from India, reasons are not known tome. What’s new: Starting sourcing of all kinds of bags which is a new product category. Growth: Business is just okay and I don’t see much of growth in this year also. Comment on fair: Interestingly, I met a rainwear manufacturer; overall most of the exhibitors are having same kind ofcollections. GAIL BOTHA, FROCK N ROLL, SOUTHAFRICA Profile: Wholesaler and associated with more than 35stores. Looking for: Importing fabric and recently started ladies garment (dresses andtunics). Sourcing from India: Initially we will source about 3,000 pieces per company, as we have limited sales, but later it willincrease. What about pricing: I am happy withpricing. Growth: Our currency has gone down. Business is a bittight. Comment on fair: This is my first visit to this show and I found some fantasticcollections. MARINA, OWNER/DESIGNER, ROSARITO,ARGENTINA Profile: 15 shops and used to sell women accessories (multi brands). Sometimes we source more in collaboration with other companies ofArgentina. Sourcing from India: Summer garments, we like the styles and cotton fabric. We are sourcing from India for the last 8 years throughother importers and now sourcing directly from manufacturers. We will increase our sourcing from India. I am sourcing from Pushkar, Jaipur and Delhi. Pure white dresses with embroidery and multi-colour dresses areimpressive. Growth: Last year was good for us, current year should be better from the previousone.

45. INDIACANVAS Exporters impressed with fabric at LIVA’s LAPF conclave inNoida Tquality fabricsmadeusing natural he popularity of LIVA,high ‘Globetrotter’ inspiration for the eclectic theme presented byLIVA The conclave also saw the unveiling of LIVA Spring/Summer 2017 collection with innovations like modal knitted slubs, modal denim, lurex embellishments in LIVA blends & modal yogawear. The LIVA S/S ’17 collections were under two unique themes, namely Tropical Trails and LeisureLuxe. Casual Luxe: Uniting eveningwear and everyday casualwear, this refined minimalist collection offers a luxurious new take on contemporary casualwear. With looks taking oncasual, minimalist directionfor S/S ’17, LIVA collection embraced easy living. Bringing a relaxed aesthetic into the mainstream, eveningwear and casualwear merge in this laidback collection, this is characterized by simple lines and relaxed layered contours. Sunset parties in hot tropical settings give wayto rich summer colours that work wonders on wild flower-printed modal fabrics. Perfect for beach weddings, this summer story sees relaxed glamour with a polished finish – the ideal phase of high-summerdrop. Evening Wear: Tropical bloom prints drench ruffled seam maxi skirts, adding vibrancy to a beach staple…, minimalist butluxurious. Casual Wear: This casual high- summer story explores a cultural mixture of prints, texture and colours. Colours are left slightly muted to provide a hazy sun- bleached aesthetic. Qualityis the key. Elevated basics focus on comfort and use of luxury blends to take eveningwear and classic wardrobe staples to the nextlevel. cellulosic fibres of the Aditya Birla Group is growing speedily in the market; be it the garment exporter segment or organized retail. Its LIVA Accredited Partners Forum (LAPF), to scale up the textile value chain, will now kick off a joint marketing drive to increase reach of itspartners at the international markets. In this process, it recently organized LIVA Accredited Partner Conclave at Noida in which 160 Garment Exporters and big domestic & international brands saw the innovations in LIVA fabrics of 40 LIVA Accredited Partners from across thecountry. LAPF conclave was organized as part of the ongoing efforts to help the partners reach out directly to the leading womenswear exporters and international brands. Companieslike SSM Processing Mills, Pallavaa Group, Namakkal, Shivam Devansh Fab, Faridabad, Ram Krishna (Jhanwar) Group, Ichalkaranji, Hans Fab Tac, Gurgaon and many more graced the occasion. The initiative was held in collaboration with the Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC). “We will help the LAPF partners to promote their products at the international level by enabling them to take part at different marketing fora, apart from helping them with design developments and technology,” said Manohar Samuel, President, Marketing and Business Development at BirlaCellulose. Apart from enabling the LAPF partners to join the international marketing fora, Birla Cellulosewill Nelson Jaffery, GM – Designs & Collections, Aditya Birla Grasim share inspirations for the collection provide them chance to promote their products through special drives like Market Week and Mill Week, being held abroad. The event witnessed good representative from brands like M&S, Macy’s and GAP, and export houses like Shahi Export, Pearl Global and Richa & Co, Orient Craftamong others. Buying houses such asTriburg, Impulse, LI & Fung, and Asmara; and domestic brands like Biba and ITC were also present at the event.Most of the LIVA accredited partner firms were quite busy with the visitors and some of them also claimed to book orders on thespot. Exporters of Noida and representatives of NAEC, Lalit Thukral, Anil Peshawari and Rajeev Bansal appreciated the initiative and collection of LIVA. Lalit urged LIVA to open a permanent showroomin Noida where exporters can get regular updates on new developments in fabric. He said that such kinds of initiatives will help Noida to achieve thetarget of Rs. 40,000 crore (US $ 6,154 million) apparelexport. (L-R) Lalit Thukral, Anil Peshawari, Manohar Samuel, Rajeev Bansal; and Prakash Nedungadi, Group Head, Consumer Insights & Brand Development, Aditya Birla Group at the event

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47. EXPORTSTATISTICS EU Import Analysis: Jan.-August2015 First eight months of the year see value of imports increase 11.86% in EU, even as volumes dip (-)3.37% Imports of apparel by the EU in the first eight months of the year registered negative growth in quantities of (-) 3.37%, even as values of imports increased substantially by 11.86%. The average UVR of imported apparel also increased substantially from Euro 15.90 (per kg of fabric equivalent) in the same period of 2014 to Euro 18.40 (per kg of fabric equivalent) this year. While knitted garments saw 10.97% growth in values, woven garments clocked 12.72% growth in value during the same period,therewasdeclineinvolumesforbothsegments,forknittedgarmentsitwas(-)2.74%andinwovenitwas(-)4.12%. TRADESNIPS Apparel exports from Bangladesh register28% growthin5years Export of readymade garments from Bangladesh registered a 27.77 per cent growth during the period 2011- 2015. According to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), export earnings from apparel items in 2011 stood atUS $ 19.21 billion, which increased toUS $ 19.78 billion in 2012 and subsequently reached US $ 23.50 billion in2013. Propelled by the increased demand for Bangladeshi garments in newly created markets like Australia, Russia, Turkey, Brazil, Japan and China as well as the already established markets of Canada, France, USA, Italy, Germanyand UK, Bangladesh raked in US $ 26.60 billion from apparel exports in 2015, as compared to US $ 19.21 billion in 2011, according to Export Promotion Bureau(EPB). be associated with another recession, he said, “What a disaster the euro has been: it is a doomsday machine in favourof the Germaneconomy.” Investor sentiments plunged as unemployment in France surged to an 18-year high of 10.6 per cent – pushing the country into a new economic crisis. It comes as Germany faces the most difficult start to a year in recentmemory. Its own industrial production growth has slipped to ZERO per cent and customerconfidence has plummeted in a catalogueof disasters for Chancellor Angela Merkel. The French President,François Hollande in a desperate move has said he will PAY French employers to hire people in a bid to boost jobs as he sought to restore confidence and said that it was time to address the country’s “broken” economic model.” Firms will get ¤ 2,000 (£ 1,500) when theyemploy young, unemployed people forat least sixmonths. World economy facing toughtime... The year ahead does not look too good for the global economies and many happenings trigger fear of another round ofeconomic slowdown. Albert Edwards, strategist at the bank Societe Generale, UK recently declared that the West was about tobe hit by a wave of deflation from emerging market economiesand central banks were unaware of the disaster about to hit them. “Developments in the global economy will push the US back into recession,” Edwardstold at an investment conference in London. “The financial crisiswill reawaken. It will be every bit as bad as in 2008-09 and it will turn very ugly indeed,” headded. Fears of a second seriousfinancial crisis within a decade have been heightened by the turbulence in markets since the start oftheyear. Share prices have fallen rapidly and a slump in thecost of oil has left Brent crudetrading at barely above US $ 30 a barrel. The Soc Gen strategist said the US economy was in far worse shape than the country’s central bank, the US Federal Reserve realised. “We have seen massive credit expansion in the US. This is not for real economic activity; it is borrowing to finance share buybacks,” Edwardsstated. Europe had shown tentativesigns of recovery in the past year, but Edwards said the efforts of the European Central Bank to push the euro lower and growth higher would come to nothing in the event of a fresh downturn. “If the global economy goes back into recession, it is curtains for the Eurozone,” points out Edwards. Countries such as France, Spain and Italy would not accept the rising unemployment thatwould APPAREL IMPORTS OF THE EU: SELECTED COUNTRIES China’s textileexports fallin2015 China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in a recent report, has said that textile and garment exports from the country dropped last year, primarily due to exchange rate fluctuations. The steep decline in Yen and Euro adversely affected China’s textile and garment exports, as Japan and Europe have been its main markets. The exports to the European Union fetched US $ 44.86 billion, markinga 10.6 per cent year-on-year dip in exports. Similarly, exports to Japan reachedUS $ 18.8 billion, dropping 12 per cent, and to ASEAN countries exports noted were US $ 29.03 billion, diving 1.7 percent. According to the report, in November last year, China’s earnings from retail sales of apparels plunged 5 per cent year-on-year. However, in January to November period, the country witnessed an increase of 34.5 per cent in online sales, reaching Yuan 3.45 trillion year- on-year. Besides, in the period under review, the added value of Chinese textile industry zoomed 6.4 per cent year-on-year, however, the declining quality of domestic cotton has forced textile mills of the country to import cotton from neighbouring countries like India andPakistan. % Increase/ Decrease Jan.-Aug.2014 Jan.-Aug.2015 Country/ Category Qty. & Value in mn Kg & Euro

49. EXPORTSTATISTICS Japan Apparel Imports Jan.-Nov.2015 India registersgrowth in value of exports, but volumes still in negative… • Import of legwear registers growth in value as volumes decline • Growth in value of imports in legwear by 8.31% was registered by the EU during the review period, while there were declines • in volume of (-) 3.56%. India saw value and volume of exports increasing in the category by 4% and 3.10%,respectively. • Trousers growth category forBangladesh • In the first eight months of 2015, exports of trousers by Bangladesh registered growth of 29.71% in value, while the growth in volumes was 7.38%. The EU registered 15.24% growth in value of imports in trousers, while there was decline in volumes of (-) 1.01% during the period underreview. • Ladies dresses see growth in exports fromIndia • A leading category for India, export of ladies dresses to the EU registered growth of 4.79% in quantities, while the gains in value were 10.03%. The EU too registered gains in the value of imports by 11.76%, while volumes decreased marginallyby • (-)0.67%. • Jackets & blazers growth segment forBangladesh • Exporters in Bangladesh are moving towards more structured garments and this is evident with the increase in exports of jackets and blazers, which saw 22.35% growth in quantities, while value of exports increased by a whopping49.05%. • Babies wear registers setback in quantities forIndia • Decline of imports in the babies wear category by the EU in the first eight months was (-) 9.77% in volumes while values increased 14.93% in value; during the same period India registered gains of 19.60% in value with decline of (-) 3.76% involumes. • Bangladesh registers growth in exports ofsuits • Many Bangladeshi factories are investing in suit factories and the results are now for all to see. In the period under review, the country saw 12.43% growth in quantities, while the growth in value of imports was of 51.13%. Going forward the industry is looking to invest more in thiscategory. Japan was the first major country that Narendra Modi visited after becoming Prime Minister in May 2014; and in December 2015, Modi hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzio Abe in New Delhi, a clear indication of the upswing in Indo-Japanese relations. During Abe’s visit, as many asseven high-profile pacts in key areas – economic, nuclear and defence cooperation – weresigned. However, will this mutual respect find reflection in increased market for Indian garment exporters, is still a questionmark… • In the first eleven months of the year, Japan has seen a jump in value of apparel imports by 5.25%; while the volumesdecreased • by (-) 5.68%, knitted garments registered a decline of (-) 6.35% in volumes. The volume ofwoven • garments decreased (-) 3.60%. The values were up in woven garments by 5.60%, while those of knitted garments were up4.89%. • India registered an upward movement in value of exports during the first eleven months of the year of 5.99%, but the volumes were down by (-) 3.27%. There was an increase in volumes of exports of knitted garments of 4.63%, while woven garments saw a decrease in volumes of (-)7.16%. • Bangladesh registered good increase in the volume of exports to Japan in the first eleven months of 21.43%, while values increased by 39.43%. Growth was seen in knitted garments with23.02% • increase in volumes, while in woven garments the increase in volumes was18.10%. • Vietnam is in top gear and post-TPP, the world expects the countryto • be the biggest gainer. In the period under review, the country registered an increase in value of exports to the Japanese market of 24.51%, while volumes were up12.98%. ITEM-WISE PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN TOTAL APPAREL IMPORTS BY EU FROM INDIA AND BANGLADESH: JAN.-AUGUST 2015 AS AGAINST JAN.-AUGUST2014 Value in mn Euro and Qty in mn Kg

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