Catering to a diverse mix of knitted garments, Sri Sri International concentrates on sportswear and swimwear for men and women, but with the in-house manufacturing of polyester lycra knitted fabric, the company is now focusing on marketing the fabric to the ladies fashion wear market. Rajesh Mathur, Director of the company talks to Team Apparel Online about the market for this specialized fabric and the company’s future plans for expansion.
“The polyester lycra knitted fabric, printed or solid, has a four-way stretch and is made up of 100 per cent polyester filaments comprising of about 10-16 per cent of spandex. This fabric was earlier imported from Taiwan and China, but is now being manufactured in our factory at Ludhiana, giving us an edge in the market,” says Rajesh. Due to a limited number of manufacturers in this category, the company plans for further expansion in the same. “We are planning to double our inventory in the Ludhiana unit so that we are able to enhance capacities. Currently, we have around six to seven open width lycra machineries, which we plan to increase to at least 12 in the near future. In addition, we are also planning to establish polyester dyeing and printing setup, about 100 kms from Ludhiana, in 2014,” declares Rajesh.
With 20 years of experience in the industry, Rajesh utilizes his expertize and knowledge in knitting, dyeing, and yarn dyeing to create a range of fabrics and garments. According to him, the market for the lycra knitted fabric is nascent, therefore allowing only a controlled number of manufacturers to produce it in-house. There are a number of small units in Ludhiana and Gujarat producing the fabric but the quantity is very limited, resulting in a market that is somehow free of competition. Meanwhile, Sri Sri International is focusing on a product mix which is buyer-centric. “Although, the Lycra fabric is the same, but the prints and colours of the design are determined by the buyer or the client and our job is to give them the exact same print on the fabric,” explains Rajesh.
With the growing market and demand for the Lycra knitted product, the company supplies the fabric to various big brands and retailers like adidas and Reebok besides exporters, as well. “This is a very specialized product which is new to the market, thereby providing scope for development and making our company the torch bearer in producing it,” concludes Rajesh, who is hopeful about the rising demand of the product in the future.
