A medium-level, but progressive exporter of fashion garments, Shiva International is known for its fashionable and trendy clothes and also for its brand ‘Pluss’, which caters to plus-size fashion. Taking its capabilities a notch higher to find a niche in the competitive market, the company initiated a dedicated line for GOTS certified activewear/ yogawear 2 years ago. While talking to Apparel Online, Sandeep Aggarwal, Proprietor, Shiva International outlines the strategy behind getting into organic clothing and also reveals the company’s future growth plans.
Established in 1982, Shiva International has along the long journey undergone strategic changes responding to evolving market conditions, and today is booming with business as its volumes are increasing by 20 per cent year-on-year. The past decade has seen the company venturing into new lines of products in sync with the demand from the market. The company which initially started with exports only, entered the domestic market 7 years ago with plus-size clothing, which was one of the company’s major strategy competition amongst players is ‘killing’ the market. Sensing this reality, Shiva International has focused on working with small-segment buyers who are dedicated to organic products. “We are working with people supplying organic food to the US who have additionally started their own brand of fitness clothing. With this, we are now targeting the American market for organic activewear. These small but dedicated brands keep on experimenting with new things and the market has become better in the last 2 years,” adds shift. “At that time the international market was dipping and I found that there was no availability of plus-size clothing, so we tried to fill in the gap within the Indian market,” recalls Sandeep. The next strategic shift came two years ago when the company ventured into organic cotton with exports as the focus market.
According to industry experts, since India is the largest producer of organic cotton, and the global demand is still not that huge, Sandeep. As the company is working in organic, its supply chain is certified for traceability to avoid any contaminations; so from yarn to fabric to dyeing, the company only works with GOTS certified facilities. “The company only issues a certificate when they have traceability. The laws are so strict that if I supply something to the US and my buyer cannot produce a certificate for that garment, there are huge penalties,” informs Sandeep.
However, abiding by the global norms to manufacture organic clothing, which was a challenge, and to test the waters before going in for a full-fledged factory, the company has created a dedicated line within the same factory for its GOTS certified product category, exclusively for the international market. “Today, two kinds of products (in organic) are in demand for which you can get the right pricing – yogawear and babywear. People and buyers in these segments are more aware and willing to spend extra on organic clothing. It’s a niche and less competitive market, and you don’t have to fight for prices with Bangladesh,” reveals Sandeep. This market reality has propelled the company to look at organic as a future growth segment.
“We cater to both Europe and the US in exports, but since the euro has come down by 18-20 per cent in comparison to its previous exchange rate, and retailers are maintaining the selling price at the same price, it means about 20 per cent cut in margins for the exporters as most buyers are not willing to share the burden. So there is no question of introducing organic products in Europe at this time.” Sandeep Aggarwal, Proprietor, Shiva International (on the European market)
With an order size of 500-600 pieces per style, going forward the company will focus on getting new consumers for its organic line and making its factories environmentally-compliant. The company’s future growth plans also include an organic line for the plus-size market. “We will introduce organic products slowly. The price difference between organic and non-organic is just 10-15 per cent, so the perception of it being high-end is getting more diluted,” asserts Sandeep.
With a total manpower of 350 people and 250 machines, out of which 50 machines are for producing organic clothing, Shiva International is looking towards upward growth by catering to niche yet relevant product categories.
In the meanwhile, the company’s growth engine today is ‘Pluss’, which caters to both menswear and womenswear through formal and casual collections, focused on practicality and comfort. As the brand acquires wider reach, 60 per cent of the company’s production is going into the domestic market, with the balance 40 per cent targeted at exports. “We sell 80 per cent of our clothes through our own shops and 20 per cent through online shopping. We do exclusive selling, whether online or in-store. We have our own website and also work with Jabong, Myntra, Paytm, etc.,” informs Sandeep. Although more and more people are looking at online as a marketing tool but it is becoming difficult to regulate the market and understand in which particular product category the maximum demand is coming through. The company keeps an eye on buying patterns through a constant learning process and category management in retail to identify some core products for selling online. “We change the colour season-wise, but our core products remain the same. If for the past 3 seasons, 50 of our products are doing well, then we will make those 50 as our core products and will just change the colour,” concludes Sandeep.
