Present in India for a long time, Stylem International (India), wholly-owned subsidiary of Takisada-Osaka Co. Ltd., is among the biggest fashion trading companies of Japan. The company has established itself in India by focusing on its key areas of textiles, both fabric and garments. While it sources from the country, for its Japanese and global clients, it offers niche high-end fabrics for design needs in India. Before getting into the Indian market with its exclusive fabrics about three years ago, the company researched on the various techniques, hand work, designs, colour combinations, etc. that are so unique to India and attended a lot of fashion shows to get a grip of the market. “We saw so many designers offering good techniques but in terms of fabrics they were compromising and that’s why we felt the need to support such beautiful designs with high-end fabrics,” reveals Yukio Moriguchi, MD & CEO, Stylem International Pvt. Ltd.
Today, high-end fabrics have become the key focus area for Stylem, targeting young designers who are experimental in their looks, while also working with a few international designers. Catering to such a niche category does come with its share of challenges!
“On an average we sell this fabric at US $ 10-15 per metre, which can become a challenge, but it is also true that nobody can find such fabrics in India except with us. So far it’s a niche market but it is growing quickly. While the Indian retail market is increasing at a rate of 10-12 per cent constantly, the high-end market is increasing at 35-40 per cent, leaving us enough room for growth,” claims Yukio Moriguchi.
With Indian market being price-sensitive, Stylem customers currently constitute mostly Indian designers, and talks are now on with top retailers and high-end exporters for bigger market share. “Not many people understand these varieties and the price points. Because when an international retailer comes to India to manufacture, they are looking for lower prices. So we thought designers are the right market to target, as they lay emphasis on the quality of the fabric more than the price. There is a need to give this kind of variety to our designers today. In order to bridge the gap between supply from Japan and sale in India, we have also made a showroom in New Delhi (India) which showcases over 2,000 different varieties of textiles. In addition to this, we keep over 7,000 varieties of textile in our head office in Japan. So I can safely say that most of the time, we can provide any type of fabric which is required by our customers including both woven and knit,” adds Naavika Nandal, Strategy and Business Development Assistant Manager at the India office.
Though the source of the fabric range with Stylem is global, almost 70-80 per cent of it is coming from Japan while the rest is from countries such as Italy, France, Thailand, Korea, China and even Vietnam. The huge range and unique fabric blends available with the company is supporting Stylem in seeing continuous growth and recognition in the Indian market, setting it apart from its competitors. The company is also focusing on unique ways of handling business in India through stock service – wherein the company keeps stocks of all its fabric in Japan and can deliver any quantity required with very low minimums, which works well for the designers. Other market advantages that the company enjoys is the ability to offer various colour combinations in different fabrics and the biggest of all being the huge variety and quality of Japanese fabrics that is not available in India. “It’s a niche market that we are catering to in India. We collaborate with mills from Japan and around the world to manufacture fabrics created by about our 100 in-house designers in Japan who do trend based analysis every season and develop fabrics working with these mills. That’s why we always have a trend-focused collection,” asserts Naavika, who is very proud to be associated with such a dynamic and growing venture.
Though trading is one part of the company’s operations, product development is another area that the company is catering to by bringing out fabric forecasts every season, based on international influences and by also taking in customer feedback, while constantly balancing price points against the quality of the fabric. Apart from this, the company is also focusing on winter fabrics for Indian market including exclusive fine wool, jacquards, felts and wool knit collections, which has always been a limitation for India. “Not just winter fabrics, people are now also focusing on synthetic fabrics. Earlier people used to have a cheap image for synthetics but now they are realising that there are so many varieties available and also, the fast fashion brands that have entered Indian market sell a lot of synthetic fabric garments, creating acceptance in the market for the same,” informs Naavika. The company also does huge variety in polyesters, triacetate (a special synthetic fabric developed in Japan), semi-synthetic such as cupro, tencel, technical textiles, etc. with various finishes, textures and weaving techniques.
As a practice, Japanese companies are very strict on quality and testing standards and Stylem is working closely with its supply chain for quality of end-products, while its fabrics are tested in JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards in quality) parameters. This allows them to also cater to the global market, providing textiles to high-end brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Balenciaga, etc.
Showing a 100 per cent growth year-on-year, the company is laying emphasize on India as not just a market but also a product base and is keenly participating in fashion shows such as the upcoming Lakme Fashion Week, where it would be displaying the S/S ’17 and A/W fabrics based on its research of the Indian market. “We see huge potential. As the designer market is changing and people are appreciating high-end products and fabrics, it’s going to develop further,” concludes Moriguchi.
