While garment manufacturers always talk about how difficult it is to work with imported fabrics, mostly because of procedural issues, fabric importers rue that selling imported fabric in India to both domestic brands and garment exporters is becoming difficult by the day. With various challenges such as pricing, payments and an unorganized structure hindering free flow of fabrics, the country is losing out on fabric categories that are better produced elsewhere. Mumbai-based Trinity Tex Trade, importers of menswear fabrics have over the last two years restricted their focus on India, as it is a small market for the company. Talking to Apparel Online, Dinesh V. Bahirwani, Director, Trinity Tex Trade shares the drawbacks of the Indian industry and how it is important to rectify the same, if India has to compete in the world market.
Though the core job of Trinity Tex is indenting and trading, the presence of the company in China through a sister company is huge with a specialized team of 45 people including 14 QC’s that oversee manufacturing of fabric in dedicated mills. With such support, the company supplies fabric from China to countries such as South America, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Though India is comparatively a smaller market for the company, nevertheless it is important! “I feel design-wise India is better than China and that is why they score better in women’s wear, but since China gives better quality and finish the country will give India a tough competition even in that category if the norms and the duty structure of India changes,” opines Dinesh. The company which primarily deals with menswear has expanded to linen and wool range and is looking for greater share in the domestic market.
The marketing strategy to penetrate deeper into the domestic is to sell direct to retail (DTR), and as of now 25 per cent turnover of the company is coming from this segment. Plans are to take it to 50 per cent, focusing on increasing margins rather than volumes. According to Dinesh, the growth in this segment is coming from the increasing market for tailor-made suits, which is a deviation from the general perception of ready-to-wear taking over the tailor-made man suit business. “Indian customers may have moved to readymades in shirts and trousers, but when it comes to suits, till date they are more comfortable going to the tailor to get their suits stitched,” reasons Dinesh.
Though the inconvenience of internet has bred on the impulsive shopping behavioural pattern of the consumer, but statistics reveal that it is only restricted to kurtas, tops, etc. rather than the bottoms. “I think this e-commerce is going to stay for sure but it will need a lot of changes. The most important thing is that while people have different body sizes and types, our garments are not upgrading accordingly to address the issue. Can you name 50 domestic garment manufacturers in India who have their own factories and are doing everything?” questions Dinesh. In comparison to China and Bangladesh, many Indian manufacturers do not have their own setup and rely on outsourcing operations. “There is a kind of insecurity because no one wants to take the risks and also labour laws are not in favour in India. That’s why India is limited in comparison to other countries,” adds Dinesh.
Though Indian mills are manufacturing menswear fabric, but for high-end suiting the fabric is being imported from Europe, Korea, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangkok and Japan. The challenges in importing fabrics are many, the foremost being innovation products and competitive pricing. In suiting, only those fabrics are being imported which cannot be procured from India. “We always have to be at the top of trends, we have to offer the best of innovations. Our colours have to be new, something Indian mills don’t have on offer,” reasons Dinesh. He adds, “In India, everybody wants to catch the commercially running trends; nobody wants to try out anything new. In fact, very few mills want to experiment, as it takes almost two years to develop that market.”
As menswear is picking up more than women’s wear, Trinity plans to focus on indenting pan-India but the company fears operational challenges, one such being the payment terms which are getting tougher and tougher. Many importers, such as Trinity, are raising the issue of payments not improving even when the local brands are growing bigger with increasing profit margins. “I get scared of India as commitments can’t be kept in terms of payments. We are now working with those brands that are providing LC,” informs Dinesh. He shares that after working with one of their buyers for a period of 10-13 years, Trinity has ended their decade-long relationship due to persistent problems of payments. “I am happy that the pressure is not there anymore and that same kind of capital will give us better margins and return,” states Dinesh.
He argues that the bonds between a fabric supplier and brand/buyer can only be strengthened through a collaborative business approach and by building strategic partnerships between fabric suppliers and the buyers, so that both sides can grow simultaneously. “There is a great working divide between North and South India. Though the brands in the South have a clean reputation, a few in North are tarnishing the industry’s image. Business today is basically about relationship-building,” adds Dinesh. Nonetheless, with the coming of GenNext, the industry is moving towards a structured operational flow, which has been lacking for a long time. With the industry’s attitude slowly changing as GenNext takes over, it is also important for the industry to flow funds into their own business rather than property. Dinesh candidly rues the fact that many Indian players flow their cash around property and invest in the same, diverting from their core area of operations. “There is no business better than the textile industry. If funds come on the right time and there is liquidity of stocks, then why would anyone invest in property,” maintains Dinesh.
Owing to his long association with the textile industry, Dinesh is very sceptical of the Modi Government’s call for ‘Make in India’ and its impact on the textile industry. He feels that realizing the vision is only possible through a structured garment and textile industry, which is attainable only through pro-Government initiatives in support of the industry. “It is very easy to say ‘Make in India’, but where is the support coming from… Maharashtra was the hub of textiles in India, but now if you go to Lower Parel, all factories and mills have shut down. Only a few carried on, shifting their factories to Nagpur or the suburbs,” argues Dinesh. He points out that on the other hand newer textile and garment hubs such as Gandhi Nagar in Delhi are thriving as each manufacturer specializes in a particular niche category complement each other’s strength for collaborative growth. “We should build on the collaborative model for greater success in the textile industry,” reiterates Dinesh.
Despite all the issues that ail the Indian textile industry, in a highly competitive environment, India has found its distinct place amongst huge players such as Bangladesh, China, etc. but to be the best, the industry needs to work internally to provide a smooth cash flow and a seamless supply chain. In the past few years, Indian garment and textile industry has drastically changed, but few extra measures are needed by the industry to be amongst the best. “In business, it is not how much money we can make, but how much loss you can reduce; so focusing on strengths and building relations can work wonders,” concludes Dinesh philosophically.
