True to its name, Voice of Industry Specialists in Textile and Apparel (VISTA) organised a webinar on “Unlocking Opportunities for Apparel & Textile Sector.”
Key speakers at the event were Gaurav Bhargav, Founder and CEO, LPH Apparel Inc; Vivek Bhatnagar, Founder and CEO, Fusion Group; Anupama Singal, Co-founder, Slicer; Manish Bharati, Business Head, Bhartiya International and Abhaya Gupta, CEO, Nanya Inc.
The event was interestingly moderated by Roopak Malik, Director, Textile Sourcing.
Many interesting questions, raised by the hundreds of participants, were answered by Devendra Gupta, Founding Partner, Asmara Group; Roshan Baid, MD, Paragon Apparels (Alcis); Dr. Rajesh Bheda, MD, Rajesh Bheda Consulting and Pallab Banerjee, Group President, Pearl Global industries.
Gaurav highlighted that US apparel import from India will grow as India has great potential to grow business with US.
“US customers want to wear any garment maximum for 4 times. For quick process, everyone should use 3D and other latest technology,” he said.
Speakers insisted that why not India create its own index like Higg index. So far, sustainability in Indian apparel industry is buyer-driven.
It is also pertinent to mention here that buyers are now okay with the required condition and not bothered with the certificates; women empowerment is a priority for Scandinavian buyers.
Indian apparel manufacturers should also focus on UN’s SDG.
Vivek informed that some of the markets are not badly affected even in the pandemic phase. Japan, Dutch and Australian market are stable and they are consumer spending economy.
It was also highlighted that Mexico has a lot of opportunities for Indian companies, but India should ship goods for Mexico through US only. Notably, resortwear is a huge business in Mexico. Besides, it was also emphasised that India should focus on Russia, Romania and Poland.
“In this new phase, we have to have a new mindset of transparency, niche and need to be social media-driven. Flexibility, design excellence and constant quality are the need of the hour. If Indian exporters can deliver all requirements of buyers, then generalised system of preferences (GSP) disadvantage will not be a big issue for them,” said Vivek.
Quoting a survey, Manish Bharti highlighted that people in Europe are buying luxury products online and are very happy with this experience. So, digitalisation is a must for all.
Devender Gupta was of the view that small buying agents and buying agencies can be the change-makers now, and they now need to bring new clients to India. A lot of small vendors need the help of buying agents and these agents have to lead the way.
Interesting points
- Mid-size brands, unknown or less known buyers will be the agents of changes.
- Scandinavian countries and Northern Europe will pick up quickly and the world will follow.
