A deadly fire breakout in a clothing factory in Munshiganj area of Bangladesh killed at least six on September 20. The area is only 20 kilometres away from the capital Dhaka.
The fire reportedly exploded on the ground floor and quickly engulfed the four-storey building. The ground floor was loaded with chemicals and dyes that fuelled the fire.
Alamgir Hossain, a police officer reportedly said, “The mill was closed during the time of calamity but we found few workers and six bodies including one woman worker from the accident-prone area.”
The Munshiganj fire accident is the second this year in the world’s second-largest garment export country. Earlier in the month of July, Medlar Apparels Factory, an eight-storey building in Ashulia, went up in flames. However, no casualties were reported.
Bangladesh’s garment industry earns around US $ 28 billion annually and employs over 4 million people. The sector generates about 80 per cent of the country’s total export earnings.
This is high time for the country to ensure safety measures for workers after continuous mishaps in the factories.
Inditex, the owner of Spanish clothing and accessories retailer Zara, has reported an increase of 11.5 per cent in its revenue to € 11.7 billion in the first half of the current financial year 2017-18 ended July 31.
The fashion company’s net profit in the first six months stood at € 1.37 billion, up 9 per cent from the same period last year. Its sales during the period too soared 12 per cent to reach € 11.67 billion.
In the first six months, the like-for-like sales for Inditex grew by 6 per cent.
Inditex launched around 113 new stores, including a Zara store in Mumbai (India), Madrid (Spain) and Astana (Kazakhstan). The company’s total number of stores now stands at 7,405 against 7,096 at the end of July last year.
Additionally, Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) placed Inditex among the most sustainable companies in the retail industry for the second year in a row during the period under review.
The retailer will now launch its online services in India (on 4 October this year). The launch of the online platform will further add fuel to its market size in the country. Currently, Inditex operates in 94 markets, 46 of which have an online presence.
Lectra has appointed Olivier du Chesnay as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He has been serving as Deputy Chief Financial Officer of the company since May 2013.
The company is known for serving major world markets: fashion and apparel, automotive, and furniture as well as a broad array of other industries with its solutions.
Chesnay holds 15 years of experience in financial positions while working with major companies such as Saint-Gobain, Accenture, Sperian Protection and Honeywell Safety Products. He is a graduate of EDHEC Business School and London School of Economics.
At Lectra, Chesnay played a key role in leading various projects to improve the company’s processes. He is also known for his part in coordinating the Group’s financial management with rigour, efficiency and leadership.
Management control, statutory consolidation and audit, headquarters’ accounting, cash flow, credit management and change risk management were the responsibilities Chesnay was responsible for before getting appointed as the Lectra CFO.
He will continue to oversee Lectra’s finances and other key accounting operations.
Furthermore, Chesnay is optimistic about the company’s growth in view of its sustained investments in innovations.
Indian apparel reporter Vishnu Clothing Company (VCC) has launched a new office in Rainham (UK) to expand its business and attract more buyers.
The exporter expects the newly launched office to help the buyers and agents in the UK and European markets connect better with the company’s representatives in person and discuss possible business collaborations.
At present, the Tirupur-based 15-year-old company exports 70 per cent of its garments to the UK market and 30 per cent to other European countries.
A team of seven has already been appointed by VCC at its UK office to look after this new development and make it a successful venture for the company.
The exporter is Sedex- and Disney-certified and produces an extensive range of kids, women and men’s apparel. It expects 40 to 50 per cent growth in the current fiscal post the steps taken to amplify its business. Currently, the company has an annual turnover of Rs. 45 crores.
The establishment of the office in the UK is a bold initiative taken by the company seeing the current challenging scenario of Indian apparel exporters in the UK market post-Brexit.
Rajesh Kumar, Marketing & Merchandising Manager of the company told Apparel Resources, “As we now have more capacity, we can negotiate better with our buyers. After this initiative (the new office), we are hopeful of getting new, prospective buyers who will start sourcing from us. Though the market is sluggish, we are positive of achieving our targets.”
Sri Lanka has recently regained the Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status from the European Union (EU). The country is expecting the facility to help increase its apparel exports by around US $ 400 million.
“We have received the GSP Plus status and the apparel exports are projected to increase further,” claimed Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen.
The GSP facility allows the developing countries like Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Bangladesh to pay fewer or no duties on exports to the EU. The status gives them a vital access to the EU market which contributes to their growth immensely.
The media reports claim that the EU is offering a concession worth Euros 2.6 billion for exports from Sri Lanka each year.
The country reported overall apparel exports worth US $ 4.8 billion last year. In the first half of the current year, the Sri Lankan apparel industry has already recorded US $ 2.7 billion in revenue from exports.
Singapore-based DyStar, together with CSI (Colour Solutions International) colour team, has announced to launch two new issues of their Sustainable Colour and Trend magazine. The magazine will incorporate the details of Cadira colour palettes.
The first one is a ‘reactive-issue’, Inspired by Nature, which offers colour palettes with softer, muted tones, earthy shades of green and levels of neutrals.
Another one is ‘Polyester issue’ which offers options of more vibrant and saturated colours. This edition is dedicated towards colours for active outerwear.
The magazine will inspire colour managers and designers as it will offer eco-friendly palettes and colour combinations, said DyStar.
Image Courtesy: dystar.com
According to the company, the magazine will also provide colour validation in CSI’s Relative Color Popularity (RCP) information. Additionally, it will also give in-depth details on sustainable dye recipes that are based on the Cadira resource optimization process.
Furthermore, the company stated that Cadira concept helps in shortening lead times as well as reducing water and energy consumption. The magazine is said to focus on these parameters.
Moreover, the CSI informed that the colour palettes with ecological dyes are its top-most priority as it assists in executing low-impact processes while offering colour and trend information to customers.
Ron Pedemonte, Vice President (Sales and Marketing), DyStar and CSI, Americas, commented, “We are conscious about our environment so we wanted to create a magazine with an ecological colour and optimized processes so that our customers can pick the right colour that will help them reduce their environmental impact in the design process.”
While Hira Lal Jain (3rd from right) represents the old brigade, standing next to him is Piyush Jain (2nd from right) who represents GenNext at Sharman Udyog with team
The second edition of the Delhi Chapter of F&A Show, an established name, and which has already acclaimed recognition in Bangalore, was well-received by the visitors, though many exhibitors shared that big names from the export segment were missing. Yet, overall, both the participants and visitors were happy with the experience. Among the products that drew attention were new options in knitted fabric and increased possibilities in local sourcing of accessories like labels, tapes, buttons and interlinings. The fact that most of the participants were eager to project their commitment to ‘Make in India’, only added to the thrust on innovation and quality to ensure that garment manufacturers and buying offices source products from local companies.
Vardhman Textiles, Ludhiana
Innovation is without doubt the biggest buzzword for the textile supply chain today and every player is putting fresh thrust on the area to survive. The trend was seen not only with huge companies like Vardhman and Reliance, but also with smaller, niche companies. “The products may look similar because of the category, but the differentiation that comes through R&D makes every product unique,” argued Siddharth Jain, Director, Velcord Textiles, a Mumbai-based company specializing in corduroy and velveteen fabrics. With latest technologies, the fabrics are manufactured for conventional as well as high-end fashionwear and include several combinations of weaves, weights and fibre blends, after which many finishing techniques give an exclusive look and feel. “We strive to produce superior quality fabrics through extensive in-house product development. Our constant endeavour remains to progressively raise our pre-set bar to satisfy and exceed our customer’s expectations,” added Siddharth.
Indeed the quest for higher benchmarks is pushing the industry to new heights. “The need to differentiate has never been so strong and we have moved beyond double yarn blends to multi-yarn blends using many diverse categories like cotton, modal, tencil, lycra, and other specialized yarn to create unique fabrics,” shared NK Agarwal, Director, Duratex India. The Mumbai-based company is a vertical set-up from weaving to garmenting and has recently added fabric for womenswear tops that are woven, but have the feel of knitting, a product that was a major attraction at the booth. The current focus of the company is also on garmenting and the next generation has recently entered the online space with an in-house brand – Urban Scottish – for men’s shirts. “Since we are already strong in fabric, I wanted to add value by converting the same into garments. Now we are looking to add bottoms also to our garmenting profile,” averred Nikhil Agarwal, Director at Duratex Retail.
The event showcased wide range of products – from yarn to fabrics to accessories. Some core products were fine yarn dyed shirting, wool, polyester-wool, polyester-viscose suiting; pure and blended linen; fine high-end silks; fashion dress materials in prints and solids; embroidered; a wide range in denims; corduroys, cotton twills and drills.
Garmenting seems to be the direction for many of the next generation directors at fabric companies. Akshay Jain, Director, Sangam Weavers shared that having attained a reputation of being an innovative producer of knitted fabric with different blends, constructions and finishes, the company is now focusing on promoting its knitted garments which were introduced 5 years ago to the company’s profile and is already manufacturing for brands like Color Plus and Raymonds, and is also available through online shopping. “There is so much creativity happening at the fabric stage that we decided to get into garmenting to take this creativity right on to the end user,” reasoned Akshay. The amazing range of fabrics on display caught the attention of many buying houses and exporters.
The textile supply chain is being innovated right from the yarn stage and companies with specialized yarns like Raysil and Asahi Bemberg are in great demand. “Everyone is looking for better hand-feel, lustre, drapability in garments and that is only possible by using specialized yarns with properties which can enhance the basic yarns,” argued Shailendra Pandey, Joint President (Sales & Marketing), Indian Rayon, the producers of Raysil fashion yarns from the house of Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited. At the event, the company met many manufacturers from the Northern region and merchandisers from buying offices, and the response was good. The concentration of the company today, is on creating a network of partners to use Raysil so that more garments of the same can be introduced into the market, generating bigger demand. As of now, Surat is the biggest market for Raysil, accounting for over 50% of market share for the product.
Bhandari Hosiery Exports, Ludhiana
In fact, weavers in Surat are very proactive in experimenting with specialized yarn and many companies in the segment are targeting the market with vigour. The city is also the biggest market for Asahi Bemberg, a regenerated cellulose fibre derived from cotton manufactured by Asahi Kasei Corporation, Japan. Since Bemberg originates in the natural cotton plant and is reborn with the infusion of human technology, it features both the gentleness of natural fibres and the functionality of man-made fibres. “The soft hand-feel, lustre, breathability, moisture absorption and natural properties of Bemberg make it an attractive option for weavers looking for yarn in categories like womenswear and sportswear,” said Hideto Tanimoto, General Manager, Cupro Division, Asahi Kasei Corporation. Tanimoto adds that the raw material for Bemberg is mostly sourced from India and re-engineered into both staple and filament fibres for a wide range of applications. India also happens to be one of the biggest markets for the fibre, accounting for one-third of the global market share. Moving ahead, Tanimoto sees more growth as the textile chain is exploring newer options for differentiation.
Accessories follow the innovation theme…
In the accessory segment, the attempt to offer something new was equally prevalent, whether the product was an elastic, lace, button, thread or interlining. “The days are gone when standard products were made. The new generation of owners, designers and merchandisers are very well aware of trends in the market and we get such detailed spec sheets with uncompromising specifications in elongation, width, colour fastness, print, weave/knit type, etc. and there is no room for any mistake. Our job is to ensure that all these parameters are met to perfection,” shared Sunil Mody, Director, Lion Tapes. The company has a production capacity of 6,00,000 metres per day in 1 inch width elastic and is flexible in product requirement though they prefer to work in bulk and offer smaller quantities mostly to prime customers. Having an in-house lab, all products are tested for buyer norms and then sent for validation to third-party testing companies like Intertek and Bureau Veritas. The high-quality elastics from the company have earned them a global nomination from Jockey and they are also the biggest suppliers of elastics to FCUK brand in India.
Eberhard Ganns, MD; and Bianca Chai, General Manager, Union Knopf (HK) Ltd with Neeraj Khanna from the India Office
The demand for innovation, however, does not supersede the need for competitive price. Eberhard Ganns, MD and Bianca Chai, General Manager, Union Knopf (HK) Ltd. were very vocal on the ironic relation between quest for newness and quality versus price pressures. “The domestic market is our main focus because the exporters already work with us through global nominations, and we find that though everyone wants the best, many are still not ready to pay the price,” said Bianca. Eberhard added that the struggle between cost-cutting and enhancing brand value is not new, but “we have a clear strategy to remain in the high-end niche segment and not cannibalise our own worth by trying to service all customers at every price point.” According to the company, an innovative button manufacturer from Germany, the latest trend is towards buttons that go well with athleisurewear and casualwear that double up as workwear, an extension of the athleisurewear trend. As a market leader in design and material innovations, Union Knopf presents trend collections twice a year, having buttons and trims for men, women as well as unisex buttons.
Another company which has earned reputation of high-end offerings, Sharman Udyog, witnessed heavy visitation from buying offices. The woven labels offered by the company are manufactured by latest European technologies and have sharp colour and picture quality in every piece. “We have always invested in best of technologies and training to get results that are hard for other companies/manufacturers to produce. Even though we are among the market leaders, consistency of quality is still the biggest challenge because weaving in a small product like label is very complex and requires high skill levels,” said Hira Lal Jain, Director, Sharman Udyog. He added that constant development of new concepts and responsiveness to new techniques and ideas has always kept the company ahead.
Talreja Textile Industries, manufacturers of 100% cotton fusible interlinings received many new enquiries for its wide range of Talco brand interlinings. Varun Chhabria, VP Operations of the Mumbai-based company was happy with the visitor profile, as they met many new buying houses. He shared that of late they have upgraded their products to service the premium brands. “We are looking to work with both the domestic and international brands. While we are already well placed in the domestic scenario, we are communicating to the international brands that we have all the right certifications in quality and sustainability to be a preferred supplier, besides which we are cost-effective too compared to global brands in interlinings,” shared Varun.
While Coats was promoting their latest venture, Permess – a range of interlinings for garment industry in selected markets, and Indian manufacturers of accessories, like Elegant Buttons and Nilesh Ribbons, were happy that manufacturers are now looking at local companies for many items which earlier were being imported. Shell buttons and fancy laces/ribbons, respectively from the two companies, are receiving good demand from both local brands and buying offices.
Krishna Lamicoat, Bangalore
In the meanwhile, Krishna Lamicoat of Bangalore was promoting its recycled paper bags for packaging and hand-out purposes. “Nidhi Dua, Country Head from M&S was very much impressed with our paper bags and we are hopeful that the company will explore ways to support these products, which are also a part of a bigger CSR effort to help women be independent by earning their own livelihood,” said Ashok Chhajer, Director, Krishna Lamicoat.
The second largest garment exporter globally, the contribution of shirts in shaping the destiny of the Bangladesh garment industry is beyond question. Starting its journey as an apparel export hub in 1980s with quality formal shirts, shirt as a product category has been a key growth driver for the Bangladesh apparel industry over the years, complemented aptly by knits and bottoms (non-denim and denim) at later stages that helped the country cement its position as the preferred sourcing destination for the global buyers. With increased efficiency and expertise, the shirt manufacturers have started catering to all the major brands and retailers globally including names such as H&M, US retail giant Walmart, British retailer Primark, Germany’s posh brands Hugo Boss and Olymp (formal shirts), and many, many more.
In the global shirt market (as per data from Statista, one of the biggest data management company in US and EU), which stood at US $ 51 billion with total consumption of 2.5 billion pieces in 2016 and is expected to reach US $ 58.5 billion (in terms of value) and 2.83 billion pieces (in terms of volume) by 2020, Bangladesh’s role – which contributed around 10 per cent to the total global shirt import in 2016, is expected to play a pivotal part in shaping the global landscape as far as shirts are concerned.
But despite this positive projection, shirt as a product category has somehow failed to keep pace with the growth of other products. “Of late we are getting more demand for sweaters, jackets, denim and other products which found base in Bangladesh after shirts. This is not to say that there is no demand for shirts, but the increase is only marginal, while for other products, the growth is very significant,” says Khondoker Mahibur Rahman, Managing Director, Stanley Fashion B.D., a buying office that sources shirts in 100% cotton, cotton polyester blends, PV, tencel, modal blends, with fabric mainly coming from China.
Rahman’s statement is not a one-off case and there are facts to substantiate his claim. Data records from BGMEA show that in 1996-97, the export earnings from shirts was US $ 759.57 million, while for trousers, jackets, T-shirts and sweaters, the value of exports were US $ 230.98 million, US $ 230.98 million, US $ 391.21 million and US $ 196.6 million, respectively. Fast forward to 2015-16, in terms of value (export), shirt stood at US $ 2,317.09 million while trousers, jackets, T-shirts and sweaters registered drastic growth to touch US $ 6,319.00 million, US $ 3,774.08 million, US $ 6,118.53 million and US $ 3,182.47 million, respectively. Today knits and bottoms account for a major share of the country’s apparel exports, a trend which is rather surprising considering that formal shirt was the mainstay of Bangladesh’s exports until the early 1990s.
Image Courtesy: tookapic.com
In fact, even as late as 2006, US retailers imported about 33 million pieces of shirts worth over US $ 2.4 billion and nearly one of every four shirts, was made in Bangladesh, but now that the US market is diverting to higher value-added and fashionable shirts, the country is trying to find better efficiency and product development skills in making casual shirts with value that comes from different fabrics and styling options. On the other hand, better technology is also moving in as some high-end brands from Europe are looking at sourcing formal shirts, which is another challenge. Few years ago, Hugo Boss started sourcing T-shirts and formal shirts from Bangladesh from limited number of very compliant garment factories and though the volumes are not so high, it has encouraged some bigger companies to invest in the shirt segment. The company is increasing its volume in the country every year with the improvement of the working environment and compliance practices. Another German high-end brand Olymp has also started sourcing formal shirts from Bangladesh.
In the meanwhile, the unprecedented growth and popularity of denim (Bangladesh has overtaken China to become the largest denim supplier to the European Union and also the third largest denim supplier to the US after China and Mexico) in the last one decade is seen by many as a major reason behind shirt’s fledgling show. Rahman shares that about 75% of his demand is for denim today. “The way the industry has been investing in denim is unprecedented in itself, no other product has grown like this and today we have integrated strengths that did not exist about a decade ago, and this has been pushed by buyers who now look at Bangladesh as a major supplier, both in the basic and fashion segment,” reasons Rahman.
Corporate Shirts
Contributing further to the slowdown in shirt growth has been the diminishing profit margins in the basic shirts and challenges in value addition consequent to inadequate local supply of quality fabrics. Many companies have shifted their focus to other products. One such company is NIPA Group, which has invested heavily in jackets, where the margins are much better and growth opportunities still largely unexplored in the country. “We are offering a wide variety of jackets and the buyers are very happy with our infrastructure, so the product is our growth engine. In shirts, which was once our biggest category, we are mostly now doing casual denim shirts, which is another hot product today, for our existing buyers but there is no real focus on the category as there are many players in the segment and the price offered is very competitive,” shares Md. Khosru Chowdhury, Chairman & MD, NIPA Group.
Are shirts really a stagnant segment or is its growth being overshadowed by emerging categories?Apparel Online interacted with some of the prominent shirt manufacturers and exporters to get the pulse of the shirt business in Bangladesh today and where they feel it’s headed for…
The journey continues…
Given the challenges and bottlenecks that a shirt manufacturer is faced with, one might wonder if shirt as a product category has many takers. On the contrary, there are multitude of garment makers who not only loath at the idea to give up on shirts as yet, rather they have devoted all their resources and energy to carry forward the rich legacy of shirt making which once used to be Bangladesh’s forte; and they have their reasons for it!
Considered an integral part of a man’s wardrobe – wheather one’s style is chinos or suit and tie – there’s no denying the importance of shirts… A white shirt still holds its sway amidst the array of fancy apparels in anybody’s closet. Be it a business meeting with clients or a weekend get-together with friends and family, white shirt continues to be the preferred choice, which finds an apt reflection in the business forecast for shirts.
As per predictions of Statista, if the global demand for shirts stands at US $ 53.36 billion (in terms of value) and 2,580 million pieces (in terms of volume) in 2017, the same would register a steady increase in the coming years to touch US $ 55.17 billion (in terms of value) and 2,657 million pieces (in terms of volume) by 2018 to further increase to US $ 56.8 billion and 2,740 million pieces respectively by 2019.
In this issue dedicated to shirts, Apparel Online handpicked a few shirt manufacturers, who have upped their capacities and competencies to cash in on the opportunity that the global shirt market has to offer.
BSA Group
Currently working from its four production units, BSA Group chiefly supplies formal shirts besides trousers in addition to kidswear to US retail behemoth Walmart. Managing Director of BSA Group, Sarwaruzzaman Khan, shares his views on shirts.
Shirt business today
It is not bad, but is running quite smoothly.
The demand scenario
The demand for shirts is not bad, but overall the demand is more for casual shirts than the formal, which again is dependent on seasons. In terms of percentage, I would say 70% demand is for casual and 30% for formal.
Major buyers
Walmart… Apart from Walmart, we are currently in talks with Carter.
Potential market (USA/Europe)
As we work for Walmart, our two main markets are USA and Canada.
Fabric
We source the fabrics from nominated suppliers only, who are mostly from China.
Bangladesh’s strength – yarn dyed or solids…
Both, I would say.
Production capacity/expansion
We have expanded our business over the years. Now we can produce about 2 million shirts per month, and even more sometimes. Apart from the existing units (with combined machine strength of 7,000 machines), we have established another factory with 16 blocks, with each block containing around 100 machines.
We’re also going to set up another factory within 2-3 months in Sagorika area of Chittagong. This factory will have about 15 to 16 blocks, which will increase our production capacity by about 10-15%.
FOB range
From US $ 2 to US $ 2.5
Turnover
BDT 500 crore (approximately)
Product development
We have a merchandising unit but no R&D team. We use the nominated fabrics and buyers’ designs.
Dressmen Limited
Traditionally a woven shirt manufacturer (dress shirts, casuals and formals) with combined production capacity of 8,00,000 pieces monthly and catering to names such as Ralph Lauren, TESCO, VF Corporation, MANGO, Eddie Bauer, Nautica, TARGET Stores, HAGGAR, Springfield, etc., Dressmen was established in 1984 as a partnership business with just 60 machines and 150 workers under a project loan from Pubali Bank Ltd., but has come a long-long way to own five production units today with combined workforce of 4,000, and plans to establish a couple of more units soon. Director of Dressmen Limited, Maashed R Abdullah shares his views…
Shirt business today
The business is much more difficult these days as the customers are not realising how much effort is put into manufacturing quality products. The prices have dropped significantly but the demands of the customers are increasing daily… We really need to find a middle ground where the customer and the manufacturer stand to gain.
Demand scenario
According to me, the demand is relevant to a company’s strength and how the company markets itself. I think people are more into casual shirts these days. Shirts that are ‘different’ are in demand… Every customer is looking for something that is unique and which has never been done before.
Major buyers
H&M, TESCO, VF Corporation, CARREFOUR, Li & Fung etc.
Potential market (USA/Europe)
I think for formal shirts, US is definitely a better market as we are doing a lot of non-iron wrinkle-free shirts for it. For casual shirts, Europe is a better market as we get to work with a lot of different types of washes.
Fabrics
For performance and RFD fabrics, we are importing from China; we have no choice but to import because a lot of our fabrics are polyester blended and are not available at competitive prices locally. For lower end fabrics, we are usually going to the local mills in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s strength – yarn dyed or solids?
I think if one is going for yarn dyed with 100% cotton fabric, then definitely yarn dyed would be our strength as we would be working on a much shorter lead time. However for blended fabrics in solids, I wouldn’t rule out Bangladesh either as we are a big supplier for uniforms globally.
Well Group
Established in 1973 by founder Chairman Abdus Salam as Bangladesh Textile Industries (BTI) in a small workshop in Chittagong to produce sewing thread, Well Group in just over four decades expanded into a conglomerate with interests in sewing threads – WELL THREAD (flagship product), packaging, food, hospitality, real estate and readymade garments and employing over 20,000 people.
In readymade garments, Well Group initially started with manufacturing shirts in a very small way with just 100 machines but later shifted focus exclusively to trousers. Going forward, Well Group has now invested in a new manufacturing unit to resume producing shirts… Here CEO of the Well Group Industries Syed Nurul Islam shares his views on shirts…
Shirt business today
Shirt business is good and growing in Bangladesh.
Demand scenario
Casual and sports shirts are more in demand.
Major buyers
Our target customers are UNIQLO/TOMY/GAP/GEORGE and NEXT.
Potential market (USA/Europe)
Traditionally our customers are based in USA, but now we are trying to move to Japan and EU.
Fabrics
We prefer our in-house fabrics as we have spinning, yarn dyeing and weaving facilities.
Turnover (combined)
US $ 100 million
M&M Shirts Ltd.
A part of Shanin Group, M&M Shirts Ltd., produces around 1,60,000 pieces of shirts (men’s formal & casual) apart from ladies blouses, school shirts & blouses. M. A. Haque Howlader, General Manager of M&M Shirts Ltd. shares his views…
Shirt business today
Well, I would say shirt business is not at its best today. Compared with other RMG products, shirt is not the frontliner in Bangladesh any more. Fact is that, we have failed to explore markets for shirts. To grow in shirts, we would have to find new customers and new markets. Also the price from buyer must be increased; otherwise it would be very difficult to survive in the market.
Demand scenario
There is demand for both casual and formal shirts in the proportion of 50-50. Men’s formal & casual shirts, ladies blouses, school shirts are items that are in big demand.
Major buyers
Primark, Penny’s, Frank-Q, Jacks Clothing, Zara, Comma, Collins, etc.
Potential market (USA/Europe)
We work for the European market mainly as we feel more comfortable in the European market compared to that of USA.
Fabrics
Actually we procure all kinds of fabrics – 100% cotton, semi-cotton, even blends. We source the fabrics mainly from China; sometimes we also source fabrics from India, Pakistan and Indonesia. In Bangladesh, these fabrics are not available.
Bangladesh’s strength-yarn dyed or solids?
In Bangladesh we can produce both yarn dyed and solids.
Forgetting about GST difficulties and other market complications, the Indian domestic market, including small, medium and even top-level companies, appears geared up for further growth and expansion to add new categories in their product basket. It was clearly reflected at the recently concluded Gartex 2017 at Delhi. Organized by Max Exhibitions, the second edition of the event witnessed nearly 18,000 visitors from all apparel manufacturing hubs. Apart from several value addition technology players, the event also included few big companies of stitching, cutting room, fabric and accessories. Team Apparel Online met both the optimistic exhibitors and the visitors and discussed about their future plans and strategies for business growth.
Gartex 2017 was inaugurated by various leading garment and value addition technology suppliers of India
Coming to the viewpoints of the exhibitors, they were really content with the variety and quality of visitors at Gartex 2017. Key Indian apparel manufacturers like Orient Craft (Gurgaon), Eastman Exports (Tirupur), TCNS (Noida), Blackberrys (Gurgaon), Pure Cotton (Noida), Affordable Exports (Delhi) were amongst the visitors’ list who attended the show. From the visitors’ perspective, they had expected more exhibitors in segments such as garment machinery, fabric and accessory which were less in number. However, they were still happy to see a few major accessory and fabric companies exhibiting at the fair such as Madura Coats, Gian Chand Sushil Kumar Jain (More Thread), Pashupati Overseas, Mahashakti Thread Mills, Nilesh Impex India, Neenu Plastics, Synodic Carnival Commercial etc. Chetan Agarwal, Partner, Pashupati Overseas, Delhi was quite busy with the visitors for all three days. Happy with the response, he shared that he got the advantage of being the only fabric company in the show. Importing primarily from overseas countries, the company offers wide variety of different kinds of fabrics specially those which are not being manufactured in India.
Image Courtesy: gartexindia.com
Digital printing seemed to rule the reign at Gartex 2017. Various technology companies like Mimaki India, Epson India, DCC Print Vision, Negi Sign Systems, ColorJet India and Apsom Technologies which offer digital printers for textiles, signage, home textiles, etc., presented their latest machinery in this segment under the theme ‘DigiTex’. In the digital printing category, ColorJet also launched its AuraJet II digital printer which uses less ink and has the capability of printing on a 45 GSM paper. It is one such company which manufactures digital printers within the country and promotes ‘Make in India’ concept.
(L-R) Navdeep, Amit and Nitesh Wadhwa of Kundan Lal & CO. The company known for jackets in domestic market is focusing more on in-house production
Embroidery technology providers like Aura Technologies, Tajima, Peayush Machineries, Baba Textile Machinery India, Tang, and Unix Stitch Machines also marked their presence at the three-day fair with display of their latest embroidery machines for the industry. A key highlight of the embroidery machinery section was the multi-head embroidery machines ranging from 18 heads to 90 heads. This proved the inclination of the market towards large embroidery machines. Aura Technologies’ boring machine with multi-colour threads and multi-head embroidery machines with automatic bobbin changer also grabbed the attention at the 2017 edition of Gartex. Another company, Tajima, also showcased an 18-head embroidery machine that can simultaneously use various types of threads be it cotton, silk or woollen.
“We are very much satisfied with the event as exhibitors gave us positive feedback about the quality of visitors. The show witnessed almost 18,000 visitors from across India. Our next edition will be even bigger and will have more variety in terms of exhibitors.” – Gaurav Juneja, Director at MEX Exhibitions
Good visitation with investment agenda…
In an exclusive conversation with Apparel Online, some of the visitors discussed their multiple goals to expand in their respective businesses. Anirban Kumar Das, Director of Jinil Spinning/Ansu Meditech Gandhinagar (Gujarat) with a business of nearly 42 crore, shared about having an embroidery unit in his already existing company to boost more growth. Being a textile engineer himself with 25 years of experience in the textile industry, he knows that expansion is the mantra for further growth and therefore, he is investing Rs. 50 lakh on this unit whose production will start within a month. Process house, Color n Style (Noida), is investing in rotary printing technology; jacket suppliers for the domestic market, Kundan Lal & company (Delhi), is planning to do in-house production as it currently outsources for the stitching process. Denim process house, MS Creations (Delhi), which is planning to start kidswear manufacturing, was also seen looking for garment machinery at the fair.
The fair witnessed few visitors from buying houses too such as: Natalino Duo, Director, Pure Cotton, Noida; V. Gopal Krishnan, President, GS International, Noida; and L. Sachin of 4E International, Delhi.
Ahmedabad-based, Kalantry Textile Industries, dealing in second-hand textile machineries, is now investing in garment value addition and finishing plant and will work as a job worker and later may have its own clothing line too. Escott Apparels (Noida) is also expanding its digital printing operation and is looking for machines in the same segment. Similarly, Rohit Bhandari, Director, Strawberry Clothing, Noida, also stated, “Sequence and sublimation printing attracted me as normally we face difficulty in sourcing of sequence. Costing of sublimation printing is what interested me the most.” Doing ethnic wear for domestic market, Magnum Apparels, Delhi, is also investing in specialized machines for formal suits and shirts. “This year, marriage season is favourable, so we are expecting good growth in the current fiscal,” informed Manish Chand Mohnani, Owner of the company. The company is also strongly into embroidery segment and explored the machinery for the same in the fair.
The fair also had two booths of jobworkers. While Rajdhani Creations, Gurgaon – a renowned name in digital printing jobwork – highlighted its digital printing capabilities, Rishab Print & Laser, Delhi displayed its expertise in laser work on denims and Tees and attracted several visitors.
Gartex 2017 also unravelled some of the new companies in the apparel industry who are growing very well and having their own expansion programmes. Having started six months ago, Jodi (Yas Group), Kolkata, began its apparel business with 165 stitching machines and exported to gulf countries. It is now planning to double the capacity within one-and-a-half year. “As we are new, every technology is interesting for us and we like the fair,” shared Thakur AK Singh of the company.
Almost two years old and catering to the uniform sector, Liberty Innovative Outfits, Panipat (associated with Liberty shoes), is witnessing good demand from schools for tees, track pants and track suits which are its core products. Aditya and Saurabh Bansal of the company were impressed by the stitching, embroidery and printing machines in the fair. “We are expanding overall, so we will be investing in whatever machines are required for this purpose,” the duo shared.
The show also witnessed many visitors from embroidered fabric segment. Having stronghold on schiffli embroidery and designs, Gurgaon-based Shiv Shakti Embroidery’s Rajesh Gupta shared, “The fair is okay as I found some relevant technology at some of the booths having value addition.” He further added that despite the increased challenges, his business is growing. Mohib, MD of Surat-based Lace Manufacturers India stated, “Embroidery machines displayed here are good. Along with capacity enhancement, we are focusing more on designs as per the garment’s requirement. For this, we have enhanced our research. The company produces more than 50 lakh metres of lace per annum.”
Apart from these mentioned companies, there were few more who met Apparel Online at Gartex 2017 with their future plans which again proves the industry’s positivity and its movement in the right direction.
Netherlands-based International Apparel Federation (IAF) is organising a fashion seminar at the world’s leading apparel fair Premiere Vision, which has raised curtains today in Paris, France.
IAF is the global trade body for apparel manufacturers, their associations, and the supporting industries.
At the seminar (themed Fashion Shifters), the Federation will promote a smarter, stronger and more sustainable fashion supply chain. Matthijs Crietee will co-moderate the event at the 3-day fair.
A panel of fashion professionals will discuss and share their ideas and experiences during the seminar to bring more innovation and creativity to the fashion industry.
Additionally, the Fashion Shifters seminar will highlight ‘How Demand and Supply are Linked with Technology across the Supply Chain’.
The panellists at the seminar will also deliberate on ‘How the Fashion and Entertainment Industries together can bring Value for each other’.
Another highlight of the seminar will be ‘How a Soap Opera and Fashion Retail Chain have successfully merged fact and fiction into a successful joint campaign’.
Jurian van der Meer, Director of Endemol Shine, a Dutch-based media company that produces and distributes multiplatform entertainment content, will be the keynote speaker at the event.
The IAF’s idea behind organising this seminar is to encourage the apparel industry by sharing the inspirational examples of the fashion players at this global platform, Premier Vision.
Proud to be an Indian manufacturer of polyester buttons, Bhansali Buttons from the house of Multi Button Industries has focused its attention on providing innovative and high-quality indigenous buttons to garment exporters, reducing the need to import such products. The company is striving not only to meet global standards in quality products, but also to meet the norms of sustainable practices. “We are an Oeko-Tex Standard100 class1 and ISO 9001certified company with in-house laboratory that ensures strict quality control measures as per latest chemical and physical standards required by the customer,” says Suresh Bhansali, Managing Partner, Multi Button Industries.
Suresh Bhansali, Managing Partner, Multi Button Industries
The company has made a major shift in the last two years from doing basic products to being design-driven. “When we started travelling to Europe, mainly to Italy, we realised that to stay relevant it was important to get into a design mode and since then our business model has completely been geared up to follow trends and focus on product development,” admits Suresh. The company now brings out regular collections and its latest innovation is the burnt-out button, which is a first for an Indian button manufacturer. Beside that, Bhansali Buttons has some very interesting buttons like buttons that glow in the dark, rubberised coated buttons, unconventional coloured buttons and other such buttons which are unique to the company.
This pro-activeness has paid well for the company and won them nominations with brands like Mothercare, Orchestra, besides also being a preferred supplier for Decathlon, Walmart, Primark, to name a few retailers. The focus is to work with brands which have good presence with Indian exporters. “With a large volume of readily available buttons in our library and huge sampling section, we give and support sampling requirements of exporters. Our R&D Department analyses feedback from domestic and international markets for the development of new patterns and designs to suit the needs of designers creating collections for upcoming seasons,” shares Suresh. All the creativity is supported by commitment to the environment which means lead, cadmium and phthalate free buttons certified by third-party testing laboratories.
Yet, Suresh laments that despite being an important element to the garment industry, polyester buttons are not registered as a part of the garment industry, but instead as a part of the plastic industry. “We get no value in being a part of the plastic industry, we need to be part of the exhibitions that happen for garmenting, so that we can see what the world is doing and learn from them. The Indian manufacturer of buttons is still very new to the concept of PD and it is important that we are included in delegations that visit international garment fairs so that we can be more aware of market demands and plan our production accordingly,” reasons Suresh. He strongly appeals to the Government to provide more responsive support to develop the accessory segment, as many products are still being imported. “We firmly stand by the Make-in-India concept, but unless we are exposed to what is happening globally, we cannot compete on a level playing field,” adds Suresh.
In the meanwhile, the company has ensured that its factory in Bangalore is flexible enough to supply both small and large quantities for all types of buyers’ demands. As of today, the factory has a capacity to manufacture about 20,000 gross buttons per day and is well-equipped with latest Italian technology from world leaders Bonnetti and Giusi, to produce button sizes from 8 ligne to 100 ligne. The team manning the factory consists of qualified and skilled workforce. “We aim to manufacture the best quality fashion buttons for export and domestic buyers and also help the designers and merchandisers in making their dreams into reality, as today innovation is our strength,” concludes Suresh.
Vastra fair is all set to open gates on September 21. The event will be held at Jaipur Exhibition and Convention Centre (JECC) in Sitapura, Rajasthan.
Union Textile & Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Zubin Irani and Rajasthan’s Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje will inaugurate the four-day international textile and apparel fair.
Rajpal Singh Shekhawat, Rajasthan Industries Minister will be the Guest of Honour at the event.
Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation Ltd. (RIICO) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) are organising the fair.
The first three days of the event will be dedicated exclusively to B2B trade and the last day (September 24) will be for B2C activities, involving retail sales.
The exhibition will present Karnataka as the partner state while Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttrakhand and West Bengal will be featured as the supporting states.
Additionally, the event is expected to note an increase in the number of exhibitors from 179 at the 2016 edition to 250 exhibitors from 13 states this year.
The number of international buyers visiting the fair is also expected to go up from 85 last year to about 300 buyers from more than 50 countries at the 2017 edition.
Vastra 2016 witnessed participation of 122 representatives from Indian buying houses while this year, it is expected to be 200 representatives from around 100 Indian buying houses/agents.
The previous edition generated US $ 17 million worth of business.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
