1st October, 2015

When the Apparel House was allotted to exporters in 2007, 242 showrooms promised to attract business for the lot under the umbrella of Apparel International Mart (AIM)…; eight years later there are only 67 showrooms left and 50 companies maintaining the same! 

Indeed a sad reflection of the neglect that the Apparel House has witnessed from its administrators and the Ministry of Textiles. Today, the magnificent Apparel House, a landmark for people living in Gurgaon is better known as Epicentre – the cultural hub of the city. From dance performances to plays to even personal parties…, the Apparel House has seen it all happen. 

What it has not seen enough of is export promotional activities, the primary purpose for which it was built and allotted for by HUDA. Some allottees voluntarily opted out, as having a showroom in the premises served no purpose, while some were coaxed out by the administrators to be leased out to institutions like IAM, ATDC, Sector Skill Council for Apparel, Madeups and Home Furnishings to name some… AIM, now seems a remote dream.

Disheartened by the chain of events, a small group of showroom owners under the aegis of AHEA (Apparel House Exporters Association) are fighting a lonely battle for their right, as defined in the lease agreement to receive export promotion support at the venue. Time and again, promises have been made and broken. The situation has now come to loggerheads and recognising the serious intent of the group, a committee has been constituted for the management of AIM, under the chairpersonship of Pushpa Subrahmanyam, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Textiles. 

The AEPC has decided to boycott the committee and refuses to participate in any discussion. Pushed to a corner, the AHEA has directly put forward its grievances and expectations to the Additional Secretary vide a letter dated 22nd September 2015. Some key points brought up in the communiqué are:

• AEPC must be directed to get rid of the institutions like IAM, ATDC, Sector Skill Council for Apparel, Made-ups and Home Furnishings, and other institutions enjoying their offices on rent, from Apparel House or Apparel International Mart (AIM) as these institutions may be related to MoT or MoC or others, but they are either working or enjoying at the cost of small exporters for whom this premises was supposed to have been created by the Ministry of Textiles. 

• Holding of India International Garment Fair at AIM instead of Pragati Maidan which will save approx. Rs 5.00 to 7.00 crore in expenditure of the industry and the Government. 

• Permitting retail export trade at AIM for boutiques/ small stores/small buyers to create minimum threshold or the critical mass for the bulk export trade.

• Separate Monitoring Committee should be formed for promotion of AIM comprising of Government nominees from MoT, MoC, Apparel International Mart Showroom Holders and AEPC. 

• Separate independent budgeting exercise to generate revenues from optimum utilization of resources by permitting exhibitions/fairs and other events to be managed by the Executive body reporting to the Monitoring Committee.

• Utilizing the surplus generated from other commercial activities for the upgradation, modification and modernization of AIM. 

• Lead role by Ministry of Textiles to ensure optimum level of utilization to benefit the trade through AIM. 

• Responsible handing over and shifting of showroom holdings at AIM on achieving any threshold turnover of export within a transition period of 1-2 years as may be decided by the monitoring committee. 

• Invitation to importers through vibrant interactions with designers, trade cell of various Foreign Embassies/Missions in India, Buying Houses and agents, Foreign Fair authorities, Ministry of External Affairs, etc. in association with Ministry of Textiles by concerned Embassies. 

• Providing support to other sub-sectors of the Textile Export Trade at concessional prices as it is created by the Ministry of Textiles using public funds. 

• Display and publicity of the 365 days event calendar for events, fairs and exhibitions at the AIM. 

I believe there are three aspects to the solution to break the deadlock – Management (who is controlling decision making); Functioning (how is the day-to-day work monitored); and Business Development (who is responsible for agendas of Business Development). Only if all these three issues are attacked and addressed simultaneously and corrective measures taken immediately, can the desired results come in. 

It is critical to layout the business development agenda in a transparent way at the start of each business cycle and allow feedbacks from the showroom owners so that a cohesive plan can be created to the benefit of all. Buyers to be brought must also be a part of the discussion…, and who all should also be part of the committee in deciding this, is important? The AEPC governing body unilaterally cannot create a business development plan for long-term advantages. 

Whenever a BSM or other promotional activity fails to generate business, a series of blame-game starts with everyone blaming the other… There should be no excuses for non-execution of export promotion policy and the MoT needs to be more involved and vigilant. That the AIM brings in business is to the advantage of all and it is important for all stakeholders to stop being at loggerheads and work together for a solution!