One of the oldest names in industrial sewing machines and accessories industry, Hari Chand Anand & Co. (HCA) has been catering to various industries such as garment, technical textiles, upholstery, home furnishings, etc., providing the latest and best affordable automation. In conversation with Apparel Online, Anil Anand, MD talks about the changing Indian industry and concerns surrounding it.
Continuously, the Indian garment and textile industry is seeing changes, which can be good for some and bad for others; and these changes are withered with time by some of the seasoned players in the industry such as HCA. Anand is concerned of how the industry is changing for the worse, indicating a bleak future. “In India, the biggest problem is that none of the big exporters come for local exhibitions, but they do attend all international exhibitions. In Bangladesh, each and every boss comes to see exhibitions and also knows about the new technology. The big players here believe it’s below their standard to attend a domestic exhibition,” asserts Anand.
Dwelling on the reasons behind growing apathy in the industry, Anil comprehends it to be partly because of the second or the third generation coming into business, who no longer wants to dirty their hands in labour matters, quality or productivity issues. Also, there is a shift in focus for many, who are going the real estate route. “A majority of players have huge factories or lands, where they have constructed multi-storey buildings. When they are getting similar rent as that of production why would they want to do hard work? You cannot run the industry with a remote control. It requires 24X7 monitoring and apt decision making. Look at Bangladesh!
It has become the 2nd largest market. When they started, they were way behind, so if we don’t think right now, we will be history,” claims Anil.
Nonetheless the growing focus towards the domestic market is providing a better outlook for India, as Government initiatives are encouraging expansions. “Domestic market is growing and it has potential to further grow to the level of export market today. We are a 1.2 billion people country, 4 times bigger than entire Europe and nearing China. So yes, there is a potential. And people are spending. Money is not an issue anymore. The domestic market players are exposed to a lot of foreign brands, so they understand quality,” maintains Anil.
As the domestic market is continuously looking to provide quality products to its customers it is giving a rise to latest affordable automation, which companies like the HCA is providing. “Everybody is looking at automation; this is how you can save on labour. Wages are continuously rising; right now there has been an increase of 35% in Delhi, but if you calculate the entire cost, it stands at 52%,” reveals Anil. Though some may be uncertain regarding the future of the Indian industry in terms of exports, but for many, it is surely making the domestic market more viable for investment, and for many companies to look beyond just automation for the big players.
