One can call it convergence for the Indian home furnishing companies as the difference of 100 per cent EOUs (export-oriented units) and domestic units is becoming narrower by the day and majority of the exporters are already in the domestic market or moving towards it as a survival tool or to maintain their growth level. The recently organized Heimtextil in Delhi too had many players focusing on catching the domestic buyers, along with few overseas buyers. Team Apparel Online found some interesting companies that are moving forward with either product or market diversification enhancing their reach in untouched markets.
Cushion is perhaps the most common product for home furnishing manufacturers in India, despite that Elite Eternally, Delhi which is 100 per cent EOU, having experience of 25 years in carpets, introduced hand-woven cushions some time ago and that too in the high-end segment, with FOBs starting from US $ 55 onwards which goes up to US $ 175. Enthusiastic with its initial response from overseas markets, the company took its first ever initiative to explore domestic market for the product with the participation at the event. “We are trying to bring the latest trends in the market as hand-woven cushion is one such trend which is traditional as well as modern, full of creativity. We have used woollen, silk and viscose. Buyers looking for niche products liked our cushions and placed orders too,” informed Ujjwal Srivastava, Partner of the company who is a designer also. The company, having its units in Jaipur and Badohi, has capacity to produce 2,000 pieces per month in these types of cushions. Ujjwal added that the company pays handsome amount to the weavers who produce these cushions; he also mentioned that the company focuses a lot on R&D. “We also offer mass products at lower prices and despite slow sentiments of global markets, we are able to sell our products as they are unique in terms of designs,” he concluded.
Digital prints were the focus of many companies as it was the most highlighted value-addition technique at the Heimtextil.
Bedlinen was one of the most highlighted products at the Heimtextil and many companies displayed wide range of the same. Paramount Textile Mills, Madurai another export giant offering majorly grey fabric and made-ups to European countries with wholesalers and importers, launched its organic bed sheet brand ‘SogniDoro’ for domestic market. “We started home furnishing products four years back for export and observed that the domestic market also has huge space for quality and organic home products. We are supplying to hotels too and they like the premium products. In domestic market there are people who are ready to pay Rs. 4,000-5,000 for a bed sheet for their comfort,” shared SSK Ravi Kumar, SGM – Techno Commercial and R. Vinodh Kumar, Marketing Manager of the company. They added that export market is reasonably good for them. The company also has a variety of blends and thread counts in its product range apart from cotton products. Having production capacity of 60,000 metres fabric per day (wider width 130 inches), the company is expecting 30 per cent growth this year and is working to develop its dealer network in India.
“I am sourcing from India from last many years and know the country very well. This year’s show is purely for local buyers and is not serving the purpose of international buyers at all. I was looking for some rug suppliers and products with Indian traditional touch. Being a manufacturing-based country, India is capable to cater all kinds of products but such kinds of suppliers are very few here. Like other countries of, the world, Africa too is having a tough time.” – Andrea Maharaj, Duo Textiles, Johannesburg, South Africa
Established players of domestic markets are very happy with the market growth and are geared up for another round of growth. Bella Casa Fashion & Retail Ltd., Jaipur, a public limited company, a rarity for Jaipur-based textile companies, is looking for good momentum in the months to come. Harish Gupta, Chairman of the company informed, “We are quite happy with the market as we have enough orders till Diwali and that too for every segment of market, similar to how bigger players like Bombay Dyeing, Reliance and many other such players are positioned. Similarly, wholesale market too have placed good orders; in fact overall orders are 25 per cent more compared to last year.” The company’s 60 per cent of business is with organized retailers while 15 per cent is for exports and rest is for own brand. Harish is expecting more opportunities in e-Commerce as he recently started selling online through various portals. “It will be a good portion of our business in coming months,” he says. In home segment, bed linen (10,000 pieces per day of bed sheets) is the core product for the company while it is into garmenting (7,000 pieces per day) too. Having a unit in Ahmedabad also, the company is expecting 30 per cent growth this year.
There are some companies that are having massive plans in terms of market reach. With a capacity of producing 5 lakh metres of fabric per month including jacquard, embroidered, digital print, etc. Sumangal Silk Mills/Sumangal International, Mumbai (NuHome Decor) currently present in 10 states of India, is planning to be in all the states of the country in the next two years. “Yes, it is a very challenging target, as India is very fragmented market, so our focus will be on having the right product mix. Our vision is to become the No. 2 player in cut service furnishing fabric in next 3 years,” say Aman Goenka and Amit Goenka, also Directors of the 35 years old company, who claim to be the first ones to introduce aroma fabric and expanded in the same with variety. The company exports 20 per cent of its total production to countries in Africa and Middle East.
In all the growth stories of companies finding success in the domestic market, there are some companies that are growing but are also of the opinion that it will take some more time to come to the level of sales and reach that position of their expectation. Tejinder Bajaj, Director, Shivam Fabs (‘rose petal’), Panipat says, “Sale of our company is growing but I must say that there are difficulties in the Indian markets like real estate business is down and liquidity crunch is there, so we do have a slowdown impact. I feel that next two years seems challenging. To survive we are adding new products, and more and more designs like recently we added digital print which is doing well in the market.” Doing business from the last two decades the company is celebrating 10 years of own brand ‘rose petal’.
