Inside Fashion Vol.16 No.6

DIWALI & FESTIVE SPECIAL

09 FASHION SCOPE Sports and fashion with Lakme Fashion Week

Lakme Fashion Week, in association with multi-designer retail store Ensemble, hosted an evening to celebrate sports and fashion with the World Cup champion Indian kabaddi players and leading menswear designers.

Five players from the national team - Surender Nada, Mohit Chillar, Shabeer Bapu Sharfudheen, Vishal Mane and Rishank Devadiga - walked the ramp for famous designers like Gaurav Khanijo, Pranav Mishra of Huemn, Ujjwal Dubey

of Antar Agni, Tarun Tahiliani and Sahil Aneja.

While Pranav chose a weather friendly material and comfort in mind when designing leisure wear for these players, Dubey who designed for Antar Agni aimed to enhance the personality through his design.

CONTENTS Fashion Scope 09 Fashion & Lifestyle 10 Brand Watch 14 Brand Retail 16 If Insight 20 Cover Story 24 IF Exclusive 28 Lead Story 36 E-Tailing 40 Reviews 48 Business News 64 Industry Bytes 71 Media Quotes 72

10 FASHION & LIFESTYLE Ritu Kumar continues to dress Indian women with contemporary labels

The Fashion Flash mob was organised to honour and salute the Indian Army personnel for their bravery and to celebrate ‘French European Indian Fashion Week’ that begins at the Eiffel Tower on November 7. President French European Indian Fashion Week Satish Reddy said that this endeavour was to salute our Armed Forces who selflessly risk their lives to protect our beloved country and our families. Our Indian Army is our brave and real heroes.

Indian Terrain steps into shoes

Designer Ritu Kumar tried her hands with bridal and evening wear in the 1960s and 70s. Eventually, she added other categories of women’s wear. Her range covers some of the country’s most exquisite garments and accessories in cotton, silk and leather. The range embraces both traditional textile crafts and the lineage of Indian design.

Over the years, Kumar has expanded multifold and in 2013 it secured a private equity investment from Everstone Capital. Today, it has 53 stores and has become a design house with various sub brands. Kumar caters to the modern Indian woman, around 28 to 45 years of age, who appreciates Indian tradition and wants to incorporate it in her wardrobe in a modern way. Kumar is more about evergreen and classic handicrafts and luxury placed in modern silhouettes. In 2002, she launched the sub brand ‘Ritu Kumar Label’.

This uses established forte of traditional Indian design and converts it into a fashion oriented international product. It is aimed at the young, global Indian woman who has a contemporary lifestyle, who is experimental and likes trying out new trends. Its silhouettes and styles change rapidly and embrace what’s cutting edge.

Ri by Ritu Kumar is the bridal line that caters to the modern Indian bride.

Delhi gets taste of first ever flash mob fashion show Delhites were going about their regular chores, rushing in and out of taxis and all of a sudden, a huge crowd of models and children swarmed around in front of a public park. Fabulously dressed models began moving up and down the runway. Designers, NGO ASFI acid attack survivors, Shrishti NGO kids participated in the flash mob fashion show and that too to salute the Indian Army for their bravery.

Set against the backdrop of Connaught Place, models hit the runway delighting captivated onlookers.

Indian Terrain the smart casual brand for men that offer clothing, belts, wallets, knitwear, denims and jackets is now adding footwear in 10 styles, each in three to four colors. Indian Terrain sees Rs 100 crores opportunity in footwear in the next few years. The brand has invested Rs 8 crores in the design and inventory of footwear.

Chennai-based Indian Terrain, is sold at over 1,500 counters in the country, 120 of them exclusive stores, 180 department stores and the rest multi-brand outlets. The brand has seen 16 per cent same-store growth in chains such as Lifestyle and Central and has emerged as the top-selling brand in these counters, besting other formal wear and smart casual brands. The footwear range will be launch in Indian Terrain’s top 30 stores.

The brand finished FY ’16 on gross sales of Rs 500 crores and expects to grow 20 per cent in financial year ’17. It operates on a marketplace model selling through Amazon and Myntra where products are shipped from its warehouses on a negotiated discount. Online sales in financial year ’16 were at four per cent. The brand has a unique positioning, right assortment and is rightly priced for the young consumer.

Knitwear takes the IFFD show by storm One may have seen women dressed in silk, wooly collections or cotton attires taking to the catwalk in a fashion show but this was for the first time that an entire collection of knitwear was displayed on an Indian ramp. The event was the just-concluded India Runway week Season 7of the Indian Federation for Fashion Development (IFFD) that saw knitwear taking the centre stage.

The event saw models sashaying the ramp showcasing Deblina and Atul’s (D n A) collection ‘Arabesque’ entirely made up

of eco and skin-friendly bamboo yarns.

Leaving grand platforms like Amazon Fashion Show and Lakme Fashion Show behind, IFFD stole the show by becoming the pioneer in incubating and presenting a label with a twist of innovation using knitwear as the sole technique of knitting design into every loop with bamboo yarn Bamboo, which creates only 30 per cent carbon footprint as compared to cotton, is being envisaged as the fibre of next decade.

The show was an interesting mix of fulllength dresses knitted in intricate floral motifs and flaunty drapes and fall. The range of shrugs and capes showcased with the contemplating enlarged sleeves and spiral falls in knits stylised the models who symbolised our inner goddesses. The knitwear low crotched pants in filligary motifs couples with the intricate handwork on the entire leg length was a perfect complement for the light weight feather design jacket showcased.

Tempered jodhpuri pants, which came in strategically placed pleats was a riot along with the balloon sleeves floral design knitwear cropped top. Shrug got a new dimension with the enlarged bottom ravelling created in the rose knitwear. Knitwear slouch pants in floral and peek-a-boo motifs with boxy fit hand knitted structured top was an interesting Arabesque. The floral jacket made in 3D was first of its kind, noticed on an Indian ramp. Show stealer was the final larger than life ‘Elizabeth gown’ that would be a perfect dress for a cocktail party.

An interesting amalgamation of nature’s gift bamboo, skilled by innovation, the designer’s interpretation of motifs and the silhouettes was plainly flaunting to hold ones breath for the entire duration of the show and left one asking for more at the end of it. At the end of it all, one wondered when they would wear apparels made of skin-friendly bamboo yarns.

12 FASHION & LIFESTYLE Viacom 18, Disney, Royal Enfield sizing up their youth merchandising range

The consumer products division of Viacom18 Media is sizing up its youth merchandising range launching new product categories and expanding its existing range. Recently Viacom18 added

MTV deodorants, footwear and cosmetics to its portfolio while introducing new ranges of sunglasses, watches and apparel for youth between 13 and 25 years of age.

Viacom18 is a content creation company that has interests in films and owns television channels such as MTV, VH1, Nickleodeon and Colors. On the other hand, Disney India, popular for its cartoon and animated characters like Mickey Mouse, Bambi and Marvel, is eyeing adult fashion as well. The company has tied up with fashion brand Vero Moda to launch a limited collection clothing line inspired

by Bambi in November. Earlier in August, Disney partnered with Only and launched a Mickey Mouse inspired apparel range.

Abhishek Maheshwari, VP and Head, consumer products at Disney India points out in the last two-three years, youth fashion has really picked up and they, as a company, are seeing strong growth in

that particular sector. Disney valued its merchandise business at Rs 1,500 crores in retail sales in 2015-16 and expects to close 2016-17 with Rs 2,000 crores. Companies such as Viacom18 are banking on the adult segment for growth in their merchandise business. Apart from owning rights to its own television properties, Viacom18 also owns third party brands like Charlie Brown.

It also has the master licensing rights to sell the Spanish football club FC Barcelona merchandise in India.

Motorcycle maker Royal Enfield is developing its merchandise range as a separate revenue stream too. The company sells riding gear and apparel suited for riders (lifestyle jackets, denims etc) under its merchandise business and targets adults (above 18 years) for apparel and accessories. Company executives attribute this growth to a several factors. Number one is that online marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra are helping companies reach out to consumers in smaller towns.

Being Human now extends it product basket

Bollywood super star Salman Khan’s brand Being Human which is very popular among the youth has extended its product basket to add jewelry. The collection includes fashion and fine diamond jewelry, designed by Style Quotient Jewelry, which is the exclusive licensee to manufacture, distribute and retail the brand. A portion of the income for the venture would be spent on charity.

Being Human Jewelry would be available at all jewelry stores and exclusively through Amazon. The company is also targeting the Middle East, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, UK and USA. The Being Human brand consists of a casual clothing line. The brand also has a charitable foundation and a percentage of profits from the clothing line goes into charitable causes of the foundation such as education and healthcare of the underprivileged.

14 BRAND WATCH Kids Around to get DKNY Kids brand to India soon

Backed by the growing awareness for international quality products coupled with increasing Internet penetration and higher disposable income, India has seen a lot of kids’ and children wear brands springing up. For instance, Kids Around, a childfriendly clothing and accessories multi store premium kids fashion brand with brands like Hugo Boss, Billieblush, Billy Bandit, Little Marc Jacob, Carrement Beau, Karl Legerfeld kid to name a few, is now geared up to bring DKNY Kids to India. Kids Around currently retails in countries like Paris, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, London, Canada, Australia, Portugal and India.

Speaking on the burgeoning kids and children wear market in India, Ayad Malik, Asia Export Manager of Kids Around says the market for children’s fashion and luxury is fast becoming one of the most profitable retail segments in India. Kids today are also becoming brand conscious and have their own preferences while the parents are ready to shell out money.

In the last five years, there have been a lot of changes in this segment including preference for branded kids’ apparel. All children are extensions of their parents and want to wear what the adults are wearing.

International brands see value in bringing kids wear to India. The other important change that is taking place is the emergence of kids as an independent buyer group. The DKNY Kids products will be available at the Kids Around stores.

Wills Lifestyle speaks fashion through drones

Wills Lifestyle has become the first fashion retail brand to introduce flying mannequins to showcase its new collection. Drones are being used to demonstrate features of light and wearable fabrics in Wills Lifestyle’s autumn/winter ’16 collection. The build-up for the Flying Fashion has already created a phenomenal buzz with the social media outreach #HeadsUp providing the patrons of the brand a sneak peek into the experience.

Recognizing the power of interactive marketing and technology led platforms, Wills Lifestyle wants to be at the centre of the experiential marketing revolution in fashion. The brand has already had success with RFID tags, a 360 degrees selfie booth and the #MannequinsOnABreak campaign.

Wills Lifestyle, India’s premium fashion destination, always aims to be a game changer, be it through its collections or

through its innovative campaigns. Today’s retail is incomplete without mannequins as they are the most effective platform for visual merchandising in the fashion retail segment. This autumn/winter is high on fashion styles. Wills Lifestyle revisits glamour, sophistication and dynamism for both men and women across all stores in India. With Flying Fashion Wills Lifestyle is adopting technologies that are a first in the fashion space in India.

Manyavar ropes in Virat Kohli as the face of the brand

Ethnic wear brand Manyavar which has been spreading its network across India and beyond has now roped in star cricketer and India’s skipper Virat Kohli as it face. Cricket is said to be a gentleman’s game and Kohli, being the biggest name in Indian cricket, fits in as the brand ambassador for Manyavar.

Just like Kohli has made India proud on world stage, Manyavar too has taken the cultural heritage of India across the globe.

Having carved a niche for itself for years in the men’s ethnic wear segment, Manyavar entered into women’s traditional wear segment with the brand Mohey last May. Manyavar’s collection ranges from celebration wear, spanning <em>sherwanis, kurtas </em>to Indo-westerns and accessories. The brand, which started out from a 150-square-feet shop in Kolkata, currently has more than 400 showrooms across 160 cities in five countries. Their future plan intends to acquire 10 lakh square feet. of retail space in next four years.

Vero Moda’s warms up A/W with Royal Velvet Paisley collection

Fashion brand Vero Moda is offering a Royal Velvet Paisley collection this Autumn/ Winter. The motifs are complemented by lush, classic velvet and spell luxury. The evening ensemble has fun and sophisticated

looks. The new collection being highlighted in stores across India from October 17 to 24, is available in sweatshirts, tees, skirts and dresses. Vero Moda It offers quality and classic fits, mixing basics with trendy styles for an ever changing look. Launched in 1987 Vero Moda was one of the first brands to be launched by Bestseller. Models such as Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss and Gisele Bündchen have represented Vero Moda.

Bestseller India markets and sells four brands Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, Only and Selected. Currently, Bestseller India has 183 exclusive brand outlets and is present in over 517 shop-in-shops in external multi-brand stores throughout India.

Bestseller India is part of Bestseller, the family-owned fashion company founded in Denmark in 1975. The company provides fast affordable fashion for women, men, teenagers and children via a portfolio of over 20 different brands. Worldwide, Bestseller is present in 46 countries through more than 2,800 chain stores and 12,000 external multi-brand stores.

Mayur launches fabric brand ‘Cannello’

Mayur Suitings has launched a fabric brand named Cannello. This will comprise luxury suitings and shirtings. The target is to cater to aspirational New Age consumers who are increasingly opting for high-end products.

Mayur, the flagship of RSWM, wants to acquire over 10 per cent of total market share in this premium fabric segment in the next three years. Cannello is inspired by fashion houses of Italy. It is a premium fabric product designed for elite customers. It has the flavor of fashion and style and aims to meet the desires of dignified and fashionable consumers. It has several features like tweed for winter jacketing with the warmth of pure wool, poly wool for all-season fabric for trousers and suits, terry rayon for high-class suits and party wear which gives a super soft and elegant look and Giza cotton that provides super softness.

The fabrics would be available at all multibrand retail outlets, besides Mayur Suitings centers, in the price range of Rs 700 to Rs 3,000 a meter. RSWM is one of the largest textile manufacturers in the country, primarily producing the best quality of yarns like synthetic, blended, mélange, cotton, specialty and value added yarns suitable for suitings, shirtings, hosiery, carpets, denim, technical textiles and industrial applications.

16 BRAND RETAIL ITC widens retail spread

ITC has established a nationwide retail presence through Wills Lifestyle and John Players. Launched in 2000, Wills Lifestyle stands for the core values of elegance, sophistication and exclusivity. Wills Lifestyle has made great advances in bringing the best of fashion delivered through top notch craftsmanship to customers over the years, be it luxurious formalwear, vibrant relaxed wear or chic eveningwear.

The Luxuria range is top-of-the-line formal offering from the brand along with the Ecostyle range of pure linens and organic cottons. The Wonder Press range has wrinkle-free shirts and special finishes of Coolmax and Thermolite. Wills Sport is the relaxed wear line of the brand and has casuals and denims. Women’s western wear is a rapidly growing category for the brand encapsulating soft tailoring along with desk-to-dinner ensembles.

Wills Lifestyle, with its high fashion imagery and premium retailing ambience, has expanded to over 100 exclusive stores across 40 cities and more than 400 shopin-shops in leading, large format stores and multibrand outlets. The brand has boutique stores in New Delhi, Bangalore, in Agra, Mumbai and Chennai. John Players is aimed at the young male who desires vibrant, bold and contemporary fashion. The brand has a network of 400 EBOs, 1,600 MBOs and large formats and e-commerce stores. John Player Jeans offers experimental washes, contemporary fits and edgy styling in denim wear. The brand has innovated with a limited edition range of knitted denims, laser-printed denims, summer denims and more.

UK brand Izabel London sees sales zoom in India

Izabel London has achieved an impressive sales boost this year following its launch into India. This retailer of women’s clothing is at 145 Pantaloons stores across 76 cities in the country. Izabel London’s wide range of exotic day wear and accessible evening

wear is currently available in more than 500 locations across the UK. The launch in India is part of an impressive global expansion process throughout Europe, Asia and the Pacific region. The brand is currently stocked in more than 1,000 locations worldwide.

Izabel London, is focused on introducing the latest fashion trends in stock the moment they are seen on catwalks. Whatever a customer is looking for, be it casual, dressy, prints or colors, the brand makes sure that its range has it all. Izabel London focuses on providing easy to wear, catwalk inspired women’s clothing at the best price.

been a slower rise in production, estimated at around 14 per cent. KVIC is hoping to increase production by adding to its existing network of 2,100 active institutions.

Sports Station strengthens all India presence

Collaboration with Pantaloons gives Izabel London the brand exposure that is needed in the Asian market. Pantaloons is a division of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail and is one of India’s largest and fastest growing big box fashion retailers. Following its entry into India Izabel London has seen a 140 per cent growth in sales im the first quarter.

KVIC to set up EBOs, tie up with brands to sell products

Khadi is looking to expand its footprint and meet the growing demand for traditional handspun and hand-woven products. It will take the franchisee route and enter into marketing arrangements with garment manufacturers like Raymond, Madura Garments and Arvind Mills. Khadi fabric will be available at some of their stores. The Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is also looking at private channels to push village products such as soaps and other items.

KVIC will at first open 16 stores, of which nine will come up in the National Capital Region, four in Mumbai, two in Pondicherry and one in Jaipur. Currently, khadi products are sold through 7,100 stores that are operated by institutions registered with KVIC. Through franchisee stores, khadi is hoping to have a presence in newer locations, including shopping complexes, instead of confining itself to government and old buildings where rentals are lower.

In recent years, khadi sales have been growing at a rapid pace, with fabric and garment sales rising nearly 29 per cent during April to August. In contrast, there has

Sports Station has opened more than 65 stores across India. These stores offer an assortment of options in sports shoes, apparels, accessories and equipment under one roof. Its portfolio includes renowned sportswear brands like Nike, Asics, Adidas, Reebok, Puma, Sketchers, Converse, Crocs, Solomon and Lotto along with its inhouse brand Mmojah. Sports Station also showcases specialty brands like Speedo and Wildcraft.

Sports Station is part of SSIPL, which is into footwear manufacturing and retailing.

The group has two decades of experience in retailing international sports brands.

The company has also been engaged in manufacturing footwear for several international sports brands like Nike, Puma, Bata and Lotto. Alongside this, SSIPL is also engaged in licensing and distribution of Lotto and Nike fitness equipment in India and is a prominent retail partner with international apparel and footwear brands including Levi’s, United Colors of Benetton, Lotto and Clarks.

While Sports Station will continue to expand into new markets and territories, it envisions becoming the top of the mind recall for customers looking for renowned international brands in the sports and fitness segment. Sporsts Station has a presence in most major cities including Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Meerut, Lucknow, Jammu, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Gwalior, Kota, Indore, Pune, Mumbai, Tezpur and Chennai.

18 BRAND RETAIL H&M unveils its first store in Pune

India is attracting numerous brands and those already present are opening new stores and spreading out. While Superdry, the British fashion and lifestyle brand opened an outlet at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport, Mumbai last week, Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M), the Swedish fast fashion retailer known for fashion lifestyle products has opened its first store at the Phoenix Marketcity in Pune.

The new H&M store, spread over 33,000 square feet and two floors carries the complete range of fashion and accessories for women, men, and children. This store will carry a larger selection of H&M’s concepts such as H&M’s maternity line called ‘H&M Mama’ and plus-size collection. Over 450 shoppers and fashionistas queued up early in the morning to shop for new collections displayed at the store. Country Manager at

H&M India Janne Einola, along with Area Manager Mikko Alatalo and Store Manager Pavnish Saluja inaugurated the store and welcomed first customers who received goodie bags and H&M surprises. The first fashionista in line was awarded a gift card of Rs. 10,000 while the subsequent two fashionistas received a gift card of Rs.7,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively.

Sabhyata set to open 60 new stores by 2017

Ethnic wear brand Sabhyata is plans to add 60 more stores across India by the end of next year. This would take up the total number of stores to 100 from 40 as of now. Launched in 2003, the company plans to achieve Rs 100 crores in revenue

by March 2017. It is also hoping to double this number to Rs 200 crores by 2018.

Pankaj Anand, Director Sabhyata informs they have been opening two stores every

month. He also says that 90 per cent of the stores are company-owned and the rest are franchises. The company is now targeting southern and eastern parts of the country particularly Kerala, Chennai and Guwahati. The company sells traditional apparel for both women and men. Each is priced between Rs 449 and Rs 2, 500 and is sold through its 40 stand-alone stores and online marketplace Jabong. The company also plans to launch its own e-commerce platform.

Reebok India opens new ‘Fit Hub’ store in Chandigarh

In its zest to penetrate deeper in northern India, Reebok India has set up a new store in Chandiargh . The brand is trying to tap the large potential in women’s wear in active and fitness wear. It is for this very reason that Reebok India chose cinestar Kangana Ranaut over John Abraham, as the company’s brand ambassador in March this year. If one may remember, Abraham was associated with the brand for three years.

For a start Reebok India, launched its latest flagship FitHub store in Chandigarh in Sector 17.

The launch saw Kangana Ranaut engaging in a training routine with master trainers of Reebok.

Commenting on the launch, Silvia Tallon, Senior Marketing Director, Reebok India said, “We have received a phenomenal response for our FitHub store in Ludhiana and are confident that we will receive a great response from fitness enthusiasts of Chandigarh, and that we will motivate more residents of the city to join the fitness movement.

This is just the beginning as we plan to further strengthen our foothold in Punjab market and make significant inroads.”

Sharing her association with the brand, Ranaut said being a fitness enthusiast she earnestly endorses Reebok’s endeavours to drive consumers to be fit physically, socially and mentally.

The FitHub store is a new age retail concept pioneered by Reebok which serves as a onestop shop for all your fitness needs.

The said store has been designed on the lines of the gym and will help guide shoppers on a fitness journey from getting started to finding the right fitness gear to suit their training needs and fitness goals. Launched in 2013 in India, Reebok’s now has more than 140 ‘Fit Hub’ stores across India. The company will soon launch new stores in Bhatinda, Patiala and Jalandhar.

20 IF INSIGHT Modern retail witnesses highest upswing in three years this festive season Aided by good monsoon, increased disposable income, especially the incremental salary of government officials and availability of easy credit with EMIs, India’s retail sector has seen the highest upswing in the last three years. The sentiment is witnessed across all channels – offline and online sales. The biggest beneficiaries of this growth are fashion, consumer electronics and large retail formats. Brands such as Future Group, Lifestyle, Gap, Arrow, Puma registered 9-20 per cent growth in same-store sales over the same period last year, whereas 30-35 per cent growth was registered by consumer electronic brands at their brick-and mortar outlets. And as J Suresh, MD, Arvind Lifestyle Brands points out, there is retail buoyancy that we are seeing in both formats – stores and online – partly helped by pent-up demand and newer customers from smaller towns. Both channels have not cannibalised each other the way they did three years ago.

Online sales steal the show

With the super success of Big Billion Day & Great Indian Festival, online marketplaces such as Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal have reportedly registered 40-50 per cent uptick owing to the festive season this year as against the last one. Flipkart, registered 50 per cent growth, surpassing Rs 1,400 crores sales on its platform in a single day last Monday, the highest ever sale for e-commerce in India.

According to Snapdeal, Tier II & III cities hold the forte while metros registered 60 per cent increase in conversions till last Wednesday.

Aiming to touch Rs1,700-1,800 crores in festive revenue, Snapdeal claims to have sold around 11 million products compared vis-à-vis 6.5 million last year. The big daddy Amazon sold 15 million products in the past five days covering 90 per cent of pin codes in India. With Tier III as the winning market, it registered 30 times growth in orders compared to last year. The blockbuster online category stood out to be smartphones, televisions and large home appliances, fashion, accessories and gadgets.

Kishore Biyani, CEO, Future Group says there has been a 20 per cent growth in sales across all formats over last year with ecommerce discounts failing to dent offline sales, especially in lifestyle and apparel products. Retailers who know their business well, from pricing to merchandise and operations – have done well. . Citing the reason Puma India Managing Director Abhishek Ganguly said the sports goods maker’s differentiated product line for online and offline had paid dividends. With online sales saga getting to an end, it seems lifestyle companies are in no mood to offer Diwali discount to consumers. Lifestyle’s Deputy CEO Jacob John said that same store-growth has been in double digits with consumers apparently unfazed by the call of online. During festive season, consumers are not looking at price tags but freshness of the stock. In fact, the recent rate cut by RBI augurs well for consumers as well as retailers alike. Rural markets have been offering growth havens for companies off late.

Ultra-affluent working women driving luxe market in India: Assocham

Home to over 1,200 ultra-affluent women having combined net worth of about $100 billion (Rs 6,50,000 crores), India has become a strategic market for luxury brands. As per a recent Assocham survey, fashion-forward, beauty-conscious and ultra-affluent working women in India are driving up growth of India’s $9 billion (around Rs 55,900 crores) worth luxury market and account for overall market share of about 15 per cent. “Growing number of young working women (with high paying jobs) having increased awareness of global fashion and beauty trends are driving up the demand for high-end luxury products and accessories across various segments be it jewellery, watches, apparels, footwear, cosmetics and others,” highlighted the report. And as DS Rawat, Secretary General, Assocham says “Working women or women with an active life have better spending propensity and are thus conscious of their appearance and are open to investing in luxury products.” As professional women are emerging as new decision makers and make most of their household purchases, it is imperative for luxury brands to open dedicated women’s stores and expand their product offerings to build long-term relationships with this new breed of luxury spenders, Rawat opines. Luxury industry is becoming more female dominated as women’s brands have experienced a steep rise. He believes considering the low levels of penetration currently even as an increasing number of affluent women are entering the consumption curve, there is a huge scope for leading global luxury retail brands to expand their India footprint, by focusing on ‘women special’ product portfolio and carrying out innovative marketing campaigns.

Women pushing the luxe curve

Before drawing any inference, the Assocham spoke to about 500 working women having annual salary bracket of Rs 5-10 lakh in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR and Mumbai to understand their shopping habits during August-September this year. About 20 per cent of the total respondents said they purchase only luxury products owing to their quality control and easy availability both online and offline.

While, many of these said that luxury products have top-notch quality and that is the sole reason they prefer them over regular products and affordability is not an issue as they earn enough to splurge. Of the remaining, majority said they buy at least one luxury product whenever they go shopping and have a plethora of luxury products lined up in their wish list which has been growing by the day. While some have different views according to the other strata, luxury products are only overrated and pricey, besides there is hardly any different in quality compared to regular products.

Apparel, watches top buys

Jewellery, watches, apparel and accessories, personal care and electronic products are top five categories for women luxury buyers in aforesaid centers. Rising purchasing power coupled with growing awareness of global brands and with the luxury products distribution penetrating well beyond large metros to other smaller cities will contribute to the growth of luxury industry in India as we go ahead. Growth of luxury industry in the country has also compelled global brands that had once failed to set up their Indian venture and are as such returning with better strategy, customised products and prices that better suit the consumers here, it added.

22 IF INSIGHT Offline retailers venturing online find the going tough

In the last one year, many Indian business houses have jumped on to the e-commerce bandwagon by launching their online ventures. But a closer look at their sales numbers, it seems that it’s not been an easy ride for most of them. Aditya Birla Group’s Abof.com, textile major Arvind’s NNNow.com and Reliance Industries’ Ajio, all fashion and lifestyle e-tailers, targeted clocking in a monthly gross merchandise value, or GMV ofup to Rs 10 crores,. A few like Abof recently started selling on Amazon to gain from its traffic and prop up its visibility in the midst of competition from well established e-commerce players like Myntra and Amazon Fashion.

These traditional retailers say they’ve stopped giving heavy discounts compared to their online-only peers who gained handsomely taking this route. According to industry estimates, Arvind’s NNNow.com is clocking in about Rs 4-5 crore monthly GMV while Abof.com is doing around Rs 10 crores. These retailers also dismiss GMV as the right metric to gauge the growth and scale of online businesses.

Abof.com claims it’s different from existing e-commerce packs as its core proposition are to create a mega lifestyle brand online which will run across categories. On the other hand it NNNow.com isn’t looking at GMV-led discounting. Instead, it is focusing on an omni-channel strategy for its business. Out of 1,200 stores that it runs, 350 are live with NNNow.com where consumers can place orders which will act as warehouses for NNNow.com.

Brick & Mortar stores record growth as discount schemes vanish from e-tailing The brick & mortar retail stores are witnessing record growth as discount schemes seem to vanish from the online fashion portals. With the lure of discount offers fading away from the online fashion portals, the sales growth is back in the physical stores. Future Group’s Central and Brand Factory, Aditya Birla backed Pantaloons and Trent’s West side, have recorded same store sales growth during the last few quarters.

Same store sales growth (SSG) being a critical parameter record a retail stores’s performance, the performance of the big format retailer’s same store growth indicate a positive outlook for brick & mortar stores. While Pantaloons has recorded 16 per cent same store growth in the first quarter of FY 2016-2017, Central, Brand Factory and Westside recorded 10, 10.01 and 8 per cent respectively.

Large Format fashion stores witness record same store growth

The market showed a clear shift with shoppers flocking back to the large format brick and mortar fashion stores as online marketplaces ended the gimmick of discount offers. Central, owned by Future Lifestyle Fashions (FLF), posted a 10 per cent growth in Q1 FY17, one of its best in the recent past, while FLF’s other retail formats such as Brand Factory, posted SSG of 10.1 per cent in Q1 FY17, almost double of corresponding quarter in FY16. Trent’s Westside posted an eight per cent SSG in FY16, one of its best in recent years and Raheja-owned Shoppers Stop posted over 8 per cent SSG in FY16 and around five per cent SSG in Q1 FY17.

The growth is clearly a result of the increased spending power of the consumer, rising momentum for development which is creating a positive sentiment coupled with the ecommerce portals reducing Govt scheme, as mandated by the recent Government policy. According to Wazir Advisors, the policy initiative of the Government especially played a crucial role in bringing back the customers to the brick and mortar stores.

“Deep discounts are almost gone and the key lure for customers to buy online is much diluted. Brands have actively worked to reduce the channel conflict between e-commerce and physical stores and have worked to curb predatory discounting by e-tailers. They have understood that physical stores will be the key to their brand building efforts and they cannot let them suffer.” says Baqar Naqvi of Wazir Advisors.

Physical stores witness increased walk in due to huge ad spend by e marketers

Moreover experts believe the enormous budget spent by the online giants for the aggressive promotion of fashion and lifestyle brands have resulted in increasing fashion awareness in customers in general. Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani says “Our fashion business has grown at a rapid pace over the past two years as more customers are coming to experience and buy brands within retail environments,” he said.

Tata-owned Trent in its latest annual report said that beside improving look and feel of stores, launching newer in-house brands such as Wunderlove (lingerie), Sassy Soda (fashion for young curvier woman) and StudioWest (cosmetics) has encouraged customer offtake and helped in posting a healthy like-for-like growth.

In a recent presentation, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail said successful execution of the value fashion strategy led to 16 per cent SSG, 65 per cent volume growth across categories and 63 per cent increase in own brands mix. Pantaloons opened 12 stores during this quarter, taking the total number of stores to 168 with 2.7 million square feet retail space.

24 COVER STORY

‘What differentiates us from others is we offer affordable luxury’ Sin Denim launched in 2012 has had a successful journey. In fact, the brand was conferred ‘India’s Most Trusted Fashion Brand’ in 2016. Merely four years into this highly competitive business, Sin Jeans has attracted customers with its unique collections.

Amol Patre, Brand Manager, Sin Jeans, speaks to Inside Fashion about his brand’s vision, strategy and future plans to steer ahead the growth momentum. Excerpts....

Take us through Sin Jeans’ journey so far.

Sin was launched in 2012 and we are about to complete four years. The journey has been good so far. We have a strong presence in southern and eastern markets.

Now, the aim is to expand in northern and western markets. As far as our retail network is concerned, we are present at 150 large format stores (LFS) and about 700 MBOs. Going ahead, we are aiming to open at least 12 EBOs this financial year since this is the only format we are not present in yet.

The EBOs are planned in Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, Bengaluru and Chandigarh. Two stores are planned for Mumbai and about six for the Delhi region. EBOs are the focussed retail channels currently. We will take this expansion on a priority basis. MBOs and large format retail is already strong for us.

EBO is a kind of channel that every brand – whether it is aspiring or established – would want to get strong in. We may add 100 odd MBOs in North this year.

How has online retail worked out for your company?

We are available through Flipkart, Myntra, Snapdeal, etc. We are trying to get more retailers on board. Jabong is in line. Online makes up 15-20 per cent of our total business, rest is done through offline retail.

The share of online is rising organically.

Of course, with online channels, there are issues like discount sales but we have that format in MBOs as well. MBOs too are struggling with the same challenge. Online has a dark side but that does not undermine the importance and contribution of this channel. It helps in increasing our reach to the consumer at an affordable price. The trend of discount sales has grown in the last couple of years. But we know how to deal with it. We do not offer much discount sales.

What are the challenges in offline retail?

The market is not bad. You should be good at what you do. The product and collection should be up to the mark, one should

Launched in 2012 Has a strong presence in southern and eastern markets Spreading out to Northern India Has a strong presence in LFS, MBOs Now venturing into EBOs, plans to open in select cities Online makes up 15-20 percent business Has a huge product basket and is aimed at 18 to 25 year olds

COVER STORY

25

“Understanding consumer buying behaviour is a complicated process. It was when we launched our brand, and it still is when we have spent a fair amount of time in the market. All we do is just adopt ourselves to changes. We go with the flow. People are aware of current trends and we have to satisfy them with your offering.”

Amol Patre, Brand Manager “We have a wide range of products such as shirts, T-shirts, denim, trousers, jackets, etc. We are quite popular for shirts. Now, we are focusing on denim range of bottom wear. It’s all casual.” be good at sensing changing trends and meeting consumers’ demand, no one can stop you from going ahead in retail and business. We have got good retail spaces in the market and have a strong presence in southern and markets. Currently, we are in MBO formats, so this is the best channel of retail for us as of now. As we are about to enter EBO formats, we think this helps a lot in brand growth.

Throw light on consumers’ buying trends.

Understanding consumer buying behaviour is a complicated process. It was when we launched our brand, and it still is when we have spent a fair amount of time in the market. All we do is just adopt ourselves to changes. We go with the flow. People are aware of current trends and we have to satisfy them with our offering.

We have a wide range of products such as shirts, T-shirts, denim, trousers, jackets, etc. We are quite popular for shirts. Now, we are focussing on denim range of bottom wear. It’s all casual. We have a 100 per cent cotton range and the focus has always been on quality of fabrics and stretchability.

We do linen shirts also. We have plains, check, stripes and prints in shirts. In denim, we have different washes. Torn jeans are available. In terms of fits, we have straight, slim, normal and comfort fit. The price point for shirts is between Rs 1,299 to Rs 1,799, and T-shirts is Rs 799 to Rs 1,1991. Denim wear ranges from Rs 1,7991 to Rs 2,399, trousers are from Rs 1,499 to Rs 1,899, and jackets from Rs 2,499 to Rs 5,499.

Give a peek into fabrics, designs and patterns in your products.

Our shirts range consists of cotton and natural blended fibre, most of which are prints (nearly 50 to 60 per cent). Denim collection offers a casual-sporty feel and introduces a variety of designs, which are high on fashion quotient with premium fabrics, latest innovation in treatments and wash processes, surface sheen and colour depth, deep contrast and aged washes and slick raw wrinkled denims mixing street style with formal features and minute detailing like the colour of stitches, the rivets, inside lining and back pocket details and are available in all modern washes with three fits - Lucifier (slim fit), Denzil (Skinny) & Rimmon (Straight slim). Our denim fabric is 100 per cent stretch.

Trouser consists of 100 per cent stretch and

26 COVER STORY

cotton fabric with single fit (slim). The jackets range is for winters and sweatshirts are in PU and leather. The collection also offers an exclusive range of funky tees with New Age graphics, multi-coloured and foil prints. Style statement for this season is glamorous with minimalist embellishments. As far as colours are concerned, we follow current trends for colour combinations.

What innovations have you introduced this season?

We are known for delivering innovative products to consumers. We introduced UV wash, anti-mosquito wash, stain repellent, body temperature control, in shirts and stubborn black (doesn’t wash away till 25 washes) and quick dry denims (dries in 12 minutes). This season, we have introduced aloevera wash in our shirts’ collection.

Who is your target audience?

Our core target audience is the age group 18 to 25 years. We target A and A+ class of people. Though our target audience is premium and young, we are not a metrodriven brand. We have footprints in small markets as well.

What’s your business strategy?

We are not expensive, yet we are not cheap either. We are maintaining a balance until

“We are not expensive, yet we are not cheap either. We are maintaining a balance until now, the focus has been on product only but going ahead, brand building is also a crucial strategy.”

now, the focus has been on product only but going ahead, brand building is also a crucial strategy.

What matters most: advertising or product?

For a brand to succeed, both advertising and the product have a role to play. It is like maintaining a balance. If your product is good and communication is low to the consumer, it is not going to benefit you much. And if your marketing strategy is strong but product is ordinary, you are not going to last long.

We are focussing equally on both aspects. If you have affordable luxury at pocket friendly prices, the customer is bound to come to you. We are building ourselves that way. A person who appreciates the quality, will come back to you for sure.

What are your future plans?

We are growing at 10 per cent year on year. This year we are targeting 20 per cent growth. What differentiates us from others is that we offer affordable luxury. Our future plans include having EBOs, adding more online portals and strengthening our hold in large format and MBO retail.

28 IF EXCLUSIVE Arrow unveils trendy Autumn/Winter 2016-17 collection Arrow, the premium fashion brand has unveiled its new collection for Autumn/Winter 2016 inspired by the digital revolution in the country. The brand has launched its new theme ‘Digi Glitch’ which pertains to the ‘digital glitch effect’. Arrow’s formal wear collection for the season will see the introduction of prints reflecting the digital world. Using Glitch as an effect, this collection will see an uneven disturbance which will be translated to create prints on yarn dyed, dobbies on structures and yarn dyes in crepe weave. However, in women’s collection, apart from the seasonal print stories the A/W’16 portfolio will also witness the introduction of new value added formal shirts in the form of crease resistant finish and no pin detailing in the trousers range. Keeping in mind customer preferences Arrow is introducing a new fit called ‘Curvy ‘and jeggings in its trouser range for women.

Digi Glitch gets prominence across various collections

This season, Arrow’s staple collection is: ‘Arrow Woman’. This focuses on skirts, trousers and shirts. The highlight of the collection is be ‘Fit-Curvy’, specifically designed for the Indian body type. The collection uses PV Lycra stretch fabric, which stretches four ways, for increased comfort during longer hours of wearing. The collection has also incorporated key silhouettes in the form of waist elasticated detailing in dresses, fit and flare in skirts for increased comfort with style. For Autumn/Winter 2016-17, Arrow has unveiled a well balanced, intelligent collection across labels which reflect the brand’s dynamic, smart personality. Arrow Sport, the sportswear range for men has on offer a whole new range of styles by introducing the season’s hottest trend ‘Athleisure’. Designed for the fitness driven and tech inspired generation the collection is for fitness savvy contemporary men. The second story for Arrow Sports is called ‘Nautical’, the staple range blending a casual day at work or night out in the town.

New styling styles in focus

The brand’s uber stylish range ‘Arrow New York’ has gone through radical transformation with the use of ‘Glitch’ as an effect. Pixel effects, binary codes, programming abbreviations are the direct inspiration for this collection. Digitally blurred ombres have also been interpreted into the collection to create unique prints and patterns. The collection offers a wide range of jackets, shirts, tees and blazers for men and shirts, skirts and jackets for women. Designed for the upcoming festive season, Arrow Festive series features a range of bright suits and jackets for that perfect evening look. Marsala and gold detailing dominate this collection to ensure a crisp look that will standout and translate through the different occasions. Electric Blue and Marsala have been used in the form of prints and detailing across its various collections to create a bold, professional look for the season. In the near future Arrow plans to have special focus on suits and blazer as the category is witnessing huge growth in menswear. Currently, Arrow suits are available across all its channels -- EBO, key accounts and MBO’s. The key accounts channel had seen maximum growth last year and the total size of the category for Arrow in FY16 grew by 46 percent over previous year.

Monte Carlo unveils trendy A/W 2016-17 collection Monte Carlo, a premium winter wear brand has unveiled its A/W’16 collection reflecting a blend of modern styling with fresh designs. The season’s collection boasts of modern styling and innovative design ideas keeping in mind the consumer preferences. While the menswear for the season includes stylish and perfect cut jackets, blazers, trench coats, waist coats, sweatshirts and sweaters in a host of vibrant colours, the women’s’ wear range includes an exciting and elegantly designed jackets, coats, trench coats, sweatshirts, long capes, waist coats, and shrugs, ponchos in trendy & stylish silhouettes.

To cater to the modern wardrobe requirements, the brand offers trendy bottom wear and fashionable accessories. While the bottom wear line includes a wide range of jeggings, denim (special climate control denim) , the accessories range features Monte Carlo’s chic, fashionable caps, fashion socks, mufflers, shawls, stoles and lohis Winter wear being the core product line of Monte Carlo, it has launched an extensive range of winter wear portfolio which includes lowers, sweaters , cardigans, pullovers, ponchos & shrugs. With knitwear market becoming more driven by innovation and style, the brand has played with pure wool, cashmere, cashwool, acrylic nylon, acrylic wool, silky wool, cotton, silk, linen, modal nylon other than usual yarn blends. The collection highlights the use of quite a few new blends such as cotton modal, cotton nylon, cotton polyester, magic, acrylic linen rayon nylon, rayon, acrylic linen which looks and feels luxururious.

Innovation & designs drives the brand’s product line

As the domestic knitwear market becomes increasingly driven by innovation the brand is experimenting with product innovation and designing to match up with the international trends. Monte Carlo has introduced innovative knit structures, trendy styling and smarter silhouettes that are in the line of international style while giving value for money to the customers. Keeping in mind changing customer demand, the brand has launched henley, half zipper, full zipper, v-neck sweaters while for women it offers cardigans, shrugs, coats, capes. Monte Carlo also offers a variety of fits like well-fitted, baggy, extra large etc.

Meanwhile the brand is aggressively developing its lightweight product line using special yarn which has fine count yet warm and pilling resistant. Of late Monte Carlo has associated with Shima Seiki for technical training of its inhouse designers. Currently, Monte Carlo is available through more than 225 EBOs, over 1,500 MBOs in India and abroad and a wide presence in LFS like Lifestyle, Pantaloons, Central, etc.

30 IF EXCLUSIVE Duke launches quilted thermal collection for winter 2016-17 With the onset of winter, fashion companies have started rolling out their thermal collection. In line with this, Duke Fashions (India), a wellknown name in knit wear and fabric, has launched an exclusive thermal range with the perfect combination of style, fabric and comfort.

The company’s latest launch is a range of thermal wear, fabricated with the help of finest grade fabric and advanced stitching machines in compliance with set industry standards.

Thermals get a makeover

With this launch, Duke has revamped its body warm range of thermals, which are made from an amazingly light, extremely durable and fast drying fabric that can retain its feel and luster after wash. “Our thermals are designed and crafted as per latest market trends using quality tested fabric. These thermals are recognised for perfect stitching, softness, colorfastness, skin friendliness and durability, as per market demand,” explains Kuntal Raj Jain, Director, Duke Fashions (thermals). The climate control properties of the body warmer, ensures 100 per cent comfort. “Our thermals are designed to offer maximum comfort and do not cause any skin irritation. They provide the insulation you are looking for when the mercury has dropped well below zero.

The main idea behind the creation of our thermal wear brand is to provide quality tested fabrics to our customers, which give them comfortable feeling, softness and warmth,” says Jain. Duke Original Quilted Thermals collection is lightweight, designed not only to keep one warm but also to keep them cool. The Unique Quilted Thermal Insulation Technology (QTIT) with Special Hollow Fiber helps retain body temperature and keeps one warm even in freezing conditions. Its innovative patterns and look reflects the ideation of experienced designers. They come in various sizes, patterns, finish and in four colors: black, off-white, gray and charcoal for men, women, boys, kids and toddlers and are priced attractively. Talking about the target audience, Jain says, “Our target audience is the youth looking for trendy and stylish range in sync with international designs and quality. Duke is a value for money brand and our mission is to make available the international designs and styles at reasonable prices. Our thermal collection is also based on the same philosophy,” Jain says.

Strong retail footprint boosts market

Duke has an unbeatable marketing network comprising of over 4,000 MBOs and over 360 EBO across major cities in India. Moreover, the products are also exclusively placed at big chain stores like Central, Reliance Trends, Reliance Market, Metro, Best Price, Aditya Birla Retail, Hypercity, Brand Factory, Spencer’s. etc, and has tied up with Myntra, Snapdeal, Jabong, Flipkart, Amazon, apart from its own website www.dukeindia.com. Going by market trends, men’s thermals make up around 41 per cent (approx.) of the total market in value terms while women’s share is currently 59 per cent. Indian consumers’ spend on innerwear products significantly lower than other Asian peers. This suggests that there is significant room for growth driven by rising per capita spending on such products. Throwing light on the expanse of thermal wear segment, Jain says, “Thermal wear has evolved as a fashion today. Its growth is about 15-20 per cent as a whole and midpremium products are getting tremendous response. Our brand is also focusing on that segment.”

At Latin Quarters jackets to remain fashion highlight for winter Latin Quarters, a popular fashion women’s fashion brand has come up with its winter collection with a focus on New Age jackets. From being a mere outerwear, jackets have come a long way to be a ‘fashion must have’ for winters. With trendy designs, innovation and styling, jackets are, rather a significant accessory that make a style statement for all ages. Latin Quarters, a front runner in women’s fashion, is giving a special focus on stylised jackets in its winter wear portfolio. The brand has an extensive winter wear collection including various styles of jackets. The brand has deviated from the straight, classic jackets to introduce new patterns, colours and style. “We are playing with new colors, patterns and detailing on the garments, inclusion of new fabrics and body like blouson, insulated down coats, ski jackets etc will be our line for season,” says Arvind Raturi, Sr. Merchant-Category-Winterwear.

Jackets is the new style statement for winter

Even with changing times, jackets remain a core product in winter wear. As the New Age consumer is becoming more conscious about style and trends, brands are giving genuine effort to promote this category. This winter, Latin quarters has added newer fabric blends poly urethane, textured fabric, viscose urethane, parachute fabrics, wool and wool blends to ensure new variety and styling. “Technology and innovation is certainly playing a major role, now we can get the same warmth at half the weight, down jackets is a classic example for this.” he adds. Undoubtedly with the rising popularity of western wear in India and more women becoming empowered by knowledge, jackets category has huge growth opportunities.

“Today, the age group 15 -35 years are more fashion jacket clients but then fashion has no dependence on age,” says Raturi. Also the modern customers prefer the perfect fit for jackets. Raturi opines winter wear style is much more than jackets and sweaters. Jacket has a close competition from sweat shirt. Howeve, as Raturi says “those who are out in market for a jacket will certainly not buy a sweat shirt or any other category. So any other category that come up will not affect the jackets but it will increase the overall market and will co-exist with jackets.” Jackets are bound to grow further, as the trend of women’s western wear is evolving and jackets will grow in-sync. The biggest challenge will innovate in this age old category, which is seriously looking for newness.”

Brick & mortar to remain a focus for the brand

Latin Quarters claim to strive hard to implement technological advancement in jackets. “We keep ourselves abreast with the new trends as this is the key formula to sustain in the market. Bigger players most definitely react quickly to change in trends due to their bandwidth. We also do a lot of R&D and study global trends much before launching new styles,” adds Raturi. Having a strong presence across the country, Latin Quarters plans to continue its focus on brick and mortar retailing although going forward things might change for the brand. The brand also has a presence in e-commerce and is focusing on it. “We are looking forward to more capacity and points of sale expansion.”

32 IF EXCLUSIVE Indigo denim rules in Celio’s winter ’16 collection Indigo denim is vibrant all across the recently launched winter collection by Celio French men’s clothing brand. The Saint-Ouen, Francebased brand has adapted indigo in various washes from raw to bleach, including stone, double stone, tie & dye and vintage washes bring out the beauty of the natural dye across various products categories like jeans, shirts and T-shirts. And as Rajiv Nair, CEO, Celio explains, “Comfortable, fashionable and affordable are the key to our range of denims. Offered in a wide range of fabrics like ridged, knit, stretch and super stretch and made available in straight, slim and super slim fits, the denims are here to address the needs of a wider range of customers.”

Perfect winter range that attracts attention

A complementing collection that is inspired by the French Flag, bringing in the nautical elements in detailing, adds a dash of colour and interest to the indigo range. Basics strike back this winter brighter and bolder. The basic polo, T-shirts, shirts and sweaters in a range of basic to festive colours are sure to bring life to the winter wardrobe. Slubs, injected slubs, mélanges’ and stripes add an interesting twist to the basics. Celio’s strength in shirts are reinforced this winter with an unparalleled collection of blues. Linen, twill, double fabric, pique, jersey, oxford, poplin, CVC, jacquard and many more fabrics will ensure that the hunt for the perfect blue shirt for every occasion come to an end.

The very edgy perforated jacket to the classy biker, cotton blouson to windbreaker, cross zipper to hoodie jacket, puffed to nylon and many more, are not just winter products but statement fashion pieces to be owned. “In winter wear, the spirit that we maintain is that of sportswear (active/outdoors) and biking. Celio is known for its high quality PU jackets, which is great for outdoor and adventure (road trips). For us, it’s the combination of style and functionality that works the best. Even a Mumbai or a Chennai customer should be able to wear our jackets and not just people in Northern cities such as New Delhi or Punjab,” opines Nair. The brand’s range of sweaters in 100 per cent cotton and blends is a great way to make a fashionable statement this winter. Grindles, mélanges’, stripes and solids in a very wide range of colours sets the range apart from the predictable. “We have also added a touch of colour in this winter with solid sweaters in brighter tones. There are trend pieces of chunky knits and also stylish cardigans for men,” concludes Nair.

Fabric is at core of this year’s Diva shwal’s collection It’s all about the fabric innovation and vibrant colours for Diva Shawls this winter season. During the exclusive interaction, Ashwani Kumar Sabharwal, Proprietor, Diva Shawls, reveals the future trends and more. With close to three decades of collective experience, brand Diva took shape in the year 2006 and from then on, there’s no going back. The company manufactures shawls, stoles and fabrics for ladies and cut out suits. Giving insights into new launches for the upcoming winter season, Ashwani Kumar Sabharwal, Proprietor, Diva Shawls, informs, “We have invented many a new fabric this season. The fabrics are finer and lighter in weight. The colour palette is also quite different. For instance, we have mustard, turquoise, neon and orange shades. English colours are trendy this season while colours such as brown, black, purple and magenta are evergreen. In terms of fabrics, we use pure wool, wool-polyester combination and pure polyester in shawls. Stoles have been made of modal and viscose. This combination has been used for shawls also in a small scale. We have stoles in pure wool also. Pure wool products are expensive and preferred by high-income group while the product made of mix of fabrics attracts middle income strata.”

Strong network boosts business

Talking about market trends, Sabharwal says, “The market accepts everything as long as it is innovative. People are as open to embroidery as they are to prints but the only condition is it should be novel. And they are equally warm to and jacquards. We do all these categories and never face issues in terms of demand. We do hand-embroidery, moti work, etc, and it is really going good. So it’s all about inventiveness in your creation.” Shawls are a unisex product and the company serves to men & women both the segments. The only differentiation between shawls for men and women is in colours and size, designs are always the same.

The available size of shawls is 22’’88. The normal size for stoles also stands at about two meter, but the width is smaller. Shawls and stoles with fine counts are more popular nowadays. The shawls are in demand. These are fine counts shawls with prints. But, this doesn’t mean that that big counts are not preferred anymore. Shawls with big counts have a steady demand. Talking about the expansive range, he iterates, “Our sample set alone makes for about 300 designs this year. In one particular shawls category, we normally have 10 choices in fabrics and 15 different work. In terms of design, they are innumerable in shawl alone there are 200 designs,” he explains.

The company covers North, East and Central part of the country. And retail mostly through MBOs. Every year, they add around 50 stores.

This year, they have already added about 30 stores and are planning to add another 20 by the year end. As for the product mix, demand for both categories is almost the same with stoles having a little higher demand as they are preferred by youngsters due to their multi-usability and vast range of colours. They are comfortable, lighter and easy to carry product. Sabharwal says competition does not bother him the only concern is unpredictable winters as unfavourable climate results in dip in sales. He says winter season used to be long in the past, now it’s getting shorter by the day.

It affects business “but still we are doing good. This trend of business does not exist only in shawls category but the winter wear market as a whole is going down. We hope that the market will improve in the next couple of years,” he opines. Highlighting future strategies, he concludes, “We want to add more products. The new addition will be an extension of existing product line. More fine counts and light weight are expected to be in.”

34 IF EXCLUSIVE Groversons ramps up thermals range, positive about growth Groversons, the brand best known for undergarments and thermals has introduced premium fabric thermals, which are very thin and fine in every respect. The fabric is soft with improved texture. The warmth it provides is far better than regular fabrics. Comfort is another feature that this fabric is known for. And as Siddharth Grover, Director, Groversons says, “We are offering a premium product at economical price.

There is no particular name for the fabric. It is an improved version of regular yarn. We have worked on finer gauges and innovative blends.”

Customers spoilt for choice

Grover further elaborates, “Premium range is an outcome of increasing popularity for finer thermals. We have introduced jet black colour this time besides charcoal grey, pearl white and black colour. We have done some innovations in toddlers’ category also. This time, though, we have not been focussed on colours but next time we will certainly come up with some new shades. As long as colours are concerned, they don’t keep as much significance as other products in the winter wear market. But if you give a choice to the customer, they are open to this part of the product too.” The company offers an extensive range to meet the requirements of every age group, complementing precisely the fashion and need of people from different regions. Talking about designs, he says, “We follow many patterns and designs in thermals. We have sports style thermals, sleeveless thermals, camisoles over fillip styles, three-forth thermals, etc.”

Regular thermals have been the most selling products for the company. Premium thermals are aimed at covering all income classes looking for finer details. Sleeveless thermals are popular these days. Talking about the challenges, Grover highlights the short duration of winters is one of the biggest concerns, which eventually hamper profit margins. Purchase of thermals has already been limited to a short periods. Now the time has shrunk more with the reduced winters. Moreover, there are few regions where demand for thermals is huge. Optimistic about business, Grover says, “We are just three-year old in thermals and are witnessing double digit growth. We are doing well as far as market for our thermals is concerned. However, the overall market performance is not up to the mark due to unfavourable climatic conditions.”

Groversons is constantly innovating and introducing new fabrics, designs, yarns, etc. In order to meet growing demand, the company has a R&D team who analyse market trends and forecast fashion. Grover believes, thermals should complement what one wears outside and that is the major thing in this category. The basic purpose of thermals is to keep warm and advance purpose is to compliment the outer dress.

And if this fits, this can be called fashion in thermals. The definition of fashion is different in thermals wear. In line with this, the company has brought in variations in neck types, such as round neck, long round neck, v-neck, etc.

Retail Plans

The company boasts of a huge distribution network with about 400-450 distributers, while the retailers’ network is around 15,000. The company has a strong presence in the Northern and Eastern part of the country where winters are strong. It is further ramping up its footprints and increaseing the number of EBOs. Grover reveals says, “Thermals is a short-lived business. So it does not make sense to invest huge money but we are growing and hopefully will grow further. Not only EBOs, we wish to grow in terms of MBOs also. We are planning to extend our large format presence as well and expecting good business this year. We aim to achieve at least 40 per cent growth this year.”

Kanvin introduces unique range of thermals to warm up winters With the its latest thermal collection, Kanvin has emerged a one-stop-shop for all thermal requirements for the entire family. Women’s thermal range is trimmed with exquisite stretch lace, a perfect complement to ones sensuality. It is designed in edgy style, flattering fits and is available in exciting colours. As Aditya Marwaha, Director, Kanvin, informs, “Kanvin has the widest styles for women in thermals in India.

Kanvin offers these thermals in string, camisole, sleeveless, sleeveless extra long with slits, short sleeve, long sleeve, long sleeve extra long with slits, short vest, long pant, semi-long pant, and short pant, in off-white, skin and black colours, all available from small to XXL sizes.”

For men, the brand has introduced new ‘P’ knit thermals. With cotton modal on both sides and polyfill filling, the new range is made from fine fibre, making it extremely soft, thin, light weight and warm. These can also be used as undershirts. In this range, the company has introduced thermal styles, added with neck warmers, in order to protect completely, even while outside during a stroll in the morning or evening, as well as who wish to protect their necks during the winters. The new range is available in pure white and black colour, from small to XXL sizes.

Coming to the most creative category, kids’ thermals from Kanvin can protect from cold while keeping the gentle skin warm and provide softness and comfort. They are made from a blend of fine fibres, washed in eco-friendly enzymes and softened to caress your skin. Kanvin offers thermal styles separately for boys and girls, each in sleeveless, short sleeve, long sleeve and long pant, in two different colours.

Comfort and style in focus

Kanvin uses pointelle fabrics for women and girls’ thermals, premium drop needle fabric for boys, and fine ‘p’ knit thermal fabric for men. All these fabrics are blended with cotton modal yarn to make it high quality and premium product. The range and style in women thermals is vast.

Marwaha explains, “We strive to provide better products each season. We do regular R&D in the thermals category with fabrics and styles as per market requirements and introduce them as soon as possible. We are have a range of women’s thermal blouses and camisoles for the past 18 years. As for thermal neck warmers, we have been providing since past four years.”

The brand has lightweight thermals for upper middle and premium category of customers. These are made from fine fibre, making it extremely soft, thin, light weight and warm that can be used as undershirts. Explaining the requirement of users, Marwaha says, “It is true that light weight and thin thermals are popular in niche market because the user understands the difference between the thick and light weight thermals, and their comfort. They understand that only thick GSM fabric cannot be warm. However, even lightweight GSM premium fabrics can provide same or better warmth. The quality of the product speaks for itself with niche users. The mass market still has a mental blockage that thicker the fabric, more the warmth. It is difficult to change the mindset of customers.”

36 LEAD STORY

Daisy Dee: Keeps a strong hold in mid segment market Daisy Dee has made a mark among the upwardly mobile middle class women in India. The brand with a strong hold in South India, has kept its focus on offering value for money products that stand out both due to their styles and innovations, find out Team DFU

D

aisy Dee, the brand from Lovable Lingerie has carved a niche in the mid size segment across India. The brand which enjoys a good presence in the South is all set to give new entrants a run for their money. One of the two flagship brands of Lovable Lingerie, the other being Lovable, Daisy Dee has a pan India presence through MBOs, LFS and online retail.

The brand was acquired from Maxwell Industries in 2004 as a part of the company’s growth strategy when it diversified its brand portfolio. The acquisition was done through a memorandum of understanding to cater to the mid segment market in India. And as Ashok Reddy, President, Lovable Lingerie says, “We cater to the mid-size segment and keep introducing new things. We enjoy a good presence in the South.”

Lingerie a growing market

Reddy says, in India, the unorganized sector with 20 per cent market share has a stronger hold of the lingerie. With an overall growth of 10-12 per cent every year, the bra market alone is estimated at Rs 1,5002,000 crores. Organised sector is makes up around Rs 600-700 crores. However, things are changing with women more willing to spend on brands. “Women have become bolder, more demanding even the shopping environment has changed now,” he explains. Women are more aware so lingerie buying habits have also changed.

With western wear women needing padded and seamless bras.

That’s the kind of change that’s happening.

Within the industry, there is a change from seamed bras to seamless bras and from seamless bras to padded bras. What’s happened in the last six or seven years is remarkable compared to what was the situation 50 years before that. This is because younger girls are going the western way, believes Reddy .

Reddy feels the market is improving and competition itself is forcing brands to better themselves. “Right now, the raw material

Daisy Dee is the flagship of Lovable Lingerie Was acquired in 2004 from Maxwell Industries Is aimed at the mid segment market Has strong hold in South India Staying ahead with innovative products Retail strategy is through all formats, MBOs, LFS and online

LEAD STORY

Ashok Reddy, President, Lovable Lingerie “We cater to the mid-size segment and keep introducing new things. We enjoy a good presence in the South.” base is small. But we are on the road to improvement.” The unorganized players are becoming small and organised players are becoming powerful. We would like to see this change. Reddy says, they were the first brand to introduce molded bras in innerwear, which became a runaway success. “We recently introduced soft and padded bras. So the company has upgraded its technology. New bras are in for the first time. We have used fabrics such as cotton, Lycra in the mid-segment (Rs 200-250 and have introduced innovative, functional bras, which gives more support, in different materials. We are always targeting the young, so our styles cater to them.”

Reddy opines, “India is among the leading lingerie makers in the world. Even a small country like Sri Lanka caters to almost all labels of the world; it is a hub. The raw material base in India is rather bad, especially when it comes to fabrics. So, we still depend on imports. We need a larger raw material base or friendly import policies.

As of today, very few premium brands have become profitable.”

Banking on innovative eproducts

Daisy Dee’s parent company Lovable Lingerie’s core competency lies in understanding prevailing trends in the women’s innerwear and buying preferences of customers and based on that make quality innerwear to assure customers of product quality and fit. In addition, their competency lies in identifying the gaps and foraying into the untapped women’s innerwear market segments with unique products. The

company has its design studio since 1996.

It was started and managed by their own designers who were trained in the women’s innerwear design at Lovable USA’s studio in Atlanta. Based in Mumbai, the company has three manufacturing units -- two in Bangalore and one in Roorkee, Uttarakhand.

The Bangalore-based facilities commenced operations in 1995 and 2005, respectively and have a total installed capacity of 30 lakh pieces each per annum to manufacture bras and panties. Going forward, the company proposes to implement a project for modernization and integration at a new location in Doddakalasandra, Bangalore which will result in increasing capacity and value-addition by 25 lakh pieces per annum.

The Roorkee unit commenced operation in February, 2010 and has an installed capacity of 7.5 lakh pieces per annum to manufacture.

Retail Footprint

Daisy Dee is present in all verticals. It’s sold through department stores and online. “We are in discount stores; online portals and in MBOs. The other brand Lovable is in

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“We recently introduced soft and padded bras. So the company has upgraded its technology. New bras are in for the first time. We have used fabrics such as cotton, Lycra in the mid-segment (Rs 200-250 and have introduced innovative, functional bras, which gives more support, in different materials. We are always targeting the young, so our styles cater to them.” two EBOs.” Daisy Dee is available through number of online retailers like Myntra, Amazon, and also company’s own online portal among others. “Online has become an important element in the industry. It has made a huge difference. It facilitates easy and discreet purchases. Returns are no questions asked. All this is making e-commerce an important vertical of lingerie retail. Maybe it is taking away a share of MBOs and large format stores too. However MBOs and large formats will continue to play a role. I agree there are fit and feel issues in online lingerie buying but easy returns will take care of such issues. But this doesn’t change the fact that the right way to buy a bra is to try it on. I believe some portals are opening stores and assuring customers of same day delivery. This will blur the line between brick and mortar and online. So all kinds of formats are coming up,” explains Reddy.

40 ETAILING Gap goes online in India, to be available through NNNow

Global brand Gap will be available to Indian consumers exclusively on Arvind Group’s fashion portal NNNow.com. The US apparel retailer is not on any other e-commerce portal. The online launch will make Gap products available beyond the metros and Tier I cities. The digital launch will be a key growth plank for Gap in India and is expected to increase revenue by up to 15 per cent as the brand will now have access to shoppers in Tier II and Tier III cities also. Arvind Retail holds the license to sell Gap products in India. Gap sources its products globally so the product available in the Indian market is similar. Gap is an American multinational for clothing and accessories, founded in 1969. It sells under the brand names of Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta and Intermix.

The company opened its first store in India last year in May. At that time, the company had said that it would launch 10 stores in the country within a year. The retailer is looking at large format stores ranging above 6,000 square feet. Gap plans to be the fastest growing international retailer in the country. With new stores in Mumbai, Gap now has a presence in three markets — Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

Flipkart, Amazon battling for supremacy in India’s e-com market

Generally, businesses record high sales during festivals. The same goes with etailers Flipkart and Amazon. Both now claim to have had record sales in their respective festival sales events over the weekend.

And it’s turning out to be a fierce battle for supremacy in India’s e-commerce market.

While Flipkart reportedly sold more than half a million products within an hour on the

first day of its flagship Big Billion Days sales event last Sunday, Amazon India said the second day of its sales topped its Day One numbers. For Big Billion Days, Bengalurubased Flipkart has lined up exclusive partnerships with key smartphone and television brands such as BPL, a move that the online marketplace is hoping will give it a significant edge over Amazon.

than 15,000 brands (including 6,000 top fashion brands) and over two million fashion products, Amazon Fashion is amongst the largest fashion stores in India with selection across apparel, shoes, watches, handbags, luggage, sunglasses, fashion and precious jewelry. It will ensure that customers are ready for this festive season with all their desires fulfilled at the click of a button.

Amazon claimed a billion hits in the first 14 hours of the first day. It said that it had more unique visitors during that period than in all five days of the same event last year. It sold more than 100,000 units in the first half-anhour on the first day. Another marketplace, Snapdeal said that more than two million users logged on during the first hour of sale, nearly 700,000 of them in the first five minutes alone.

Small e-com players playing their own game to woo customers

The stakes are high for Flipkart in a face-off with Amazon over the festival season when Indians spend a lot of money on a wide range of products. Amazon is following Flipkart’s heels. The US retailer recorded more sales than Flipkart on a standalone basis for the second consecutive month in August.

Flipkart said Sunday’s sale drew the highest number of concurrent users in the first five minutes of going live, 10 times more than an average day. The company said over 40 per cent of customers who shopped for home appliances availed product exchanges.

It said that Myntra, India’s biggest online clothing retailer witnessed three times more revenue in the first hour compared to that of last year’s event.

Aditya Birla’s label brand abof debuts on Amazon Fashion In a first for Amazon Fashion, the parent company Amazon has launched Aditya Birla’s own label brand, abof. Making this the brand’s first foray outside its own portal, customers across the country can now easily get a taste of the same online and buy a wide range of abof’s latest apparel collection on Amazon Fashion. Crafted for the millennial, abof offers a variety of merchandize across apparel, footwear and accessories, for both men and women. Abof brand’s collection on Amazon Fashion includes over 1,200 products in apparels in the price range Rs 395 to Rs 1,995. The collection will soon offer footwear and accessory categories as well.

Head Amazon Fashion India, Arun Sirdeshmukh said that their mission was to provide for our customers a wide selection of products and a fast, easy, convenient, trusted and reliable shopping experience on our platform. This launch from Aditya Birla Group further enhances the selection on Amazon Fashion that already includes brands from Madura Garments and Pantaloons, he added.

Abof’s President and CEO, Prashant Gupta says his company aims to increase the accessibility of abof branded products to a new and wider user base through its partnership with Amazon. With more

With the festival season round the corner, the race between India’s e-commerce players have heated up with major players kicking off their annual sales last week. Not to be outdone, smaller e-commerce players are also gearing up to lure loyal customers with a host of offers. While ethnic wear e-tailer Craftsvilla gearing up to launch two sales events around Navratri and Diwali, lifestyle and home decor company Chumbak has opened a pre-order page for a select number of people on its platform.

Craftstsvilla has introduced specially curated collections this year which will has gone live during its two sales events: Craftsvilla Grand Festive Sale from October 1 to 5 and the Craftsvilla Grand Diwali Sale from October 12 to 16. The company, which specialises in traditional wear and accessories from across the country, claims to have seen 100 percent month-on-month growth from last year’s festive sales alone. On the other hand, Chumbak has also launched a festive-specific range this year driven by growing customer responses to online seasonal sales.

While online marketplaces like Flipkart and Amazon may have an edge over others players with a wide range of products on offer across categories, smaller companies choose to play to their strengths by providing authentic products in their respective categories to their loyalty customers.

However, despite the overwhelming response Craftsvilla has been receiving on its portal, connecting customers to sellers across the country continues to be a challenge.

Myntra to tie up with Shoppers Stop to sell its brands India’s largest fashion portal Myntra will shortly enter into an agreement with Shoppers Stop to sell its private labels. The Banglore-based portal is looking at win win

42 ETAILING tie up with the country’s largest department store chain. This would give Myntra’s own brands including Roadster and HRX a presence in physical stores for the first time.

Both companies are in final stages of the agreement. After the agreement is signed, Shoppers Stop would be free to sell its own private labels on Myntra’s online platform.

The buzz is that two former Shoppers Stop veterans now with Myntra including Bindu Mendonca, former head of merchandising at Shoppers Stop is currently heading women’s and kids fashion at Myntra and Manohar Kamath, former chief operating officer at Shoppers Stop is now heading Myntra’s fashion brands were instrumental in getting the deal across. While Shoppers Stop sells its private brands on Amazon and Snapdeal, it will be for the first time Myntra’s own brands will be crossing the online barrier to display and getting into sales offline. Experts say this would be a win-win for both Myntra and Shoppers Stop.

Myntra, was acquired by Flipkart in 2014, has about a dozen private brands and is aiming to become one of the country’s largest fashion companies through its portfolio of brands including celebrity brands like Virat Kohli’s Wrogn and Bollywood’s Hrithik Roshan’s HRX and All About You by Deepika Padukone. It sells over 2,000 fashion and lifestyle brands including Nike, Adidas, Puma, Levis, Wrangler, Arrow, Jealous 21, Diesel, CAT, Harley Davidson, Ferrari, Timberland, US Polo, FabIndia, and Biba among others.

Fashion boosts Amazon’s sales, will remain key focus Amazon.in hopes to emerge as India’s largest fashion e-commerce player. And to achieve this, the etailer has built its own selection of brands during the six-day festive sale in October first week, with standalone e-commerce players such as Abof and

Bluestone selling their wares on its platform.

Fashion was one of the three verticals that did extremely well on Amazon during its ‘Great Indian Festival Sale’ and accounted for almost a third of the total 15 million units that the company shipped during the five-day sale. The company is also working on fashion content and apparel specific stores, such as denim store, lingerie store, and a sunglasses guide. It is trying to increase the engagement time of its customers in the fashion vertical and has automated the way customers exchange apparel on the platform. Compared to last year, Amazon has doubled its selection of products in India with a collection of over 15,000 brands and two million designs. It also is looking to bring international brands sold on its US and European platforms to India.

During festive sales it grew its business in the fashion space fourfold. Fashion is among the largest businesses for the online marketplace.

Fashion and apparel are among the top sold items for Indian e-commerce players.

Snapdeal sees surprise revival, sales double the company’s internal targets Online marketplace, Snapdeal that slipped to number three position in the online e-commerce market has seen a surprise revival in its sales during the ongoing festive sale. It is said that Snapdeal’s recent branding overhaul acted as a major booster. It also gives an indication that it might be too soon to write off the Gurgaon-based company.

Till late last month, the industry was anticipating the festive battle between Amazon and Flipkart. But with a near revival of Snapdeal, equation seems to have changed.

During the last four days, Snapdeal achieved internal sales targets and has already touched Rs 500-600 crore in GMV (gross merchandising value or cost of goods sold). The online marketplace run by Jasper Infotech, unveiled its Unbox Diwali sale on October 2 and ended the first day with sales of Rs 150 crores (gross merchandising value) which has more than doubled the company’s internal targets. While Snapdeal is still way behind that of Amazon and Flipkart that have both crossed the Rs 1,500 crores GMV mark already; Snapdeal’s sudden rebound has definitely eaten into the market share of the big two. Snapdeal too will run another round of sale between October 18 to 22 while Amazon and Flipkart are also expected to run two-three days of sales in the second half of the month. It may be recalled that in a move to re-position itself in the hypercompetitive e-commerce business, Snapdeal unveiled a new logo and tagline, Unbox Zindagi (or Unbox Life) in September.

44 LAURELS

Arvind Khadi Denim bags ‘Best Fabric’ award at Global Denim Awards

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rvind’s khadi denim has won the Best Fabric Award at the recently concluded Global Denim Awards, 2016 held at Amsterdam (Netherlands). The Global Denim Awards is the world’s premier platform that recognises denim design, innovation, sustainability and craftsmanship.

The award links progressive design with technical innovation by partnering 11 emerging fashion designers with 11 of the most progressive denim mills worldwide. This year, Arvind, partnered by designer Roosmarijn Koster, stole the show with a khadi denim collection award. Arvind, India’s largest denim manufacturer, is a key player in bringing khadi-denim to market, having spent the last four years in R&D understanding the commercial, social and marketing angle that fits in with an of-the-moment East-meets-West narrative.

45 COMPANY UPDATE

YKK World’s largest zipper brand looking to increase India presence “YKK, world’s largest zipper manufacturer is bullish about expansion in India. The Japanbased zip manufacturer already has a strong presence in Southeast Asia in countries like Taiwan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, India and Singapore. Although the brand has a strong market in Europe however, the US market has not met expectations.”

YKK, world’s largest zipper manufacturer is bullish about expansion in India. The Japanbased zip manufacturer already has a strong presence in Southeast Asia in countries like Taiwan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, India and Singapore. Although the brand has a strong market in Europe however, the US market has not met expectations.

India on its mind, YKK looks at expanding base

With the market for denim and casual wear growing in India, YKK is witnessing a steady year on year growth. From garments to luggage, the brand is targeting every segment of customer.

The brand has been offering high quality zippers, machines, and architectural products to Indian market. Apart from zippers, YKK also offers high quality buttons, hooks, loops, buckles. “We are in the high segment however, we have a wide portfolio to target customers across various verticals. In India, we are growing over 25 percent every year,” says Mohit Verma, Regional Head North, Sales and Marketing.

Elaborating on its strategy for market expansion Verma says “We approach both buyers and vendors. We interact about lead times, availability, services. This way we can be closer to customers. The jeans market is growing in India and we have received a good response from jeanswear manufacturers. And we can spread the word about our presence in India. People are fed up of using other products that are faulty. If they use our products the rejection rate is zero or negligible. So we have to manage both price and volumes. But lowering the price won’t affect the quality of the product.” The brand already has a strong presence in India. Mumbai and Ahmedabad being the hub of denim wear manufacturing, both are core markets for YKK, while in North, markets like Karol Bagh, Tank Road, Gandhi Nagar have been major contributor to sales.

“We plan to have a diversified product range to match various price points. We want our product to be used by the biggest of domestic or export brands and the smallest of tailors.

In exports too we are growing” adds Verma.

Mumbai continues to be an interesting market

for the brand inspite of the city’s own set of challenges which include scarcity of land and higher wages. “Mumbai has become the denim capital of India. There are many firms doing mass production of denim. What’s produced in Mumbai is really good even though it may not be a certified factory or a buyer nominated factory. And YKK has a big share in this. The share of the western India has grown in the domestic market,” Verma opines.

The brand’s growing presence in India is supported by a massive backend infrastructure in Bawal. YKK has an equipped infrastructure covering almost 70 acres of land. It also has a strong dealers and distributor network with 14 offices all over India. “We are in places like Kochi, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad and soon planning to have warehouses in Mumbai, Ludhiana, Kolkata,” Verma informs.

As a market, India has a huge domestic volume and YKK’s overall business records higher domestic quantities than exports.But in Japan YKK dominates the market.

The brand’s global production line reflects innovation and advanced technology. YKK Japan has a product portfolio that includes fire retardant zippers, water repellent zippers, and specific zippers for scuba diving suits and for suits that astronauts wear. Other than acquiring a larger market share YKK intends to focus more on introducing newer, innovative product in India. “We have a product for trousers called ‘CINC and EZFC, which was developed after studying the market for two years. This is at a price point where even the common tailor and the biggest brand in India can afford. Perhaps our

biggest strength is we make products based on customer demand. We are planning to increase the product range. YKK India has a strong R&D department which fulfills the demand of customized Logo sliders, finishes and rubber sliders. According to the fabric base, we have to develop a product that looks like metal. We are increasing our production capacity for regular products. We will do within India what we are now importing,”explains Verma.

Counterfeit pose a major challenge

Unlike in Japan, the highly unorganised market in India poses a major challenge on its way. “In India, we have a lot of competitors from both brands and unorganized segment. There are foreign zipper brands in India as well. There are counterfeits in Ahmedabad and Mumbai which pose problems after washing. Counterfeits and imports from China are a challenge. Counterfeits may come from China or local manufacturers and maybe they are selling more than the original YKK brand. There are still many brands using fake YKK products. We are taking legal action against them,” says Verma. Apart from legal course of action to stop the fraud, the brand is relying heavily on educating vendors about YKK’s quality and innovation. The brand is aggressively expanding its vendor network and organising training programs to impart knowledge about their USP. YKK also engages in CSR activities from literacy to women’s empowerment and green issues. “YKK has a strong pan India presence while many of our competitors are regional. In volume and value, they are far behind us” sums up Verma. Indeed YKK has set a benchmark of its own which is tough for others to reach.

46 REVIEW

Texprocil Export Award celebrates achievements of exporters Graced by Union Textile Minister, Smriti Irani and Kavita Gupta, Textile Commissioner, ‘Texprocil Export Award’ celebrated excellence of textile companies in yarns, fabrics and textiles. In her speech, Irani indicated that made-ups and home textile sector may be covered under another special package similar to Rs 6000 crores special package announced for garment sector.

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he further stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a vision of doubling the income of farmers by 2022.

“We are happy the farm yield has already increased and the country hopes to become a leading producer of cotton,” she said. Irani, later distributed the awards for excellence in exports of yarns, fabrics and home textiles.

Leading textile companies like Welspun Global Brands, Vardhman Textiles, Trident, Alok Industries, Arvind, Loyal Textiles, GTN Textiles, Premier Mills, Paramount Textiles, SEL Group, Lahoti Overseas among others, were some of the recipients. R K Dalmia, Chairman, Texprocil in his opening remarks congratulated all award winners for facing the challenges of slow global demand and intense price pressures to emerge leaders in their respective line of businesses during the year 2015-16. He said that as per a recent WTO forecast, global trade volumes would rise only by 1.7 per cent this year.

This would be the slowest increase since the 2008 financial crisis and the first time in 15 years that global trade has grown more slowly than world GDP, he added.

Dalmia complimented the government on the announcement of special package of Rs 6000 crores for the apparel sector which he said was bearing fruit as the September export figures for apparel showed a growth of 12 per cent compared to a downward trend for most other sectors.

The chairman stressed that this special package also needed to be extended to the made-ups and home textile sector as these sectors are equally, if not more labour intensive much like the apparel sector. He also said that it will act

as a pull factor for increased consumption of fiber, yarns and fabric produced domestically.

Besides complimenting the government on GST to be introduced from April 2017, Dalmia also emphasized that raw materials, especially cotton should be available at international prices or lower.

FTA negotiations

Dalmia stressed, another critical area where the government needs to move with vigour is to expedite the negotiation of Free Trade Agreements with EU, Australia and Canada.

In countries like Turkey and China, high discriminatory tariff was posing a challenge in market access into those countries. The chairman pointed out that cotton textiles of HS Chapter 52 was the single largest contributor accounting for almost 20 per cent of our exports to China and if duties were reduced they had the potential to reduce India’s trade deficit with that country.

Dalmia opined the spinning sector was going through rough times and is looking up to the government for help and support. Inclusion of cotton yarn in the MEIS and extending the interest equalization scheme to merchant exporters will go a long way in reducing stress levels in spinning sector as well as increasing exports. The reimbursements of State and Central levies along with labour reforms will strengthen the textile and apparel sector by improving its cost competitiveness in the global market.

Considering that the textile sector is a low margin industry, introduction of such packages can lead to an exponential leap in export performance. This can be seen from the fact that in September 2016 export of garments showed a 12 per cent growth despite a downward trend for most other sectors. Every year the Texprocil recognises the role played by exporters by giving out awards in different categories. This year the Council gave away 73 awards in 32 different categories, including the coveted gold trophy for the highest global exports. Texprocil’s awards are recognised world over by textile importers and hence exporters attach high importance to these awards. For 2015-16, the Council members exported $ 10.95 billion worth of cotton textiles and the Council has targeted $14 billion worth of exports for the current financial year i.e. 2016-17.

48 REVIEW

IAF World Fashion Convention Emminent Speakers Shared Insights on Opportunities “The World Fashion Convention in Mumbai held on September 27 and 28, 2016 was being hosted by the International Apparel Federation (IAF) and the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI). In his opening speech Rahul Mehta President IAF & CMAI spoke about how IAF has been working and supporting various countries. Highlighting about Bangladesh how IAF played a pivotal role to in uplifting the apparel industry. He said “IAF- provides very active n dynamic support to its members.”

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he World Fashion Convention, a two day convention was held on September 27 and 28, 2016 was being hosted by the International Apparel Federation (IAF) and the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI). In his opening speech Rahul Mehta President IAF & CMAI spoke about how IAF has been working and supporting various countries. Siting Bangladesh highlighted how IAF played a pivotal role to in uplifting the apparel industry. He said “IAF- provides very active n dynamic support to its members.” Mehta said, one of the main goals of every IAF convention is to connect

in a profound way the local fashion industry of the host country to the global fashion industry. “India stands out for the size of its domestic market, for its enviable growth rate, for its deep rooted own design tradition, but also for its enormous complexity. In a sense it is also a strong metaphor for emerging economies in the world in general.” The event kicked off with 300 leading delegates both from India and across the world. It saw participation of international and Indian brands and manufacturers and industry representatives from about 20 countries.

Top industry stalwarts and biggest brands,

companies and people associated with the apparel industry from across the globe attended the event. The two day convention had leading industry stakeholders across the value chain deliberating and presenting insights on various opportunities covering the entire spectrum from manufacturing to technology to branding and retailing.

A packed line up of informative sessions The two day convention was packed with insightful and informative sessions. The first session ‘New opportunities in Sourcing’ focused on emergence of Bangladesh,

REVIEW

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India and a few African nations as major sourcing destinations for apparel brands and manufacturers worldwide in the last decade, with China facing issues of a sharp rise in wages in. Moreover, improved business climate in countries like India has worked in favour, making it a preferred sourcing destination. The session highlighted emerging opportunities in these ‘new’ sourcing destinations and prospects of forging partnerships with local players. It focused on how ‘traditional’ manufacturing economies are retaining their position in global apparel production chain.

The session included brief presentations and a panel discussion by experts who shared facts and give insights in the global context.

The presenters included Prashant Agarwal Jt. Managing Director Wazir Advisors, Alex Thomas, Vice President, VF Corporation, Ms. Belinda Edmonds, Executive Director African Cotton & Textiles Industries Federation (ACTIF), speaking for Africa, Faruque Hassan, Senior Vice President, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), speaking for Bangladesh, Ashok Rajani, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), speaking for India, Alexander Shumsky, Executive President, Russian Fashion Council, speaking for Russia among others.

Highlighting India’s potential and growth prospects, Ashok G Rajani, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) hoped India would reach its target of $30 billion in apparel exports over the next three years.

The theme of the convention ‘Insights into new opportunities’ was very clearly carried forward by all four sessions on day 1, with topics ranging from sourcing and supply chain management, to trade policy and from retailing in India to technology. The sessions highlighted free trade agreement between India and the EU, lower costs through better cooperation between buyers and suppliers, opportunities in countries in Africa and in Russia, the dizzying growth of the market in India and the disruptive power offered by robotics and computing technologies. Harminder Sahni, MD, Wazir Advisors, Knowledge Partners for the convention, while presenting the theme of the convention said, “World must

see opportunities in the growing fashion business from $1.7 trillion in 2015 to $2.6 trillion by 2025.” He added, “The key growth drivers should be looked as: emerging economies, increasing consumption and innovations. But the opportunities are worth the challenges being faced. Expectations from suppliers are rising in sustainability, innovations, agility and price and quality.”

The opening session was followed by a detailed presentation on India’s textiles industry its future potential by Wazir Advisors. In his keynote address on IndiaEU Trade Relations: Future Perspectives.

Francesco Marchi, Director General, Euratex said “The Indian government should start negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) for the benefit of the Indian apparel sector. It is hard to imagine the success of the FTA without UK, post Brexit. UK continues to be textiles manufacturing hub contributing 29 per cent of the entire apparel trade in the EU. 22 per cent of India’s exports to the EU go through UK.”

New opportunities in Retailing

With growing strength of retail market in emerging nations; Global retailers face the puzzle of combining the specific demands of Indian consumers with their standardized retail structure and operational processes.

The session focused on emerging trends and opportunities in retail sector at the global level and how would these trends translate to the Indian market. How retailers are trying to create a seamless shopping experience while addressing the channel conflict. The session also sought to answer questions and offer insights into future of fashion retailing.

Among the top speakers in this session is B S Nagesh, Founder, TRRAIN and the panellist include Aniruddha Deshmukh, MD& CEO, Mafatlal, Govind Shrikhande, MD, Shoppers Stop, Rakesh Biyani, Director, Future Group, Vinay Nadkarni, MD & CEO, Globus, Manish Mandhana, MD, Being Human & Mandhana Ind. Experts forecast India’s textiles industry will double in five years from the current $110 billion ($68 billion domestic and $42 billion exports) to $220 billion by 2021.

Speaking on the occasion, Managing Director and CEO of Mafatlal Industries, Aniruddha Deshmukh said e-retailing was going to be the next growth opportunities in the Indian textiles and apparel sector in the next few years. Since metros are overcrowded with retailers with high overheads, there would be more retail business opportunities in Tier II, III cities.

Companies have better opportunity of expansion though franchise route.

New opportunities in Technology

The focus here was on the growing importance of technology in efficient garment processing, use of IT tools in business and business process reengineering are new driving forces for growth of textile and apparel industry.

The idea of the session was to learn from the experts about various technologies, processes and methods that will help in achieving the above mentioned goals.

The session had an impressive lineup of speakers including Mark Jarvis CEO, WTiN, Philippe Ribera, Innovation Director, Lectra, Simon Fernandes, Regional Director, Alvanon, Ms. Vonita Samtani, Vice President (Strategic Channel Partners), WGSN among others.

50 REVIEW New Opportunities in Denim

The session looked to help denim players build on the potential opportunities existing across denim value chain. With Deval Shah, Business Head – Diesel & GAS, Reliance Brands, Harminder Sahni MD, Wazir Advisors as moderator the penalists include Claudio Grotto, Founder, GAS Jeans, Anurag Asthana VP (Sourcing) Myntra, Subir Mukherjee, Business Head (Denim), Bhaskar Industries, Sanjay Vakharia, Director & COO, Spykar Lifestyle among other top names. Session 4 focused on brand and new opportunities there with.

It delved on how should brands look at branding to stay relevant and connected to their core consumers? How are brand strategies evolving in this dynamic world?

This session offered insights into new opportunities in branding in global context.

The keynote presenter was Bruce Atherley, Executive Director, CCI with moderator Darlie Koshy, DG & CEO, IAM & ATDC and the panellist include Ms. Manjula Tiwari, CEO, Future Style Lab, J Suresh, CEO & MD, Arvind Brands among others.

they like, for me connect with people is very important. Be it USA, Europe or anywhere in the world, jeans only change in size and nothing else,” he opined.

Domestic brand Spykar’s director and COO Sanjay Vakharia believes lower segment of denim is growing rapidly. But, there is a need to bring cheaper segment of denim for consumers in the bottom of the pyramid.

However, for Spykar as a brand selling cheap jeans in not an option as they are into retail and retail costs are high in India. “I feel it is not question of international brand or an Indian brand, over the years even international brands have also become as Indian as we are. The incoming of super premium brands like Diesel and GAS will only help our market bar to raise specially in terms prices as when GAS sells

Arguing on similar lines Claudio Grotto, Chairman GAS jeans, who looks at jeans not as the market segmentation but as a subject driven by passion said, he doesn’t look at jeans from a price perspective, while creating it, “for me the objective is that it should be a good fashionable jeans. I had been making and working on jeans for many years, even before launching GAS. Even now, I visit my shops and to know what

CMAI, CCCT SIGN MOU TO STRENGTHEN TIES IN TEXTILE, APPAREL SECTOR

HAN BEKKE SUCCEEDS RAHUL MEHTA AS NEW PRESIDENT IAF

As part of consolidating its relationship further with the Chinese industry, Clothing Manufacturers ‘Association of India (CMAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles (CCCT) for extending co-operation with each other in new business and exchange of trade and data related co-operation for mutual benefit.

The MoU was signed by Rahul Mehta, for CMAI and Jiang Hui Chairman, CCCT.

Moderated by Harminder Sahni, MD Wazir Advisors the session focused on the denim industry in India and the segments and layers now divided over price and demographics. Deval Shah, Business HeadDiesel & GAS, Reliance Brands said “Denim revolution started in India in 80s and 90s from simplicity which gradually shifted to lifestyle and more so fashion of late. India continues to be one of the largest producers of denim in the world. India has 0.3 jeans as per capita consumption against 2-3 pairs of jeans in advanced world and 7 pairs in US with 96 per cent of Americans wearing jeans in the US.” “With growing demand for denim fabric from Bangladesh, to which India exports a huge quantity, the Indian denim industry saw a huge jump in manufacturing capacity which doubled to 1.3 billion meters per annum over the last five years. The number of denim manufacturers too has gone up to around 40 now. However, around 30 per cent of this capacity generally remains idle currently due to excess production capacity. The Rs 30,000 crores denim industry is likely to face a shortage of fresh investment in the next five years” points out Subir Mukherjee, Business Head (Denim), Bhaskar Industries “India is selling cheapest pair of jeans not available anywhere in the world. If we bring down the price of jeans to $10 apiece as is currently prevailing in the US, India’s denim demand would increase resulting in this sector’s growth at 20 per cent per annum.”

American & Efird (US) as board members.

Bekke has a long career in Dutch and international fashion and textile industry and has held different leadership positions.

Since 2013, he is chairman of the Dutch Trade Association for Fashion and (Interior) Textiles MODINT, a member of IAF. Bekke was secretary general of IAF between 20062014 and became its board member in 2014.

The members of the International Apparel Federation appointed Han Bekke (Chairman, MODINT, Netherlands) as the new President. He succeeds Rahul Mehta (Chairman CMAI, India) who has held this position since 2014. The decision was taken at the general assembly of IAF as a part of the ongoing 32nd IAF World Fashion Convention being held in Mumbai.

“I worked hard and tried my best, IAF is like a family, a brilliant team and it has been a mind blowing experience. I cannot find any better person than Han Bekke for the next President.” said Mehta while handing over charge. “I am honored and privileged to take over, I look forward to work with the new team,” said Bekke, the new president IAF. The other industry leaders nominated to the board were-Ed Gribbin, President of Alvanon Inc (US), elected treasurer, Jiang Hui, Chairman of CCCT (Chinese Chamber of Commerce for Textiles and Clothing) elected a member of the Executive Committee, Faruque Hassan, Senior VP, BGMEA (Bangladesh) and Les Miller, CEO,

This MoU is expected to benefit both countries apparel sector in the long run. The two parties CMAI and CCCT look forward to promoting their mutual interests in expanding economics and trading relations.

With this MoU, they could pursue the goal of promoting and expanding communication in the areas of promotion of trade and investment cooperation, exchange of ideas for developing the sector, promote participation in trade fairs being organised by either, support business partnership search for members as a match maker, trade delegations and training etc.

As Mehta points out, “While organizing trade fairs, both of us would co-operate in associating new clients, visitors and associated supply chain participants to the forum for the benefit of the apparel trade.” Mehta adds “Among other objectives of this cooperation, we feel we may be able to sell our garments in China, as the cost of manufacturing is becoming expensive in there.”

Hui added “This comes as a framework to regulate mutual cooperation and work to promote apparel business in our countries.

We also look forward to importing more raw materials from India among other objectives. However, we don’t see import of readymade garments going up significantly, as China for high end garments will continue to manufacture within the country and for low end, low priced garments we have arrangement with ASEAN countries.”

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Interfiliere Shanghai Chinese show focused on athleisure

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nterfiliere Shanghai held in Shanghai, China, October 12 to 13, 2016. Fabrics and accessories samples from exhibitors featured qualities such as comfort, protection (anti-UV, antibacterial, anti-abrasion), breathability, quick-drying, heat-regulation, connected and innovation.

Information panels and video presentations were held to explain the latest technological advances in bonding/lamination, seamless knitting, coating, laser-cutting and other technologies. Also on display were innovations from other industry sectors such as 3D printed silk, boxer-shorts with protection against harmful waves, a wallet using electromagnetic induction for wireless phone-charging, and shoes made from recycled oyster-shells.

The athleisure section presented the latest trends in sportswear and the evolution of active wear. It highlighted a spotlight on how new, innovative fabrics can be mixed and

matched. Fabric surface textures, double knits and engineered athleisure lace will also be featured.

was showcased fabrics, accessories, and finished products for swimwear, beachwear and sportswear.

The lingerie forum continued to play a central role, revealing trends for autumn/ winter â&#x20AC;&#x2122;17-â&#x20AC;&#x2122;18 and showcasing the technical innovations of the latest must-have products.

A dedicated area called the beach forum

Seminars and conferences were held on cover trends, branding, technology, and industry hot topics. The seminar highlighted active wear materials and interpret active wear and merchandising trends.

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CHIC Autumn Edition’16 sees a boost in visitor numbers “With a 15 per cent jump in visitors compared with the previous year, the second autumn event of the CHIC Autumn, Shanghai ended on a positive note. The China International Fashion Fair (CHIC) bolstered companies’ confidence on the domestic industry and presented their innovative streak to the world with this power-packed show. CHIC Autumn was in a true sense a confluence of established brands and young start-ups, capturing 837 brands from 21 nations; attracting more than 65,700 visitors, CHIC projected global insights, Impulses designer area, next to the exhibitors of the Secret Stars section (accessories, shoes, bags). “

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ith a 15 per cent jump in visitors compared with the previous year, the second autumn event of the CHIC Autumn, Shanghai ended on a positive note. The China International Fashion Fair (CHIC) bolstered companies’ confidence on the domestic industry and presented their innovative streak to the world with this power-packed show. CHIC Autumn was in a true sense a confluence of established brands and young start-ups, capturing 837 brands from 21 nations; attracting more than 65,700 visitors, CHIC projected global insights, Impulses designer area, next to the exhibitors of the Secret Stars section (accessories, shoes, bags). CHIC Shanghai is considered the ‘window of fashion’ and being a leading trade show in Asia it is the bridge for entering into the Chinese market.

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Record number of visitors a sign of positivity

The organisers of CHIC Autumn expressed their gratitude with 15 percent rise in visitors compared to CHIC autumn last year. Chen Dapeng, Executive Vice President, China National Garment Association and Head of CHIC said, “CHIC Autumn fulfills a different task than CHIC Spring. It gives an overview of leading brands and offers smaller brands the possibility to meet prospective buyers.”

Moreover brands at CHIC Autumn profit from adjacent activities, such as the gathering at Intertextile. CHIC Autumn presents the right mix of established brands and start-ups .

The clear segments of CHIC Autumn guided visitors through the trade show.

The new location of the Impulses area (for young designers) next to the fashion show center was eye-catching. Another success at the fair was the section ‘Secret Stars’ (accessories, shoes, bags), which attracted a lot of attention. Chen Yanrong, Marketing Manager, Henney Bear, confirmed that all important department stores like Wanda, Maoye, Jingying, Dashang visited his booth for discussions. Exhibitors at the sections for menswear and womens wear were satisfied with their results at CHIC Autumn.

Also the organisers of ‘shows-in-show’ expressed their full satisfaction. Nobrand and EcoChic at Pure Shanghai have already announced their next year’s participation.

Another highlight was ‘Chic Young Blood’.

A strong presence and performance was given by Korean brands, among others

by Twee with their brand Te.Stones. They run 30 big stores in Korea and are now building up their business in China thanks to CHIC. Frankfurtstyleaward Collection 2016 received a lot of attention. The innovative styles of young designers have been

presented at the show. Also the joint fashion show of Brazilian Footwear of Apexbrasil EA Asia with trends spring/summer 2017 was well attended and led to a large number of visitors at their joint pavilion. Further fashion shows gave impressive ideas on new trends and tendencies for spring/summer 2017.

Delighted with the response, many of the exhibiting brands have already signaled their participation fosr CHIC Spring to be held in March 2017. Stefano, Giovanni Fabiani (Italy), said, “We started in China some time ago, for the 4th time now at the CHIC and have our own showroom in Shanghai. CHIC is the largest and most efficient show with more and better qualified visitors.

At this exhibition, we wrote orders with shopping malls and new contacts, which we have to follow. This time we also had many visitors from the tier III cities. CHIC is an important part of our marketing strategy. It is good to be here, which creates trust with our customers and buyers.” Happy with the response, Bernd Michael Ostwald, Owner, OWA bags, Germany, said they are regular exhibitors at CHIC and welcomed qualified distributors with multi-brand stores e.g. from Beijing at their booth.

The event saw an increase of 15 per cent with a total number of 65,714 visitors. CHIC Shanghai will be back in March between 1315, 2017.

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Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics-Autumn Edition attracts top global buyers The Autumn edition of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics was held from October 11 to 13, 2016. The top 10 visitor countries and regions excluding mainland China were Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the US, India, Russia, the UK, Thailand and Indonesia.

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uyers from over 90 countries and regions visited the fair to explore a wide range of sourcing options brought by 4,553 exhibitors from 29 countries and regions. There was a 10 per cent increase in buyers compared to last year, high-quality trade buyers are increasingly attracted to the fair by its outstanding industry reputation, and in particular the distinctive product zones which facilitate more business to occur onsite.

Given the fairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s large scale and strong global approach, buyers were able to access from the full spectrum of high-quality apparel fabrics and accessories products from around the world. The fair had a variety of suppliers. Other buyers were impressed by the fairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s product zones. Product zones helped those searching for new fabric trends and prints. Intertextile Shanghai is a good platform for new ideas and innovations.

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Sourcing Opportunities

Not many trade fairs have a dedicated zone for premium wool, but this event did. Product zones like these help attract the right kind of buyers with good quality. French lace and embroidery supplier Solstiss Laces & Embroideries connected with a number of high-quality domestic buyers in the France Pavilion. Their customers are mainly the top brands from Shenzhen. This year, they met good quality designers and manufactures.

Solstiss received some onsite orders for its luxury collection. With visitors from 90 countries and regions, exhibitors were able to develop new business both in China and overseas. For many brands China is their target market but in this fair they got to meet with a number of premium luxury brands that are not only from China but also overseas.

They could establish new businesses not only with Chinese mills but with companies from Europe and north America. The event recorded a growth in international buyers.

The number of buyers coming from South Asia, East Europe as well as China saw an increase. International brands could present their products and share innovative ideas to buyers from around the world. They were able to make more contacts with Asian buyers here compared to other similar fairs.

Fringe Programs

Besides the abundant business opportunities on offer, fair participants also highly valued the dynamic fringe program. This year, a number of industry leaders took part in various panel

discussions and received a positive feedback.

The fringe program enabled Intertextile Shanghai to reach quite a lot of companies including fabric producers, material innovators, big garment companies as well as retailers and end-users. Intertextile Shanghai provides important opportunities to not only see products but also be able to understand how that product is being used in the marketplace.

In addition, the fringe program enhanced the effectiveness and the quality of buyersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sourcing trips. The Trend Forum offered an overview of next seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trends. Companies could look at the swatches and go directly to the exhibitor who supplies them. The panel discussion brought them many innovative ideas and vital market information, which we had never known before. They could get better sourcing directions.

The next edition of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics will be in spring and will open doors from March 15 to 17, 2017.

For the last few years, even though Intertextile Shanghai has continued to grow in size, priority has been to focus on the quality of exhibitors and buyers that participate to ensure it remains the global industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading business event every March and October.

The current economic conditions are creating challenges in some sectors of the industry, but with unrivalled range, international and quality of exhibitors, this fair is increasingly viewed as the leading event where quality trade buyers come to conduct business, regardless of the prevailing economic conditions.

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Milano Unica Italy-China congregation at Milano Mnica pavilion “75 top-end exhibitors gather up in Shanghai at Milano Unica Pavilion to showcase their fashion prowess in Hall 6.2, inside SalonEurope Shanghai. Bringing in new consumption pattern and evolving consumer tastes, this pavilion infuses freshness into the entire trade show.”

75 top-end exhibitors gather up in Shanghai at Milano Unica Pavilion to showcase their fashion prowess in Hall 6.2, inside SalonEurope Shanghai. Bringing in new consumption pattern and evolving consumer tastes, this pavilion infuses freshness into the entire trade show.

Amid global uncertainties and a falling GDP, China continues to hold nearly half the global luxury market, because of the growing purchasing power of the consumers. Chinese fashion market is witnessing a sea change. Till now, luxury goods were considered a symbol of wealth and status, today it’s all about enhancing experience. The shift has been brought by the so-called millennials, who are educated, well-travelled and tech-savvy, who have absorbed luxury since childhood from their parent’s generation and are now looking for niche high-end and bespoke products.

“The 10th edition of Milano Unica China confirms the strategic importance of made in Italy in this country. We thank the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and ITA (Italian Trade Agency) for making it possible through their economic and organizational support. I also wish to empasise that beyond the menswear textiles, MU China has provided a strong womenswear offer since the beginning and this sector is undergoing the fastest-growing increase in the Country,” says Ercole Botto Poala, President, Milano Unica.

“75 exhibitors feature the F/W 17-18 topend collections between October 11-13 fair days at Mu China Pavilion and the selected clients’ choices will be guided by the traditional a much appreciated Trend Area located inside the Pavilion of beauty and culture,” states Massimo Mosiello, General Manager of the exhibition.

On asking about the reduced number of exhibitors, Paola says, “I agree that during

this edition, the number of exhibitors is much lesser than earlier editions of Intertextile Shanghai edition. This is primarily because many of the earlier exhibitors are not repeating either because they have already got their buyer network done or they are not big enough to keep investing repeatedly as it is not just exchanging business cards, making final business is important, which is not happening very fast.

Secondly, with earlier editions of participation of Milano Unica in Intertextile has resulted into many buyers visiting Milano Unica show in Milan earlier this September. Hence, those exhibitors who have already done business with their Chinese buyers have not participated.”

Elaborating further, he adds, “I don’t think the number would now ever increase much, unless this exhibition is held in mid-September as business cycles and season requirements are changing quite fast. However, we are happy to note that the bilateral ties between Italy & China are improving.”

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YARN EXPO China’s declining cotton yarn import impacts global market “The yarn market across the globe has witnessed some significant changes in recent times mainly due to China’s declining cotton yarn import. The narrowing price parity between domestic yarn and imported yarn has contributed majorly for the reduced cotton yarn import in China.”

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he yarn market across the globe has witnessed some significant changes in recent times mainly due to China’s declining cotton yarn import. The narrowing price parity between domestic yarn and imported yarn has contributed majorly for the reduced cotton yarn import in China.

World feels the heat for China’s declining import

Clearly, there has been a mixed impact on the global supply scenario due to China’s declining numbers. The impact on the global supply scenario in short term, reveals demand for imported yarn to slow down owing to worldwide sluggish market conditions and increasing cotton prices.

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However in the long term, chances are there that China may become a self sufficient country as far as yarn supply is concerned, whereas there still will be scope for certain varieties of fabrics as China is moving towards value added products.

“Indian yarn manufacturers to sustain have already started working on adopting two pronged strategy, increase investments in downstream industry so as to increase yarn consumption in the domestic market in addition to diversification of market mix so as to decrease dependence on Chinese market” said N. Ravindranathan, Director, TEXPROCIL

India’s and Pakistan’s loss is Vietnam’s gain

In recent times Vietnam has emerged as a strong market increasing its market share in the global scene and Chinese weavers

and knitter are increasingly souring from Vietnam due to narrowing price parity. While India and Pakistan are losing market share in China, Vietnam is gaining market share boosted by the fast developing spinning sector to Xinjiang. In spite of India being the most competitive country for cotton yarn in the world, there is imports duty on Indian yarn while Vietnam and Indonesia are duty free.” This of course forces the garment industry to pay more for yarn, and makes other countries like Bangladesh, India more competitive where they get access to the best and cheapest possible yarn from across the world.” said Sanjay Jain, Managing Director, TT Ltd and President NITMA. “Even though there is a steep increase in import of yarn from Vietnam in recent months, but it is to be seen if the quality concern has been resolved. There have been reports by importers that as far as quality is concerned,

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Indian yarn is much better than supply from Vietnam. Moreover if TPP kicks in, Vietnam will need all the home spun yarn for their domestic captive consumption. Apart from this, Xinjiang autonomous region is planning to add 18 million new spindles by the end of 2020, which is likely to result in drastic decline in yarn import into China. In view of these factors, Indian manufacturers and suppliers are working on suitable strategy to consolidate spinning sector and increase yarn consumption in downstream textile value chain in India” avers Jain.

Rising concern to force India to rework on its strategy

The recent volatility is going to be a major concern, believe most industry experts. For Cotton based markets like India, however the worry remains that cotton fibre would gradually lose more ground to man- made fibres which are relatively stable.

“In short term, Indian spinners have been forced to cut production to match the demand and supply situation. The disparity of cotton and yarn this time has been the highest ever – spinners are facing huge losses. In July exports of yarn from India to China fell by 75% - such severe disruption will of course create a lot of pain to the Indian industry.

However this shrunken supply, will create sudden pressure on availability when peak season starts from November. ”explains Jain.

Further experts believe that for India to retain its position, tariff barriers need to be broken down in order to set up an efficient global supply chain. By discriminating on import tariff of yarn and fabric from India against other nations like Vietnam, Korea, Indonesia and Pakistan it is the end consumer who is losing out and being put at a disadvantage.

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5

ITMA ASIA + CITME’16 showcased latest technology for the textile machinery industry TH

“The 5th ITMA ASIA + CITME 2016 exhibition which was a landmark edition as it’s the largest show in the series since inception. The exhibition had as many as 1,673 exhibitors from 28 countries showcased a wide array of machinery with latest technology for the textile machinery industry to a visitors of over 100,000 during the five-day exhibition that closed on October 25. Featuring the largest showcase in the series since its launch in 2008, the recently concluded ITMA ASIA + CITME 2016 textile machinery exhibition received a very strong response from visitors.”

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he exhibition covered over 170,000 sq. mt. exhibition space, 12 per cent larger than the last edition.

This year’s exhibition happened to be the biggest showing since the first edition.

These numbers attested to the combined strength of ITMA ASIA + CITME brands making the combined show Asia’s most important textile machinery show in terms of exhibiting space and technology. Another first was the staging of combined show at a new venue, the National Exhibition and Convention Centre, Shanghai. Occupying six halls, the modern exhibition centre is easily accessible from the Hongqiao Transportation Hub.

China has the biggest number of participants at the show with 69.4per cent of the exhibition space. This is followed by Germany with 6.5 per cent, Italy at 5.5 per cent, Japan 4.7 per cent and Switzerland 3.2 per cent. The exhibition ends on 25 October 2016. Featuring the largest showcase in the series since its launch in 2008, the recently concluded ITMA ASIA + CITME 2016 textile machinery exhibition received a very strong response from visitors.

By the end of the October, the fifth registered visitors 102 countries and

five-day show on 25 combined showcase of over 100,000 from regions. 20% of the

visitors came from outside China. In terms of visitor numbers, Chinese mainland visitors ranked first, followed by India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan China, Indonesia and Bangladesh, and exhibitors have commented very favourably on the high quality of professional and trade visitors attending the show. Fritz Mayer, President of CEMATEX, said: “We are delighted that this was our largest show since its launch back in 2008. The majority of our visitors were serious buyers, and as a result our exhibitors are very happy with the overall quality. We are looking forward to another successful presentation of the next combined show in 2018.”

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Wang Shutian, President of China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA), agreed: “The combined show continues to be a ‘must’ for textile machinery manufacturers and their customers, and we are delighted to present the very best technologies from both east and west to Chinese and other Asian buyers.”

With the rapid development of information technology, the organiser provided some brand new services to visitors.

Visitors could download an interactive map to navigate the exhibition halls, and visitors were also given the option of registering and paying for their badges via WeChat, a popular mobile app in China. The next combined show will be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre (Shanghai) from 26 to 30 October 2018 and will be organised

by BJITME, and co-organised by ITMA Services.

GERMAN INDUSTRIE 4.0 TOOK CENTRESTAGE

It was all about Industrie 4.0, energy efficiency and sustainability on the first day of ITMA ASIA + CITME 2016. Significant German participation at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2016, flagging off here was offering perfection and precision through tech competency to companies globally. German technology has a major role to play in bringing out ecofriendly and energy efficient process in textile industry globally.

Visitors could witness the high-technology display by more than 100 German machinery manufacturers exhibiting at the fair, covering all aspects of textiles vis-à-vis spinning, nonwoven, weaving, knitting, warp knitting and finishing spread across 7,000 sq .mts.

Mission sustainability

On the opening day of ITMA ASIA, Fritz P Mayer, Chairman, VDMA Textile Machinery and Associate of Karl Mayer Textilmaschinenfabrik emphasised German technology can play a major role in efforts to

make the environment cleaner, to increase energy efficiency and competitiveness of textile producers. “For some time now, VDMA member companies have been focusing on the issue of sustainability for their products, in order to satisfy the demand for efficient technology solutions that effectively cut back on consumption, and consequently on production costs” explained Mayer. New technology is the key to better products and competitive production. And, technology is one precondition for resource and energy saving, he explained. Professionally investing customers are happy to pay for sustainable technologies and improved energy efficiency.

VDMA calls this ‘Sustainability meets profit’, Mayer explained.

interested in condition monitoring and predictive maintenance, including remote services.” Other hot topics are: virtual machines, traceability, remote control data exchange, self-optimising, intelligent user interfaces or individualisation. Smart machine controllers will correct process parameters automatically according to the sensors report. Or, if delivery deadlines are not met, downstream production processes will be adjusted immediately. Without discussing the potential of new business models, immediate advantages of Industrie 4.0 are improved plant efficiency, more economical production processes, energy savings, more flexible production, just to name a few.

Towards Industrie 4.0

ITALY EXHIBITED TECH PROWESS

The future of the textile industry is determined

by Industrie 4.0. This interconnection of information technology and manufacturing processes is on track. As Thomas Waldmann, MD, VDMA Textile Machinery says, “Leading customers are increasingly

With around 130 Italian companies participating in ITMA ASIA + CITME 2016 opened a plethora of opportunities for exhibitors and visitors in terms of tech exchange and innovative capabilities.

Spread across 5,400 sq. mt, Italian companies exhibited as a part of the National Sector Group, organised by ACIMIT (the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers) and ICE-Italian Trade Agency. The four Italian clusters were in the spinning and winding , nonwovens , digital printing and finishing machinery areas .

The high number of Italian exhibitors testified a positive outlook on the future of Asian markets, and China in particular. Asia is one of the most crucial markets for Italian textile machinery manufacturers, capturing around 45 per cent of their sales abroad. “The high number of Italian exhibitors in Shanghai shows that our companies are confident in a further growth of the Asian markets, and China in particular. Compared to the last edition of ITMA ASIA, the space booked by Italian exhibitors has grown by 13 per cent,” said Raffaella Carabelli, President, ACIMIT.

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Sustainable technologies at the fore

Around 40 Italian machinery manufacturers have signed up to ACIMIT’s ‘Sustainable technologies’ project, committing themselves to supplying increasingly sustainable machinery, both from an economic and environmental standpoint. “A website is an additional tool made available to textile operators, aimed at providing a better understanding of what we want to achieve in terms of sustainability,” comments ACIMIT’s President.

Asia, the growth market

Italy, with its high-tech and eco-friendly manufacturers, was one of the most important player in the textile machinery industry.

“Italian high-quality machines will foster China textile industry’s quality and will provide environmental conservation,” explains Claudio Pasqualucci, Italian Trade Commissioner in Shanghai. China is implementing policies for the reduction of carbon emissions. “The new measures for low carbon economy are: low energy consumption, low material

consumption, low-emission and low-pollution, one of the future choices in the economic development. For that reason, we think Italian textile machines eco-friendly technology, should be appropriate with Chinese policies.

FRENCH COMPANIES PRESENT THEIR BEST TECHNOLOGIES AT ITMA ASIA

Long fibre spinning, yarn twisting and control, heat setting, carpet systems, nonwovens, dyeing and finishing, air and recycling processes et al categories were exhibited by seven French machinery manufacturers at the recently held ITMA + CITME 2016.Evelyne Cholet, Secretary General of their Association explains, “The most well-known textile machinery inventor, Jacquard, was French.

Research and development is our DNA. Our companies are SMEs run by entrepreneurs.

Innovation is derived mainly from down to earth partnerships with our clients.” For textile machinery, Asian markets are most important, particularly China which has been more difficult in recent months. Cholet comments, “We believe the Chinese textile industry will rebound thanks to its national market. When I travel all over China, I see that most Chinese like fashion as much as smart phones, that they are ready to spend money on apparel.

Then I think that the Chinese national market will grow at a fast rate and that the best, most efficient, energy conscious machines will be more and more needed to produce apparel, home and technical textiles. We are well positioned to answer our customers’ needs.”

SPANISH TEXTILE MACHINERY ON DISPLAY AT ITMA ASIA

Spanish textile machinery companies are known for latest technologies in the following subsectors: spinning, braiding, technical fabric, dyeing, finishing and printing. And they showcased in strength at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2016 in Shanghai.

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GTE Bengaluruâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;16 concludes with enthusiastic response 23rd edition of GTE concluded successfully at Dr. PrabhakarKore Convention Center in Bengaluru. The 3 day show which was held from Aug 26 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 28 2016, saw a congregation of more than 370 companies and brands, and a strong footfall of 8621 trade visitors. Participants showcasing more than 1200 products and services in Sewing, Knitting,Embroidery, Dyeing & Laundry, Furnishings &Made-ups Machines, Textile Printing, Consumables & Spares,Accessories and Support Servicesetc.

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TE Bengaluru was well received and appreciated by the industry, stirring much buzz for bringing in latest technological innovations in garment machinery to southern market.Besides the large turnout of industry professionals from Bengaluru, the show was also visited by tradevisitors from nearby cities like Coimbatore, Chennai, Mysore, Mumbai, Hyderabad and also from as far as Gujarat.

The show brought latest machinery and innovations in garment machinery, attracting a several professionals from far and wide who were able to see new innovations and compare all the latest machinery under one roof. Business owners and production heads present there observed new technologies launched.

Also, there were senior technical professionals from big companies present in the show to explain technical queries.

Moreover, a number of designers also came looking for new machines and understand design applications possibilities.

Among other attractions, the product innovations in Laundry, Finishing and Sewing and Printing Machines took the center stage at the show.

The show exhibited products from around 25 countries including China, Japan, Italy, Germany, USA, Turkey, Taiwan, Sweden, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Australia, United Kingdom etc.

After the huge success of 23rd edition of GTE Bengaluru, the participants look forward to the mega show GTE New Delhi from 3rd-6th March, 2017 and the maiden show in the west,GTE Ahmedabad, due from 18th-20th August, 2017.

64 BUSINESS NEWS Lee Cooper hives off by Future Lifestyle Fashions

Future Lifestyle Fashions has hived off its leading brand Lee Cooper into a new stepdown subsidiary, Future Specialty Retail.

The company would also be issuing Rs 250 crores compulsorily convertible preferential shares to the new fully-owned arm. This fund infusion will result in the promoters diluting 26 per cent of the brand value of Lee Cooper, which is pegged at Rs 1,000 crores.

Another wholly owned subsidiary, Future Trendz, will carry on fashion retail business and related activities. Future Specialty Retail was incorporated on September 27.

Future Lifestyle Fashions runs Central, Brand Factory and several other brands including Indigo Nation, Lee Cooper, Sculler, and Clarks. It has divested its stake in Biba, AND and Celio over the past few years, but still owns significant shares in brands such as Clarks, Tresmode and Giovani.

Future Group is targeting a revenue of Rs 75,000 crores to Rs 1 trillion from the current Rs 20,000 crores. It is focusing on food, fashion, general merchandise and home categories. Lee Cooper is an English brand that began in 1908. The products include formal trousers, denims, formal shirts, jackets, T-shirts, shoes, belts, wallets and so on. Lee Cooper has sponsored some famous rock bands, sports people and TV stars for brand promotion.

Future Retail expects 15 percent sales growth

target. The retailer which currently has an operating margin of 3.5 to 4 percent sees it rising by 5 to 7 percent over the medium to long term. Lowering of working capital cycle (from 78 to 60 days) will improve the company’s return on capital employed to 20 percent in the medium term from 15 percent currently. Future Retail now has 749 stores and services over 300 million customers annually.

The retailer has a multi-pronged strategy to boost profitability by expanding its small store network, increasing margins in the food and fast-moving consumer goods portfolio, building an omni-channel network, increasing stock velocity and leveraging its customer data across group companies to increase sales per customer.

Future Retail converted its KB’s Fair Price shops, which were run as neighborhood general stores, into Easy Day small format supermarkets after buying the brand from Bharti Retail last year. The plan is to eventually have 3,000 Easy Day stores from 330 currently. The retailer also plans to open 350 Big Bazaar stores by 2021 from 231 currently.

The company, which has 500 stores under its brand name and 250 under the name of Reebok, plans to increase the franchisee count to 1,000 by 2018. It also wishes to have a line of fully-owned stores by them for both the brands. Last year, Adidas India had the honour of becoming the largest player in the branded sportswear market.

The company is planning major expansion in India for both the brands. Last November, it was allowed to operate fully-owned stores while retaining its franchise outlets. Adidas was the first major 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI)single-brand retailing allowed by the National Democratic Alliance government.

Mandhana Industries set to demerge retail business

Holland & Sherry comes to India in a tie up with S K Birla Group British luxury fabric maker Holland & Sherry (H&S) has launched in India through a joint venture with the SK Birla Group. The brand is well known for supplying premium fabrics to fashion houses and retailers across the globe. While H&S owns 51 per cent in the joint venture company called Holland & Sherry India, the remaining 49 per cent is being held by Birla Holding. The company’s fabric collection is now available with over 100 dealer outlets. Fabrics range between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15 lakhs a meter.

H&S India plans to grow the number of outlets by 15 to 20 per cent in the next four to five years and will focus on reaching out to more outlets with the shop-n-shop format. After developing markets, such as the US and Europe, the brand has decided to shift focus to China and India that offer the best growth opportunities for the next few years. In Europe, consumers have shifted to bespoke and customised products. But in India, brands matter more. So the company would focus on first building its brand in the country and then making them aware about the benefits of customised products. It wants to grow its India business four times in the next four years.

Adidas India emerges largest player in branded sportswear market

Future Retail is expecting its sales to grow 15 to 20 percent annually for the next three to four years. The retail giant is banking on doubling its same-store sales to meet this

crores. Its profit before tax was Rs 61 crores in FY16 compared with Rs 56 crores in the previous year, a 9 percent rise. Aanalysts say, Adidas’ revenue could touch Rs1,000crores mark in the forthcoming fiscal.

German sports apparels and accessories major Adidas, has posted revenues worth Rs 854 crores in 2015-16, up 11.6 per cent from Rs 765 crores in 2014-2015. The company’s total revenue (including operating revenue and other income) was Rs 898 crore,s up 11.5 percent from the previous year’s Rs 805

Mumbai-based Mandhana Industries is in talks with private equity investors to offload a 5-10 per cent in the retail business. The company is in the process of demerging its retail business that will be known as Mandhana Retail Ventures. In order to build its licensed brand of Being Human, which is pegged in the mid to premium segment in the apparels category, Mandhana plans to host road shows to get PE investors on board.

Mandhana Industries is already a listed company with a turnover of Rs 1,400 crore.

In the next few weeks, the company wishes to demerge and list the retail operations under a new name.

Mandhana Industries, which has traditionally been in the business of textiles, entered the retail business after it got the licence for the Being Human brand from the Salman Khan Foundation. The demerged retail company will have a turnover of Rs 250 crores which is also the current size of the four-year-old Being Human brand. MD Manish Mandhana believes the demerger should help them get better valuation for the retail business and since they have to grow the business, they would seek funds from PE players.

Currently the retail business is growing at 35-40 per cent. Being Human has 700 shops in shops and 60 exclusive stores, and has also entered the international market.

With competition increasing in the apparel industry with the entry of international brands, Being Human expects to increase its footprint in smaller cities.

66 BUSINESS NEWS Lingerie retailer Zivame turns into a private label business

shipments to countries like the US, Canada and the United Arab Emirates among others which have a sizeable Indian population.

Online lingerie retailer Zivame (Actoserba Active Wholesale) has turned a private label business. This move that was done by discarding aggregation of brands will help it earn higher margins and bolster its bottom line, said two people aware of the development. Private labels are brands owned by retailers and have higher margins than brands owned by other firms.

For instance, private labels in fashion can fetch margins of 30-60 percent which is almost double the margin on other brands.

In the international market, Zivame competes with the likes of Buttercups, Clovia and Pretty Secrets among others. All of Zivameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competitors sell their own brands.

Zivame started out as an aggregator of brands including Enamor, Amante and Jockey among others, but launched private labels in 2013 in an attempt to boost margins. The company, which owns three private brands namely Penny, Cou Cou

Safexpressâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Safeducate Collaborates With Volvo Eicher and Rosaline will rebrand these offerings as Zivame to create a single brand.

Zivame also plans to adopt the omni-channel strategy by launching offline stores through the franchisee model which will essentially act as experience centres. The firm is offering franchises at Rs 25-30 lakh for a 1,000 square feet store. Besides, Zivame is testing global waters and has started A prestigious Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was recently signed by Safeducate, the education and training arm of supply chain and logistics industry leader Safexpress, with Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV).

Vinod Aggarwal, CEO, VECV and Divya Jain, Founder & CEO, Safeducate signed the MoU on September 18 2015 at the Corporate Headquarters of VECV at Gurgaon.

Safeducate has been partnering with a number of government and private bodies to work in the space of offering the youth skills in supply chain and logistics domain since its inception in 2007. Now, Safeducate has partnered with Volvo Eicher to skill and train the rural youth by providing Driver Training.

Jain, while speaking about the collaboration with VECV explained that its main objective was to familiarise the new and existing drivers with safe and appropriate driving techniques, so as to get the best fuel efficiency from the vehicles besides driving in a safe manner to avoid accidents. The project aims to promote the profession of driving among career aspirants.

She added that this strategic partnership with VECV, would help them gain access to the best of driver training material, techniques and tools, which will further enable them to create more and better drivers. Also, as a part of their rollout plan, they would soon be launching two Driver Training Schools, in association with VECV, she mentioned.

71 INDUSTRY BYTES Han Bekke appointed new president of IAF

IAF. The other industry leaders nominated to the board were-Ed Gribbin, President of Alvanon Inc (US), elected treasurer, Jiang Hui, Chairman of CCCT (Chinese Chamber of Commerce for Textiles and Clothing) elected a member of the Executive Committee, Faruque Hassan, Senior VP, BGMEA (Bangladesh) and Les Miller, CEO, American & Efird (US) as board members. Bekke has a long career in Dutch and international fashion and textile industry and has held different leadership positions. Since 2013, he is chairman of the Dutch Trade Association for Fashion and (Interior) Textiles MODINT, a member of IAF. Bekke was secretary general of IAF between 2006-2014 and became its board member in 2014.

The members of the International Apparel Federation appointed Han Bekke (Chairman, MODINT, Netherlands) as the new President. He succeeds Rahul Mehta (Chairman CMAI, India) who has held this position since 2014. The decision was taken at the general assembly of IAF as a part of the ongoing 32nd IAF World Fashion Convention being held in Mumbai.

The IAF is the world’s leading federation for national clothing and textile associations from more than 40 countries, representing over 150,000 companies and over five million employees. Also, individual companies from industry and retail as well as suppliers to this industry and educational institutes can be a member of IAF.

“I worked hard and tried my best, IAF is like a family, a brilliant team and it has been a mind blowing experience. I cannot find any better person than Han Bekke for the next President.” said Mehta while handing over charge. “I am honored and privileged to take over, I look forward to work with the new team,” said Bekke, the new president

Cematex appoints Fritz PMayer as the new President At its general assembly meeting held in Amsterdam, CEMATEX, Zurich-based European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers appointed Fritz P Mayer as its new president. Mayer takes over from Charles Beauduin who retires after being at the helm for four years. A German national, Mayer

joined Karl Mayer Textilmaschinenfabrik in 1975 after graduating from the University of Darmstadt with a degree in industrial engineering. In 1981, he was appointed managing director of the company and also became a member of the Management Board of Karl Mayer Group. Later in 2007, he was appointed as the CEO of the group. Though he retired from the operational management of the Group in 2013 Fritz still represents the Mayer family on its Supervisory Board.

Fritz has also been president of the German Textile Machinery Association, (VDMA) since January 2016. CEMATEX comprises of national textile machinery associations from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and is the owner of Itma and Itma Asia.

72 MEDIA QUOTE

Amit Agarwal, Country Manager, Amazon India

“The Global Store will help Amazon boost its popularity with the few millions of rich Indian online shoppers who typically spend money on premium brands and other products when travelling abroad.”

Abhishek Maheshwari, VP and Head, consumer products at Disney India

In the last two-three years, youth fashion has really picked up and they, as a company, are seeing strong growth in that particular sector. Disney valued its merchandise business at Rs 1,500 crores in retail sales in 2015-16 and expects to close 2016-17 with Rs 2,000 crores.

J Suresh, MD, Arvind Lifestyle Brands

“There is retail buoyancy that we are seeing in both formats – stores and online – partly helped by pent-up demand and newer customers from smaller towns. Both channels have not cannibalised each other the way they did three years ago”

Manish Mandhana, MD, Mandhana Industries The demerger should help us get better valuation for the retail business and since we have to grow the business, we would seek funds from PE players.

Ananth Narayanan, CEO. Myntra

The company is geared up to be a part of this season’s BBD with Flipkart. The company’s goal is to continue to delight customers while maintaining the current NPS (net promoter score) which is among the highest in the industry, even during the sale.