Apparel April 2019 Apparel May 2019 issue | Page 62

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
The latest trends highlight mostly on the brand
placement. “Celebrity styles are the hot cakes
in the market today. Several brands spend
50 per cent of their revenue to retain celebrities
to ensure brand establishment because fashion
today does not cater to the younger generation
only; it goes to almost all ages. In India, 9–10
per cent of a normal person’s income goes into
apparel each year. This sets high expectations
and competition for local manufacturers. With
equally good quality and competitive pricing,
China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Vietnam trades
have increased in India, giving the locals a tough
turf to fight,” opines Prem Suganth V T, Associate
Director, Voonik. Sharad Venkta, MD and CEO,
DUE TO POOR AVAILABILITY OF MAN-
MADE FIBRES AT COMPETITIVE PRICES,
INDIA REMAINS FAR BEHIND DESPITE
BEING THE SECOND LARGEST TEXTILE
EXPORTER IN THE WORLD.
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I APPAREL I
May 2019
Toonz Retail, says, “Advanced applications of
Supply Chain Management (SCM) can be seen in
the retail industry, especially in the apparel sector,
with the use of cloud tech to track the operations
in a wink.”
CHALLENGE FACTOR
The Indian textile industry is greatly fragmented
which leads to several small-scale industries.
As a result, there is an absence of industry
leadership. These smaller firms do not have
financial resources to invest in technological
upgrades and they are not able to produce
economies of scale. “This leads to an inability to
establish a world-class competitive player. Hence,
this calls for an instant need for investments
in infrastructure improvement and process
standardisation. Due to poor availability of man-
made fibres at competitive prices, India remains
far behind despite being the second largest textile
exporter in the world,” says Designer Saroj Jalan.
Designer Bhavya Bhasin adds, “The apparel
industry is going through a very rough time, with
stiff competition from some international brands
coming into India and offering a very practical and