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Niche products help Vardhman
retain its growth in Bangladesh
Amongst the biggest names in textiles in India, with one of the largest spinning & fabric capacities, Vardhman Textiles
has established its firm ground in Bangladesh since the last 5 years. In a candid discussion with Apparel Online, Kulbir
Kundu, Country Manager – Bangladesh, unravels the company’s roller coaster journey so far to sustain amidst the
stiffly competitive textile market of this country. With an initial high followed by a distinctly low phase and a gradual
revival, this textile giant has rapidly modified its business strategies to carve its own niche regardless of the presence of
several small- and medium-level players with the shortest lead time that have emerged in the last few years.
H
ighlighting the rapidly evolving
Bangladesh textile industry
and its increasing weaving capacity,
Kulbir asserts, “Local mills have
increased their capacity and product
capabilities. There are also several
fresh mills that have ventured in
the fabric segment.” He further
adds that these mills are delivering
reasonable quality fabric. The
challenges do not stop here. Lead
time is also another constraint for
this Indian textile mill as it takes
14-15 days for its trucks to cross
the Benapole border successfully
due to the poor infrastructure
present there. This was one of the
prime reasons behind Vardhman’s
sluggish performance some time
back, more so as the borders were
overcrowded for a period of time,
leading to further delays. In spite
of all these challenges, Vardhman
has been able to sustain its volume
by adding new customers and
shortening production lead time
which was possible due to big
in-house production capacity from
yarn to fabric.
Vardhman has also bounced back
significantly by diversifying into
many new products which it earlier
did not have, effectively recovering
its lost ground. An optimistic Kulbir
states, “About 3-4 years back, we
started our liquid ammonia plant.
Last year, we added our printing
plant as we were losing orders in its
absence. In terms of product basket,
FACT
With fast-evolving
new product
categories,
Kulbir Kundu,
Country Manager
– Bangladesh
predicts that the
market growth of
Bangladesh is slow
(2.5%) in the current
year, it would
bounce back and
achieve the target
of 10% annual
growth, considering
the responsiveness
and capabilities of
the entrepreneurs in
the country.
Kulbir Kundu, Country Manager – Bangladesh, Vardhman Textiles
we diversified our mix. It is now not
only in cotton. We create blends like
cotton tencel stretch, cotton modal
super stretch and difficult products
like bi-stretch. These are the types
of products which are in demand in
the ladies’ wear segment.” Moreover,
the country manager confirms that
his company is aiming at the product
qualities offered by China which
is mainly polyester and polyester
stretch, cotton polystretch and
viscose although originally, they
manufactured cotton and cotton
stretch at the maximum.
With India being the hub of raw
materials like tencel fibre and
different types of yarn, these product
52 Apparel Online Bangladesh | JULY 2017 | www.apparelresources.com
variations were not difficult to be
achieved by Vardhman. They are
now producing 100% tencel, 100%
modal and are very competitive in
terms of their lead time as compared
to China. Kulbir clarifies that
their focus on their basics or core
programs still accounts for 70-75%
of their total volume as they have a
huge capacity build-up. He shares,
“Whatever is the quantity, we can
easily deliver them provided we have
the projections because we are a
big mill with a huge capacity and
an extensive R & D centre.” Playing
at one end on niche and another on
volumes, the company has devised a
winning balance.