Coming up with new unit and new brand
HUB UPDATE
Shree Jee Global
Coming up with new unit and new brand
Despite all the Ifs and Buts, new players are also coming into garmenting. Even groups having involvements in other verticals, are now focusing on garmenting. One such name is Shree Jee Global which is starting its brand and coming up with its new unit. With an overall investment of Rs. 15 crore, the factory is of 2.5 acres in which 230 stitching machines( mainly Pegasus, Juki and Kansai) are being installed. Soon the company will launch‘ LIFE’ brand for premium segment of menswear. Nitin Goyal, MD of the company, having experience of working in top brands of Ludhiana, shared,“ It is basically a European brand and will support us in product development. Our sampling is going on. Initially our product range will be tees, track pants, Bermudas, etc., and will target markets of Northern India first.”
Miniking Knitwears, a wellestablished name in kidswear market and doing an annual business of Rs. 80 to Rs. 90 crore, has gone for massive expansion with advance infrastructure( refer to Box on page 19). NG Apparels, known for sportswear manufacturing, has production capacity of 60,000 pieces, but is in process of expanding by 40,000 pieces more by May this year.
Akshay Singhal, Director, Canvas Clothing, who is having 450 stitching machines( mainly Pegasus and Brother) and 30 circular knitting machines, is currently having 20 per cent of his business in the domestic market. The plan is to increase it further to 35 per cent. PS Group of Companies, Maurya Exports and few more have plans to grow in exports in the coming years.
Worldwide Textiles, working with chain stores and wholesalers, mainly in the US and Middle East, is now prepared to get into domestic market with own brand. As of now, its 80 per cent business is into export. Rakesh Garg, MD of the company shared,“ We are working with top companies like Madura, Flying Machine; so, we are aware with the domestic market’ s demand and systems. Having own brand gives a sense of security to the business and more margins also, manufacturing for others means lesser orders.” The company having 600 stitching machines also has 25 circular knitting machines, making 5 to 6 tonnes of fabric per day.
DIFFICULT MARKET AND SOLUTIONS
Irrespective of all the above mentioned positive initiatives, Ludhiana is facing, as usual, many challenges which are in the market as well as infrastructure level. These issues are hurting growth of the city. On the market front, domestic players are of the strong opinion that garments coming from Bangladesh, is a big issue and is a back door entry to China, as fabric for these garments is being sourced from China. Sadly, more and more Indian retailers are opening their offices in Bangladesh and reducing their sourcing from Ludhiana. Mainly into sweaters, R B Knit Exports, a major exporter to the EU, has been constrained to look out for new avenues due to the expiry of Indo-German Bilateral Trade Treaty in March 2017 and the lack of progress in signing the BTIA with EU. Against an order of 5 lakh per annum from their major client TOM TAILOR in Germany, there are no orders online that they have received so far due to the high tariff rates prevalent recently and low / no profit margins in the country. From other prominent buyers like Marc O’ Polo, Replay and French Connection, their orders have dried up to minuscule volumes. Col. K Christopher, AC( Retd.) CEO of RB Knit Exports, insists that demonetization and GST have impacted the exporters in a big way and the Government needs to lend a helping hand to the apparel industry
Col. K. Christopher, AC( Retd.), CEO, RB Knit Exports Baljit Singh, Proprietor, PS Group of Companies
Akshay Singhal, Director, Canvas Clothing
20 Apparel Online India | APRIL 1-15, 2018 | www. apparelresources. com