Apparel Online India Magazine April 1st Issue 2019 | Page 22

AR EVENT
“We are quite happy with ASW
as we met few very good and
big retailers... I must say Apparel
Resources should organise such
events in other countries as well...”
– Md. Sajjadur Rahman, Director,
Laila Styles Limited
covered all the grounds, everything
that start-ups like us need. I learnt
so much. Good work, ASW and I am
already looking forward to the next
chapter,” said Rachel, Co-Founder,
Rachel & Pallavi.
There were few visitors from Nepal
and even Nigeria who are now looking
at India for their apparel sourcing.
Some visitors who heard about the
show from others and decided to
check it out were surprised to see
the energy. As Rakhi Vashisht of
VF Brands remarked, “I was very
happy with the event. Really loved
how equal importance was given to
the exhibition and the seminars and
panel discussions. Would love to
be a part of future events.” Having
a complete range of apparel at the
display was another positive aspect
of the show. Right from denims,
shirts to womenswear, menswear and
kidswear, knitted as well as woven,
winterwear, accessories… most of the
product categories were highlighted
by the exhibitors.
When asked about his observations
on the inaugural edition of ASW,
Abdul Wadud, Director of Team
Scl Bangladesh was all praise
for it. “I have been to globally
renowned sourcing fairs like Bread
& Butter, ISPO and Magic but never
witnessed such an organised and
well-managed show before… In terms
of business leads, ASW lived up to
my expectations,” he maintained.
Team is one of the leading apparel
manufacturers from Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh is a major
manufacturing destination in our
expansion plan and Reliance
Trends is planning to increase
sourcing from Bangladesh to 20
million pieces annually...” “Speed, agility and technology
are the keys to serve today’s
customers... The main ingredients
to a successful organisation are the
quality of the products and a clear
consumer understanding.”
– Rajesh Lalla, VP Sourcing, Reliance Trends – Neetu Jotwani, VP (Sourcing and PD), Myntra
Knowledge platforms
attract full-house
On the knowledge sharing
front, Day-1 and Day-2 of ASW
witnessed several seminars and
panel discussions unveiling new
perspectives on the booming Indian
fashion retail sector. The interest to
hear the expert panellists indicated
the depth of learning that the fashion
industry is looking for. Expressing
the opinion of many of the visitors,
Jimesh Vakharia of MAS Brands
said, “Really liked the sessions but
found them too crowded and short,
would have liked it better if there was
time for one-on-one discussion post
the sessions.”
The first panel discussion of Day-1
titled THE GO-TO DESTINATIONS....
WHERE & WHY? featured the who’s
who of the global sourcing industry.
Moderated by Anika Passi (Country
Manager, The Warehouse Group),
the session included stalwarts
like Tanuja Sinha Roy (Regional
Manager, JCPenney); Hande
Diltemiz (Regional Country Head,
Production, H&M); Venky Nagan
(CEO, Asmara); Shirish Srivastava
(Head Sourcing, Apparel, Puma);
and Tapan Bansal (Regional
Manager, Mothercare). Summing up
the discussion, Anika said, “Quality
and price are not the only parameters
that brands consider, the demand
of the consumer is the prime focus
for the brands today and moving
forward, investment in technology,
22 Apparel Online India | APRIL 1-15, 2019 | www.apparelresources.com
“Being a global company, we create
reports that can give a direction
to people worldwide, but for ASW,
we've tried to tailor our forecast to
suit the Indian audience.”
– Melissa Moylan, VP and Creative Director –
Womenswear, Fashion Snoops
speed and sustainability are the
main parameters that will drive the
growth for the retailers.”
“Quality and
price are not the
only parameters
that brands
consider, the
demand of the
consumer is
the prime focus
for the brands
today and
moving forward,
investment in
technology,
speed and
sustainability
are the main
parameters that
will drive the
growth for the
retailers.”
– Anika Passi (Country Manager,
The Warehouse Group)
The next in line was the panel
discussion: THE FUTURE
OF FASHION RETAIL IN
INDIA- CHALLENGES &
OPPORTUNITIES. Dwelling
exhaustively on the Indian
fashion retail landscape,
this session witnessed experts
like Sharad Venkta, CEO, Toonz
Retail India Pvt. Ltd.; Vivek
Mehta, CEO, MAS brands; Amisha
Jain, CEO, Zivame; and Ramesh
Kaushik, VP Brand Experience
and Business Excellence,
Blackberrys. The session was
moderated by Devangshu Dutta,
Founder, Third Eyesight.
Everyone agreed that the dynamics
of the business has changed and
Amisha put it through effectively:
- “Apparel industry has witnessed
many changes all through the
years, however the only constraints
that exist are consumers,
expectations and products.”
The third panel discussion of the
day WINNING AT E-COMMERCE,
aptly dealt with all the pain points
of e-commerce while addressing the
vital issues of growth potentials.
Nathasha Kumar, Founder and
CEO, Vajor; Suman Chowdhury,
COO and Co-Founder-Clovia;
Anurag Rajpal, Founder and CEO,
Avinde; and Pravesh Kaushik,
Category Head – Apparel, Tata
Cliq took part in the discussion.