Apparel Online India Magazine April 2nd Issue 2018 | Page 21

RETAIL UPDATE
with exporters, as there are many
advantages. “The biggest advantage
of having an exporter on my buyer list
is that he understands the required
norms, ethos, where the products
have to be produced and shipped out
for; he is extremely detailed and if
he has given me a time I know it’s
going to get delivered by then,” says
Chaitra Ramamurthy, Sr. Manager
Sourcing and PD, Arvind Ltd. She
is however quick to point out that the
same qualities are also a disadvantage
for the exporters. “Indian retail
market is quite volatile; so despite
organizing and planning, changes
happen. And if we make any change
within the product or within the
delivery timeline, then their entire
planning goes to waste and I don’t
get my delivery on time. That’s where
I have the advantage with domestic
manufacturers. It’s more flexible… I
can add more shipments, I can ask for
lesser shipments, but ensuring that I
get quality from them would take a lot
of effort from my quality team’s part,”
ad ds Chaitra.
Though exporters now understand
the potential of the domestic market
but still, only a small portion of them
deal in it and this is clearly due to a
mismatch between the working style
and expectations of brands/retailers
and exporters. For one, domestic
retailers/brands provide samples to
manufacturers due to which there is
an ambiguity in domestic production,
whereas international buyers provide
them with details like the catalogue,
tech packs, per inch thread to be used
and more; there is no scope for any
ambiguity. “There are many things
that are very different, to start with
domestic quantities aren’t so big
except for some brands. Say for 200
pieces and 400 styles, it is difficult for
them to programme the machinery
line-up for such quantities. Also,
exporters fear to work with domestic
brands because they have given
payment problems to them in past;
they work on LC, while we don’t,”
explains Haresh Mansharmani,
Sourcing Head, Mufti.
Most sourcing heads agree that the
biggest challenge faced by most
exporters entering into the domestic
manufacturing scenario would have
been regarding payment. All this
happens because of the kinds of
payments’ systems/arrangements,
and terms and conditions they would
have had. Generally, there are no
“Indian retail market is quite volatile; so despite organizing and
planning, changes happen. And if we make any changes within the
product or within the delivery timeline, then their entire planning goes
to waste and I don’t get my delivery on time...”
– Chaitra Ramamurthy, Sr. Manager Sourcing and PD, Arvind Ltd.
South & East, Reliance Trends,
Indian domestic market is highly
unprofessional because of quality
issues. However, this has to change, as
Indian consumers are also changing
their preference from unorganized
low-quality garments to high-quality
garments. “Indian consumers are
becoming more demanding because
of which exporters will find it more
comfortable to work with Indian
retailers and brands. Also, the brands/
retailers will now turn more towards
such players who understand quality,”
says Menon.
payment guarantee as nobody does
LC and rather work on credit of
30-90 days. There have been many
bad experiences on this failed credit
system. “Domestic players are not
good paymasters and don’t even
commit. It’s always a risk with
domestic players as it is difficult to
know if they are in a healthy financial
position or not,” opines Kingshuk
Pandit, who after many years as a
sourcing person with leading brands,
is now working as a sourcing agent for
some domestic brands.
However, now with the advent of
Arvind, Madura, Reliance, and other
big names that have come into play,
exporters are increasingly realising
that the domestic landscape is
changing for the better and that there
are now trustworthy corporates
who are going to stand behind
the payments. So more and more
exporters, who shunned the domestic
market are now interested in working
with this market. In fact, though the
mismatch does exist, there are many
advantages of working in the domestic
market – shipment is easy, interacting
with the sourcing team is more of
one-o-one, and above all the domestic
players are not price-sensitive, they
pay higher than most international
retailers on comparable products.
Further, exporters are hit by foreign
exchange fluctuation which is not the
case in domestic market.
According to Manu Menon, Regional
Head Quality Assurance –
“There are many
things that are
very different, to
start with domestic
quantities aren’t
so big except for
some brands. Say
for 200 pieces and
400 styles, it is
difficult for them
to programme
the machinery
line-up for such
quantities.”
Haresh Mansharmani,
Sourcing Head, Mufti
The Indian market is getting quality-
conscious like never before, yet
exporters still keep only a percentage
of quality product for the domestic
market which is a major disadvantage
for the Indian retailers and brands.
“Being a quality man, I think we
should think more about the quality
than selling price pressure like
the international players to be in
business. Since India is not a seasonal
consumer of garments, we wear our
garments for a longer period; so here
functional and aesthetic quality is
more important which both retailers
and manufacturers should keep in
mind,” adds Menon.
Exporters take…
Most exporters working in the
domestic scenario feel that overall
no big difference exists today that
really works against the exporters
to manufacture for domestic retail
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