Apparel Online India Magazine July 2nd Issue 2018 | Page 57

EYES & EARS
Buying agents of hard
goods adding apparel
as growth opportunity
ELASTICS / TAPES
I
n this difficult phase when apparel
export is continuously down and
buyers are not very keen to start
working with new suppliers, it is
interesting to note that buying
agents known for hard goods, are
now starting apparel sourcing. In
recent few months, Team Apparel
Online met several such buying
agents with a forte for hard goods,
or sourcing little bit of soft goods
(home furnishing), now entering into
apparel sourcing and even looking at
the segment as a growth opportunity.
Some of these buying agents are even
exploring various garmenting hubs
across India to offer more variety
and cost-effective products.
Indsource International, Gurgaon
also recently expanded its reach
into the apparel segment. Some
other such buying agents include
The Sun Corporation (TSC), Noida;
Sourcing Solutions India, Delhi; UA
Consultants, Faridabad; Image Home,
Ghaziabad. Few of these buying
agents are already working in a way
that covers a wide range of products,
so that whatever their buyers
ask for, these agents can provide,
irrespective of their strength or the
requirement being quite different from
their regular offerings. Few of these
buyers were already doing a little bit
of apparel sourcing on and off, on a
small scale but now they are keen to
expand in this segment. On the other
hand, few buyers are adding apparel
into their product basket, so they are
insisting that their existing buying
There are few buying
agents who also think
that increasing sourcing
opportunity of apparel is
just a matter of chance
as their buyers ask for
variety of products as
per their needs and
there is no real trend in
the movement. “It is a
routine, from past few
months that buyers are
asking for apparels and
we are enjoying it. But
I can’t say for sure how
long it will last,” told a
buying agent who did
not wish to be quoted.
KNITTING / WEAVING YARN
agents support them rather than
exploring any new factory or buying
agency as they have long-term
relationships with these agents.
Rajesh Singh Negi, Director –
Sourcing & Inspections, Sourcing
Solutions India informed, “Overall
textile is nearly 30 per cent of our
business while rest is hard goods,
but now we see good growth in
apparel and accessories segment
too. It is interesting for us and
we anticipate at least 10 per cent
growth in the segment. Though
our core business will remain hard
goods, but increasing enquiries of
apparel motivates us to explore the
garment section.”
HOOK / BAR
T-shirts is one of the most in demand product by the buying agents
www.apparelresources.com | JULY 16-31, 2018 | Apparel Online India
57