fabric with big brands. Earlier, the
options were limited but with digital
printing, the options are numerous.
Does India seem to be a potential
target market in the future?
This year I went to India and saw that
it has 7-9 per cent GDP increase every
year. India is a hot country and it will
require products that have certain
features, including anti-bacterial,
quick-dry, cooling and anti-mosquito
properties. Pricing is very high in
India. It will take time for us to know
the market thoroughly. But we do have
a hope in India.
What percentage of your sales is
through brick and mortar and what
through e-marketplace?
Around 99 per cent sales are from
brick and mortar and only 1 per cent
is from the e-market because it is only
last year that we went online with
the launch of our new website. It is
very difficult to grow our business
online because fabric needs touch
and feel, and this cannot be shown
on the website. It is difficult, but we
are trying. We have discussed with
Alibaba last month but we still need
time to expand online.
How do you keep a track of textile
market trends and other related
information in the international
market?
We participate in exhibitions and
fashion shows to understand market
trends. Our sales team works with
the buyers and they also share
information. We also buy trend
samples from Europe, use trend books
from Italy and France, and check
trends on the internet.
What is the new technology that you
will adopt for fabric manufacturing?
We think the print pattern will be
very popular. Our customers can
select and choose their patterns.
They can see and get an idea about
what kind of print can be used on
the fabrics. We are still working on
this. Normally, they select the pattern
and wait for one or two months to
see what the garment will look like
but here we can show them the
patterns.
What is your R&D team like? How
much do you spend annually on
R&D?
The research and development
team comprises 40 per cent of the
company’s staff strength. This team
visits exhibitions and shows and
collects information. We do a review
and discuss in the sales meeting along
with the quality control department.
We try to find out if any new
developments can be worked out.
Which are your major international
markets? Are you planning to expand
to any other regions in the near
future?
We hope to expand in India, Vietnam
and Russia in the future. However,
it will not be possible to enter these
markets this year.
What are your growth expectations
from the company for the next two
fiscals?
We are hoping for a growth of around
5-6 per cent next year. Ours is a
$17-million company and our major
sale is to the United States and Europe.
We are not a big company and if we
aim for higher growth, it might affect
quality.