Features , 1   Aug   2010 : An “Annual Customers Listening Forum”, hosted by the British Airways, was recently organized at Bangalore to honour top business associates from India and Sri Lanka. At this two-day affair, a special auction was carried for a noble cause to raise funds for NGOs – SAMADHAN (working for rehabilitation of mothers of mentally challenged children from lower strata of the society) and SANKALP (working for welfare and education of destitute children). The item for auction under the hammer was the legendary cricket bat that was presented to Kapil Dev, Captain of the Indian Team.  

Features , 1   Aug   2010 : When we talk about Indian Home Fashion Industry, one of the first names that strikes our mind will be of P. Vasudevan. His association with the industry starts from 1976 since establishment of one of the first buying houses in the country – Associated Merchandising Corporation (AMC), New Delhi. In AMC he was responsible for home furnishings, accessories and ready to wear for the mass merchants like Target, Mervyns, Kohls and associated member stores like Harrods, Galleries Lafayette, Metro-Singapore, Metro Jaya – Kuala Lumpur, Grace Brothers – Australia, Coin – Italy, Hudson Bay Co. – Canada, Hertie – Germany, Magazine D Bijenkorf – Holland, etc. A recipient of “Life Time Achievement” Award in 2009 by EPCH, Dr. Vasudevan, President, India Merchandising Services shares his professional journey with Apparel Online.  

Features , 1   Aug   2010 : An ICRA market study on technical textiles place the market size in India at around US $ 8.86 billion which is expected to grow at 11% to reach a size of US $ 14.76 billion by 2012-13. Among the various segments, disposable hygiene products are projected to grow significantly, this based on the fact that the healthcare industry is growing at an annual rate of over 20%. The amalgamation of protection, comfort and cost are the key drivers today in developing and introducing new ‘single-use’ fabrics into the Indian market. Ahlstrom a leading Finnish global supplier of high performance, single-use non-woven fabrics for variety of end uses, has five manufacturing sites in the US, and Europe including one in India which started in 2010 only.  

Features , 1   Aug   2010 : Though a small fair, the GTE Bangalore 2010 edition was able to attract nearly 9000 visitors not only from the city but also from Chennai and Tirupur. A relatively newer edition than the established Delhi one, GTE Bangalore saw over 300 brands in technology and accessories display their latest offerings specific to the needs of the region. Machines for jean manufacturing, button attaching and auto pocket welter attracted much attention. Also recognizing that value addition is a direction for the region there was much emphasis on printing technology, finishing equipment and embroidery machines from top international brands. The focus of most technology providers was to offer specialized machines at competitive prices.  

Features , 1   Aug   2010 : The apparel export industry has just passed through one of its worst phases, which has compelled industry leaders to re-look at their working processes and change systems to be more competitive. In the last two years, many factories have closed down and the biggest names in the industry were content to take it slowly as margins continued to dip even as the quantities too took a beating. Now, as the global buying slowly gets back on track it is time to analyze the impact of the slowdown and lessons learnt. One of the most important areas that need to be analyzed is the affect it had on the different segments of the industry. A recent survey by AO of exporters with turnovers less than Rs. 10 crore has thrown up some interesting facts. The most revealing of which is that while the overall exports of garments from the country saw negative growth, a majority of the small exporters remained unaffected by the downturn and some even registered growth.  

Features , 1   Aug   2010 : Held at a new venue, the India International Garment Fair (45th IIGF) was a kaleidoscope of colour, prints and varied fabrics. The distance from the centre of Delhi, did not deter visitors and the event saw 1,592 international buyers from 721 companies and 569 buying agents from 413 companies seeking differential offerings in mostly ladies wear and accessories. In fact, the fair was dominated by dresses, tops and fashion accessories with few players in the kids and men’s section. As always, exhibitors from Delhi/NCR and Jaipur dominated the fair with some players from Tirupur, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai besides some participation from newer centres like Indore, Muradabad, Bhopal, Varanasi, Pune, Pushkar and Bhagalpur. The fair which generated business worth $ 71 million re-established its positioning as a sourcing event for small and medium players.  

Features , 1   Aug   2010 : The USA retail market place is now receiving the Fall Back to School, orders that should be all complete in the stores by August 9th. Now what? These products are primarily in the younger market of apparel, and also Fall 1 – Men’s and Women’s collections, East Coast and Midwest, should be in all stores at the same time. Practically, West coast retail can wait until Sept. 1, 2010. In the meanwhile, the merchandisers and designers are sampling for Spring 2011, starting with early delivery mid December 2010, East Coast only. Some have already placed Fall 2, and starting to finalize Holiday delivery.  

WorldWrap , 1   Aug   2010 : Among the many compliance norms that are mandatory to work with international buyers, ‘child labour’ is considered as one of the most critical. The issue has time and again challenged the industry, more so as a lot of handwork is outsourced to home workers. Now the concern has grown even bigger as despite representation from the industry, the US Department of Labor has just put the Indian Apparel Industry on its Executive Order 13126 (EO List) pertaining to ‘forced or indentured child labor’ along with 20 other industries from 28 other countries. The Indian garment industry is already on the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) list relating to forced labor or child labor.  

Features , 1   Aug   2010 : We are all too familiar with the sight of our great artist M.F. Hussain Sahib, walking barefoot and holding a huge paintbrush in his hands! It adds volumes to his impressive and creative personality. But, did you ever see a buyer without shoes and with a paintbrush and that too a big wall painting brush?  

Features , 16   Jul   2010 : “Avery Dennison, a Fortune 500 company known for innovations that improve its customers’ businesses, recently marked its 75th anniversary. The closing ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange culminated when the company’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Dean A. Scarborough rang the closing bell.  

Features , 16   Jul   2010 : The unending romance with denim has seen the scope of the fabric expanding from garments and accessories to home fashion. Designers and retailers are looking to woo customers who are passionate about denim, the philosophy is simple – if one loves denim then denim décor would immediately catch one’s fancy.  

Features , 16   Jul   2010 : Mumbai-based Deesan Group, a Rs. 800 crore plus company, has contributed significantly to a socio-economic revolution in an obscure tribal belt in Shirpur (Maharashtra).  

Features , 16   Jul   2010 : In line with the growing need to be sustainable across the supply chain, Intertek has developed the Think Green Initiative (TGI) program to help global brands and retailers to manage and track both environmental and sustainability performance in their supply chain.  

Features , 16   Jul   2010 : Promoting exporters both at the individual and industry level is a challenge. Among the many tools available to exporters to enhance business is participating in sourcing fairs both nationally and internationally. For some, these fairs have been vehicles of growth while for others no real value has come from the efforts. However, the importance of sourcing fairs cannot be undermined and buyers too are increasingly looking at these events for developing new vendors and product categories.  

WorldWrap , 16   Jul   2010 : I try to be as realistic and factual as possible as to what is going on in the Global World – Textile/Apparel and Trade Industry. Since the prices of cotton and the spinning of yarn is being restricted by many areas of the globe, including India, Pakistan and China, as major producers of cotton, of yarn, the knitting and weaving of fabric, now has an attitude of not taking orders unless they get the top prices.  

WorldWrap , 16   Jul   2010 : The next edition of Texworld to be held at the Paris le Bourget Exhibition Centre, Paris (France) from 13th to 16th September 2010 rides on the back of the successful February 2010 edition which saw 642 exhibitors from 28 countries showcasing to over 14,038 visitors from across the globe.  

WorldWrap , 16   Jul   2010 : China’s decision to let its currency rise in value while adding buying power to its exploding middle class puts a squeeze on US retailers like Walmart because Chinese imports suddenly cost more. Indeed, China’s move to loosen its currency, the yuan, from the US dollar and let the open market have more of a say in its value, has real-world consequences around even though any movement of the Chinese currency in the near term is likely to be too gradual to matter immediately for the bottom line.  

Features , 16   Jul   2010 : We often hear people say, IT’S A SMALL WORLD, And further in our garment industry we believe it’s even a SMALLER WORLD! One way or the other the industry remains connected , be it the garment exporters fraternity, or the host of buying and sourcing offices, or even the numerous industries like fabric and trim sources, thread makers, carton suppliers and label makers, each one is an integral part of our industry within this Smaller World.  

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