2 AO India | June 2020

2 AO India | September 2020

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September 2020 | AO India 3
contentS

28
Cover Story
Decoding The
Multi-Million Dollar
Character Licensing
Industry In India

Industry Verdict
12 I Visual Merchandising Strategies Still
An Important Aspect Of Retail Post-Covid

Retail Right//National
14 I Private Labels And Their Journey
To Success
p14
Private labels, with higher margins and greater acceptability by
Retail Right//News customers, are a powerful tool in a retailer’s kitty
18 I Tata Trent Ltd. Launches Landmark
Xcite, A New Concept Store

Retail Right//International
20 I Adaptive Clothing: A Market Worth
Exploring Or A Limited Opportunity?

Retail Right//News p20

24 I Yoox Launches Virtual Travel And Adaptive clothing aims at amalgamating fashionability with accessibility
that guarantees safety
Shopping Getaway ‘Ciao Italia’!

Expert Speaks
26I Time For Greater Collaboration
Among Retailers, Buying Offices And
Suppliers: Triburg

Buying & Sourcing

p44
33 I The Changing Sourcing Tides Of
The Post-Pandemic Market The IGBC-certified green factory of Earthbags Export

4 AO India | September 2020

 WHERE About Us:
GREAT THINGS SCM Garments Pvt Limited is one of India’s biggest Manufacturer’s and

TOGETHER
COME Exporter’s of Knitted Garments based in Tirupur.Its part of on the biggest and most
efficacious group of companies in Manufacturing and Retail-SCM Group . We believe
that quality and efficiency are a quintessential part of our very being and to
measure up to our own ideals. Also, instilling a sense of ownership and pride
enhances a long-term relationship with our customers. To stay true to our pride in
workmanship, we’ve established a dominant presence in every part of the textile
SCM GROUP OF COMPANIES spectrum and our pride lies in being independent and self-sufficient in every stage
of garment production.
SCM Garments is well- poised to cater to international markets with the
quality of its world-class garments. SCM's vertically integrated infrastructure has
been instrumental in taking the company to global heights. It has always been
known for the impeccable quality of its garments as stringent quality control is
exercised right from the raw material to the finished product.

SCM Spinning:
The complete process of producing the superior quality yarn
includes from a contemporary blow-room and advanced machines for
carding, combing and drawing, to high-end cone Winding machinery
and Autoconer.
SCM Knitting:
Highly integrated infrastructure manufacturing knitted
products and have been tirelessly striving towards newer horizons
and growing consistently with each passing year.

SCM Processing:
Two dyeing Units have incorporated eco-friendly dyeing
techniques and printing unit’s which complies with the Oeko-Tex 100
Standards.
SCM Garments:
Vertically integrated infrastructure has been instrumental in
taking the company to global heights. It has always been known for
the impeccable quality of its garments as stringent quality control is
exercised right from the raw material to the finished product.

SCM Ethiopia:
Our international Manufacturing Presence with state of the art
facility in Mekele,Ethiopia catering to Europe and USA Markets.

Corporate Social Responsibility:

Charity Hospital with Specialist Doctor Consulting,Free
Scholarships for worthy School and College Students,Free Medical
Camps in Villages,Re-Forestation Program across Tirupur and
5

Maintaining 20000 Tree’s

September 2020 | AO India

Sustainability:
Environmental Friendly Wet Processing techniques in our Dyeing
and Printing Plants including ZLD,Organic Cotton and BCI Certification
right from Yarns to Garments manufacturing,Usage of Windpower and
Solar energy for 90% of our energy consumption.

SCM Garments Pvt. Limited, 57, VOC Nagar (South), Valayankadu, Tirupur - 641 603, Tamilnadu, India.
September 2020 | AO India 5
91-421-4319888 91-421-2248889 scmcre@scmgroups.com www.scmgarments.com
contentS

Manufacturing
38 I Mercury India Exports
Offering High-Cost Womenswear;
Growing Steadily Amidst
Unprecedented Times

Sustainability
42 I NGOs Again Raise Serious p60
Allegations On Industry
Jenjum Gadi: Championing Indian menswear by fusing tribal influences with
contemporary fashion
Trends In Focus//Runways
48 I Cruising Through Resort 2021: A
Round-Up Report On The Top Trends Of
The Season

FASHION BUSINESS
52 I The Future Of Fashion Where
Science Meets Luxury
p62
Designers & Labels A look into India’s first-ever creative community space
58 I Jenjum Gadi: Fusing Tribal
Influences With Contemporary
Menswear Fashion

Free Expression
61 I Maker’s Asylum: India’s First
Creative Community Space

Start-Ups
66 I From Road To Ramp: Start-Ups p66
Leading The Streetwear Movement Streetwear has emerged as one of the key wardrobe staples in and the
In India #OOTD phenomenon is keeping the category alive and kicking

Trade Statistics
72I US Apparel Imports (January
To June 2020): H1 ’20: Apparel Import
Down From Last Year; Monthly Rebound
In June Brings Hope

Resource Centre
78 I Trims Manufacturers Are Positive p78
As Business Starts Improving Products of Fashion Accessories, Mumbai

6 AO India | September 2020

September 2020 | AO India 7
September 2020 | AO India 7
editor’s note
FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’s DESK…
Industry getting back to core
products as PPE prospects
nosedive
The saga around PPE exports has become like a
TV serial with its share of ups and downs, full of
drama, suspense and uncertainty!
The Government initially banned the export of
PPE citing domestic requirements as a priority,
which is understandable. After careful assessment
of local needs, the Government in early May,
placed orders for 22.2 million PPE kits, of which
around 14.2 million was bought from domestic
manufacturers and the rest had to be imported.
Sensing opportunity, almost every garment
manufacturer entered the arena and now, over
1,100 firms in the country manufacture about
7,00,000 to 8,00,000 PPE requirements daily. In
fact, the PPE manufacturing industry, in less than
4 months, has become a Rs. 7,000 crore industry
in India, the biggest after China.
Once the production of masks and coveralls
exceeded the local demand, the Government after
much industry persuasion decided to open the
exports of cotton, silk, wool and knitted masks
on 16th May, but other critical items in the PPE
category remained closed. Finally, on 29th June,
the Government lifted the ban on PPE with quota
restriction of monthly export of 50 lakh medical
overalls.
But sadly, the move has not given any relief to
the exporters as the requirements to export are
very stringent and the BIS certification required,
takes up to 2 months. Serious questions on quality
and testing parameters have also surfaced. In a
nutshell, the situation is stalemate between the
producers and the Government, resulting in
thousands of pieces of PPE suits, manufactured
for exports lying unsold, as rates in local market
dropped drastically because of oversupply.
With the size of the global market for PPEs
projected to be more than US $ 60 billion over
the next five years, it seems like India has lost
the opportunity despite capacities, as competing
countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia and Pakistan
are receiving huge orders from large buyers in the
US and Europe.
8 AO India | September 2020
So, while export of fashion masks has been
encouraging, the edge that India could have
garnered in PPE has been lost. With no future
in sight, capacities in PPE segment have been
reduced and exporters prefer to get back to their
core businesses, many citing PPE production as
contingency plan with no long-term prospect!
What has encouraged the exporters to get back to
their regular products after the disappointment in
PPE is an upward swing in enquirers and import
data from traditional markets in June that indicate
positivity after months of depression.
While the US registered a monthly surge of 49.81
per cent in June ’20 over May ’20, the Canadian
apparel retail market saw 67.50 per cent growth
in June ’20 over May ’20. Significantly, India’s
exports to the US witnessed a monthly surge of
80.13 per cent over May ’20.
Certain categories in particular are doing well.
Brassiere is one of them for the US, growing to
13.86 per cent in June ’20 over May ’20. India
grew significantly on M-o-M basis by 234.48 per
cent. Another category that has been doing really
well is knitted leggings, mostly because it falls
under the athleisure category, a preferred segment
during the pandemic period.
However, the industry is still far from recovery
and there are many ‘ifs’ in the story. Questions
that will determine the future are many – how
soon will the vaccine be found and made
available? Is the fear of resurgence in new Covid-
19 infections a reality and how will the high
unemployment rate across the world impact the
comeback of sales?
Deepak Mohindra
Editor-in-Chief
e-mail me at dmohindra@apparelresources.com
Deepak Mohindra
September 2020 | AO India 9
September 2020 | AO India 9
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industry verdict

Q&A
Visual merchandising is a crucial retail strategy that maximises the aesthetics of a product with the
intent to increase and boost up sales. In fact it plays a critical role in projecting the look, feel and culture
of a brand. Lately, with stores experiencing lesser footfall than ever owing to the fears of Coronavirus,
retailers have to adopt innovative strategies to catch the attention of shoppers.
In line with this, according to you, what importance does visual merchandising hold in the times of Covid
and what strategies should be adopted to pull more footfalls? Has the role of visual merchandising
diminished or amplified in the current situation? What is your plan of action for bringing consumers to
stores in the coming months?

Visual merchandising plays Different ways of displays We are implementing Try On

a very important role during
Covid times because it’s
all about presenting and
displaying products in a way
that makes them visually
appealing and desirable.
Our team of Visual
Akhil Duggar Jain Merchandisers work closely
Executive Director, Madame
in setting up the decor
to make your shopping
experience hassle-free. We
strive to keep up with display
and mannequins arrangement
to make a great first
impression and to portray
the brand image as soon as
customers enter the store.
Our team has created display
arrangement more visually
appealing so that customers
can find what they need.
have been adopted in the
display concept to more of
frontal display to ensure that
the customer doesn’t need to
touch to browse the product.
Customers are fine entering
vanilla stores like ours,
where the footfall is always
manageable. The brand
has marketed the safety
measures thoroughly to the
customer. It ensured that
our customer feels safe
while in our stores. Realising
the customers’ preferences
in the ‘new normal’ world
will be the key. We are
investing in technology and
communication campaigns to
create consumers awareness
and brand recall.
technology which brings the
store garments and apparel
to life in the form of a virtual
dressing room to attract more
customers at stores.
Meeting customer
expectations will require
cross-functional coordination
transformation of supply
chains and above all
innovative thinking to lead
the customer to visit the
store and giving him or her
a truly satisfying experience
leading to return customers.
We ensure that our top
selling categories get top
shelf space so that shoppers
can move about and quickly
get the items of their choice.

We will continue to use Visual Merchandising. experience for customers.

VM to position ourselves
as a home-grown brand
that offers affordable value
for money products to
customers in these difficult
times. We put the safety
of our customers first
Rahul Sharma
General Manager – Marketing, which is prominently being
Red Chief communicated through
However, with customers
also opting to shop
online post-Covid,
Visual Merchandising
can play a key role on
e-commerce platforms
too. Brands may use
virtual reality to create a
holistic multi-dimensional
Hologram Technology
could be used to bring any
merchandise alive through
holographic projections.
Leveraging effective VM
strategies not only has the
power to transform a brand,
but also defines what the
brand stands for.

12 AO India | September 2020

 industry verdict

Nirdosh Kapil
Vice President – Sales &
VM, Blackberrys Menswear
Visual Merchandising
has taken a big leap in
the last few years and its
significance has increased
manifold in times like
these. We, at Blackberrys,
actively incorporate this
technique into our business
practices to increase the
visibility of our products and
their features. We follow
clear, legible and consistent
merchandising guidelines
throughout our stores.
Apart from this, we also lay
special emphasis on making
in-store experience for the
customer engaging and on
enhancing the look and feel
of the store. We use lighting
for aided browsing and pay
due attention to the utility
of focal point area, high-
point props and mannequin
cluster with product
styling, façade with window
display and entrance. We
feel Visual Merchandising
will further bring positive
changes for the retail
brands and thus help them
in strengthening their
positions in the market.

Sandeep Gonsalves
Director & Co-Founder,
Sarah & Sandeep
Visual merchandising is a
pivotal part of retail strategy
and plays an important role
in defining the aesthetics and
culture of a brand. With the
advent of Covid, I wouldn’t
suggest abandoning retail
merchandising, and as the
Government initiates the
unlock stages, it’s crucial to
be smart in implementing
your merchandising strategies
to boost sales. Brands
need to adapt to the post-
pandemic consumer by using
visual merchandising as a
medium for communication.
It’s also important to upsell
some of your transaction
building products near the
trending products to improve
purchasing.
This is the time one can target
to showcase budget-friendly
products that are also in
line with the ongoing trends
in the front segment or the
window to attract consumers
and convert to sales. We are
also implementing strategies
like planogram, story-telling,
cluster-free display, multi
props window.

Tanvi Malik
Co-Founder, FabAlley
Visual Merchandising is
something that helps attract
walk-ins to the store if the
customer is already in the
catchment area and not
something that can attract
the customer to come to
the market all the more. It
definitely has certain limits
to it. Having said that, now
that people have started
venturing out on the roads or
to the shopping malls, visual
merchandising will play an
important role in getting their
attention. One has to keep
an aura of security, safety and
efficiency at this point of time.
We have signage like ‘we are
safe’ and even point by point
instruction and guidelines on
what we are doing to keep our
clothes hygienic and safe. Also,
offering the right merchandise
to the customer is actually very
important visual merchandising
element right now and that’s
what we are doing. For
windows and displays, we are
showcasing collections that
are functional, merchandise
from our core collection rather
than the trendy ones. The
market is slowly recovering;
In July, we saw 25 per cent of
our pre-Covid numbers and
this month we are already at
our 45 per cent. So we are
seeing a recovery with more
and more stores reopening and
more people moving out of the
confines of their homes.

NEXT industry verdict QUESTION

The consumer buying behaviour might have changed completely due to the ongoing pandemic and is now being shaped and shifted by
the pandemic and the same agility is expected on the part of retail and they are quickly pivoting to emphasise mobile technology and
virtual appointments to keep their businesses going.
In line with this, how are you leveraging the online medium to attract more business and more footfall during the ongoing pandemic?
Elucidate on your online and omnichannel capabilities and strategies to build customer relationship and to optimise user experience.
What are your digital marketing strategies right now? Also, how is business in Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets and are there enough takers
of online retail in these areas? S E N D y o u r c o m m en t s
contact@apparelresources.com

September 2020 | AO India 13

retail right//national
Private Labels
and their journey
to success
In the past decade of India’s growing
retail landscape, brands have dedicated
themselves to creating value for
consumers through the launch of their
private labels. Initially developed and
popularised in Europe in the groceries
segment during 1970s and 1980s, the
trend quickly picked up to encompass
other categories. After establishing their
credibility, consumers turned to private
labels as a ‘preferred choice’ with their
own identity rather than the ‘cheap
alternative’ retailers had feared they
would become.
Before deciphering how the market
for private labels has come to be an
emerging one in India, it is important to
understand the differentiation between
private brands and national ones that
have been looked up to by patrons for so
long. As Private Label Manufacturers’
14 AO India | September 2020
Amar Nagaram, CEO, Myntra
Association puts it, “Private label
products include all merchandise sold
under a retailer’s brand. It can be the
retailer’s own name or a name created
exclusively for the products. In certain
cases, it may belong to a wholesale
group that owns the brands.” This goes
to say that the products are owned and
controlled by the retailer solely which
has exclusive rights to sell them through
their retail channels. And while retailers
can choose to include their name, many
opt for a brand name and packaging
starkly different from their own to
establish a separate identity, however
still promising the quality they stand for.
Earlier the retailers used to bring their
own products into those categories
where no manufacturers’ products were
available. Scenarios have completely
altered now. More or less all organised
players are launching their own labels
across all product categories including
apparel, which has gradually flooded
organised retail. In fact, Mudra Institute
of Communications Ahmedabad
(MICA) estimates the current value of
the market at Rs. 13 billion or 10-12

per cent of the retail industry in India.
Increasingly becoming strategic tools
to increase sales, the biggest players
in fashion and apparel are reaping the
profits of higher margins and greater
acceptability by consumers who trust the
value being provided at more affordable
pricing.
Why do private labels
have an edge?
It may be as simple as better pricing for
the consumer but the attractiveness of
private labels is far reaching for their
owners. The channel power is shifting in
favour of the private label manufacturers
and owners as they are outdoing their
national counterparts in terms of
price, preference, availability, margins,
packaging and loyalty.
“Private labels have been around in the
country for several decades. However,
it is only since the rise of chain store
retail right//national
retail that their true potential is being
realised, thanks to scale. Private labels
are a powerful tool in a retailer’s kitty
that gives competitive advantage and
better margins while creating value for
the customers. Most importantly, private
labels are differentiated assortments
that become retailer’s unique selling
propositions in an omnichannel world,”
said Kumar Rajagopalan, Chief
Executive Officer, Retailers Association
of India.
The key to a successful brand lies
in the needs of the consumers and
conglomerates of today have been blessed
with all the data they need to study and
identify lucrative opportunities they can
venture into. Apparel categories with
low entry barriers, low switching costs
to customers and high profit margins are
prudent entry points but balancing price
and quality becomes a major challenge.
What’s more is that private labels have
Kumar Rajagopalan, Chief Executive Officer,
Retailers Association of India
to establish themselves against national
brands because the mentality of the
consumer still dictates that lower the
price, more inferior the quality.
This however, can be altered with
the right communication strategies.
Promoting through attractive
promotional schemes and product
bundling has been a widely adopted
positioning strategy for retailers that
afford them the opportunity to not only
create a distinct brand image for the
new launch but also reinforce their own
image in the eye of the consumer. After
all, the elimination of middlemen and
the possibility of innovation in clothing
according to market requirements
through the offering of various labels
make for a strong case no retailer wants
to let go of.
“It is only since the rise
of chain store retail that
their true potential is
being realised, thanks
to scale. Private labels
are a powerful tool in a
retailer’s kitty that gives
competitive advantage
and better margins
while creating value for
the customers.”
– Kumar Rajagopalan
September 2020 | AO India 15
retail right//national
Lifestyle, a leading MBO in India, has
11 private labels including 4 franchise
brands that cater to an audience ranging
from 18 – 32 years of age. Rishi Vasudev,
Executive Director of Lifestyle
International Pvt Ltd said, “With global
runway trends made available in Indian-
inspired silhouettes and fine fabrics, our
private label brands are delivering curated
collections that are high on fashion and
style. From casualwear to athleisure,
from contemporary ethnicwear to
festive fashion; our private label brands
are vibrant, youthful and add style to
one’s life,” on being asking what draws
his customers to Lifestyle’s private
labels instead of other independent and
national brands on offer.
The buck doesn’t stop with Lifestyle’s
Melange, Code, Ginger or Bossini,
any fashion retail group you name in
India, has a portfolio of private labels
catering to different target audiences in
16 AO India | September 2020
its portfolio. Shoppers Stop with Life,
Haute Curry and Stop, Westside’s Nuon
and Bombay Paisley or ABFRL’s Ajile,
Honey and Bare Denim are the tip of
the iceberg in a market that has grown by
leaps and bounds.
E-commerce comes
a-calling
Just like with physical retail stores, the
US $ 200 billion Indian e-commerce
is brimming with the top companies
innovating in all categories, especially
apparel and electronics (fashion is
said to make up US $ 14 billion of the
e-commerce industry in 2020). A quick
search on sites like Flipkart’s Myntra
and Amazon reveals hordes of products
in each category but what helps
differentiate those lesser known brands
from private labels offering the same
prices is the faith that the consumer
places in the portal rather than an
Rishi Vasudev, Executive Director,
Lifestyle International Pvt Ltd
unknown retailer.
E-commerce in India is highly
price-sensitive where the user wants
maximum value out of their budget
and having studied these requirements,
private labels like Myntra’s Roadster,
Moda Rapido, Dressberry and Mast &
Harbor ace both the marketing aspects
by pushing their label to the forefront
for top-of-the-mind recall, and the
fashionability by introducing the right
fits and styles doing the rounds.
In fact, these brands have garnered such
popularity in India that the fashion
e-giant decided to launch them overseas.
“Our research identified high levels
of potential channels across the globe
offering significant opportunities in the
online fashion segment. Among these,
the Middle East stood out in terms
Amazon can earn
as much as US $
25 billion of revenue
by the end of 2022
from its private label
business. In the Indian
subcontinent, the
American company is
ramping up its private
label business with the
aim to bridge the gap
in every category.

of the audience’s demographic profile,
extremely high mobile penetration, the
similarity in fashion preferences and a
large population of Indian origin. We
are looking forward to a 5X growth
from the partnership over the next two
years. Myntra will continue to explore
new markets in order to build brands
of international repute and expand its
base of global consumers,” affirmed
Amar Nagaram, CEO, Myntra.
Amazon India has also realised
the potential of the apparel and
fashion category with the initiation
of its Amazon Mega Fashion Sale,
offering up to 70 per cent off on
merchandise. Naturally, the next step
for the multinational conglomerate after
launching AmazonBasics that spans
across categories ranging from stationery
to electronics, was to introduce its own
private labels in this segment. With Myx,
Amazon has forayed into women’s kurtis
and kurtas and Symbol is dedicated to
a comprehensive range of clothing and
accessories for both men and women.
According to various global agencies,
Amazon can earn as much as US $ 25
billion of revenue by the end of 2022
from its private label business. Also, in
the Indian subcontinent, the American
company is ramping up its private label
business with the aim to bridge the gap
in every category.
Driving factors and future
prospects
The rising consumers’ consumption
level, current economic downturn
notwithstanding, is one of the most
significant drivers for private label’s
deep penetration into the market. The
expansion and evolution of retail industry
has not only increased bottom line of
retailers but also provided various factors
to encourage retailers to expand private
labels bases like growing number of
stores, in-depth assortments, national
brand manufacturers’ inability to produce
innovative products, changing taste and
preferences of customers, weakening
brand equity of national brands,
shifting customers loyalty, technological
retail right//national
progression, negligible switching cost,
shrinking profit margins, price and
quality consciousness, encouraging
quality perception and positive
acceptance of private labels consumptions
among the large customer bases, etc.
Though still in nascent stages, retailers
can encounter heavy pushback from
national brands for which they should
develop strategies to survive in the
aggressively competitive market. Recent
e-commerce policies by the Government
of India and stricter amendments
in FDI policy have also come as a
blow to the sustainable growth of
private label businesses. With physical
businesses complaining about heavy
Harsha Razdan, Partner and Head – Consumer
Markets and Internet Business, KPMG in India
discounting that influences pricing
of these channels, norms now dictate
that services like quicker delivery,
cashback, extended warranty offered by
e-commerce sites should be applicable
to all vendors and not just to a handful.
The new norms say that if a vendor
sells 25 per cent of his/her products
through an e-commerce site, then
the site will be considered to have an
inventory model where FDI is not at all
permitted. 
This is a small hiccup in a larger
scheme of things and continuous
innovations will strengthen the position
of private labels in the market so that
their success is not solely dependent on
pricing, but also on their offerings and
quality.
“Private labels have the potential to offer
higher margins on account of supply
chain efficiencies and better control
over operations. Further, this could also
lead to higher consumer stickiness, thus
becoming a critical element of the overall
business strategy. If one takes a long-
term view, the journey of private labels
gradually moving to brands could be
shaping the future of retail,” explained
Harsha Razdan, Partner and Head
– Consumer Markets and Internet
Business, KPMG in India.
September 2020 | AO India 17
retail right//NEWS www.apparelresources.com

Tata Trent Ltd. launches Landmark Xcite, a new concept store

Tata Group’s Trent Ltd.
is all set to create a new
wave in retail sector as
it launched a whole new
innovative concept store
under the name Landmark
Xcite.
The new format brings
together a new brand
identity along with X,
which is a unisex abstract
human form representing
genderless, colourless and
everyone who has a creative
spirit, a new logo and a new
brand design.
Spread across 5,000
sq. ft., this new store
in Andheri, Mumbai is
designed to unify, celebrate
and promote creativity,
innovation and fun and will
target Gen Zs, millennials
and customers with an
appetite for Insta-friendly
hangout spots.
Speaking on the launch
of Landmark Xcite, Ekta
Saran, Head, Landmark
Xcite said, “Trent Group
has always innovated and
tested new opportunities.
It is a special occasion
for us as we introduce a
new concept store with
Landmark Xcite which
would stand out. A new set
of customers, Gen Z and
millennials, are emerging
and this concept store is
designed to engage with
these target audience for
a long term. As we unveil
Landmark Xcite, we take
another step towards staying
committed to our promise of
providing unique, innovative
and off beat experiences
to our customers. We are
planning to launch three
more Landmark Xcite stores
by the end of 2020.”
This store has many
additions to the brand’s
portfolio to cater to the
growing demands of
discerning customer. One
can now choose from an
array of products, from
categories such as tech,
games, books, stationery,
décor, T-shirts, beauty,
accessories and much more.
The store will also house a
curated range of products
with icon X, which is
sure to elevate moods and
create an exciting, vibrant
environment.
Piyush Bhandari and
Tuhin Roy from Jumping
Goose, a Bengaluru-based
creative agency, along with
Trent Ltd. imagined the
entire concept of this retail
store, and with the help of
Roma Desai from Creer
Consulting, the store design
was put to life. The store
was brought to life from
conceptualisation to delivery
in six months flat.

Indian Terrain Fashions has expansion plans in Tier-2

and Tier-3 cities
A leading menswear brand
in India catering to the
needs of the cosmopolitan
and mature man, Indian
Terrain Fashions Limited
is planning to expand its
retail footprint in Tier-2 and
Tier-3 cities in the country.
Having made a strong
presence for themselves in
the Indian market for 20
years now, the brand looks
forward to open new stores
in those cities.
Charath Narasimhan, MD,
Indian Terrain Fashions,
shared that the Chennai-
based company has realised
the significance of adopting
the new normal in the wake
of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The brand must devise
newer ways to reach out to
the customers, he further
underlined.
Indian Terrain Fashions
has planned to unveil 15
new retail stores in Tier-2
and Tier-3 cities, including
Lucknow, Hubli, Ooty,
Siwan and Ganganagar.
Since digital has been
going strong especially
during the current
strengthening partnerships through which a curated
uncertain times, the
with other e-commerce virtual catalogue is sent
company – with an aim to
portals including Myntra to the consumer via social
fortify its online presence
and Flipkart. media platforms and the
– has already begun
devising digital strategies. ‘Store-to-Door’ is one such product is delivered at the
It is also working towards digital concept by the brand, consumer’s doorstep.

18 AO India | September 2020

www.apparelresources.com
Flipkart explores ways to consolidate Walmart’s
wholesale operations
Walmart-owned e-commerce
major Flipkart is currently
working on strategies to
consolidate Walmart’s
operations, sources informed.
In order to achieve the same,
the Bengaluru-based company
might decide to either close
down Walmart’s Best Price
stores that are unviable or
develop some of them into
full-fledged warehouses,
keeping the focus on their
e-commerce operations.
Recently in July 2020,
Flipkart acquired Walmart’s
B2B wholesale chain, Best
Amazon focuses on digitising MSMEs in India
and getting more sellers on-board
E-commerce major Amazon
has recently revealed its plans
of focusing on digitising
micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSMEs) in
India, and the company’s
process of onboarding more
sellers and hiring more
people is underway.
David Fildes, Director –
Investor Relations, Amazon,
shared the same during a
recent investor call.
He also underlined that the
company has launched new
features to support these
efforts of digitisation.
Currently, while Amazon has
already been pitted against
Walmart-owned Flipkart in
a battle for market leadership
in the country, the race seems
to have intensified further
Price Modern Wholesale,
to introduce its own service
called Flipkart Wholesale.
It must be highlighted
here that Flipkart has
undertaken the process of
relinquishing the space in
Gurugram currently in use
as headquarters by Walmart
India, which owns and
operates 28 Best Price stores
across India.
The Indian e-commerce giant
Flipkart also has plans to shift
its employees to Bengaluru.
The employees of Walmart
India team will be shifted to
with the entry of JioMart,
a joint venture between
Reliance Retail and Jio
Platforms.
It must be mentioned here
a recent report by Goldman
Sachs states that India’s
retail right//NEWS
Flipkart Wholesale in January
next year, shared a Flipkart
representative. The process
e-commerce business is
expected to grow at a CAGR
of 27 per cent to reach US
$ 99 billion by 2024. The
top categories driving the
business are expected to be
apparel and grocery.
September 2020 | AO India
will also include moving
the company’s operations to
Bengaluru in the next fiscal.
PUMA and MIT
Design Lab create
new cushioning
technology
PUMA, the leading footwear
brand in collaboration with
MIT Design Lab, has rolled
out XETIC, a cushioning
technology that combines
mechanical cushioning and
foam. The name XETIC
has been derived from the
name of ‘auxetic materials’,
structures that behaves in
certain way in presence of
any mechanical stress. The
PUMA and MIT Design
Lab team partnered with
extensive runner community
to analyse the pressure points
based on which the product
was developed with extra
detailing for progressive
cushioning. The result was
a structure shaped like the
horizontal number 8.
19
 retail right//INTERNATIONAL
Adaptive Clothing:
A market worth exploring
or a limited opportunity?
Inclusivity and diversity gained
momentum in fashion with the arrival
of the 2010s which marked a series
of breakthroughs that challenged the
intrinsic status quo of the industry
altogether. Fashion is a reflection
of societal concerns and the rising
conscious consumer was making the
industry rigorously question itself for
the values it had perpetuated for so long,
opening doors for a whole slew of new
categories, sizes and minority groups to
be represented.
One such conversation that is worth
mentioning revolves around the adaptive
clothing industry. Though it has been
around for the past couple of years, the
pandemic as well as the rapidly shifting
need-based shopping patterns of the
20 AO India | September 2020
modern consumer are demanding a
fervent change in the way fashion has
operated so far. What’s important to
WHO confirms that note is the viability of the market before
the global estimates considering jumping on the bandwagon
of people suffering or dismissing it as niche and negligible.
from one or another Though still largely unheard of in India,
the global adaptive clothing market
form of disability are
slated to hit nearly US $ 400 billion in
on the rise due to 2026 from US $ 278.9 billion in 2017
population ageing, (as per a report by Coherent Market
the rapid spread of Insights), is relatively untapped in
international markets too. With 15 per
chronic diseases and cent of the world population suffering
improvement in the from a disability of some sort and the
methodologies to number growing from a previously
recorded 10 per cent in 1970s, the WHO
measure disabilities. confirms that the global estimates are
on the rise due to population ageing,
rapid spread of chronic diseases and
 retail right//INTERNATIONAL

These small changes are what set

adaptive clothing apart for people who
have for long taken to oversized clothing
and DIYs to ensure the kind of comfort
they deserve. The changes in designing
might not be significant but can be the
factor for consideration for a lot of people
suffering from disabilities.

Contenders in the market

of adaptivewear
“Disability is the overlooked D in
improvement in the methodologies to Hidden magnetic and Velcro fastening diversity,” Stephanie Thomas, the
measure disabilities. in shirts and bottoms can be a stylish yet founder of Disability fashion styling
Interest in the area of adaptive clothing easy alternative to buttons and adjustable platform Cur8able told Refinery29, a
piqued in 2019 as searches for the or elastic waistbands have a leg up over multinational media and entertainment
category shot up by 80 per cent, according drawstrings and zippers. website. One in four people in the US
to data compiled by global fashion search The silhouettes of the clothes have to suffer from some form of disability and
engine, Lyst. Tommy Hilfiger is one be altered in some scenarios to aide a her venture aims at curating fashion that
of the foremost mainstream fashion more relaxed wear. Something as basic both looks and feels like it was especially
magnates that has for long recognised as wider neck and arm holes can make made for them.
the potential of this segment and led the a world of difference for those who Her disability styling system aims at
charge of making the case for adaptive experience limited mobility. Hidden pull destigmatising disabilities in the fashion
fashion. Many brands have since been loops are also an effective addition to industry wherein she consults with
catching up to cater to a market that is help individuals pull garments on and off, brands about the countless financial,
currently meant for a large population as well as make them easily adjustable social and ethical reasons for including
of roughly 110 to 190 million . But, a throughout the day. adaptive clothing in their collections.
category aimed at fulfilling special needs
It is due to the efforts of people like her
should be able to amalgamate fashion with
that brands out there have heard the
accessibility that guarantees safety to the
voice of this overlooked, marginalised
wearer.
community. In recent years, adaptive
Design with a difference clothing has become super chic and
stylish, thanks to the designers and
It is needless to say that adaptive
brands raising the bar.
fashion is designed for the convenience
of the wearer, and hence requires
certain tweaks in the making for ease
of accessibility. Another essential factor
to consider is the specific medical
needs and safety that a particular target
audience may warrant.
While designing for persons in
wheelchairs, brands should be cautious
of excluding thick seams or back pockets Stephanie Thomas, Founder, Cur8able
which can cause sores and instead
provide more functional front pockets.
Keeping the garments free of tags and
seams for those with sensory issues is
also a simple way of making clothes more
inclusive.
In order to enable ease of dressing up,
there are multiple small components that
can go a long way in making a difference.

September 2020 | AO India 21

retail right//INTERNATIONAL
Tommy Hilfiger is an outright winner
when it comes to this category. This
classic brand partnered with designer
Mindy Scheier to launch an adaptive
line for children in 2016, and an adult
line the following year. Along with
making the landing page for ‘Tommy
Adaptive’ extremely user-friendly by
giving consumers the ability to shop
by solutions including easy closures,
ease of movement and seated wear, TH
went over and above to make the line
more affordable than regular collections
as adaptive outerwear is made out of
technical textiles instead of leather which
dominate the exit prices for standard
garments. The brand is also living up
to its commitment of trendy fashion by
planning to introduce swim shorts and
printed shirts for menswear, as well as
a trench coat, printed midi dresses and
joggers for womenswear.
22 AO India | September 2020
Global Adaptive
Clothing Market
Online footwear and clothing retailer
Zappos is curating an adaptive
range where consumers can choose
to purchase a single shoe or shoes of
different sizes from brands including
Nike, New Balance and Converse
amongst others. In fact, Nike itself has
a range of adaptive footwear called
‘Nike FlyEase’ that is facilitated with
the ease of open and closing, ease of
2017 2026
US $ US $
278.9 400
billion billion
getting in and out and some even have
the adjustability to accommodate foot
shapes and sizes of different kinds.
Another inclusive endeavour that has
been in the news is IZ Adaptive, the
brainchild of Toronto-based designer
Izzy Camilleri who started working
in the segment way back in 2004. She
has since designed many collections
that look just like regular clothes in
the front but are subtly different in the
back to provide the ease the wearer
needs.
American Eagle’s Aerie has been
taking off for introducing several
categories, each of which are either
inclusive of sizes or are sustainable.
It has garnered a strong following
and trust within its consumers in the
recent years. This past January, the
retailer launched a collection with
Abilitee Adaptive Wear and Slick
Chicks, featuring a range of accessories
and underwear for customers with
disabilities and medical needs.
Mode Ézé Plus, a family-run adaptive
clothing business based in Quebec,
is always innovating by adapting new
trends and creating pieces like bras that
open in the front and sweaters, dresses
and other items that have secret snap
openings at the back while giving the
illusion of a mainstream clothing item
that slips on or zips up.
And while it is reassuring to know
that the list doesn’t end here, there is
always scope for bringing in newness
to the market as is evident from the
number of brands that have sprung up
within the past two years to serve the
adaptive category.
 retail right//INTERNATIONAL

Food for thought

Credit where credit is due – brands
have made an effort to become more
holistically inclusive be it for the
potential of the market or for ethical
reasons. However, there still remain
many hurdles for their target audiences
to overcome before they are able to shop
with the kind of ease they deserve.
Tommy Hilfiger remains one of the very
few brands with the kind of user-friendly
interface online that makes shopping as
effortless as can be. Other brands, if they
are online at all, offer limited to no filters
and sizing. It remains a prospective area
to be enhanced. Lastly, despite the rising number of and 25 products from Kizik and IZ
Another shortfall can be seen in brands in the area, the collections of Adaptive, respectively. It is surely a
store layouts. Brands were quick to each remain very limited. Inclusion task to ensure medical safety of the
accommodate social distancing measures should perhaps not only be limited wearer while creating adaptive clothing,
while reopening stores in June, leaving to snap and velcro closures, but but perhaps it should be a more
us to wonder if it would be as easy should also include other apparel and collaborative effort by brands together
for them to factor in persons with footwear that can make life easier. to create comprehensive collections so
disabilities in order to make them feel A search through Aerie’s Abilitee that shoppers are not forced to shuttle
confident and safe while returning website revealed only 8 items for sale between brands and websites to find
to stores. and Zappos has a total of only 41 everything they need.

September 2020 | AO India 23

retail right//NEWS
Yoox launches virtual travel and shopping getaway ‘Ciao Italia!’
Yoox, an online fashion
retail entity of the Yoox
Net-a-Porter Group, has
launched a new virtual
customer experience with
‘Ciao Italia!’
The virtual travel and
shopping experience will
offer a highly curated
selection of products from
Italy that shoppers and
customers might generally
find on their vacation to
the picturesque cities of the
nation.
The platform gives an
enhanced ‘virtual getaway’
for shoppers to walk
through the winding streets
and tiny niches to discover
the artisanal brands
Amazon plans
to launch
operations in
Sweden
Amazon.com has started
preparations to launch
operations in Sweden.
Although Swedish customers
can presently shop online
through the online giant’s
other European counterparts,
the shipping of parcels across
borders generally warrants
higher delivery charges
deterring shoppers from opting
for Amazon’s services. An
official date for the launch
of the website has not been
announced and the amazon.se
site is still redirecting customers
to the amazon.de site with an
option for delivery in Sweden.
24 AO India | September 2020
and little-known Italian
designers dotted all over the
country. Customers in over
100 countries will be able to
access these designers while
Ciao Italia! epitomises the
Italian holiday experience.
The platform takes the
Lord & Taylor files for Chapter 11 protection
The American retailer Lord
& Taylor, known majorly for
its upscale fashions, filed for
Chapter 11 protection from
creditors on 2 August.
The decision didn’t come
as a surprise after all its
efforts for a turnaround,
amidst pandemic crisis,
failed miserably. The retailer
will be soon submitting a
reorganisation plan with the
court.
The almost 2-century-old
retailer, reportedly, stated that
it has US $ 137.9 million debt
obligations.
Here it is important to note
that the fashion start-up Le
Tote Inc. had acquired the
rights to retailer’s stores,
brands and online platform
customer on a journey
through four themes – ‘Dolce
Far Niente’ or the pleasure
of relaxing with items like
beachwear; ‘BuonAppetito’
translates to enjoying a
good meal and offers home
goods and tableware; ‘Al
from Hudson’s Bay Co. in
2019 for US $ 71 million.
Le Tote, known for renting
fashion apparels, now has
plans to bring down the
number of Lord & Taylor
stores and focus more on
younger women by investing
www.apparelresources.com
The platform
gives an enhanced
‘virtual getaway’ for
shoppers to walk
through the winding
streets and tiny
niches to discover
the artisanal brands
and little-known
Italian designers.
Mercato’ relates to artisan
markets through ready-to-
wear, light clothing and
accessories; and ‘Ferragosto’
pays homage to the awaited
summer festival through bold
accessories and dresses.
on luxury try-on studios and
rental drop-off points.
Notably, Hudson’s Bay, in a
deal with Le Tote, had agreed
to cover Lord & Taylor’s rent
for 3 years thereby saving Le
Tote US $ 58 million every
year.
 Triburg ///

thinking beyond...
building a better tomorrow

182 , Udyog Vihar - Phase 1 , Gurgaon (Haryana ) , India - 122016

Apparel I Accessories I Home & Life Style Products

www.triburg.co.in info@triburg.co.in +91 124 4859500
September 2020 | AO India 25
September 2020 | AO India 25
EXPERT SPEAKS
Time for greater
collaboration
among retailerS,
buying officeS and
supplierS: Triburg
Tarun Bakshi
Managing Director,
Triburg
Buying houses need
to enlarge their role
in the context of
global supply chain
shift. There is a
strategic opportunity
available and buying
houses need to rise
to the occasion.
Critical evaluation
has to be done on
key questions like –
How are we going
to derive quick
advantage of the
short- and medium-
term anti-China
sentiments?
26 AO India | September 2020
A lot has already been said on the impact of
the pandemic for every player in the fashion
supply chain. Everyone is looking for directions
and searching solutions to get out of the
current low that the industry is facing. The only
positive is that everyone has been impacted
without bias and finding ways out needs to be a
collective and collaborative effort.
Many industry leaders and stalwarts have come
forward to share views on how they see the
situation and the way forward. In this issue of
Experts’ Speak, Tarun Bakshi who has been
leading Triburg with conviction and a unique
management structure that creates a sense of
ownership in the team gets candid as he reflects
on some core issues and concerns that are
plaguing the industry in the current business
environment.
3 Biggest impacts of the
pandemic
• Consolidation at retail is the first major
impact. We have already seen several
casualties with big brands going into
restructuring and it’s likely that more
companies and brands will go out of
business. Job losses are here to stay.
• Suppliers have borne the major brunt of
this fallout. It is estimated that at least 1
in 3 factories will fold up leading to an
equivalent rise in unemployment at all levels.
Also, global supply chains will weaken in the
medium term as ‘near-shoring’ kicks in.
• One positive impact of the crisis is the
technological transformation of companies
and its employees, which has been
accelerated by at least 12-18 months.
Key lessons learnt during the
last few months
The most important lesson for the industry
is to spread your risk; do not be heavily
dependent on one market, or on one buyer. Even
today, Germany and Scandinavian countries
continue to place business as the US struggles
to get back on its feet. For the suppliers, fiscal
discipline is the key; do not accept risky payment
terms or engage with buyers without due credit
checks. Try to take ECGC cover as much as
possible. Know your risk appetite and stay well
within it. Do not swallow more than you can
chew.
Defining the ‘new normal’
‘New normal’ is working more from home,
virtual meetings, no more travel but using
digital audio-video interface for presentations
and client meetings. In this context, new work
life balance is becoming MORE important
and it’s a ‘new normal’ among employees where
meeting schedules, new business development
and servicing, as well as safeguarding existing
businesses go hand-in-hand.
Another obvious change is the heightened
understanding of hygiene. Due attention is being
paid to personal hygiene; workplaces are getting
cleaner; and overall fitness of the employee and
his/her organisation has gained prominence
leading to a better work experience.  
New definition of preferred
supplier
Since travel and face-to-face interactions are a
thing of the past, suppliers who have adapted
very quickly to the use of technology, are
certainly the ones who will be preferred over
others. Ability to mirror all activities on a virtual
format so as to provide seamless service to buyers
is the way forward. Another key qualification
would be first time right quality and consistent
on-time delivery performance. Taking a cue from
swasth bharat abhiyan – we may call it uttam
vastu nirman and niryat.
Shifts in buying office role
We are witnessing a complete transformation of
the way this business was handled a few months
ago and the role of buying houses is key to
ensure its seamless transition.
Buying offices will need to work much more
closely and in-depth with buyers and suppliers
to create a sense and discipline of fiscal security.
Payment terms cannot remain one-sided,
suppliers interests have to be protected in
forward contracts.

It is critical that buying houses act as
catalysts for technological transformation
of the entire supply chain. Right from
digital colour approvals, virtual fitting of
apparel, virtual showroom presentations,
creating design collections in 3D, putting
in place fool-proof e-files, managing
TnA’s without being onsite, shipment
audits via video, etc.… the list is endless.
Buying houses also need to enlarge their
role in the context of global supply chain
shift. There is a strategic opportunity
available and buying houses need to rise
to the occasion.
Critical evaluation has to be done on key
questions – How are we to derive quick
advantage of the short-medium term
anti-China sentiment? Which players
need to come forward and form a team
that weans away this business into India?
India’s chances of
grabbing China business
This opportunity is ours to lose!
While it is true that we do not have
the scale and depth of China, but the
available capacity and capability is ready
to take on at least twice what it does
currently. However, it cannot happen
overnight. But some decisive and strong
steps can make the difference.
As of today, China ships close to USD
187 billion worth of apparels globally
despite wage rates being at least 60
per cent higher than India. Even if we
target 5 per cent of this business to
shift to India in the next few years, we
are talking of close to USD 9 billion
dollars of business! We need to study the
categories which are good for us, analyse
the available data and work on creating
an ecosystem to support manufacturing
in-country.
Further, our existing mills are in urgent
need of technological upgradation in order
to provide finishes and costs comparable
to global industry. Government and
Industry needs to come together, identify
global agencies that can help us upgrade
and facilitate the same.
Factories need to be set up in low-
cost production hubs with complete
Government support, which is already
in place in quite a few pockets.
Simultaneously, ancillary and support
units need to come up as part of the
ecosystem.
The best part is that it’s been done
before in sectors like Telecom, Pharma,
Auto, so there is no reason why it cannot
be done in Textiles and Apparel. One
good example could be the two-wheeler
industry, wherein Bajaj industry in 2018
became largest manufacturer (twice more
than China) not just in the bikes but
also its components. It is a case study on
how one Indian industry beat China and
created a global foot print!
Taking factories to low-
cost hubs – the challenge
This will help in decentralisation of
workforce, generating employment closer
to the native workforce and economic
development will be more inclusive and
at the grassroots level. It will also reduce
the cost of manufacturing a product.
However, this would need creation
of the complete ecosystem; it needs
serious investment to create supporting
industries like garment dyeing, printing,
embroideries and surface treatments.
Another challenge in smaller cities
would be skilled workforce (for
export standards) that can sample and
manufacture fashion and complicated
styles.
Roadmap for young talent
waiting to enter industry
It’s a very difficult time for young
professionals seeking opportunities
in the apparel value chain. Not many
will see jobs coming their way as easily
as in the past, as there is less demand
now. To be relevant in the new business
environment, young talents must try
to add multi-skill capabilities, seek
freelance opportunities, specific research
and problem-solving aspects (like new
software, data analytics, etc.)
We are lacking in talent in
Industrial hardware and machinery,
majorly because most of the equipment
and standard machines that we use
EXPERT SPEAKS
are made either in Germany, China,
Switzerland, or Japan. We should
attempt to start manufacturing these in
our country and train our students/young
talents for same. 
First-hand pulse from
international buyers
Our operations and buyer-base are spread
across numerous continents, market
segments and price categories. Though
a lot of work needs to be done to rebuild
mutual confidence, we have seen across
the spectrum concern for suppliers and
the intent to help them in every way
possible. Of course, it cannot be business
as usual akin to the pre-Covid period, but
there is a genuine attempt to mitigate the
impact of cancellations.
Out of the box suggestions are being
discussed and implemented; designers at
buyers’ end are being nudged to design
into cancelled raw materials; payments
are being staggered in a manner which
creates a survival plan for the supply
chain at both ends, besides other such
discussions are happening for reviving
the industry.
Triburg geared-up for the
‘new normal’
The biggest strategy that we have is
NOT waiting for the ‘normal’ to come
to us; rather, we are reaching out to
our partners and trying to collaborate
creatively to come out of this with the
least collateral damage for all.
Hence, we are seeking new
collaborations, strengthening existing
relationships, and diversifying into newer
categories. This entails encouraging
team work, aligning all teammates and
verticals to common business goals.
We are also Investing in technology
solutions to empower ourselves in the
area of fit, design, product development,
quality assurance etc. In addition, we are
actively training our teams to upskill and
acquire tech talent.
Ultimately, we hope to demonstrate
stronger commitment, consistent
support and continuous dialogue with all
stakeholders.
September 2020 | AO India 27
cover story
The Souled Store
Decoding The
Multi-Million Dollar
Character Licensing
Industry In India
Fashion is ever changing, and
with an altogether new set of
consumers, mostly comprising of
millennial youth who have grown
with technology and essentially
with their favourite characters from
TV shows, movies, etc. Character
merchandising or licensing has
evolved as a new business and
apparel segment has specially
leveraged this to its benefit. What
really is character merchandising?
Character merchandising refers
to the exploitation of a famous
character to gain profits, by selling
merchandises with its name, or face
or tagline on it and it can be done by
both the owner of the character or
the licensee of the character.
28 AO India | September 2020
Barun Prabhakar,
Marketing Head, Liberty Shoes
Even though character licensing
and merchandising has been in
India for years, and the country has
managed to create great Indian
IPs while also bringing global IPs
within the country, it still has a long
way to go in terms of leveraging
the full potential of this segment.
However, the size of the domestic
licensing industry is about Rs.4,000
crore of which 80 per cent is ruled
by characters and entertainment
segment. According to a recent
LIMA report, in terms of market size,
entertainment licensing is valued at
US $ 406 million, fashion licensing at
US $ 594 million and sports licensing
at US $ 30 million. Barun Prabhakar,
Marketing Head, Liberty Shoes,
avers, “Character licensing is still
in the nascent stage in the country
as is the overall licensing industry.
However, the Y-o-Y growth specially
from character licensing has been
offering the biggest numbers
across the country. There has been
a growth in the number of brands
and manufacturers expressing their
interest and launching various
merchandise categories. The growth
in organised retail has been the
largest push for the industry. We
have seen several niche portals/
retailers launching outlets focused on
CBM (character-based merchandise).
They have also been building
communities which have further
 cover story

fuelled the growth and sales of CBM.” of the character itself and require
This demand is not only coming from no further storytelling unlike the
urban India but also from rural areas normal collection wherein the brand
due to consumption of content on needs to pitch the selling point of
mobile, growth of organised retail, the product on the basis of its finish,
new character launches, etc. material or sustainability factor. Even
as these come into play in character
What lures retailers?
merchandised products as well, but
Fashion brands, retail companies and the majority of the buying decision
licensees have shown tremendous depends on the character,” asserts
growth in character-inspired Vinit Doshi, Head – Product,
merchandise and while this is only Planning and Sourcing, Celio.
Harsh Lal,
the start of a long-term trend that’s Director, The Souled Store
here to stay, what really is attracting Whose way will it be?
them towards licensing business?
Character merchandising, in its
With the massive young population retail owners. “Character licensing
organised and successful form,
between the age group of 16-25 is adding new opportunity in the
can be traced back to Walt Disney
years and their involvement in VOD fashion industry and it brings a lot
of freshness and newness in the using its characters for secondary
platforms like Netflix, Amazon,
fashion category. Firstly, especially commercial exploitation by making
Hotstar, etc., and their almost
in menswear category, where there merchandise after their works. And
constant presence on social media
is a lot of competition and almost today, development surrounding
and internet, it has become easy for
the licensors as well as the licensees everybody is making similar kinds character merchandising has
to get better business through their of clothing since the styling remains boomed across the world with
licenses and character merchandised common, the licensed merchandise addition of an array of characters.
products. As Harsh Lal, Director, brings in better sales because of its But choosing the right partner that
The Souled Store, puts it, “There has exclusive quotient. Besides, these accelerates the business is crucial
been a massive increase in demand merchandise sell on the popularity to flourishing in this segment.
from various Tier-2 and Tier-3 areas
as well for these Western properties.
I think the internet has broken a lot
of barriers that were earlier there.
Character licensing segment has
become a lot more as compared to
when The Souled Store was launched
in 2013. Also, now the process has
become a lot easier – both from
the point of view of accessing more
fan base of a character and also for
companies to actually getting into the
merchandising business. Besides, we
also enjoy a strong relationship with
our license partners who support us
throughout the process and even
promote us heavily on their own
websites, their social media platforms
and give access to their influencers,
etc.”
Furthermore, selling a product
which already has its own story and
connects with the consumer base
is no doubt more attractive to the Celio

September 2020 | AO India 29

cover story
Explaining the licensor side of the
story, Anvita Prasad, Associate
Vice President – Licensing, Green
Gold Animation Pvt. Ltd., a leading
Indian company pioneering in
creating original Indian animation
content such as ‘Chhota Bheem’
series, says, “Character licensing has
very bright future in India across
categories, and apparel being
the main contributor in licensing
business will always get maximum
focus. Selection of appropriate
licensee is multi-faceted and a
licensor needs to review brand
value of the partner, past records of
the company and its management,
quality of their product, strength
in distribution and manufacturing/
sourcing, and their seriousness
towards the licensing association
with a dedicated team for licensing
segment. A brand or a manufacturer
who is planning to take license
should also evaluate the IP/character
on the basis of its awareness,
popularity, visibility and affinity
with the target audience.” Green
Gold Animation prides in having
Green Gold Animation
prides in having 70+
active licenses under
‘Chhota Bheem’. Selection
of appropriate licensee is
multi-faceted and a licensor
needs to review brand
value of the partner, past
records of the company
and its management,
quality of their product,
strength in distribution and
manufacturing/sourcing,
and their seriousness
towards the licensing
association with a dedicated
team for licensing segment.
30 AO India | September 2020
Anvita Prasad,
Associate Vice President – Licensing,
Green Gold Animation Pvt. Ltd.
70+ active licenses under ‘Chhota
Bheem’. While the minimum tenure
for product license is 1 year, most of
the licenses are taken for 2-3 years
since 1 year is a very short span
of time to launch, distribute and
establish the range/ brand in the
market and at other times, it also
goes up to 5-10 years.
Besides, a licensee goes for their
own set of criteria before finalising
on their partnership with a license
firm. Even as Liberty Shoes is no
longer into licensing segment, Barun
Prabhakar explains, “There are few
things that a brand or a manufacturer
should weigh in before entering into
a licensing partnership. One should
always measure the popularity of
the character in the markets before
choosing a license. The popularity
could be a spike or a regularly
accepted brand. One should also
look at the historical partnerships,
team relationships in the market,
control of bootlegged products and
most importantly, support in retail
growth or brand marketing activities.
For The Souled Store, however, while
the commercial aspect definitely is
important, it is also significant for
them to see that the license coming
onboard is something their target
audience can connect with. The
Souled Store also relies heavily on
its customer feedback for bringing
onboard a license. “It is important for
us to understand the licensor’s long-
term goal for India – if the licensor is
looking to build a brand, or is willing
to invest in marketing and creating
the demand for their products. In any
case, one needs to do justice with the
partnership they are entering into,”
adds Harsh Lal.
And while that was only the first
stage of it all, the partnership
between a licensor and a licensee
is one with close coordination and
entails a lot of working together
before the final product could
be launched for sale. Harsh Lal
elaborates, “The licensing partners
are actually very involved because
eventually you are taking their
property, their creation and
commercialising it. It is important
for the licensors to be 100 per cent
sure of the designs that we do. Most
licensors have a dedicated list of
designs, colours and fonts that you
can use. Different license firms that
we have worked with, allow different
amounts of freedom to play with
the artwork. But according to me, it

is important for the licensor to take
the final call on what product should
be released because essentially you
are representing their brand. Besides,
what is also important for the licensor
is to give some sort of free-hand to
the licensee because a lot of time,
the licensee would want to kind of
experiment certain things based on
what they have seen doing well, in
terms of what the audience wants.
I think it is very important to strike
the balance between sticking to the
guidelines and also having some sort
of freedom to design.”
What’s working and
what’s not?
According to estimates, the market
size for character and non-character
licensed products in organised retail
is around US $ 3.5 billion. While
the segment and the opportunities
in character licensing are huge,
its success depends on how one
translates the character’s DNA and
combines it with the latest trend
and makes it fashionable. When
it comes to reshaping the Indian
licensing industry, Disney has always
been a frontrunner. Disney has
over 3,000 licensees globally, 150
of them in India. The over 10,000
SKUs in segments, ranging from
fashion, home, stationery, toys,
food, health, beauty and publishing,
are being dished out through its
Vinit Doshi,
Head - Product, Planning and Sourcing, Celio
The Souled Store
strategic partnerships in the country.
A leading character licensor in
India, Disney’s business is aligned
around four brands – Disney, Pixar,
Marvel and Star Wars, and offers
products that cut across categories
and ages — Toys, Fashion & Home,
Food, Health & Beauty (FHB),
Consumer Electronics, Stationery and
Publishing.
Traditionally, India has been a
children’s entertainment licensing
market, but of late, the millennial
population has also started fancying
the character merchandise and
surprisingly, rules a major part of
the business. Anvita Prasad agrees,
“Actually in India, both the segments
are doing exceptionally well. Due to
the overwhelming response from
consumers in the last 2-3 years,
India has seen birth of many online
and offline stores selling character
merchandise for kids as well as
for adults.” The kidswear range,
cover story
Massive young population
between the age group
of 16-25 years and their
involvement in VOD
platforms like Netflix,
Amazon, Hotstar, etc.,
and their almost constant
presence on social media
and internet, has made it
easy for the licensors as
well as the licensees to get
better business through
their licenses and character
merchandised products.
meanwhile, features mostly cartoon
characters and not human characters,
and for adult clothing range, it’s
mostly a mix of cartoon characters,
or human characters from TV shows,
movies, etc.
While global iconic characters,
which people have grown with or
growing with, will always remain
iconic and will have an undebatable
fan base, the recent years have seen
tremendous growth in popularity
of Indian characters as well. Chhota
Bheem being at the forefront
followed by other brands such as
Motu-Patlu, are some of the Indian
characters that have an impressive
following, and retail brands too
are realizing the potential of Indian
characters and are investing on Indian
IPs. Harsh Lal maintains, “At The
Souled Store, we have both Indian as
well as global character merchandise.
While global characters from Marvel
and DC enjoy a bigger fan base and
have created a legacy for 60-70 years,
Indian TV shows, movies too are
catching up. We do actually make
sure that when we work with license
partners, we have a healthy mix of
international and national licenses.
On the Indian front, we have worked
with over 20 Bollywood movies, top
IPL teams, stand-up comedians, top
September 2020 | AO India 31
cover story

plays the character and not the

character only. For example, T-shirts
that are red and gold can easily be
associated to Iron Man and people
buy it because of such association.
Lastly, in image merchandising, the
actual person and the character he
plays are not differentiated. Then
there is also merchandising of
artistic works such as, artistic work of
Leonardo Da Vinci, Mona Lisa, etc.
While it has been interesting to note
that the past 2-3 years has seen
the number of filing of trademark
applications increasing drastically,
there are few challenges facing this
The Souled Store segment, the major one being piracy
or sale of counterfeit products.
Anvita Prasad shares, “Counterfeit
musicians, etc. We have a fair idea
How far will the products and piracy is a very big
of working with Indian partners and
Western partners, and I definitely
segment go? challenge for every licensor in
Character merchandising is India. At Green Gold, we tackle
see the Indian market growing at
categorized in three different types: this issue head-on and on daily
a much faster rate. There is a lot of
fictional character merchandising, basis to safeguard the rights of our
acceptance of Indian content on the
personality merchandising and licensees. We have a very active
internet and that definitely helps
image merchandising. Fictional anti-piracy team in house as well
push brands around Indian content
character merchandising includes the as many independent investigation
for merchandise. The aim is to make
artistic works like that of Cinderella agencies on board. We constantly
sure that no matter what property or
or Pinocchio or cinematographic scan the online and offline market
what individual you follow, if there is
works like Mickey Mouse or places to identify such sellers and
an opportunity for the merchandise
Batman or Donald Duck, etc. manufacturers. Online, we try to
to be available, you will probably find
Personality merchandising includes block all pirated products with
it at The Souled Store.” The Souled
merchandising of the person who the help of website owners and in
Store prides in having more than
offline formats; we keep raiding
150 licenses onboard. Meanwhile,
menswear brand Celio mainly the manufacturers and taking legal
focuses on global characters for action against them.”
their collection including Simpsons, The market size for In all, the licensing industry is going
Star Wars, etc. and is planning on character and non- the right direction and is exploring
launching character merchandise with character licensed new possible licensing scenario
Sonic, Legends, Jiu Jitsu, Monopoly, products in organised across the country but all this
in the next season. Others like retail is around US $ 3.5 depends on how well India adapts
Reebok, in partnership with Warner billion. While the segment and develops the industry in the
Bros. Consumer Products, launched and the opportunities in next 4-5 years. Though the industry
its collection with television cartoon character licensing are needs some push and support from
series Tom & Jerry this February. huge, its success depends the Government on creating clarity
Levi’s also partnered with Nintendo
on how one translates for licensees on licensing laws and a
to create its highly anticipated
the character’s DNA and proper licensing policy needs to be
Super Mario collection which was
combines it with the in place for the industry to flourish
a streetwear-inspired collection
latest trend and makes it
organically, it will be an interesting
fashionable.
based on the brand’s style and the journey to look out for in the times
adventures of Mario. to come.

32 AO India | September 2020


The Changing
Sourcing Tides
of the Post-
Pandemic
Market
An interview with Neha Jain, Sr. Sourcing
& Production Manager for New York-based
performancewear importer, who started her journey
from Indian buying houses and has today radically
and successfully changed sourcing practices for US-
based importers, and has high hopes for the sourcing
markets such as India, Bangladesh and Africa sub-
continent in the post-Covid market.
A pandemic might have brought
many day-to-day schedules and even
the biggest of global industries to an
abrupt, possibly slightly receding halt,
but ushering many individuals inside
the protection of the four walls of
their houses has resulted in a surge
of consumption of activewear and
performancewear offerings. People
are ready to sweat it out either to
get back to shape after gaining the
stay-at-home calories or simply, and
more commonly, just to kill time.
Complementing this is the US $ 4.2
trillion global wellness industry which
is now rapidly transforming to go
digital suiting to the current times,
making this lifestyle shift a lot more
than a simple fad. The surge has thus
led to a slightly less turbulent graph
of this market category as compared
to other counterpart categories in the
fashion and accessories industry.
As per studies done in January
2020 by Allied Market Research,
the global activewear industry was
expected to reach nearly US $ 547
billion by 2024 in the pre-pandemic
era, clearly oversaturated with fast
fashion brands and traditional
sportswear retailers competing
for the last shred of profit. China,
Vietnam and Bangladesh have been
at the fore when it comes to sourcing
hubs for this category; however,
Covid-19 brought with itself several
cancellations and packs and hold
quantities, greatly affecting all major
and minor manufacturers in the
segment.
One New York-based importer
that is now shifting the sourcing
trend to benefit these Southeast
Asian countries and help them
stay afloat and alive in the times
of Corona is Studio Ray, and at
BUYING & sOURCING
the helm of sourcing for one of
its brand ZeroXposur, is an Indian
buying and sourcing executive.
Hailing from Faridabad in Delhi-
NCR, Neha Jain started her career
trajectory with graduation from
Wigan & Leigh College (India)
in Fashion/Apparel Design, later
interning with the Banana Republic
in New Delhi. She then worked as
an Assistant Merchandiser with
India’s No.1 exporter, Shahi Export
House. Later, she joined one of
the giants of consumer goods
sourcing, Li and Fung, India. It was
here, amidst the interaction with
both buyers and vendors that she
realised her penchant for buying
operations, making her take the next
step of furthering her educational
expertise with a degree in Fashion
Merchandising Management from
the Fashion Institute of Technology
in New York City. She is thrilled to
September 2020 | AO India 33
BUYING & sOURCING
start her Executive MBA journey from
the Kellogg School of Management,
Northwestern University in few
months.
Neha has worked with different
retail channels throughout her
journey, starting from high-end
luxury retailers, private label
specialty retailers, discount and
34 AO India | September 2020
off-price retailers, big-box retailers
to e-commerce retailers. Few
names of retailers include Theory,
Bloomingdales, Walmart, Target,
Sam’s Club, TJMAX, Nordstrom,
H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch,
Kohl’s, Burlington, Amazon.com,
Backcountry.com, etc. Today, Neha
is the Sr. Sourcing & Production
Manager for ZeroXposur at New
York-based Studio Ray LLC, founded
in 1998, a B2B (business to business)
importer, that markets performance
apparel, activewear, swimwear,
outerwear, and accessories to big box
and off-price retailers in the USA.
In a candid conversation with Apparel uncertainties and unprecedented
Online, Neha discusses her strategic times in the global world.
sourcing plans and how she has
moulded the sourcing practices and AOI: Tell us about the sourcing
trends in the US apparel industry, practices you employ currently and
the major developments you have
along with discoveries of offbeat
seen in these buying practices. 
sourcing hubs and the change in
Indian manufacturers’ practices, Neha: Well, there are many factors
who are witnessing the current to be considered when employing a

sourcing practice, and it differs from
business to business. Been working
with budget customers for quite a
long time now where even a penny
matters, my mantra is to challenge
myself every day by bringing a
perfect balance between constantly
sourcing from a diverse base and
consolidating the sourcing base at
the same time – a balance between
the risk, cost, and flexibility as I call it.
As the crisis and tensions rise
globally, and the need for speed and
efficient supply chain continues to
weigh on the apparel business, I feel
a need to develop a contingency
plan. In addition to crafting a highly
flexible and demand-driven sourcing
strategy, I believe it is extremely
important to bring process efficiency
in the development and sourcing
process, as the margins are under
pressure and the search for cheaper
sources is running out of the stream.
On the other hand, the increased
trade tension between the USA and
other larger economies disrupts
the traditional norms of sourcing. It
is not just about moving from one
low-cost manufacturing country
to the other, but it has a lot more
BUYING & sOURCING
“Starting my career from India with best in the business export houses
as well as buying houses, I was constantly drawn to the entire buying
and planning game and joined FIT, New York to further my experience
in the field. I am thankful that today in my current position, I have got
the chance to travel and explore different sourcing hubs and make
the best decisions for every party involved in the supply chain while
improving the speed, flexibility and bringing cost and process efficiency
in my supply chain to create value for the end consumer, my customer
and the suppliers – build a greater collaboration globally and to have
a win-win strategy for each party involved in the supply chain.”
to do with the digitisation of the AOI: What are your views about the
sourcing process, consolidation of Trade Wars happening right now and
the supply base, and bringing end- how do you think this will turn out for
to-end process efficiencies. My goal other manufacturing hubs?  
every day is to employ a practice in
Neha: Talking about the US-China
working where I can continuously
trade war, I look at it as a new
improve the speed, flexibility and
barrier and as a new opportunity at
bring cost and process efficiency in
the same time. The barrier is trade
my supply chain to create value for
disruptions, could be in any form
the end consumer, my customer,
– a trade war, a virus, or any other
and the suppliers. This remains one
unforeseen circumstance, where
of the biggest challenges in my
we are not certain how the global
current position to build a greater
value chain and economies will
collaboration globally and to have
shape up, especially after Covid-19.
a win-win strategy for each party
The opportunity is to explore many
involved in the supply chain.
other sourcing countries which are
working on building infrastructure,
investing in training, and conducting
R&D that will provide customers
with increased speed and flexibility.
For instance, based on my extensive
research during Covid-19 into the
Indian sub-continent and African
sub-continent, I discovered that
many suppliers are now producing
synthetic and performance fabrics
vertically, so we can have a seamless
operation from development
to production at one stop, thus
reducing lead times and improved
costs. The majority of them are
Chinese and Indian-owned groups
who master in conducting such R&D
on bringing a smooth supply chain
experience for their customers. The
management and the key point
September 2020 | AO India 35
BUYING & sOURCING

of contact remain highly skilled

personnel, while they are gradually
training the workers to produce not
only basics or key items but more
technically advanced and high scale
fashion clothing.
In my opinion, every apparel
manufacturing country should
consider this as an opportunity and
think of transformation towards
a demand-driven supply chain
model. This includes innovation
(product-based and process-
based), high flexibility, shorter
lead times, improved costs and
most importantly bringing 100%
transparency in the entire supply
chain process.

AOI: Let’s talk about major

manufacturing hubs you source from;
and the distribution of business manufacturing technically advanced increases efficiency, but also reduce
across these hubs.  clothing, handling difficult fabrics, lead times. However, India remains
Neha: I am lucky that I got an meeting price points as the wages an expensive source for many USA
opportunity and exposure to travel remain quite low, meeting tight retailers who are dominantly selling
and explore different manufacturing timelines (especially if it’s a vertical performance apparel.
setups in different countries very fabric production), and meeting the It is interesting to see that Ethiopia
early in my career. We all know that compliance requirements. I have also and Tanzania are coming up as
China is one of the most efficient seen tremendous improvement in other competitive sources for
countries for garment sourcing Vietnam, especially in the last one sportswear and swimwear. As I said
and manufacturing. They can year, to try and come as low in their before, a lot of Chinese and Indian-
pretty much do anything and have pricing, as they have skilled labour owned companies are investing
capacities. However, to be able to and capacities. in these countries to create an
get competitive prices from China India, on the other hand, has infrastructure that’s well suited
remains a major concern. I would made some huge technological for American markets including
say that Bangladesh leads everyone advancement which I strongly compliance requirements.
else currently. Over a period of eight believe is the next required step Currently, I am sourcing a major
years, I have seen a tremendous in the global sourcing value chain. chunk of raw materials out of
increase in efficiency from Many Indian factories are using 3D China and garment manufacturing
Bangladesh. They are capable of forms to do fittings which not only out of Bangladesh. This includes
sportswear, swimwear, and
transitional outerwear categories.
We still source the majority of the
“During Covid times, my research for sourcing options that could have outerwear category from China, as
China leads the technical expertise
been viable in such unprecedented times revealed that the Indian sub-
in that arena. Other sourcing
continent and African sub-continent have many suppliers who are now
countries in my current role include
producing synthetic and performance fabrics vertically, so we can have
China and India. I am keen on
a seamless operation from development to production at one stop, exploring opportunities in Vietnam
thus reducing lead times and having improved costs.” and African countries such as Kenya
and Madagascar – benefiting on

36 AO India | September 2020


price and the product value across
the supply chain.
AOI: What have been major changes
post-Covid when it comes to
KPIs for vendor management and
selection? Did Covid-19 cause any
changes in your sourcing practices?
Neha: I believe in building strategic
business partnerships with my
suppliers, where the supplier
understands the customer and
more importantly the changes
in the economies worldwide.
Unfortunately, the pandemic
has affected the world severely
and as a result, we expect to see
a drastic change in consumer’s
shopping behaviour. The ultimate
consumer will now shop carefully
and selectively, as more than 30
million people have lost their jobs
in the United States. The prices are
bound to go down for different
assortments. The vendor will need
BUYING & sOURCING
“Unfortunately, the pandemic has affected the world severely and as
a result, we expect to see a drastic change in consumer’s shopping
behaviour, loss of jobs and store closures, as they will now buy more
as per requirement rather than desire. The prices are bound to go
down for different assortments and accordingly, the vendors will
have to streamline their operations and products in a manner that
produces the best competitive prices and a quick turnaround. I believe
all manufacturers and buyers are partners rather with a healthy give
and take collaborative relationship, and finding the best strategies
together to accommodate this recovering market’s needs is the only
way to move forward.”
to make their pricing competitive, think alike, and collaborate keeping
as the fashion cycle will now be all these requirements in mind, we can
about fast fashion but only based grow together. Few other things
on demand, with more horizontal that I will look for when it comes to
category diversity and fewer vendor selection are adaptation to
quantities. People will buy less, buy change, flexibility, collaboration, use
cheap, and would still want newness of technology, and 100% transparent
in the product. If my supplier and I communication.
September 2020 | AO India 37
manufacturing
MERCURY INDIA EXPORTS
OFFERING HIGH-COST WOMENSWEAR; GROWING
STEADILY AMIDST UNPRECEDENTED TIMES
Survival in this unprecedented time
is the biggest challenge for every
garment manufacturer. And this
challenge is severe for comparatively
new and small players of the industry
and specifically for the companies
which produce high-value adds
garments of higher cost. One such
company is Noida-based Mercury
India Exports which is just two years
old and is specialised in beaded
eveningwear gowns, tops, cocktail
38 AO India | September 2020
dresses, beaded jackets and kaftans.
Shoaib Malik, Director of the
company shared his strategy as to
how he started and was sure to grow
in this challenging time.
One of the biggest support for
Shoaib to start and continue business
in this difficult phase has been his
family support as from last 15 years,
his family is in the business of high-
end shawls, weddingwear and formal
suits (for the domestic market).
During the course of this, Shoaib was
passionate to start his own export.
And he preferred to start with similar
products – beaded evening and
partywear. The starting price of the
company’s beaded top is US $ 10
and it has buyers who source apparel
ranging from US $ 10 to US $ 120.
In the last two years, the company
participated in many international
sourcing events like IIGF, Hong Kong
Fashion Week, Pure London, etc. It
helped to connect the organisation
with some good buyers. So far
Europe is the main market for the
company but its clients are also in
Australia and the UK.
“The last two years have been very
challenging as the functionality and
demands of the domestic market are
completely in contrast to overseas
business. We are still learning. The
key observation which I would like to
emphasise is to remain committed
to customers offering them good
quality merchandise,” Shoaib said and
further added that internet marketing
and references also helped him to
grow in business. The company has
a composite hand on the unit and is
producing around 6,000 pieces per
month.
Talking about the current market
scenario and steps to overcome
challenges, Shoaib shared that as all
his products include a lot of manual
work, ensuring consistent quality and
maintaining deliveries was always
the biggest challenge. But having a
strong eye on manufacturing and a
keenness for consistent analysis and

Shoaib Malik, Director, Mercury India Exports
improving internal working helped
him significantly. “In the current
situation, it is difficult to plan concrete
future strategies as we need to wait
for the customers’ sentiments to use
our kind of products. Having said that,
I project growth of at least 20-25 per
cent on a year-on-year basis,” he said
and added that once market will open,
the customer will spend, and costly
products will be also in demand again.
The company has an in-house team
of beaders for sampling and small
order quantities while for bigger
orders, beadwork is outsourced.
This intricate work is best done
by women workers; hence the
company tries to identify the
contractors who are connected with
best-skilled women. “We ensure that
no child labour is involved in the
process as we do check where our
goods are being embroidered and
we pay well so that women workers
can work comfortably and ethically,”
Shoaib asserted.
To grow further, Shoaib will
focus more on compliance and
will move further in the same
direction in near future. “We
are already cost-competitive by
having personal involvement in
every stage, and moving further,
in this difficult phase, we are sure
that the business will bounce
back and we will continue serving
manufacturing
The company uses
different types of fabrics
in its products like linen,
dupion, crepe-de-chine,
ramie organza, denim,
nylon net, polyester net,
georgette, moss-crepe,
chiffon, silk chiffon, silk-
taffetas, poplin and voile.
our buyers in the best possible
way by our unique design, quality
work and timely delivery. We believe
in a partnership approach and the
same will be our policy always.
Our product has an exponential
scope in the category. Hence if we
get the right overseas business
partners, good growth will be there,”
he concluded.
September 2020 | AO India 39
MANUFACTURING//news
Order booking started picking in the month of August and everyone is hopeful that things will improve now. But on the other hand,
‘negative’ news is continuing as few leading exporters are closing their factories; few more are even closing their entire export
division and some have put their expansion plans on the hold. In recent days there were many such news that came to the notice
of Apparel Online. Some of these are given below:
TCNS closing its export business!
TCNS Ltd. is in the process
to close its export business.
Two highly placed sources
confirmed this to Apparel
Online. With around 2,000
sewing machines and an
annual turnover of Rs. 150
crore (from export), the
Noida-based company has
been working with prestigious
brands and retailers like Next,
Walmart and Monoprix,
among others. The company
didn’t reply to our e-mail in
this regard.
“New generation of the
business is not much keen
Shahi Exports shuts down its Chhindwara unit
India’s largest apparel exporter,
Shahi Exports, has closed
down its unit in Chhindwara
(Madhya Pradesh). The
company claims that it paid
the wage of March to July to
the workers and now every
worker will get around Rs. 1
40 AO India | September 2020
towards manufacturing, and
so management has decided
to close the export business.
Only manufacturing for own
brands will be continued,” told
a person on the condition of
lakh as overall compensation.
But the workers agitated
against the factory and insisted
to continue the operations.
Manju Rahangdale, leader of
workers, claimed that around
200 workers of the unit are
not disclosing his name.
“Due to lockdown, many
workers on their own left the
factory and didn’t come back,
while to the others, we have
told that due to the pandemic,
now jobless. The unit has
majority of women workers.
The factory has not been
operational since last one
month. Rupesh Gite,
Manager of the factory, told
Apparel Online that the unit
was not viable. “We offered
jobs to workers at units in
other states, but women
workers found this offer to
be unviable.” As per industry
sources, the unit was started
on the request of Kamal
Nath, who served the state
long back. He was the former
Textile Minister and ex-
Chief Minister of the state,
and Chhindwara was his
constituency (as he remained
MP from Chhindwara for
there are no orders and so they
have to look out for new jobs.
The plan is to wind-up the
set-up in next 2 to 3 months,”
told another source.
He further added that
TCNS Ltd. is among the few
companies in Delhi-NCR
that have paid the full wage
of April month (lockdown)
to the workers. The company
earlier had its Bangladesh
operations too, which are now
discontinued. Just a few years
back, it had around 5 own units
in India and associated closely
with 12 factories in Bangladesh.
nine terms). Shahi did not
have such kinds of small
units, and initially, there was
plan to expand this unit but
it could not move forward
ever and finally winded up on
31st July.
Local administration also
actively tried to resolve the
issue. Mahesh Agrawal,
Tahsildar (Executive
Magistrate), Chhindwara
Administration; and Sandeep
Mishra, Labour Officer, had
meetings with workers and
factory officials, but all efforts
remained unfruitful. Sources
told Apparel Online that the
company management has
been planning to close this
unit since last 4 years.

KG Fabriks starts making non-medical face masks from
denim fabric
Coimbatore-based KG
Fabriks (unit of Sri
Kannapiran Mills) is known
for its sustainable products
and continuously new
offerings. The company
recently has come up with
non-medical face masks made
out of denim fabric.
The company informed that
a research was done by Smart
Air, a social enterprise and
certified B-Corp on face
mask materials. They studied
30 different fabrics for their
effectiveness and for filtering
micro-particles, as well as
their breathability. Among
the key takeaways of their
Pandemic disruption:
Kitex Garments holds off
investment plans
Kitex Garments Limited, a
leading global brand in the
infantwear segment, has put
all its investment plans on
hold owing to the uncertain
market conditions in the
export market caused by the
Covid-19 pandemic. While
the Kerala-based company had
planned an investment of Rs.
920 crore (US $ 123 million)
for 2020, the unprecedented
times have forced it to wait till
the markets revive. “Any new
investment plan will be finalised
after evaluating the Covid-
19 situation across the global
markets,” said Sabu M. Jacob,
MD of the company.
“We are adopting a cautious
approach. The board had
MANUFACTURING//news
findings, denim, canvas and
paper towels proved to be the
best materials for non-medical
face mask usage.
In this regard, KG Fabriks
had already taken the lead
in early May this year and
started marketing non-
medical face masks made out
of denim fabric. Non-medical
face masks are becoming a
necessity in our everyday lives.
“We made all our workers is washed and treated with said Srinivasa Raghavan K,
and staff wear our masks antibacterial finish which Team Lead – Brands and
early in May and thus lasts for up to 30 washes. Exports of the company. The
ensured safety precautions. They are suitable for day-long company sells different types
Not only is the look wear and are comfortable, of masks, such as D20, D30,
fashionable, the denim fabric washable and reusable,” D40, D90 and D60.
approved investments worth
Rs. 920 crore last year. The
company has also envisaged a
Rs. 2,000 crore investment plan
by 2025,” he further added. The
nationwide lockdown impacted
the production of Kitex
Garments, so much so that the
company ended up with a loss
of nearly Rs. 55 crore during
the months of March and April.
While Kitex Garments used to
ship around 7.5 lakh pieces per
day during the pre-pandemic
days, it has only been able to
manage to ship about 3.5 lakh
pieces per day since May, Sabu
underlined. Kitex Garments is
the world’s third-largest infant
garment brand, and aims to
reach the top by the year 2025.
September 2020 | AO India 41
SUSTAINABILITY

NGOs AGAIN RAISE

SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS
ON INDUSTRY
Time and again, various international NGOs have come up with such reports which claim that
the apparel manufacturing industry is not following the law of the land while the apparel
manufacturers work with globally renowned brands. And to work with such brands, one has to
be fully compliant and very much concerned about international compliances. In recent weeks,
two such reports again claim that there are still unethical practices going on in the industry. After
analysing the report, Apparel Online found that the NGOs have raised serious issues alleging
the industry and for a better future, both need to improve.

‘Union Busting And Unfair
Dismissals: Garment Workers During
COVID-19’ is a report by London-
based Business & Human Rights
Resource Centre (BHRRC) which
looks at 9 cases where nearly 4,870
workers of the apparel industry in
India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and
Cambodia were dismissed.
BHRRC is an international NGO that
tracks the human rights impacts
(both positive and negative) of over
8,000 companies in more than 180
countries.
Among the 9 manufacturing
facilities’ cases talked about in this
report, 7 cited reductions in orders
or economic impacts due to the
pandemic as the reason for mass
dismissal. In 7 cases out of the total
9, workers have said that union
members are being targeted. Zara,
H&M and Levi Strauss & Co. have
been linked to unresolved cases
despite policy commitments to
respect trade union rights. Three
other brands, Michael Kors, Kate
Spade and Tory Burch, have not
responded to allegations.
As far as India is concerned, the
report highlights the issue of Euro
Two recent reports
‘Union Busting and Unfair
Dismissals: Garment
Workers During COVID-19’
by London-based Business
& Human Rights Resource
Centre (BHRRC)
‘The Emperor Has No
Clothes – Garment Supply
Chains in the Time of
Pandemic’, a report of Asia
Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA)
Clothing Company II (Gokaldas
Exports), a supplier of H&M, sacking
all 1,200 workers at a unionised
factory. As per the report, workers say
that the factory management shut
this unit down only because it was
unionised. The company has a total
of around 20 units and no other unit
of this company has unions. “I have
sweated here for the past 10 years for
348 rupees a day. The factory wanted
to get rid of the union for a long
time, and now they’re using Covid-
19 as an excuse,” stated Padma, a
garment worker of this unit.
It is pertinent to mention here
that however serious might be the
problem due to order cancellation,
the company should treat and
manage its workers well, and not the
way it was done in case of Gokaldas
Exports where workers demonstrated
for more than a month continuously.
The workers claimed that dismissals
were made without the mandatory
one-month notice period and

42 AO India | September 2020


time, it must also be highlighted
that as various stakeholders claim
Gokaldas Exports has a total that the conflict between Gokaldas
of around 20 units and no Exports and trade union was
other unit of this company ‘about different interpretations
has unions. “I have sweated of the law in India’, Government
should have full clarity about the
here for the past 10 years for law.
348 rupees a day. The factory
As per the 2020 ITUC global index,
wanted to get rid of the among the worst countries for
union for a long time, and workers to organise in are major
now they’re using Covid-19 garment-producing countries,
as an excuse,” stated Padma, including Cambodia, Bangladesh
and India. To avoid such a
a garment worker of this situation, the companies must
unit. highlight their point and have
a clear and transparent stand.
The report also suggests that
transparency needs to increase.
with unpaid wages. And factory/
On the other hand, ‘The Emperor
company management did not
Has No Clothes – Garment Supply
react on this while the issue
Chains in the Time of Pandemic’, a
was strongly highlighted by the
report of Asia Floor Wage Alliance
national and international media in
(AFWA), emphasises on the issues
the last two months.
around wage payment, support
Though H&M has responded on mechanisms and layoffs of apparel
this issue and said that it is fulfilling workers in Cambodia, India,
its order payments as per agreed Indonesia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
terms and is in contact with both
AFWA, an Asian labour-led global
the trade union and the supplier to
help them reach an agreement to labour and social alliance, has
the dispute, which it says is about been monitoring the impact of the
different interpretations of the law Covid-19 pandemic on workers in
in India. Though the report says apparel manufacturing countries
that cases profiled in this report through ground reports from
are the tip of the iceberg, but it is AFWA partners and allies, as well
not wrong to say that just because as local and national news media
of one company’s activities, BHRRC sources.
got a point to criticise India’s image The report cites several cases
on the global level. At the same of violations, like in Bengaluru,
No doubt, NGOs are strong stakeholders of the apparel manufacturing
industry, and some of the NGOs are supporting the industry in a good
way. But NGOs, whether pro-industry or pro-workers, should raise
justified issues, rather than creating sensational news. At the same
time, the industry has to be more ethical, responsible and transparent
too.
SUSTAINABILITY
a garment factory obtained a
permit for production of PPEs, but
continued producing apparels,
which was then forced to shut
down after police inspection.
It also adds that in the apparel
manufacturing hubs like
Ahmedabad and Ludhiana, the
industry relies on a circulatory
migrant workforce and informal
agreements between employers
and workers. Here, layoffs, in the
strictly legal sense, might not occur
as the act of dismissing workers for
the slightest fluctuations in market
trends has become normal.
The report also talks about the
issues related to gender and
religion like many young mothers
in Bengaluru’s units have been
unable to return to work as
crèche facilities mandated in
factories under the Maternity
Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017
have been temporarily stopped.
But then for any change in rule
by the Government, the factories
should not be held responsible or
criticised.
It also claims that at least 50
Muslim workers have not been
re-employed, while Hindu
workers have been taken back in a
Gurgaon-based unit. The factory
management has strongly shared
reactions on this and presented a
true picture which states that there
is no logic behind raising this issue
in the report.
No doubt, NGOs are strong
stakeholders of the apparel
manufacturing industry, and
some of the NGOs are supporting
the industry in a good way. But
NGOs, whether pro-industry or
pro-workers, should raise justified
issues, rather than creating
sensational news. At the same time,
the industry has to be more ethical,
responsible and transparent too.
September 2020 | AO India 43
SUSTAINABILITY
Earthbags Export
Eastern India’s
first green
factory in the
MSME category
For sustainable production, green
factory is one of the best options as
it gives long-term benefits. And it is
good to see that after apparel and
home furnishing units, now purely
a bag manufacturing company
has also officially launched green-
certified units.
Exporting its bags to around 60
countries, Kolkata-based 25-year-old
Earthbags Export recently received
Green Building Standards certification
for its green factory from The Indian
Green Building Council (IGBC). It
is important to note that with this
44 AO India | September 2020
certificate, the company is now
Eastern India’s first green factory in
the MSME category under Green
Factory Building Rating System to get
this gold rating.
To make attractive and state-of-
the-art green factory, the company
decided to shift its production to
a new unit. This new unit is spread
across 50,000 sq. ft. and has been
adjudged as an achiever of a
certification level of ‘Gold’ besides
being recognised for having attained
‘National Excellence’ by IGBC
when it earned total credit points
The IGBC-certified green factory of Earthbags Export
Anurag Himatsingka
MD, Earthbags Export
“Articles in Apparel Online
about Pratibha Syntex,
Indore was the trigger point
of inspiration for me to
establish this green factory
which was then further
strengthened by a buyer
of UK-based retail store
who refused to work with
us as our old factory was
comparatively small. We are
SA 8000 and Sedex certified
as well as approved by
Disney and Walmart.”
 SUSTAINABILITY

Solar power plant at the factory helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions The unit is planned in such a way that it can utilise natural light to the maximum

between 71–80, thereby satisfying all

mandatory requirements laid down
under Green Factory Building Rating
System of IGBC. It was evaluated
3.6 million
bags annual capacity
on the basis of its several green
features such as site selection and
planning, water conservation, energy 3 years
conservation, materials conservation, WERE SPENT IN MAKING
indoor environmental quality,
THIS GREEN FACTORY
occupational health and innovation
and design processes.
Regarding motivation for this
initiative, Anurag Himatsingka, MD,
Earthbags Export informed, “Just He further added, “We are doing
producing environmental-friendly our bit to keep our planet greener
bags was not enough for us. Our by producing eco-friendly products
vision is to ensure a sustainable along with manufacturing them in
future, and this includes every step the most-green way possible. To
we undertake. It was non-negotiable ensure a sustainable future at every
that the manufacturing of our step, solar power plants, Effluent
products is done in the greenest Treatment Plant (ETP), energy-saving
way possible. I would sincerely machines, rainwater harvesting
like to thank IGBC for recognising system, LED lights and less water
our efforts in creating minimum- consuming plants and trees have
waste, energy-efficient world-class been incorporated within our facility.”
manufacturing infrastructure.” Talking about the domestic market,
Anurag says that with increased
awareness about sustainability in
the domestic market, they now are
in the local market and have started
Along with selling to large retailers, wholesalers and their sales online to reach out to the
globally aware younger generation.
distributors, the company also has exclusive sales Earthbags are available at all
agents in various countries. Having own distributor important online portals like Amazon,
in Dubai really proved fruitful for the company as its Flipkart, Snapdeal, etc. apart from its
website www.jutebags.com. Soon, it
brand is in good demand there. has plans to expand in retail chain
stores all over India.

September 2020 | AO India 45

SUSTAINABILITY//NEWS
Opposing change in labour laws, global brands approach PM
Sourcing more than US $ 700
million apparels, footwear
and an array of other
industries in India, dozens
of brands and international
trade bodies have approached
and written a letter to Indian
Prime Minister and various
other ministries regarding the
recent changes in labour laws
in various Indian states and
have asked them to interfere
in the matter. These brands
and retailers strongly believe
that the proposed changes
Sonu Sood connects with textile and apparel companies;
workers to get jobs
After helping several
migratory workers reach
their hometowns safely from
metro cities, film actor Sonu
Sood has now taken another
initiative and started a job
portal www.pravasirojgar.com
that provides employment to
migratory workers. The portal
connects the job seeker with
the employer and adequately
fulfils the requirement of
both. And it has a direct
connection with the textile
46 AO India | September 2020
would seriously jeopardise
the safety, security and well-
being of workers in India.
To mention, few such brands
are adidas, C&A, Best Seller,
Social Clothing Company,
Hugo Boss, Esprit, Lacoste,
New Look, Next, Primark,
Odlo, Superdry and many
more. The letter reads,
“We care about the rights
of workers in these sectors
and ask that you consider
our views, and the views
expressed by the business and
and apparel industry too.
Silver Spark Apparel,
Bengaluru (a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Raymond Ltd.),
Welspun India, Mumbai and
Trident Group, Ludhiana,
giants in home furnishing,
are among the few textile and
apparel companies, who as an
employer are supporting this
initiative. In a tweet, Sonu
Sood thanked Apparel Export
Promotion Council (AEPC),
Confederation of Indian
civil society organisations, in
assessing the state-proposed
initiatives.”
These retail giants urged
the Indian Government to
ensure that the restrictions
on labour laws promoted
by the State Governments
are not implemented.
Besides, they have asked the
Government to encourage
the State Governments to
consult affected stakeholders,
including trade unions,
before proposing additional
changes to state labour laws
in addition to ensuring that
all eight fundamental ILO
Conventions are implemented
in India.
It is also pertinent to mention
here that prior to this on
9th June, leading global
associations like Fair Labor
Association, Amfori, Fair
Wear, American Apparel
& Social Accountability
International and ICS have
Textile Industry (CITI)
and few other organisations
from different industries and
ensured providing 3 lakh jobs.
As per AEPC officials,
soon a partnership will be
entered with Sonu Sood
on labour employment in
apparel factories. Though
in discussion, CITI officials
declined of any tie-up with
Sonu. Overall, the portal
claims to have more than
450 employers onboard and
www.apparelresources.com
also written to Indian Prime
Minister in this regard and
urged the same. These trade
bodies represent more than
2,000 brands and retailers
from over 30 countries,
primarily in North America
and Europe. “Some Indian
states have adopted legislative
proposals to significantly
relax or suspend labour
protections, arguing that
such modifications would
help Indian employers
cope with the effects of
the pandemic and boost
investment in manufacturing
industries. The proposed
amendments, however, would
have immediate and grave
consequences for workers in
those states. They could also
damage India’s ranking on
the World Bank’s Ease of
Doing Business Index and
harm the country’s long-
term business prospects and
labour economy,” the letter
mentioned.
1,00,000 jobs aggregated. It
has also a helpline number
1800121664422.
“Pravasi Rojgar is an initiative
by Sonu Sood to help the
people who are unemployed
and are struggling to find a
steady source of livelihood.
Our mission is to provide
job linkages and career
progression to millions
of migrant workers who
are in need of jobs,” the
website says.
www.apparelresources.com
Need workers? Jeevan Stambh
Foundation can help
Ever since reverse migration
hit the country amidst the
pandemic crisis, apparel
manufacturing industry has
been facing labour shortage.
The Delhi-based NGO Jeevan
Stambh Foundation can now
help all the Delhi-NCR’s
apparel manufacturers facing
this situation. As an initiative
undertaken by some young
professionals and students,
Jeevan Stambh Foundation
started recently when workers
faced challenges to reach
their hometowns. There are
around 30 volunteers in this
NGO who are supporting
the workers by crowd funding
and donations received from
few other organisations.
Sustainability to 5S! AMH SSC
launches 4 new online courses
To train and upskill
supervisors and managerial
teams in the apparel industry,
the Apparel Made-ups and
Home Furnishing Sector
Skill Council (AMH SSC)
has launched 4 online
courses. What are these
online courses all about!
These include Introduction
to Social Compliance
and Sustainability, New
Dynamics in Social
Compliance and People
Management, Online
Certificate Programme
on Fashion Forecasting
and Online Certification
Programme on 5S under
Management Development
Programmes (MDPs).
SUSTAINABILITY//NEWS
Sonam, one of the volunteers
said, “The foundation helped
around 6,000 workers (from
various industries) by arranging
buses to send them home,
offering food and proper
guidance, which helped them
reach their homes safely. Now
they wish to come back; few of
them have already come back
but are not getting jobs due to
various reasons. So, we urged
garment manufacturers that if
they need workers, we can help
them.”
They further added that
workers associated with them
are extensively experienced
and skilled in sewing and
embroidery.
Launched in 2013, AMH
SSC trains, assesses and
certifies personnel in the
textile industry. Dr. Roopak
Vasishtha, CEO and DG,
AMH SSC told “These
courses are designed with
the objective of productivity
enhancement of the
professionals and all these
courses will be conducted
in the centre of excellence
and will help professionals
to enhance their skills. The
objective of this programme
is to make youth self-
reliant.” In these courses, the
professionals will get training
regarding manufacturing,
industrial relations, human
resources, etc.
September 2020 | AO India 47
trends in focus//runways

CRUISING THROUGH
RESORT 2021
A round-up report on the top trends of the season

A fter what seemed like forever, fashion put its best (digital) foot
forward (or at least, most of what can be mustered during these
tumultuous times), to present its haute couture, resortwear and cruise,
and menswear collections.
Via an array of showcases that range from digital presentations, to
short films, to virtual lookbooks – designers and high fashion brands
revealed their Resort 2021 offerings that shed the extravagance for
reality.
The larger than life frolicking yet progressive vibe associated with
Resort and holiday collections was somewhat amiss – giving way to
safer bets that would prove to be more sellable during this period.
Though the collections being showcased currently don’t go on floor
up until November—they concern brands that have a global reach,
which presents a major challenge for the industry since different
countries are going through very different situations and are in
different positions.
As is with all things dismal, the silver lining in this regard is the
opportunity that excessive time in hand as well as pared-back resources
have presented designers with.This period has given designers and
brands the time to embrace their own creativity, rethink design, and
make use of what is in front of them rather than adding to a world
of immoderations.
Fashion has always mimicked a voice of the times and the same is now
truer than ever before. Most collections proved that designers and
high fashion labels are very cognizant of the world’s current lifestyle
change. Thus, elaborate gowns made lesser appearances and comfy,
lounge-worthy, airy pieces dominated the scene. Coordinates and
separates opened up a world of options for consumers looking at
spending their money wisely.
Keeping the home-bound audience in mind, quirky prints took away
from the gloom of the mundane – and minimal aesthetics (a new for
resortwear) tried to mute out the chaos.
There was also some eveningwear, for all those hoping to find reasons
for dressing up and going out sometime in the near future.
Apparel Online highlights the key trends in prints, silhouettes, details
and accessories from the Resort and Cruise 2021 collections.

48 AO India | September 2020

 trends in focus//runways

ISABEL MARANT

PRINTASTIC gucci gucci

In order to beat the doom and gloom brought about
by the global Coronavirus pandemic, designers and
high fashion labels alike, resorted towards prints and
patterns as a means for escape.
Ranging from summertime florals, to animal prints
to bohemian inspired paisleys and tribal motifs, to
tropical influences to dizzying optical prints, a slew
of inspiration was up for grabs at the Resort 2021
collections.
Standout looks included top to bottom coordinated
sets, head-to-toe prints and also a mash-up of two and
more prints rolled into one single ensemble. ERDEM

emilio pucci

BELTED ERMANNO SCERVINO Gucci

Accentuating the feminine hour glass form, designers
and brands looked at highlighting the waist by
incorporating the use of belted details.
Be it in the form of big, wide belts sporting gigantic
dior
buckles (as seen at Christian Dior and Valentino),
or chain belts (à la Gucci and Ermanno Scervino), or
soft tie around version in fabric or plush leather (à
laJil Sander) – belts emerged as the key accessory this
season. A special mention to Balenciaga and Emilio Pucci
who mixed form and function together to highlight the
fanny packs – a convenient upgrade and alternate to the
traditional belt, perfect for the tech-savvy yet fuss-free
consumer of today.

September 2020 | AO India 49

trends in focus//runways

carolina herrera

FLARED moschino GIAMBATTISTA VALLI

Tapping on what can be termed as one of the most
successful (read safest) trends of the past few seasons,
the Resort presentations featured countless instances
of the flared silhouette.
Spotted across hemlines of denim jeans, palazzos,
jumpsuits, trousers and culottes to skirts and dresses
(in the form of tiered ruffles and frills) – extending all
the way up to highlight the sleeves – flares have emerged
as a key takeaway from the Resort 2021 collections.
According to DBMIF (an AI image recognition and data
analytics platform), flared leg bottoms comprised of 54
per cent of The Great, 44 per cent of Lauren Manoogian,
29 per cent of Nili Lotan, and 25 per cent of MM6
Chanel
Maison Margiela’s looks.

No.21

CUT-OUTS david-koma- ulla johnson

What’s resortwear minus a dose of playfulness?
Designers play peek-a-boo with cut-out detailing
that shows just about a tad bit of skin.
Subtle yet teasing, these cut-outs emerge in the
form of slits, splices, torn out effects and holes
Chanel across collections.
We definitely loved Off-White’s interesting take
on the trend where they juxtaposed two garments
layered one on top of the other – the topmost layer
hinting at what’s there underneath via the cut-outs
featured over the shoulders.

50 AO India | September 2020

 trends in focus//runways

chanel

MINIMAL sportsmax zimmermann chanel

The fashion industry is known to be a little extravagant with its
resortwear and cruise collections, but given the current circumstances
that have plagued the world, the storyline is quite different.
Fashion has been regarded to have direct impact on the real world
and vice versa. And the notion could not be truer than what it is
this season.
Seeking a break from the chaos and confusion that surrounds us in light
of the current global pandemic, fashion brands and labels approached
a cleaner and more minimal aesthetic for Resort 2021.
Contained, cleaner and more refined silhouettes emerged in muted,
solid and neutral colourways that focused more on cuts and structure
rather than extravagance.
As per DBMIF, neutral, earthy tones made up 68 per cent of Lauren
Manoogian, 35 per cent of Apiece Apart, 35 per cent of Gabriela
Hearst, 33 per cent of Petar Petrov, 33 per cent of Sportmax, and 20
per cent of Hervé Léger’s looks.

ulla johnson

SLEEVESCAPE zimmermann carolina-herrera-

A certain whiff of romanticism is in the air as designers
and high fashion labels alike, play around with
voluminous sleeves and larger-than life silhouettes.
Go big or go home is definitely the memo received by
ulla johnson
the fashion industry for Resort and Cruise2021.
Targeting the arm area, designers experimented with
billowing sleeves and standout shoulders by presenting
leg-o-mutton and flouncy sleeves for the former, and
statement shoulder / one shoulder detailing for the
latter.

September 2020 | AO India 51

FASHION BUSINESS

UK USA China India Italy

THE FUTURE OF FASHION

WHERE SCIENCE MEETS LUXURY
An overview of the fashion industry’s resilience worldwide as the international fashion markets open up across
the world, including a report dedicated to the fashion industry, and top markets of USA, UK, China, Italy
and India – on how they plan to secure a more sustainable future.

Intertek Group plc (‘Intertek’), a Total
Quality Assurance provider to industries
worldwide, recently hosted a virtual
‘Future of Fashion’ event, bringing
together the fashion trade industry’s most
influential commentators for the very
first time to discuss major trends that are
set to re-shape the fashion sector in a
post-Covid-19 world, as part of a unique
virtual collaboration.
Presented by Intertek’s Maison Centre of
Excellence for Luxury ahead of its official
opening in 2021, the event showcases the
perspective of leading trends forecaster
David Shah (Industry thought-leader
and CEO at Metropolitan Publishing
BV) as well as the editors of major textile
supply chain publications.
The pandemic has accelerated a shift in
attitudes, with consumers paying more
attention than ever to the safety and
quality and sustainability of materials
used in fashion and accessories, and the
risks associated with local and global
supply chains.
André Lacroix, CEO Intertek, said: “With
Covid-19 magnifying the focus on health,
safety and well-being and ushering in
different ways of working for everyone,
all industries have been forced to adapt to
changing consumer preferences and tastes,
including the global premium and luxury
fashion sector. With the premium and
luxury fashion industry undergoing
profound shifts at an even faster pace, the
need for creative solutions underpinned
by research, design and quality assurance
expertise has never been more relevant.”
We need to accept that the pandemic
and the damage caused by it has not
necessarily changed the world, rather
it has accelerated trends that were
already shaping business. When it
comes to deglobalisation, companies
have been busy lowering their
exposure to countries that carry high
geopolitical or health risks for some
time.

52 AO India | September 2020


We have been talking about data for
many years now and the period has only
forced the industry to fast forward to
adopting the same into its practices.
Anything that promises to reduce stock
and minimise risk has to be a plus.
The virus has also opened the door to a
robotic army and the post-Coronavirus
workforce could look quite different.
Economic downturns have a habit of
spurring automation.
The fashion sector is expected to contract
by 27-30 per cent this year, according to
the State of Fashion 2020 Coronavirus
Update report by the Business of Fashion
and McKinsey & Company.
David R Shah, Publisher and CEO at
Metropolitan Publishing BV, said: “The
pandemic has clearly accelerated trends that
were emerging, and by 2022, we think the
world will be much the same but, hopefully,
with some significant changes. We will
definitely care more about environmental
policy and climate change; we will have to
listen harder to the demands of the youth
whose futures have been affected by the
pandemic; and we will all have to learn to
make do with less. The world of fashion will
be playing a major part in all of this.”
An overview of the
Fashion Industry’s
resilience worldwide
Brands emerging from the Covid-19
situation will find inspiring new ways
to approach seasonal collections, with a
greater focus on capsule collections and
in-season retail, as well as ever-greater
collaboration and alliances amongst
brands.
And while sustainability is here to stay,
new styles and trends have emerged from
lockdown as supply chains are upended,
and the relentless acceleration towards
digital collections and purchasing habits
has entered a new phase, providing those
in the industry with an opportunity to re-
think the future of fashion.
The shift to more restrained, timeless
pieces will ultimately give way to
exuberance and excess – just as wartime
fabric rationing paved the way for Dior’s
New Look collection in 1947.
FASHION BUSINESS
UK
The future of
fashion revolves
round 10 key points: [Inputs by: JANET PRESCOTT]
1. We will see greater
collaboration, alliances,
mergers and acquisitions
amongst brands.
2. Everything to do with digital
will accelerate and the
wholesale system will decline.
3. Reshoring and investment in
local manufacturing will disrupt
the existing supply chains
4. The Chinese will bounce back
first to account for as much
as 50 per cent of the luxury
market, and they will do their
shopping at home.
5. Local could be the new black The highly specialised, internationally
as we will see fewer and focused UK woollen and worsteds-
smaller collections, together based textile industry has invested in
with reshoring and investment new technology and data processing.
in local manufacturing. City Remotely conducted business with
centre business models reliant designer labels, couture houses and
on maximum footfall will be at high-end tailors across the world has
odds with social distancing.
accelerated, proving unexpectedly
successful for 2021 and beyond.
6. Longevity, investment potential
and heritage factors will Retailers are contemplating novel ways
count evermore in consumer to shift large amounts of unsold stock
decision making. In-season accumulated during the virus time,
retail will slowly win through. finding the best way to reach customers
online and when fashion shops re-open.
7. The concept of fashion shows
will be completely overhauled. POST-LOCKDOWN
8. Digital will become a key ECLECTIC
Home-working leads to an
component in sales and
individual mix of styles
fashion presentations as
buyers travel less. Exercisewear and sport shoes have
become important in enforced lockdown
9. Resale, rental and
leisure.
transparently sustainable
business will grow. Younger urbanites, back to work in
London and other big cities, mix unusual
10. Athleisure and loungewear fashion combinations – long printed
are far from over – especially floral dresses, Puritan prairie dresses,
as working from home will pleated maxi skirts with heels or sneakers.
become the norm for some
Cargo pants worn with high heels.
sectors.
With lockdown beards and long hair
comes a1960s-type energy to menswear,
September 2020 | AO India 53
FASHION BUSINESS
along with flamboyant colours, prints in
linen and flowery cotton, silk.
The power of brands continues, at vastly
different price levels; Reiss, Gucci,
Alexander McQueen, H&M, Roksanda,
Faithfull the Brand, Adidas, Converse,
Nike, Asos, LoroPiana, Zegna, Burberry.
The craft industry and the DIY artisan
movement boomed during isolation;
likely to give rise to fashion exploring
rustic effects, texture, and ‘imperfect
looks’ in 2021.
RESHORING
More manufacturers consider
shifts back to the UK
Sustainability is increasingly important to
brands; consumer awareness is growing;
young people ask for natural fibres and
explanations on fashion origins.
De-globalisation and more local
sustainable sourcing lie behind moves
for reshoring, i.e. the ‘Make it British’
54 AO India | September 2020
movement by Kate Hills. More
manufacturers consider shifts back to the
UK after problems following Covid-19
and for sustainable reasons.
Cycling is the mode of transport for
urban travel, boosting all-weather
activewear and accessories. Natural fibres
and fabrics dominate the sustainable
story.
USA
[Inputs by: SOFIA CELESTE]
THE ONLINE BOOM
As the stimulus euphoria wanes,
and job losses deepen, consumer
spending is expected to slow
Initially, a backlog of merchandise
prompted retailers to markdown apparel
and goods, and as a result, online sales of
apparel and accessories posted double-
digit growth in the US and the rest of the
world, with even small to medium-sized
companies boasting stellar sales growth
in the months of March, April and May.
As the stimulus euphoria wanes, and job
losses deepen, consumer confidence and
spending is expected to slow. On a global
level, Bain & Co’s latest Luxury Study
for 2020 forecasts a contraction between
20 to 35 per cent for the full-year
2020, with a recovery expected in 2022
and 2023.
Science, technology and apparel and
beauty are merging more than ever
before, synergising to create a more
eco-sustainable industry on the whole.
Established brands like Levis, New
Balance, Nike are trailblazing in that
arena, while emerging brands like
Reformation and Everlane are proving
that eco, ethical and transparency have a
true place in the luxury market.
THE SPENDING POWER
More collaboration between
emerging labels and athletic brands
As the casualisation of men’s and
womenswear goes on and more
Americans continue to work from home
and in their yoga pants, we will see many
more collaborations between emerging
labels and athletic brands.
Streetwear in the age of Covid will
be impacted greatly as anti-viral
technologies target the safety concerns
of consumers and masks, gloves and face
shields become the new norm on the
streets. Streetwear brands are already
heeding the call.
When it comes to deciding the strongest
sales areas in fashion, affordability is key.
The 18 and 24-year-old demographic’s
consumer choices will continue to
be driven by their spending power,
which will certainly be affected by the
unemployment situation. Athleisure and
athletic brands will likely continue to find
success with footwear.
 FASHION BUSINESS

CHINA INDIA
and trends of different countries are
converging and crossing over to each
other. Street snap and outdoor live
[Inputs by: MENGXIA] streaming in China are flourishing. [Inputs by: ANNOU IYER]
Slightly loose silhouettes and colourful
clothes are the most popular looks with
the young – they want to show a more
unique, personal attitude when it comes
to dressing.

THE RISE OF VINTAGE

More and more Chinese consumers
are looking to sustainability

Although sustainable clothing is still in

COMFORT FIRST
The rise of street style
Comfortable casual and leisure-oriented
clothes have taken over from formalwear
as the mainstream choice of dressing for
Chinese consumers. In addition, clothes
with twists and something special in their
design are also popular. Of course, with
the pandemic, face masks were at the
heart of the accessory market.
Streetwear is very popular among
youngsters, especially as the cultures
its infancy in China, sales have increased
a great deal in the past few years, which
show how people are paying increased
attention to environmental issues.
In terms of retail, this can be seen in
the increased number of second-hand
clothing stores and vintage shops being
opened in big and medium-sized cities.
Consumers see the purchase of second-
hand clothes not just as a vote for the
environment but as a fashion statement.
As is known, on-line stores form a huge
part of the Chinese market and their
development continues to blossom. Some
of these do a very good job concerning
sustainability. For example, HowBottle;
specialises in making clothes from waste
plastic bottles. REVERB by JNBY uses
fishing nets and other ocean waste to
make recycled nylon to manufacture
clothes and bags; it also makes dresses
with recycled cashmere.
FOLLOWING INDIAN
TASTE
More local than global
According to a report by Technopak, the
Indian retail market is expected to show
a promising year-on-year growth of 6 per
cent to reach USD 865 billion, by 2023,
from the current USD 490 billion. The
apparel share is 8 per cent, corresponding
to a value of USD 40 billion.
The incredibly unique Indian wedding
industry also adds to the overall growth.
India is the only market globally, which
is more ‘local’ than ‘global’ in terms of
following trends. So, more and more
young Indian designers are focusing
on the domestic market which is vast.
They don’t really cater to ‘Western

India is the only market

globally, which is more ‘local’
than ‘global’ in terms of
following trends. So, more and
more young Indian designers
are focusing on the domestic
market which is vast.

September 2020 | AO India 55

FASHION BUSINESS

What has been a good

step forward is that Indian
manufacturers are adopting
better global practices
in terms of international
certifications to produce
clothes that leave little
impact on the environment.

What has been a good step forward is that

Wear’, which is a completely different
segment for them and better left to
retail brands like Zara and HM in
India with their inexpensive clothing
and global styling.
Indian designers are sourcing
‘Made in India’ products that are
sustainable, organic and contribute to
the real Indian textiles fashion cycle
and ecosystem. They are catering
to Indo-Fusionwear and Indian
traditional wear such as weddingwear,
sarees and salwar kameez and other
traditional clothing. Even though
some do cater to international
markets, they mostly cater to non-
resident Indians which is a huge
population outside India or they
end up catering to an international
clientele, who like ‘Made in India’
looks and ensembles.
and natural/vegetable dyed fabrics.
They have always been a part of Indian
culture: The idea of ‘Eco-friendly’ or
‘Sustainable’ may be new in Western
countries but this ideology has always
been a part of Indian culture.
Indian consumers have been much
ahead in adopting sustainable fabrics as
handloom qualities are primarily easy to
find in India.
Indian manufacturers are adopting better
global practices in terms of international
certifications to produce clothes that
leave little impact on the environment.
In this entire current scenario, the new
Indian home-grown brands, Indian
retailers as well as India’s MSME sector
– the medium and small-scale industries
– have truly given a new face to Indian
fashion, reviving ethical fashion trends.
INDIAN FUSION WEAR
Celebrating heritage
Indian fashion-conscious consumers,
including millennials, are both
celebrating their Indian heritage and
are proving themselves global fashion
followers. More than ever, India’s
consumers are busy localising world

A HISTORY OF
HANDMADE
Eco-friendly or sustainable clothing
is seeing steady growth

Eco-friendly or sustainable clothing

has seen a steady growth in India.
However, we must not forget that
India has always had a rich history of
consumption of handmade textiles,
Indian cottons and linens, handlooms

56 AO India | September 2020


trends and turning themselves into
global nomads.
Fusion Wear is extremely popular in
India as it is not confined to any trend
or any body type. However, more
than ‘fusion’, we see an ‘anti-fit trend’
– an androgynous fashion style that
combines both masculine and feminine
characteristics. It’s an expression of the
fashion freedom beloved of India at this
moment!
ITALY
[Inputs by: ANNA MARONCELLI]
COMFORT FIRST
Homewear attitudes in outdoor
dressing!
The one thing people are looking
for at the moment is comfort. But in
terms of actual looks, it’s a moment
of polarisation; on one hand, as they
emerge from lockdown, consumers
feel the desire to wear something
distinctive, creative, colourful with
look-at-me details – shorter skirts or
frills and ruches as feminine details on
simple garments is one idea, without
daring too much; on the other hand,
the need for reassuring and soothing
shades and elegant basics prevails,
together with easy, comfortable shapes,
where casualwear fuses with home and
loungewear.
Colour because of its mood-influencing
properties is important! Other key
issues are: comfort; the simple but
refined; precious details and playful
elements; homewear influences into
everyday outfits; utility wear; and
elegant tech.
INCREASED
AWARENESS
Progress but still much to do at
consumer levels!
More and more people are becoming
conscious about sustainability issues and
the pandemic situation has only served
to underline several aspects of them.
But, sales of sustainable clothing in
Italy still form the minority part of the
market by far, mostly because of poor
consumer knowledge about the subject:
some people are aware of certain brands
associated with sustainability, but don’t
really know where to find the
merchandise.
Recycled items, second-hand and
handmade is gaining popularity as
independent and small shops and
brands are winning more customers
FASHION BUSINESS
because of the boom in online shopping
and social media.
POSITIVE ATTITUDES
The chance to transform
Textile and garment exports have been
severely affected by the pandemic.
However, exports of China’s industrial
textiles (masks, protective clothing,
disinfectant wipes, etc.) increased by 79.6
per cent from January to April compared
to the previous year.
Although this pandemic is a heavy
blow to many enterprises, it is also an
opportunity for e nterprises to transform
and upgrade.
[**Intertek has been a trusted partner to
the world’s leading brands, manufacturers
and distributors in the fashion and textiles
industry for 130 years with a wide range of
assurance, testing and certification services,
from footwear chemical testing to functional
textiles testing, physical performance
evaluation and more. With over 1,000 labs
in more than 100 countries across the world
and 46,000 Intertek experts, the company
brings unparalleled knowledge and expertise
on the major global regulations and trends].
September 2020 | AO India 57
Designers & Labels
JENJUM GADI
Fusing tribal influences with contemporary menswear fashion
Originating from a small town called
Tirbin in Arunachal Pradesh, a young
boy full of creativity and zest had no
idea that he would one day turn out
to be the first-ever fashion designer
representing his state.
A rage at recent fashion weeks and
amongst the top favourite on every
fashion buyer’s top 5 list, Jenjum
Gadi’s eponymous label is known
for its young and fresh designs that
highlight tribal colours, motifs, art and
culture.
Jenjum was first spotted by veteran
designer Rohit Bal, who got so
inspired by his graduation collection in
college that he offered him a job!
Growing up, Jenjum Gadi was always
inclined towards creative pursuits but
never really thought of becoming
a designer. His only window to the
world of fashion back then used to be
the glossy pages of Femina magazines
which used to come every 3-4 months.
“At some point in my school days,
I came to know about a profession
58 AO India | September 2020
JENJUM GADI
called fashion designing, but I had
no clue how one becomes a fashion
designer. There was no source of
information,” Jenjum Gadi told Apparel
Online India in an exclusive interview.
He further stated, “Only while doing
my graduation at Delhi University,
did I come to know about various
fashion colleges and how to go about
securing an admission there. Since
then, it’s been a roller-coaster ride!”
THE ONSET
The idea of starting his own label
struck Jenjum while he was still at
college – a journey that has been
equal parts challenging as it has been
inspiring. After working with Rohit Bal
for a year, Jenjum ventured into the
fashion industry by launching his first
label Koga, in 2008, in collaboration
with his college friend Jasleen.
“In 2013, Jasleen and I parted ways as
she went on to join her family business
of wedding decor and catering which
led me to launch a label under my
own name – Jenjum Gadi.” Initially a
womenswear label, Jenjum Gadi tried
to cater to a heavily overcrowded
market that lacked substance and
originality – this led Jenjum to take a
step back to revaluate his choices and
take a sabbatical from designing in
2015.
“Nothing was inspiring me so I took
one year sabbatical from designing
and went back to Arunachal Pradesh
to figure out what I wanted to do
 Designers & Labels

next,” Jenjum explained, adding, “and

in that one year I realised that there’s
only one thing that I can do and that “When I design, I
is designing clothes”. treat my garments
So he packed his bags and made like a collage. Rather
the big shift to New Delhi in 2017 to than using just one
start designing again but this time he fabric, I mix different
wanted to do something that filled kinds of materials
a gap in the market but still had a and embroidery
profound essence of his own self. “I techniques to create
started off by designing the kind of standout pieces.”
clothes I would like to wear myself
and got into menswear,” Jenjum
corroborated and said, “I also wanted
to do conscious fashion, so I started
looking for handloom fabrics to use always slip into my designing process.
within my collections.” I realise now that when one grows
up with such beautiful heritage
PRODUCT CATEGORIES surrounding them – it is bound to
AND PRICING leave an impact on their mind,” Jenjum
said, adding, “But at the same time, it
Today, Jenjum is breaking the
is important to strike a balance. If I go
stereotype by catering to men
totally tribal in designs, that might not
and highlighting a hidden gem of
work for the main line of Indian festive to think of his clothes as a collage
a culturally rich region within his
clothing, so I like mixing my designs of sorts – rather than using only one
designs. The label is known for its
with various other elements of design fabric, he mixes different kinds of
unisex layered kurtas, bandis and
which lead to an end result that is materials and embroidery techniques
sherwanis which more often than not,
something new yet cohesive with such as aari and zardozi together
have an unusual twist attached. Priced
Indian festivewear.” create a standout look. “Our USP lies
between Rs. 9,000 and going up to
Rs. 50,000, Jenjum Gadi is known Jenjum Gadi’s USP lies in mixing and in mixing different elements together
for its young and fresh designs that sprucing things up. The designer likes – be it motifs, prints, fabrics, etc. For
highlight tribal colours, motifs, art
and culture. Jenjum’s work showcases
lots of streetwear style silhouettes
which he tries to infuse within Indian
festivewear to keep the ethos alive.
The label caters to the booming
market of Indian festivewear and
contemporary Indian wear which
fuses western and Indian sensibilities
together.
Made using 60 per cent handloom
fabrics, Jenjum Gadi collections utilise
versatile materials which can be worn
on multiple occasions and are gender-
neutral in characteristic.

BRAND USP
AND AESTHETICS
“Consciously or unconsciously when I
design, my tribal culture and heritage

September 2020 | AO India 59

Designers & Labels

example, if I am choosing a motif

for embroidery, instead of going for
one kind of motif, I prefer to take
motifs from different places,” Jenjum
said, further adding, “For our recent
collection, I have fused tribal and
Mughal motifs together.”

COLLECTION PLANNING
AND BUYING-SOURCING
Based on a collection module of
majorly Autumn/Winter and Spring/
Summer, Jenjum Gadi also does
occasional limited edition drops/
small capsules collections for their
stores and online platforms based on
their main collections. They usually
replenish their store stock 2-3 times
in a season and online around 1-2
times per season.  works with Andhra cotton and silk scarce awareness about loin loom
In order to ensure and control quality, from Bihar and Assam. The designer textile. I want to bring loin loom
all of Jenjum Gadi’s collections are has also recently started exploring textile into mainstream fashion,”
designed and manufactured in- loin loom textile from Nagaland and Jenjum stated.
house. Arunachal Pradesh, which he plans Today’s Indian men are more
The label sources its sustainable to incorporate into his collections conscious and experimental when it
fabrics from various textile exhibitions further, post-pandemic. comes to dressing up. They want to
that allow one to meet the weavers “I have worked with loin loom try something new and they want
directly without any middle-man weavers from Nagaland and to look different from others yet
being involved. Jenjum also regularly Arunachal and I feel that there is look like a part of the pack. This is
something Jenjum Gadi – the label’s
aesthetic fits into.

“Any piece of clothing

that is versatile will be
in fashion in the coming
days. As people are
spending less, they
will go for multiple
wears and functionality
in designs.”

Available in India across mostly

all menswear multi-designer
stores, Jenjum Gadi will be going
online internationally via Tata
Cliq, dapperonline, pitraonline,
among others.

60 AO India | September 2020


MAKER’S
ASYLUM: INDIA’S
FIRST CREATIVE
COMMUNITY SPACE
In conversation with Founder, Vaibhav Chhabra
Founded by Boston University
alumni Vaibhav Chhabra, Maker’s
Asylum is a community makerspace
focused on fostering innovation
through hands-on learning. It fuels
frugal innovation by putting the
maker on the front line.  their skills and the need for such
An analogy for Maker’s Asylum can
be ‘community gym’ – Just like all of
us cannot afford to have a personal
gym, similarly all the makers cannot
afford to own all equipment that they
might need.
A fully-equipped workshop where
you can turn your ideas into a
product in a matter of days, if
not hours, Maker’s Asylum has
accumulated all required tools and
equipment including 3D printers,
laser cutters, textiles, wood work,
welding, and electronics along with
training and support to build things,
rapidly prototype and improve
Vaibhav Chhabra
on till you get it right – all within
days. One can become a member of
the space to access all their tools at a
subsidised rate.  care platform that uses smartphones
Maker’s Asylum is an avenue to share
equipment in a community set-up
where creatives are not only sharing
infrastructure but also ideas. Apparel
Online India gets candid with
FREE EXPRESSION
Vaibhav – a creative yet innovative
powerhouse on the idea behind
building such a community in India
and the challenges that came with it,
the various courses available under
such avenue for people to sharpen
spaces in today’s world.
AOI: What led you to get into this
space? When did you start out?
VC: After graduating in Mechanical
Engineering from BU in 2012, I
started working for a start-up called
EyeNetra born out of MIT Media Labs
in Boston. EyeNetra specialises in
the development of a portable eye
to give a user an eye test. I was
chosen to go to India and lead the
engineering side for them. I moved
to Mumbai in 2013 and travelled to
various rural parts of India to test the
September 2020 | AO India 61
FREE EXPRESSION
product and in parallel, set up the
team here and worked on hardware
improvements of the device based on
feedback on the ground.
However, there were no makerspaces
in India at that time, so I had to go
to various service providers and
machine shops to get things done.
Life was regular, until one day the
ceiling of the office caved in and
broke the furniture we had. I didn’t
know too many people in Mumbai,
so I thought this would be a great
opportunity to build a table and
make new friends.
My Facebook post on a ‘meet-up’ on
23rd November 2013 read, “Hey guys,
come make the Maker’s Asylum!”,
62 AO India | September 2020
and six people actually showed up!
We got together and made 3 tables,
and celebrated over Pizza at the
end. These guys kept coming back
every weekend hungry to make more
things together!
“We have 3D printers,
laser cutters, drones,
electronics, robotics,
virtual reality devices,
woodworking shop, metal
working space, everything
that is at the intersection
of design and hardware.”
AOI: Did you grow up with a creative
bent or was it something that you
took fancy to later in life?
VC: I have always been a maker
at heart. Growing up as well, we
used to live in a farm in New
Delhi, and over the summer
breaks, I went searching for auto
garages to work out of, to learn
how to fix cars. I finally convinced
one garage to hire me as an extra
pair of hands at a monthly wage
of US $ 10.
At BU, I was exposed to different
makerspaces, creative groups and
was able to explore different things
and learn from a community of
people who were not necessarily
my teachers. This really helped
me explore different skills such as
carpentry, photography, flying, diving,
snowboarding, etc.
AOI: What is the concept behind
Maker’s Asylum?
VC: Maker’s Asylum is a community
makerspace focused on fostering
innovation through hands-on
learning. It’s a fully-equipped
workshop where you can turn
imagination to reality. It fuels frugal
innovation by putting the maker on
the front line. Everyone is not only
sharing infrastructure but also ideas.
So for anyone who wants to innovate
and create, with Maker’s Asylum,
they get an instant access to the
community who probably would also
be the early adopters of their ideas.
AOI: What are some of the projects
that you really enjoy doing and why?
Describe a few projects that really got
your creative juices flowing?
VC: One of the recent projects was
the M-19 initiative. While everything
shut when India went into the
biggest ever national lockdown on
23rd March 2020, our team decided
to self-isolate at our space to keep
making!
 FREE EXPRESSION

“The culture at the space

focuses on problem
solving for local and global
communities, so through
our programmes and
workshops, we teach design
thinking, frugal innovation
and rapid prototyping to
inter-disciplinary groups.”

The M-19 initiative started with a

thought of giving only 1000 M-19
face shields to the frontline and
healthcare workers. However, in 49
days, we were able to activate 42
cities, towns and villages through our
open source design and give over
1 million M-19 face shields through
#theM19Collective. 
The collective comprised of over
300 individuals/groups who did
not know each other but came
together to stand for a common
purpose. We went through 21 design
iterations of this simple product
which is a face cover that helps
you avoid splatter, mucous which is
the primary way by which the virus
spreads. We went from prototyping
to mass manufacturing in less than
2 months and I learnt by leaps and moved 5 times in Mumbai itself ● Certification courses – these are
bounds in the process. Not only did in the last 6 years. Every time we hands-on courses that help deep
Maker’s Asylum survive, we created moved, each space was set up by dive in to specific subjects like
an impact in these unprecedented the members be it painting the woodworking, metal working,
times by developing something that walls, making furniture, getting electronics, virtual reality and
was essential. We used the power lights fixed, the machines up others. These are for up to
of design and collective intelligence
and running. 36 hours each.
to adapt and be agile to make a
difference creatively. A culture of sharing is what the ● Experiential programs – these
space thrives on. We host three range anywhere from 10 days
AOI: Maker’s Asylum has grown to kinds of programs: to 4 weeks and happen 3-4
incorporate a community of design, ● Exploratory workshops – these times a year. This brings in an
idea and skill sharing. How did the are done by the members of interdisciplinary group from across
idea of workshops come about and the community who would the world to work on solutions
how does it work? How often do they like to share their skills. aligned to the United Nations
take place? Anything from pottery, to Sustainable Development Goals.
VC: Maker’s Asylum has always origami, to kokedama, to Our flagship program is called
been a community space. We have projection mapping.  the SDG School (erstwhile STEAM

September 2020 | AO India 63

FREE EXPRESSION
School) that is hosted every
December in Mumbai and every
July in Paris along with UNESCO
and the CRI.  everyone is blessed with a financial
In addition, we also offer
design consultancy to
various brands, experiential
marketing firms and corporate
organisations for product design
where our team works on creating
innovative solutions for them. We
also host a bunch of corporate team
building workshops where we create
out-of-the-box environment.
64 AO India | September 2020
AOI: Setting up your own business
has its own set of challenges –
capital being one of them. Not
background that would allow them
to jumpstart with their own unit/
practice in the industry. What would
your advice be to individuals on
navigating through this challenge?
VC: Maker’s Asylum started with
an initial investment of Rs. 5,000
and a table. So, I personally do not
believe that monetary investment
is the only driving force to start
a business. My personal advice
would be that if you have an idea,
you need to start somewhere,
because if you do not start, the
idea will die in your head. The rest
falls into place and especially the
money part.
After 7 years of existing, Maker’s
Asylum finally found an official
address in December 2018.
Finding an affordable place in
Mumbai has been a constant
challenge. Over the years, we
never really had an address
because none of the spaces were
owned or leased by us officially.
Equipment was also either
donated or shared.
“The experimental
essence of Maker’s
Asylum makes
the space foster
co-creation and
collaboration rather
than competition and
hence everyone grows
together. Everyone
is a peer and can be
reached out to without
any inhibitions.”
 FREE EXPRESSION

“You have engineers,

designers, investors,
artists, entrepreneurs,
doctors and architects
– everyone in the
same room. It is inter-
disciplinarity personified
and this leads to cutting
down the time to manifest
your thoughts into real life
prototypes”!

AOI: What are some of the

challenges that you faced while
setting up Maker’s Asylum and how
did you overcome them?
VC: When I started, I had no
idea how a company works, I
didn’t know what an organisation
structure should look like and
most importantly how to manage
a team.
I kept trying to figure things out on
a daily basis and kept learning as
we grew.
I started the organisation as a
Foundation and realised how
difficult it is to run one, so I created
a proprietorship and a private I took zero salary from Maker’s really helped spread the word
limited company to then function Asylum for the first 3 years of its much faster. So in short, we
as a social enterprise. operations and survived solely on had no money, no space, and
But trust me this did not come my savings from EyeNetra and no tools when we started
easy. Learning how taxes work, support from my family. I had Maker’s Asylum and all the
the legal implications of running a made a promise to myself that spaces have been built by the
business, paying tax, took a lot of I would pay myself once all my membersv themselves!
time. employees had a decent salary.
Maker’s Asylum is currently
While I was learning to sustain the Most of the marketing done for located in Mumbai, New Delhi,
operations of Maker’s Asylum, I Maker’s Asylum was through Kochi (in collaboration with
was also learning the responsibility public lectures, where I would go STEAG Energy Services) and
of hiring people at the space. It is to colleges and inspire people to in Jaipur (in collaboration with
a big thing that employees trust make, or through social media the French Embassy in India).
in your organisation and give it all and word of mouth. Hence there The community space plans
they have got, and it was my job as was never really a budget for to digitise its courses with
a Founder to make sure I find ways marketing. learning hardware that can go
to use their talent and get enough Eventually people started talking to everyone’s home and also
funds to pay their salaries on time.  about us on media and that hopes to expand globally.

September 2020 | AO India 65

start-ups

From
Road To
Ramp
Start-ups Leading
The Streetwear
Movement In India

It’s the democracy of fashion,

it’s a specific fashion genre,
it’s a style of comfortable
casual clothing, inspired
by skateboarding, surfing,
hip-hop and has its own
mix of swag and punk – its
Streetwear, a category in
fashion apparel segment
which has been there since
the 1980s but which India has
had a very recent encounter
with. Inspired by the sneaker
culture and skateboards of
California and hipsters of New
York, streetwear as a category
emerged in the 1980s and
has been developing ever
since into one of the most
distinctive and iconic genres of
clothing. Over the years, it has
been building up a reputation
with the younger generation
and now has entered into the
high-end fashion segment as
well with the likes of Supreme,
Almost Gods Palace, Champion, Off White,
among others.

66 AO India | September 2020


The popularity of this distinct fashion
category only recently entered the
Indian borders, and even as it is at a
whole different level globally, India
is definitely catching up. While big
names in the likes of Supreme, BAPE,
Off White, The Hundreds, etc. have
found a customer base in India, the
category has over the last few years
started witnessing a rise in the number
of start-up brands offering distinct
streetwear collection to the discerning.
These include Six5Six Street which
has a raw expression and authenticity
at the core of its brand’s ideology;
New Delhi-based Almost Gods
which aims at integrating traditional
ideals with modern design, cut and
functionality; BISKIT which is a multi-
disciplinary art and design concept
label aiming at breaking the duality of
men and women’s clothing; Delhiwear
which is a beautiful integration of
street culture with India’s cultural
Six5Six Street
fabric; Jaywalking known for its
rawness; Anand Ahuja’s Bhane which
is making street style all about people;
Cricketer K L Rahul’s Gully which
draws on international streetwear
trends and Indian culture, and a
number of others. Dhruv Khurana,
Creative Director, Almost Gods,
asserts, “Streetwear to me is the frame
fashion is in at the moment that allows
for self-expression using graphics and
techniques that had been shunned
by the industry insiders for many
years. For me personally, Almost
Gods arose not around the idea of
fashion itself, but rather as a need to
create a platform that would act as a
central point around which we may
have conversations about what drives
and shapes culture. Simultaneously,
we see it as a means of connecting
the different proponents and more
importantly people, who through
their diverse storytelling and energetic
actions, are constantly shaping the
lens through which we as a global
collective, view and engage with the
world.”
start-ups
Poised for growth
and how
Streetwear category had been, for
years, dominated by US, UK and
Japanese brands and it is only now
that it has found its place in the
Indian market. However, India in the
streetwear space right now is what US
was in the ’80s – a harmonious mosaic
of clashing subcultures right from
Disco to Hip-hop. Avni Aneja, Co-
Founder, Six5Six Street, maintains,
“I think through social media and pop
culture, a lot of the Indian audience
is now acquainted with the term
streetwear, although for a lot of
people streetwear equals to hype. I
have no complaints though because
at least more people are not trying to
understand what streetwear actually is
and there’s also a niche but growing
market for it. It is only onwards and
upwards from this point on. There is
so much that we have to offer as a
‘DROP’ IT LIKE IT’S HOT
Unlike the usual Spring/Summer, Autumn/Winter season collection, streetwear
brands mostly go for drops which offer limited edition streetwear and
sneakers and sometimes even just one style. A drop is released often as a
marketing technique by streetwear brands. They give exclusivity in different
street-level dressing. In fact to keep it more interesting, celebrities and social
media influencers also collaborate with big brands to make streetwear more
coveted. Even the likes of Louis Vuitton and Alexander Wang are taking cues
from streetwear and are adopting the ‘drop model’.
“The Drop Culture is definitely a more western concept at this point of time
in terms of clothes. The idea behind it is to create a sense of exclusivity for
the people who manage to purchase the particular dropped item because
of scarce availability. Standing in queues, waiting for days, camping outside
stores – It’s a way to reiterate the no pain, no gain philosophy,” avers Avni
Aneja. The first drop by Six5Six was called ‘The Global Traveller’ and dealt with
everything happening around the world with respect to the refugee crisis;
and its second drop ‘Humanity in the Digital Age’ focused on dependence
on screens and fascination with technology.
September 2020 | AO India 67
start-ups
The back-end nitty gritties
Dhruv Khurana
Creative Director, Almost Gods
“We’re very fortunate to have
our own manufacturing set-up
in-house, from design teams
to artisans and of course,
pattern masters and tailors.
For us, quality is the priority
and we find that having all
systems in-house allows us to
have far greater control over
the end product. Regarding
the design process, we are
always searching for the most
powerful stories across time
and industry that we think can
be most effective in inspiring
our community to go out and
achieve that vision. We take
inspiration from a breadth of
things – from the audacity of
Damien Hirst’s Shark, to the
inspiring victory Lee Sedol had
over the AI program AlphaGo.
Our inspiration is everywhere
and we are simply the distillers
and curators of the same.”
68 AO India | September 2020
Avni Aneja & Ambar Aneja
Co-Founders, Six5Six
“All our manufacturing is done
in-house. We have our own
little manufacturing set-up in
Noida. Even in terms of fabrics,
we try to use Indian fabrics as
much as possible. Streetwear
is all about diversity and
change and representing the
moment for us. Therefore, we
don’t have a structured design
sensibility or philosophy.
Inspiration comes to us from
anywhere and everywhere. We
pick up socially and culturally
relevant themes that transcend
countries and cultures
and turn it into wearable
conversation starters. What we
like to do, maybe somewhat
of a signature, is to use a fair
share of textual and buzz word
references that are instantly
picked up and/or are relatable
to the community.”
country whether it is in terms of street
fashion, art, music, culture that is still
undiscovered. While people are still
wary of spending money on streetwear
unless it’s the hype brands and sneakers,
they do care about what you bring to
them as a brand than just the clothes.
They want to hear your story; they
want the clothes to say something.”
Avni and her brother Ambar discovered
streetwear while pursuing their
academic degrees outside of India and
later started the brand in India. SIX5SIX
Street creates pieces that have a satirical
take on issues that are important
enough to be talked about.
With the help of social media,
streetwear has emerged as one of the
key wardrobe staples in our day-to-day
wardrobe and the #OOTD phenomenon
is keeping the streetwear category alive
and kicking. People are now investing
in a spectrum of casual basics and
streetwear pieces to create their own
unique individualistic style statements.
Currently, India is in a revolutionary
stage and is open to change and it is
up to these new home-grown brands
to provide the nation with substantial
content that leaves a mark and sets
the foundation for streetwear. While
India hasn’t been an easy market when
it comes to unconventional fashion
unlike the existing norms, but decades
of gradual acceptance and evolution in
the Indian market has led this category
to flourish.
What’s trending?
Streetwear has grown tremendously
from its evolution on the streets to its
presence in the luxury fashion segment.
Street styles basically capture the
pulse of urban dressing and every city
has something unique to contribute
to its fashion legacy and streetwear
represents that style curation. And so,
the category does not represent any
one visual aesthetic. In this category, a
group of people identify with certain
cohesive aesthetics which brings out
a unique blend of fashion aesthetics.
 start-ups

Dhruv Khurana elaborates, “For Today, India boasts a sizable community

The journey ahead
Almost Gods, we really want to create that is into streetwear. Oversize fits,
a story of energy and positivity, a logo T-shirts, chunky ‘dad’ sneakers, As diverse a market as streetwear,
snapback and bucket hats, long sleeve homegrown brands faces the dual
celebration of the members of our
tees, coach jackets, tactical apparel, challenge of representing the
community. We want them to feel
fanny packs, slides with interesting cultural gamut they exist in while
powerful and creative, such that
socks, tracksuits, are some styles in also not isolating themselves from
they themselves can go ahead and
this category. While some streetwear global attitudes. Talking about the
change the world. In that vein, the
enthusiasts are those who are fans of challenges facing this segment,
visual language we adopt is one of Avni Aneja asserts, “Awareness and
the OG streetwear brands, for their
maximalist-minimalism, explosions understanding of what we do and
heritage, storytelling, role in building
of energy followed by quiet pockets why we do it is definitely a struggle.
sub-culture communities, there are
in our pieces and brand language, Streetwear is still in a nascent stage
others who love streetwear inspired
wherein we want the customers to in India, so the size of the market is
luxury or street-luxe, and few who love
find and insert their own voice as the ‘hype’. Now hype is the hottest relatively smaller. Also, hype takes
well.” The bestselling product right drop and these merchandise are over most of the time when people
now at Almost Gods is its ‘Black usually celebrity-driven or collaborative think of streetwear; so constant
Sabbath’ pieces; as for Six5Six Street, collections; however, brands need to comparison with international brands
they are the brand’s oversized keep in mind the brand identity and is another issue.” Besides, the current
T-shirts with interesting prints and what it represents before collaborating situation in the wake of the global
slogans and tie-dye hoodies. with artists or stylists or celebrities. pandemic caused by Covid-19 has
proved to be a game-changer and has
forced start-ups to take a break and
restrategise on most of their plans,
moving forward.
Even as modern fashion is branching
off into as many different and
distinctive categories and it’s
becoming more difficult to distinguish
between fads and mainstays,
streetwear is one category that’s here
to stay. As the entire generation of
hype beasts and skate rats call him,
Bobby Hundreds has once said while
explaining the category, “Streetwear is
Biskit
about culture and not about clothing”.
And culture might change or vary
from civilisation to civilisation but
Jaywalking does not die. “With the internet and
technology being what it is right now,
there’s democratisation by the people
to choose which voices they want to
hear and streetwear is overwhelmingly
what people are connecting to. The
future is going to be one of a lot of
evolution of voice and the stories
brands within the space choose to tell.
Besides, there has been demand from
Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns as well which
ensures further growth coming from
Gully Delhiwear those communities,” concludes Dhruv
Khurana.
India has witnessed a number of start-up brands offering distinct streetwear collection to the discerning

September 2020 | AO India 69

start-ups//news
Delhi Govt kicks off consultations to draft
new start-up policy
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal, in a recent meeting
with industry leaders, has
said that the Government is
consulting for the national
capital’s new policy on start-
ups.
The industry leaders who
participated in the meeting
included Ajai Chowdhry
(Co-Founder, HCL); Rajan
Anandan (MD, Sequoia
Capital); Padmaja Ruparel
(Co-Founder, Indian Angel
Network); Sriharsha Majety
(Co-Founder and CEO,
Swiggy); Farid Ahsan (Co-
Founder, ShareChat); Suchita
Social commerce start-up Bulbul receives funding worth
US $ 8.7 million from Info Edge
Bulbul, a video and
livestream-led commerce
platform, has raised US $
8.7 million financing led by
70 AO India | September 2020
Salwan (Founder and CEO,
Little Black Book); Tarun
Bhalla (Founder, Avishkaar);
and Riyaaz Amlani (CEO &
MD, Impresario Handmade
Restaurants) among others.
Naukri parent Info Edge. In
a stock market filing, Info
Edge said it has invested
about US $ 6.33 million
Those who participated in
the consultations are likely
to provide inputs in drafting
the new start-up policy. The
Delhi Government said in a
press release that the draft will
(around Rs. 47.3 crore) in
Bulbul to pick up 17.82
per cent stake on a fully
converted and diluted basis.
www.apparelresources.com
soon be released online to seek
inputs from the general public
on the start-up policy.
Citing a September 2019 TiE
report, Kejriwal highlighted
that with over 7,000 start-ups
from the region, Delhi has
the highest number of active
start-ups in the country and the
valuation of the city’s start-ups
right now is about US $ 50
billion. The report also says
that by 2025, Delhi-NCR is
set to become one of the top
five global start-up hubs with
12,000 start-ups, 30 unicorns
and a cumulative valuation of
about US $ 150 billion.
This investment has been
made through the company’s
recently launched US $ 100
million venture capital fund.
The remaining capital has
been pumped in by existing
investors including Sequoia
Capital India’s Surge and Leo
Capital.
Launched in December 2018
by TrulyMadly Co-Founder
Sachin Bhatia; Gigstart
Co-Founder Atit Jain; and
Hawa Co-Founder Sichen
(Sianna) Liu, Bulbul aims
to help consumers discover
new products through a live
and interactive e-commerce
platform. The company has
generated a turnover of Rs.
4.5 crore in the Financial
Year 2020.
September 2020 | AO India 71
Trade Statistics

US APPAREL IMPORTS (January to June 2020)

H1 ’20: Apparel import down from last year; monthly rebound in June brings hope
USA has fallen by 43 per cent on Y-o-Y in its apparel imports in
June ’20. The total import valued at US $ 3.97 billion as against US
$ 6.94 billion in the same month of 2019. However, there is a
monthly surge of 49.81 per cent in June ’20 over May ’20. This
signals the gradual M-o-M recovery of the apparel retail in the USA.
There is massive rebound of 59.60 per cent in the Chinese shipment
to USA in June ’20 over May ’20. Vietnam’s export to USA stood at
US $ 848.87 million in June ’20 and the monthly increase from
May ’20 noted was 35.92 per cent, while yearly decline was 20 per
cent from June ’19.
Bangladesh got a monthly surge of 36.62 per cent in June ’20 and
clocked US $ 230.15 million. India continued performing worst
among top shippers to USA and was down by 63 per cent in
June ’20 over June ’19 to hit US $ 113.45 million from its apparel exports.

Global Apparel Imports by the US

(January to June2020)

Change in Quantity
27.87% Cotton
30.16% Cotton
32.40%
Change in Quantity

Change in Value
30.37% Wool
41.53% Wool
44.73%
Change in Value

3.34% MMF
26.56% MMF
28.18%
Change in UVR

Silk & Veg 9.85% Silk & Veg 15.29%

(Average UVR in the review period was US $ 2.89 as
against US $ 2.99 in the same period last year)

Percentage change in top 3 product UVR change in apparel imported Month-wise USA
categories imported by USA by USA (2-year comparison) apparel import trend
T-SHIRTS Trousers Ladies Dresses Jan. 20 6.75
Feb. 20 5.91
Jan.-June 2020
US $ 2.89 Mar. 20 5.18
Apr. 20 3.41
May 20 2.65
Volume Volume Volume Jan.-June 2019 3.97
Jun. 20
(-33.14%) (-27.81%) (-30.67%) US $ 2.99
Value Value Value 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(-32.38%) (-28.34%) (-32.44%)
(Value in US billion $)

Percentage change in India’s top product Value-wise share to USA by Fact: Hong Kong noted yearly growth
category export (T-Shirts) to USA top 5 apparel exporters in June ’20 over June ’19 in apparel
export to USA. Rest all countries
20.68% China tumbled.

20.28% Vietnam
Value falls Volume falls
8.86% Bangladesh
35.73% 37.15%
6.50% Indonesia

5.51% India

(The information has been extracted from US custom site and further analysed.)

72 AO India | September 2020

 Trade Statistics

Total apparel exports to the US by 5 major manufacturing destinations

(January to June 2020)

Volume-wise export to USA Value-wise export to USA

( Qty in mn kg ) ( Value in US mn $ )

38.25% 49.09%
3064.13 China 5768.16

13.30% 11.12%
1725.77 Vietnam 5656.94

17.60% 19.73%
891.20 Bangladesh 2471.20

23.80% 20.33%
472.73 Indonesia 1814.97

31.33% 32.09%
435.59 India 1537.81

Overall apparel imported by USA was worth US $ 27.88 billion in the said period with (-) 30.37% downfall (Y-o-Y)

Item-wise quantity increase/decrease in apparel imports by the US: Jan.-Jun. 2020

(Qty in doz, legwear in dpr, babieswear in kg)

Exports to USA
Total Imports by USA
APPAREL TYPE China India Bangladesh Vietnam Indonesia

2019 2020 % Change 2019 2020 % Change 2019 2020 % Change 2019 2020 % Change 2019 2020 % Change 2019 2020 % Change

Babies Wear 51887133 39605447 -23.67 22,157,456 10,596,456 -52.18 5,718,944 4,902,229 -14.28 5,274,075 5,637,723 6.90 4,909,061 4,771,240 -2.81 1,192,211 980,187 -17.78
Foundation
28983329 18609204 -35.79 15,210,438 8,630,637 -43.26 656,230 324,661 -50.53 2,704,309 2,044,650 -24.39 2,368,683 2,423,346 2.31 2,174,465 1,476,845 -32.08
Garments
Jackets & Blazers 19164980 11751405 -38.68 8,769,717 3,978,520 -54.63 325,049 218,221 -32.87 1,425,702 1,123,402 -21.20 3,961,806 3,061,787 -22.72 883,049 834,995 -5.44
Ladies Blouses 27422895 17796278 -35.10 10,087,718 4,913,436 -51.29 4,395,158 2,851,438 -35.12 1,263,254 1,222,575 -3.22 5,141,346 3,695,794 -28.12 3,456,740 2,386,219 -30.97
Ladies Dresses 32545453 22562427 -30.67 14,172,759 8,212,345 -42.06 3,154,190 2,366,567 -24.97 913,306 861,173 -5.71 7,003,542 5,469,448 -21.90 2,714,458 2,009,995 -25.95
Ladies Skirts 7907807 5603321 -29.14 3,210,997 2,026,338 -36.89 453,737 300,475 -33.78 685,997 546,811 -20.29 1,791,983 1,371,245 -23.48 534,918 424,821 -20.58
Legwear 177934797 128028054 -28.05 121,243,312 90,525,762 -25.34 3,580,705 1,914,181 -46.54 0 0 #DIV/0! 3,374,168 3,855,451 14.26 379,724 386,937 1.90
Men's Shirts 19500659 13073828 -32.96 3,251,764 1,549,154 -52.36 1,750,506 1,004,139 -42.64 5,564,128 4,073,167 -26.80 2,466,885 1,949,892 -20.96 1,682,099 1,331,333 -20.85
Nightwear 20746843 16101288 -22.39 12,139,476 6,699,434 -44.81 1,408,318 997,049 -29.20 1,081,909 923,213 -14.67 2,172,841 3,175,159 46.13 275,453 291,143 5.70
Suits / Ensembles 5667551 3171931 -44.03 2,974,008 1,537,996 -48.29 316,844 175,909 -44.48 83,140 75,493 -9.20 868,569 563,549 -35.12 286,402 155,303 -45.77
Sweaters 4016039 2529984 -37.00 2,972,208 1,586,074 -46.64 18,124 17,764 -1.99 363,389 221,415 -39.07 118,728 171,823 44.72 25,252 55,226 118.70
Trousers 155653108 112370577 -27.81 40,121,659 21,251,306 -47.03 3,724,503 2,360,379 -36.63 26,867,820 20,473,866 -23.80 27,938,214 24,123,222 -13.66 9,905,464 7,579,112 -23.49
T-Shirts 293879030 196496696 -33.14 45,844,908 24,824,865 -45.85 14,990,569 9,421,300 -37.15 13,310,959 11,272,710 -15.31 42,739,260 33,012,883 -22.76 13,964,758 10,239,300 -26.68
Undergarments 127583086 81047711 -36.47 25,143,020 14,214,742 -43.46 9,168,324 5,842,956 -36.27 13,915,525 10,321,736 -25.83 23,391,140 18,214,181 -22.13 1,159,331 732,401 -36.83

Item-wise value increase/decrease in apparel imports by the US: Jan.-Jun. 2020 (Value in US mn $)
Exports to USA
Total Imports by USA
APPAREL TYPE China India Bangladesh Vietnam Indonesia

2019 2020 % Change 2019 2020 % Change 2019 2020 % Change 2019 2020 % Change 2019 2020 % Change 2019 2020 % Change

Babies Wear 1,054.77 789.83 -25.12 379.01 171.16 -54.84 132.35 112.36 -15.10 101.23 98.18 -3.01 108.71 110.71 1.84 38.52 30.28 -21.40

Foundation Garments 1,228.32 871.22 -29.07 488.70 277.40 -43.24 41.54 20.85 -49.81 60.25 52.10 -13.52 152.44 176.93 16.07 95.05 75.63 -20.44

Jackets & Blazers 2,801.17 1,764.12 -37.02 1,066.70 421.71 -60.47 53.95 38.86 -27.97 165.46 145.91 -11.81 628.56 541.30 -13.88 140.73 126.28 -10.27
Ladies Blouses 1,801.06 1,161.56 -35.51 585.37 266.62 -54.45 343.49 227.76 -33.69 73.81 70.31 -4.74 265.73 200.47 -24.56 242.92 169.65 -30.16
Ladies Dresses 2,645.77 1,787.58 -32.44 1,043.75 564.02 -45.96 304.64 231.12 -24.14 33.83 37.77 11.66 472.59 375.39 -20.57 222.23 172.84 -22.22
Ladies Skirts 493.44 329.43 -33.24 175.74 94.74 -46.09 36.30 26.18 -27.88 31.92 21.56 -32.46 97.72 77.38 -20.82 32.52 26.50 -18.53
Legwear 959.74 632.37 -34.11 578.68 382.90 -33.83 15.56 13.36 -14.18 - - #DIV/0! 16.12 22.57 40.00 2.42 1.98 -18.16
Men's Shirts 1,607.09 1,083.91 -32.55 264.77 111.61 -57.84 122.68 78.43 -36.07 306.21 228.50 -25.38 212.79 178.52 -16.11 147.17 119.37 -18.89
Nightwear 863.26 628.19 -27.23 464.71 216.69 -53.37 57.85 39.76 -31.28 35.68 29.56 -17.15 101.17 132.70 31.16 16.75 18.52 10.52
Suits / Ensembles 627.75 365.86 -41.72 149.06 69.27 -53.53 38.60 27.01 -30.01 5.73 4.99 -12.90 88.72 62.35 -29.72 46.82 25.67 -45.17
Sweaters 394.19 237.41 -39.77 269.82 129.57 -51.98 1.43 1.45 0.91 18.94 14.57 -23.07 9.59 16.54 72.46 2.56 5.29 106.52
Trousers 9,648.57 6,914.46 -28.34 1,939.98 887.96 -54.23 257.32 166.76 -35.19 1,542.89 1,152.60 -25.30 1715.69 1585.61 -7.58 533.59 437.92 -17.93
T-Shirts 10,490.23 7,093.13 -32.38 1780.221 807.35 -54.65 569.844 366.254 -35.73 357.50 289.34 -19.07 1736.62 1413.02 -18.63 555.08 442.20 -20.34
Undergarments 1,879.26 1,183.27 -37.04 428.23 216.92 -49.35 162.16 101.59 -37.36 147.23 117.89 -19.93 282.96 244.14 -13.72 27.00 21.32 -21.03

September 2020 | AO India 73

Trade Statistics

Canada Apparel Imports (Jan. to June 2020 )

H1 ’20: After falling till May, Canadian market
picks up from June
The apparel import of Canada in the first half of 2020 tumbled, as
expected, due to Covid-19. However the latest monthly data of June
’20 has brought some cheers to the industry!
Cumulatively in the first half of 2020, Canada fell by 28.89 per cent in
its apparel imports which valued at US $ 3.35 billion as against
US $ 4.72 billion in H1 ’19.
After falling till May ’20, Canadian apparel retail market has started
picking up from June ’20 on monthly basis, thanks to the fading
pandemic. The country witnessed 67.50 per cent growth over May ’20
to import US $ 557.81 million worth of garments.
APPAREL ONLINE However, despite this good surge, the import level is still far away
from what Canada valued in June ’19 and the fall recorded on Y-o-Y
All about fa s h i o n business
basis in June ’20 was 34.81 per cent.
All major apparel shippers to Canada – India, China, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Bangladesh, USA and Italy – noted monthly growth in
June ’20 over May ’20 but fell on yearly basis as compared to June ’19
as well as cumulatively in H1 ’20 over H1 ’19.
China, the top shipper to Canada, upped its apparel export by 60 per
cent in June ’20 over May ’20 to ship US $ 202.95 million worth of
garments. The yearly drop in June ’20 was 34.17 per cent, while the
total decline in H1 ’20 noted was 34 per cent.
Vietnam too noted massive surge of 85.92 per cent in June ’20 over
AO INDIA May ’20 and clocked US $ 77.90 million from its apparel exports to
Our Editions

USA. However, on half-yearly basis, shipment from Vietnam plunged

AO VIETNAM by 16.76 per cent.

Bangladesh’s monthly growth in June ’20 was 74.62 per cent and
the revenues it clocked were US $ 46.56 million. On the other hand,
AO BANGLADESH India’s shipment to Canada valued at US $ 12.43 million in June ’20
which is 102.80 per cent higher than what it had exported to Canada
in May ’20.
Among top 15 exporting destinations to Canada, Romania was the
only country which noted growth in June ’20 both on M-o-M basis
(293%) and Y-o-Y basis (62.26%) to clock US $ 7.50 million revenues.

The knitted apparel reported (-) 29.69%

28.89% downfall during the review period, whereas
Canada Imports the woven segment plunged by (-) 28.06%
in value terms.

Knitted garment exports from Vietnam to

16.76% Canada declined by (-) 15.02%, while export
of woven garments took a dip of (-) 18.59%.
Vietnam Exports

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Bangladesh registered downfall in knitted
Please call Customer Service at +91-8800010139 31.47% garment exports to Canada by (-) 31.67%,
B’Desh Exports while woven garment exports decelerated
or email at contact@apparelresources.com
by (-) 31.32%.

www.apparelresources.com
The value of Indian knitted apparel exports
37.30% tumbled by (-) 33.76%. On the other hand,
export value of woven segment plunged by
India Exports (-) 40.57% on Y-o-Y basis.

74 AO India | September 2020

www.apparelresources.com
Positive future, but need to be on toes; major takeaway
from CITI virtual conference
Organised by Confederation
of Indian Textile Industry
(CITI) and Gartex Texprocess
India, virtual conference on
‘Rebooting the Textile &
Apparel Industry’ highlighted
that future is positive but textile
and apparel industry need to
be on their toes. Maximum
use of technology and focus on
sustainability were also stressed
upon by the experts.
Arvind Singhal, Chairman,
Technopak Advisors, started the
event with the idea as to how
the industry will shape up in
next 10 years and what we need
to do. Dr. K.S. Sundararaman,
Chairman, Indian Technical
Textile Association (ITTA),
highlighted that electronic
TEXPROCIL’s virtual expo Ind Texpo 2020 scheduled
from 14 to 18 September
Organised by The Cotton
Textiles Export Promotion
Council (TEXPROCIL), the
virtual exhibition ‘Ind Texpo
2020’ is scheduled to take
place from 14 to 18 September
2020. All the latest variety
of yarns, fabrics (knitted
as well as woven), home
textile products, etc., will be
displayed in the show. Over
200 buyers are expected to
visit the show. The event was
earlier scheduled from 17 to
19 March in Coimbatore but
was cancelled due to pandemic.
The participation charge
for the basic category is Rs.
29,500, while for the premium
category, it is Rs. 35,400
(including taxes).
clothing will dominate in the
next 10 years and products
made from biodegradable
waste will be in demand.
Ronak Rughani, Chairman,
The Synthetic & Rayon
Textiles Export Promotion
Council (SRTEPC), insisted
that Indian brands should
explore overseas markets as so
far there is not even a single
Indian brand that is globally
well-known. Dr. A. Sakthivel,
Chairman, Apparel Export
Promotion Council (AEPC),
believed that in the next few
years, India will be in a better
position to lead in the export of
MMF-based garments.
Technical experts highlighted
how fashion industries can
“The buyers who had registered
to visit the ‘Ind Texpo’ show in
March are now eager to source
yarns, fabrics and home textiles
from India and have expressed
change with digitisation. Ram
Sareen, Chairman & Founder,
Tukatech shared that in order
to adjust to the ‘new normal’,
every company will now
have a shorter supply chain –
smaller quantities with more
frequencies. Companies for this
should look at the areas where
they are wasting their time and
resources like sampling. Every
company should first try to
get their processes right before
investing in technologies like
AI, big data, etc.
Looking at the imbalance
in purchasing policies, the
need is to reduce supply and
base it more on demand.
Experts were of the opinion
that major changes would be
their strong inclination to
visit the online edition of Ind
Texpo,” said TEXPROCIL
spokesperson. With around
3,000 members, TEXPROCIL
September 2020 | AO India
EVENT//news
greater collaborations along
the supply chain and also
regional collaborations.
Session on ‘Brand And
Retail – Emerging Scenario
in Textiles & Apparel’
highlighted the need for
omnichannel retailing
and the emergence of
other channels apart from
e-commerce.
This session witnessed
experts like Dr. Hitesh Bhatt,
Retailers Association of India
(RAI); Ganesh Subramanian,
Founder, Stylumia; Nitin
Mohan, Founder & Director,
Blackberrys Menswear; Max
Gilgmann, Kaleidoscope;
and Rahul Mehta, MD,
Creative Garments.
Screen Print India will
be held alongside the
premier textile trade fair,
Gartex Texprocess India,
from 19 to 21 March 2021
at the Bombay Exhibition
Centre in Mumbai. The
product launches and
live demos at the event
will bring to the fore all
the advancements in the
rapidly changing business
landscape in the screen-
printing sector.
is 66-year-old EPC and is
working to promote cotton
textile-based products. It
connects buyers with suppliers
and facilitates trade globally.
75
EVENT//news www.apparelresources.com

IHGF-Delhi fair remains successful; more than Rs. 300

crore of orders expected
Setting new records in virtual
and business world, the 49th
edition of IHGF-Delhi fair
is certified by Golden Book
of World Records as first
handicraft products’ virtual
trade fair. What’s noteworthy
is that orders worth Rs. 320
crore are expected to be
generated from the serious
business enquiries made at the
event that was held from 13th
to 19th July.
The event was organised by
Export Promotion Council for
Handicrafts (EPCH).
Neeraj Khanna, President of
the fair and Ravi K. Passi,
Chairman, EPCH informed and domestic volume retail America (750), Oceania (525), have been generated during the
that more than 1,300 buyers too visited the show to Asia (350), South America 7-day event. Vishal Dhingra,
manufacturers and exporters source home, lifestyle, fashion, (255), Middle East (250) and Chairman, Buying Agents
from across India participated Association and Kaustav
furniture and textile products. Africa (2020.
in the event that was spread Sengupta, Associate Professor,
over 25 virtual halls. Around The maximum buyer Rakesh Kumar, DG, EPCH, NIFT, Chennai were honoured
4,150 overseas buyers from participation was from Europe informed that serious business by EPCH for significant
108 countries, buying agents (1,050) followed by North enquiries worth Rs. 320 crore contribution to the fair.

NIFTA brings together experts for ‘Risk and Debt Management

for Apparel Suppliers’
The Association of
NIFT Alumni (NIFTA)
Leadership Series of
Webinar discussed various
aspects of ‘Risk and Debt
Management for Apparel
Suppliers.’ Bryan Friedman,
Shareholder of FSG Lawyers,
US; Chair, Corporate
and Business Practice
Group; Ravindra Mishra,
DGM, SBI-(SME); Vivek
Kohli, Senior Advocate;
Subhash Chahar, Head,
Large Exporters Branch,
ECGC and Ketan Kale, VP,
Structured Credit, Political
Risk & Surety, Middle East
and Africa, Marsh shared
their views in this regard.
It was highlighted that
proactiveness is the key in
risk and debt management,
and so all stakeholders should
pay attention to the contract.
They should ensure that risk
is allocated properly and if
anything is not covered in the
contract, it should be covered
in insurance.
Regarding contract, it is
important which jurisdiction
will apply. In India, MSME act
is a good support for MSMEs
when it comes to the existence
of arbitration clause in the
contract. MSME act will
override there, and so MSMEs
are fairly well protected in
the MSME act. Notably,
even big players cannot take
chance with MSMEs. Experts
insisted that it is better to
avoid litigation as it is time
consuming and expensive. US
has strong lobby to protect
their rights irrespective of
whatever is on the other side.
To support exporters, banks
have liberalised working capital
scheme. However flexibility is
also required in the contract,
so that banks can help.
ECGC official shared that it
has taken a slew of measures
for exporters like increased
timeline regarding processes.
Policy covers as well as default
and claims have also increased
in last 4 months.

76 AO India | September 2020

www.apparelresources.com policy//news

A latest report by CRISIL Ratings has stated that owing to the extended lockdown as well as reduced discretionary spending, India’s
readymade garment manufacturers are likely to witness a 25-30 per cent decline in revenue in the current financial year. So in this
scenario, every decision and development really matter a lot. Textile Minister has said that Indian textiles sector is always looking for
subsidy, but one should not forget that subsidy is taxpayers’ money. On the other hand, industry has again asked for more support.
Meanwhile some unexpected and unavoidable problems are also there adding worries for the industry.

“Subsidy is taxpayers’ money,” Textile Minister tells industry

Union Textile Minister Smriti
Irani has said that Indian
textiles sector is always looking
for subsidy, but one should not
forget that subsidy is taxpayers’
money. Organised by Indian
Chamber of Commerce, in
discussion with industry,
she insisted that the textiles
industry should commercialise
opportunities as it did in
PPE product category. While
discussing various issues with
the Minister, many textile
and industry players also said
that after availing the subsidy,
several promoters of these parks
have run away.
The issue regarding textile
parks was also raised in the
discussion. “At the time of UPA
rule, no role was envisaged
for State Governments. If
employment opportunities
are to be raised, the State
Governments need to oversee
the functioning of these parks,”
the Minister said. Ajit Lakra,
MD, Superfine Knitters
Limited, Ludhiana who is
also associated with many
trade associations told Apparel
Online, “We have raised issue of
moratorium wherein the date (ATUFS) were also discussed should move in a time-
needs to be extended from 31 by the industry stakeholders. bound manner. In another
August to 31 March 2021 so These stakeholders said that as webinar of Punjab University,
that the textile units can revive.” far as import of second-hand the Minister said that women
Various issues regarding machinery is concerned, all need to be made aware about
Amended Technology applicants of ATUFS should access to capital and access
Upgradation Fund Scheme not face the heat and things to skills.

Industry urges for further hike in dues limit of ECLGS

The Finance Ministry
has increased the annual
turnover ceiling of
companies that could avail
loans under the Emergency
Credit Line Guarantee
Scheme (ECLGS) up to Rs.
250 crore from Rs.100 crore
at present and also with
outstanding loans up to Rs.
50 crore.
The industry seeks further
hike in dues limit to Rs.
100 crore for ECLGS
and full exemption from
annual turnover criteria for
exporters.
“We welcome the decision of
the Government to increase
the outstanding loan limit
from Rs. 25 crore to Rs.
50 crore and for raising the
turnover criteria from Rs.
100 crore to Rs. 250 crore
for availing ECLGS,” said
Dr Sakthivel, Chairman,
Apparel Export Promotion
Council (AEPC) and further
added that while more
than half of the targeted
additional funding is yet to
be sanctioned, there are many
medium-scale industrialists
who are bereft of the special
financial assistance. The need
of the hour is to expand the
outstanding loan limit to Rs.
100 crore and there should
be no turnover criteria for
exporters.
The Government revised
the eligibility criteria for
availing ECLGS including
extending it to individual
loans that were taken for
business purposes. The
ECLGS was approved by the
Union Cabinet on 20 May
2020 with a provision of
fully guaranteed additional
funding of up to Rs. 3 lakh
crore to eligible borrowers.
Prabhu Dhamodharan,
Convenor, Indian
Texpreneurs Federation
(ITF), Coimbatore stated,
“It was a much-needed
liquidity infusing measure.
With this calibrated
intervention, many of
medium-sized units in
textile sector will get the
much needed liquidity
support. Being a capital-
intensive industry, many
of our spinning sector
companies will be covered
under the ECLGS scheme.”

September 2020 | AO India 77

resource centre
TRIMS MANUFACTURERS ARE POSITIVE
AS BUSINESS STARTS IMPROVING
Trims’ manufacturers across India were
already under pressure due to various
reasons, be it higher import from China,
cost pressure, India’s increasing apparel
import from Bangladesh, etc. Now in
Covid phase, they have got more impacted
as from last four months (April-July) they
are facing challenges, like their payments
are getting delayed, increasing inventories,
existing orders being put on hold and
uncertainty over further orders, and
much more. But with the passing days of
August, there is some positive indication
that domestic, as well as export orders, are
improving a little bit, and this has created
hopes for trims’ manufacturers also.
Interestingly some of these manufacturers
have used this challenging time to
improve their overall working, to adopt
new standards so that they can have better
market share in the coming months.
The positive aspect in this highly
negative period of Covid pandemic is
that now there is an optimistic indication
78 AO India | September 2020
Nishi Vora, Director, Fashion Accessories
from domestic as well as export markets.
Recently a lot of sampling took place
for the overseas orders and now apparel
exporters are becoming busy. Various
trims’ companies confirmed to Apparel
Online that domestic players are asking
for products for S/S ’21 while exporters
are concerned for A/W ’21.
As far as the domestic market is
concerned, opening up markets, malls
Products of Fashion Accessories, Mumbai
across India have helped in the sale of
garments and this sale will increase in
coming days with the festival season,
and the pending stock of garment
manufacturers will hopefully be cleared.
Trims manufacturers believe that with
these developments, they will also see
more demand of their products.
Fashion Accessories, Mumbai, one of
the leading companies producing metal
accessories as well as PU labels shall soon
get Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification.
As the company is a part of RCBC Group,
a well-known denim fabric distributor,
it has good know-how of brand’s
requirement, product development, etc.
Nishi Vora, Director, Fashion Accessories,
shared some interesting observations as
he told, “I have seen that domestic brands,
online retailers are now taking more
interest in sustainable products. While
in export, some orders from China seem
to move to India. Overall, business is
gradually improving and by the beginning

share of that business which was being
earlier imported from China and now it
seems to be a long-term business. Bimal
Sharma, DGM, Ideal Fastener India
said, “After the two bad months (April
and May), June and July months of 2020
were good compared to the same period
of 2019 as many apparel manufacturers
preferred to source zippers from local,
but quality manufacturers. Our state-of-
the-art manufacturing plant in Chennai
served our clients in a better way.” He
further added that overall business will
come back on track by only next year
during the booking of S/S ’22.
of next month, we should move more Ideal Fastener is a well-known company
orders.” The company closely works with having presence in around 17 countries
brands and creates a story, helping them and offers a great variety of sustainable
in their overall product development. products.
Few of the companies are even more As far as top companies are concerned,
optimistic as recently they gained the the interesting facts to be noted
Specialised in
garment dyeing
All kind of Indigo
washes
E flow Washes
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Knits
Laser Washes
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State of the art laser technology
GOTS approved compliance laundry
Washes with EIM scores www.malayappalaundry.com
www.kgdenim.com
resource centre
about them are continuous product
development, new offerings, collective
efforts and support to the industry. Coats
has come out with Coats ArmorenTM,
which is a range of cut protect yarns
that’s engineered for protection and
comfort in gloves, additionally offering
game-changing solutions to the hand
safety industry. Coats Digital has also
come up with some interesting initiatives.
A top official of a multinational
trim manufacturing company having
production facilities in India also, who
doesn’t wish to be quoted, shared, “It
is not that the businesses have totally
collapsed or there is no demand at all.
Overall, we have witnessed 30 to 40 per
cent downfall so far which is normal in a
pandemic phase but as we have been used
to grow at a good pace from last many
years, this seems to be a big setback.
Sooner or later, things will be on track
and we have to be patient till then.”
He further added that kidswear,
sleepwear and home furnishing segments
are doing well.
& garments
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September 2020 | AO India 79
resource centre
Madeira India is
prepared and positive
for the future
The fashion business has started
limping back to life, though it is still a
very long way to go to even reach the
levels just before the pandemic struck
the work, giving hope to millions of
people and companies that contributed
to the fashion value chain. The new
ways of working and conducting
business have forced companies to
reinvent their operations and relook at
how they can stay relevant. Madeira
India Private Limited, a subsidiary of
Madeira Germany offering wide range
of embroidery threads for all types of
embroidery applications, restarted its
operations post-lockdown at the end of
June and has been keeping its customers
updated through digital posts, including
suggestions on how to innovatively use
embroidery in facemasks!
The company believes that the much
hyped ‘new normal’ is going to be about
consolidation of industry, survival of
the fittest and an entirely new way to
manage one’s working platform and staff.
Preparing for these changes, Akshay
Kumar, Director Sales, Madeira India
shares that Madeira is preparing and
making all necessary arrangements
including abiding by safety and social
distancing norms to keep the momentum
of sales marketing intact. “Since physical
sales is practically non-existent, we are
extensively operating and connecting
80 AO India | September 2020
with customers through online sales,
webinars and use of other digital
platforms,” avers Akshay.
All markets have been severely affected
by the crisis and there is really no saving
grace. Most companies related to the
retail and fashion industry agree that the
worst hit is the domestic market, reason
being the loss of income due to job and
salary cuts, resulting in less spending
power along with future insecurity. “The
immediate impact of the lockdown was
confusion and chaos, we saw job losses
across the industry, labour migration
and an atmosphere of total uncertainty,
all this has added to the low sentiments
that will take some time to revive,” says
Akshay thoughtfully. He adds that even
the export market which many had
expected to gain because of the China
factor, succumbed to global downturn.
Sharing what he believes as the best
strategy for the textile industry in
India at this juncture, Akshay adds,
“The most important action plan for
any company today is to keep their
people fit and fine by ensuring that all
safety norms are diligently adhered
to, as also upgrading the quality and
systems to beat Asian competitors.” He
is quick to add that though there are
lots of challenges, the pandemic has
also created new opportunities for all
well-structured companies to sustain
and perform, and given time to the
companies to get their act in place as
soon as possible.
Though optimistic, Akshay is however
sceptical as to whether India has the
wherewithal to beat competition,
especially in case of getting businesses
that everyone has predicted to be moving
out of China, or those which will move
out of China. “First, we don’t have the
capacity to absorb what will come from
China, if any. Also, other Asian countries
like Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh
and Sri Lanka would be the most
favoured ones because of geopolitical and
competitiveness parameters,” he reasons.
He urges the industry to work internally
and increase their competitiveness before
it is too late.
While agreeing that the Government
needs to support the industry with

appropriate measures in these very
difficult times, Akshay is quick to add
that personally he is not in favour of
a subsidy economy as it leads towards
‘parasite economy’. “We all as individual
companies have to work towards
competitiveness and how best we can
put our resources to use, just looking
at the Government for support is not
sustainable in the long run,” argues
Akshay with conviction.
As a global leader in embroidery threads,
Madeira has a brand value that they
can and are leveraging in this highly
competitive environment, but the
company understands that they have to
keep delivering consistently to retain the
brand value. On a parting note, Akshay
shares the most important lesson learnt
during this difficult phase which needs
to be remembered and even acted upon.
“There is a lot of learning, but the most
critical is that prudent fiscal management
is key for every company to sustain in
difficult times along with keeping their
basics strong.”
resource centre
Madeira embroidery threads are extensively being used by global
brands and retailers for branding, logos, high-fashion embroideries
with metallic, shiny polyester, matt finish and continuous filament
threads with denim wash properties. The reputation of the threads on
parameters of quality is world-class, as they are production-friendly
with minimum breakage on high-speed machines.
The wide range covers many specialised areas:
• BURMILANA – is suitable for chenille, chainstitch, looks like
hand embroidery due to its natural properties or wool and
cotton blends with acrylics.
• POLYNEON – 100% continuous filament shiny polyester with
chlorine wash properties, denim wash properties available
in different thickness and suitable for logo embroidery, fine
embroideries and regular shiny embroideries.
• CLASSIC VISCOSE RAYON – Pure viscose embroidery threads.
• CR METALLIC – Madeira CR Metallic is suitable for embroidery
work on babies and toddlerwear as they are Oeko-Tex Class 1
certified embroidery threads.
• Madeira METALLIC FS SUPPERTWIST – Metallic threads
of different composition and thickness as per embroidery
application and decorative stitches.
September 2020 | AO India 81
resource centre
OSPREY AND HYOSUNG COLLABORATE
FOR SUSTAINABLE, HIGH-PERFORMANCE
PACK COLLECTION
Osprey and Hyosung have
collaborated to launch sustainable,
high-performance pack collection for
Spring 2021.
Cortez, Colorado-based Osprey is a
leader in creating top quality, high-
performance, and innovative carry
82 AO India | September 2020
solutions for the market including
technical packs for outdoor, travel
and everyday adventures, while
Hyosung is a comprehensive fibre
manufacturer that produces world-
class products and provides value
chain solutions from textile mills to
brands to consumers.
Osprey will feature Hyosung’s new
GRS certified, 100 per cent recycled
Mipan® regen robic high-tenacity
nylon in its best-selling, multi-sport
Talon/Tempest series, which has been
completely redesigned and expanded
for Spring 2021.
Hyosung’s creora® elastane is the
world’s largest spandex brand,
supplying the broadest range of
stretch fibre offerings supported
by exceptional technology and
quality. Mipan® nylon and specialty
polyester provide functional and
sustainable fibre solutions that are
essential to today’s dynamic textile
market.
“As a solutions provider, we are proud
to partner with such a legendary
outdoor brand as Osprey, to help
realise its vision of developing a
sustainable pack that its customers
will feel good about purchasing
and carrying,” said Mike Simko,
Hyosung’s Global Marketing
Director.
Mark Galbraith, Vice President of
Product, Osprey said, “Supporting
technological advancements in
recycled materials is critical to
busting the myth that recycled
materials means reduced
performance. Regen recycled high-
tenacity nylon allows us to bring both
recycled material into our premium
Talon/Tempest series while improving
its technical performance and
durability. We see it as a win-win for
the end user and the environment.”
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