Innovation is an inherent part of Arvind’s DNA and signature
India-based Arvind Limited is an integrated textile player and the flagship company of the Lalbhai Group. A $1.7 billion conglomerate, Arvind is a global leader in apparel manufacturing. It is also India’s largest denim manufacturer. Arvind’s Executive Director Kulin Lalbhai speaks to Fibre2Fashion about the challenges for the Indian textile industry.
Is the Indian textile industry close to recovering from the pandemic blues? What uncertainties still loom?
We have certainly seen a strong bounce back in the last few quarters, as reflected in the quarterly results and commentaries from the leading players.
In terms of the domestic market itself, buying continues to improve. However, the rising prices – mostly driven by historically high cotton prices – are surely creating demand side uncertainties.
Brands and retailers have been holding on from placing large orders in the hope of cotton prices correcting at any time. The same has not happened and continues to make textile products more and more expensive.
Have you made any strategic changes post-pandemic? If yes, please share few details.
The post-pandemic world continues to see significant quantum of fluctuation on several fronts. Apart from raw material prices, freight prices have been rising sharply as well. On the demand side, lockdowns, fear of subsequent waves, and more recently geo-political disturbances continue to drive uncertainty.
In this environment, we have taken several measures to manage the risks on both the fronts. We have made our production models much more nimble and agile, and rely on shorter faster runs. On the demand side, we have diversified our customer base and product portfolio to manage the impact of fluctuating demand.
Have there been any changes in investment decisions in online versus offline businesses (w.r.t. stores) post pandemic?
Arvind has been a pioneer in promoting omnichannel retail in the Indian fashion industry. All our stores offer endless aisle, save-the-sale and other features that give our customers a wider range to choose from and enhance their shopping journeys seamlessly.
We have a robust online presence through our own portal nnnow.com as well as other online retailers such as Myntra, AJIO, Flipkart and Amazon.
We continue to make calibrated calls w.r.t our store network. Some of our brands and franchises have clear headroom to expand penetration in specific geographies. We continue to open stores in those locations to reach our customers better.
What kind of impact will the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, the Sri Lankan crises and the rising inflation have on the Indian textile industry?
The war in Europe is clearly impacting the consumer demand for our European brand partners. We continue to monitor the situation on a month-to-month basis and fulfil orders in a short period as needed.
The Sri Lankan crisis is certainly unfortunate. However, most of our garmenting partners, who buy fabrics from us on behalf of the global brands and convert them into apparel are doing a fabulous job running their operations. The global brands have also assured them of continuing support, and so far, we have not seen any material impact on the quantum of our business there.
The rising inflation has certainly made things difficult – as explained earlier, we are seeing historically high prices of cotton and other input materials. So far, majority of our customers have been quite accommodative and have supported us with commensurate price increases. We may soon be reaching a point where the end customers will stop accepting further price increases.
Will the PLI scheme help India stay competitive in the global textile world? What kinds of challenges do you foresee for the MMF and technical textiles industry?
The policy environment in recent times, including the PLI scheme, has been quite supportive of the textile industry. We are positive that the industry will take full advantage and flourish. I hope to see market share gains in the global trade very soon.
MMF and technical textiles are relatively nascent product lines for the Indian textiles industry, which has been largely cotton and cellulose based. We will need to quickly build capabilities through the value chain – starting from upstream raw materials. Significant value gets created at the filament/yarn stage, and we will need to build IP and capabilities there, so that we can reduce our reliance on the imported raw materials for more evolved MMF clothing.
Where do you think Indian consumers stand when it comes to sustainability in clothing?
Indian consumers, especially the younger generation, have started to become quite discerning w.r.t. their clothing choices.
Thanks to the social media, and push given by global brands, there is a strong awareness about environmental footprint of the fashion industry among the young buyers. They are certainly doing their bit in the form of lesser buying, renting and preferring products with better sustainability credentials.
What kind of portfolio of brands do you plan to bring to India under Arvind Fashions? Is India ready for premium and luxury fashion brands?
Arvind Fashions has been a default port-of-call for any global fashion brand wanting to explore the Indian market. As of now, we are quite focused on the strong portfolio of brands we have but will continue to evaluate new ideas that suit our growth aspirations.
Indian consumers have shown a remarkable appetite for premium and luxury brands – many of which are already present in our malls and online shops. This is also reflected in other categories such as cell phones and cars where we have the choicest of global brands available.
What innovations and technologies do you plan to invest in going forward?
Innovation is an inherent part of Arvind’s DNA and signature. We continue to innovate extensively on the product front where we create new blends, hand feels and performance for our fabric and apparel products. Significant part of our innovation is focused on improving the sustainability of our products and operations – from re-using post-consumer fibres, to using recycled water, or sharply cutting down water usage by fundamentally re-inventing our dyeing methods. Arvind continues to lead the industry on this front.
Published on: 18/05/2022
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
