Carbon negative company by 2030
The $40 million Ludhiana-headquartered Madame is perhaps among the most successful fast fashion brands in India, having catered to 500,000 unique customers at its almost 500+ exclusive + concessionaire + online stores since its launch. Akhil Jain, executive director, Madame talks to Paulami Chatterjee about sustainability and a host of other issues.
How does Madame incorporate sustainability and circularity in its product lines?
We think sustainable fashion is a philosophy and a growing movement towards environment-friendly fashion. We are committed to it by constantly looking for ways to redefine fashion by creating sustainable and ethical products. Cultivating sustainable and green practices helps organisations become more efficient, competitive and profitable. It's more than simply "a good thing to do." We at Madame have launched a special line called Eco-aware which uses recycled fabrics and organic cotton. Our Eco-aware line uses organic and natural dyes while supporting traditional craft techniques. We are working towards making our raw materials more environment friendly by using recycled materials, and materials produced more sustainably.
Other practices followed by Madame towards its commitment towards nature and sustainability include:
*Designed to reduce waste: We create innovative designs that minimise textile waste in the manufacturing process. Our designs are very precise and created with environmental responsibility in mind.
*Experiment with recycled materials: We try to reuse unusual materials in products that speak to the local culture.
*Maximised on technology: We research the latest technological developments in textile-making and incorporate them into the manufacturing process.
What attributes do you look for when signing on vendors?
The vendor must be environment-friendly (carbon footprint), must work on sustainability (CSR), with a healthy work environment (people-centric).
What is your annual production capacity?
More than 2 million pieces.
What are your long term sustainability goals?
Madame is aiming to become a 100 per cent environment friendly organization. We aim to reduce the carbon footprint by at least 80 per cent and become a carbon negative company by 2030.
What has been the impact of Covid on Madame?
The impact of Covid in terms of sales has been very minimal - we had a degrowth of 15 per cent. We did not lay off any of our staff members. Rentals are being re-negotiated a bit. In terms of stocks, we are working at more than last year's figures.
What kind of machinery does your manufacturing facility boast of?
We use Italian automatic cutting and spreader machine which helps in accurate cutting and controls wastage. We also use Italian automatic washers which help in making the feel of first and the last garment exactly the same, and also save water. We have CAD system to take out efficient designs and 12 colour M&R automatic printing machine which helps in fine design printing with quality. Shima and Stoll computerised sweater knitting machines help in increasing production and in making easy technical designs.
How does your supply chain network work? What regions of the world is part of your supply chain?
Our supply chain is very agile and we cater to customers from fabric till point of sales. Our central distribution centre is in Ludhiana which fulfils the requirement of all points of sale. We do some outsourcing as well from China, Bangladesh, Delhi, Ludhiana and some other parts of India.
Let's talk about how the brand was founded
Established in 1939 by CL Duggar Jain, the company set about launching a brand in line with the Blue Ocean strategy as it began manufacturing, retailing, distribution of women's westernwear to counter the market which was once being ruled by Chinese and Thai imports. We want to be known as an affordable fashion brand for women, men, teenagers and children. With a vision and mission to showcase lifestyle brands, the company intends to build a portfolio of products and international labels that earn admiration from the customer for their design and quality.
Headquartered in Gurgaon, we are into menswear, womenswear, kidswear, footwear, accessories and perfumes with fashion conscious people who admire design and quality as our target audience.
What has been your growth story in the last three years (excluding 2020)?
We have had a double-digit growth year on year.
How is the supply chain expected to change with increasing digitisation, AI, VR etc?
Digitisation of industry, or Industry 4.0, is trending in supply chain management. Digitisation has given a chance to expose all our inventories to the entire target market at one go and in turn our supply chain is never going to be the same. AI in supply chain helps to deliver optimisation capabilities required for more accurate capacity planning, improved productivity, high quality, lower costs, and greater output, all the while fostering safer working conditions. Digitisation allows companies to adjust products in the supply chain based upon demand for those products using real-time sales information, allowing them to accelerate production of best-sellers and cut their losses on the laggards. The opportunities surrounding digitisation have made it possible for supply chains to access, store and process a large amount of data both from within the organization and externally. For example, manufacturing firms are now able to obtain individualised customer data to personalise the sales process, product design and service. In a system with end-to-end transparency, every member at every step along the supply chain network will have access to all data. Digitising processes can enable improved visibility and provide real-time insights into the supply chain, giving people along the chain full control.
Automation is the most important benefit of using AI to control supply chains. For instance, an AI-powered warehouse mainly relies on robots to store, locate, and pick goods. Pre-programmed machines can do it routinely, thus speeding up the packaging processes and taking productivity to a whole new level.
Virtual reality can improve supply chain operations in four main areas: product and process design, data and process visualisation, employee collaboration, and experience-based learning.
Digital Supply Networks (DSN) are increasingly in focus as they provide an opportunity to exponentially improve efficiency and effectiveness in the supply chain, optimise cost and obtain end to end visibility.
And how is this going to impact the business of sourcing?
According to Mckinsey Digital, AI-powered forecasting can reduce errors by 30 to 50 per cent in supply chain networks. The improved accuracy leads to a 65 per cent reduction in lost sales due to inventory out-of-stock situations and warehousing costs decrease around 10 to 40 per cent. The supply chain today is a series of largely discrete, siloed steps taken through marketing, product development, manufacturing, and distribution, and finally into the hands of the customer. Digitisation brings down those walls, and the chain becomes a completely integrated ecosystem that is fully transparent to all the players involved - from the suppliers of raw materials, components, and parts, to the transporters of those supplies and finished goods, and finally to the customers demanding fulfilment of orders. (PC)
What is the USP of your products?
The USP of our products is in terms of design, quality and price point.
What is your market positioning?
We are an international brand with bold fashion statements that is in sync with global trends and we consistently try new styles with experimental fabrics.
What steps do you undertake towards brand building?
Above the line (ATL), below the line (BTL), brand ambassadors and licensing are the few ways we employ for brand building.
What is your retail and web presence like?
We have more than 700 points of sales (POS) across India. We have around 450 enterprise brand outlets (EBOs) and also present at 450+ multi-brand outlets (MBOs). We sell online through Glamly (own portal) and marketplaces like Myntra, Amazon, Ajio etc.
Which categories of clothes sell the most?
Winter wear, jackets, sweaters, long coat, sweatshirt, denim, dresses, night suit, cardigans, tops, tracksuits etc sell the most.
What is the price point for each category that sells the most?
Jackets - ₹4500; sweaters - ₹2200; long coat - ₹7000; sweatshirt - ₹2300; denim - ₹2200; dresses - 3500; nightsuit - ₹1200; cardigans - ₹2300; tops - ₹2000; tracksuits - ₹2200.
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