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With finger on the pulse of Indian & European male Casualwear market, what are your readings on the market beats world over and in India?
There is no doubt that the world and more specifically the Indian economic and political situation are far from being conducive to growth. The American, the Eurozone recessions adding to the domestic woes make our Indian export of garments very difficult to manage. Foreign buyers are very tough in price negotiations, and even more demanding in terms of high quality and timely deliveries which if not adhered to very strictly (which unfortunately seems to be genetically impossible to stick to by Indian manufacturer/exporters) will give them an even stronger chance to claim further unreasonable discounts for a product which once in their warehouse will cost them almost “peanuts”!!!
Also, the Eurozone crisis bringing along its heavy trimming of social expenditure to all those countries and the difficulties which each brand has to face in borrowing from Banks along with closing of factories resulted in many brands closing down or looking for greener pastures outside
However, the development of the Indian domestic sector is an area where the manufacturers can lean on and even develop their business despite the multidirectional financial turmoil we are all facing. Also, because of the emergence of a stronger, bigger and growing middle class in
(Contd.)
With finger on the pulse of Indian & European male Casualwear market, what are your readings on the market beats world over and in India?
The growth pattern for the sector in
1 -Availability of cheap money: If the interest rates are lower and loans easier to get, it will enhance the chances for the Indian Garment Sector to compete effectively with its nearby neighbors (
2 – Availability of labor: Labor availability in
3 – Availability of a strong Indian internal consumption: This is possible only if the G.D.P. regains the healthy one it had 3-4 years ago. The Indian Government's assumption of what it is likely to be in the next few months is more of guesswork than certitude or maybe a political eye-wash while other financial institutions put the bar at a much lower level! Hence, unless the Indian Economy shows a well-meaning activity, then only can we predict a “strong internal consumption”.
(Contd.)
With finger on the pulse of Indian & European male Casualwear market, what are your readings on the market beats world over and in India?
Making a brand a success in Indian atmosphere, to my personal opinion, is a combination of the factors. Prime most is Sufficient Capital, More Capital, much more Capital and so on. It may seem an exaggeration. May be yes, May be no!
Coupled with the above, a Streetwear Brand requires a very strong sense of the pulse of the young Indian Consumer (18 to 30) and the designers should be well tuned to this. Also, one must be very much aware of what is happening in the “Streets” of India or rather where the targeted customers gather, watch the Social Medias, listen and analyze the music trend, the Bollywood, Kolliwood or what ever “Wood” is attracting the customers one want to sell Streetwear to.
However, over and above all this one has to be daring; daring to the point where you will want to invest in a section of sharper fashion products line of your Streetwear/Casualwear collections and keep your other lines more “commercial”. Surely, your sharper fashion products line will also reflect on your more “commercial” collection.
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Published on: 06/02/2012
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.