Amidst India-China standoff, there seems to be good news for India garment manufacturing industry!
If confirmation by some garment factories is anything to go by, a certain percentage of sourcing of apparels may shift to India from China. According to Raja Shanmugham, Chairman, Warsaw International, Tirupur, he has just received a huge order from one of its biggest buyers – Marc O’Polo which is a German leisurewear brand.
“The same product has been shipped from Warsaw’s competitor of China over the years. Now it’s huge and a test for us as well as India,” commented Raja adding, “If this is well cracked, gates will open for more apparel brands to increase sourcing from India.”
It’s worth mentioning here that, from 1 September, order inflow from global buyers starts coming in. “As brands are looking for alternative destinations, we expect 25 per cent sourcing increase from India this season,” mentioned Raja.
Resonating the same, P. Nataraj, MD, KPR Mills, said that their buyers have already told the company to be geared up for increased sourcing this year. “We have just opened up after lockdown and we are expecting to know the exact order size within a couple of weeks,” informed Nataraj.
Another renowned kidswear brand Carter’s has asked one of its vendors, SP Apparels in Tamil Nadu to develop a special MMF-based fabric as it is planning to shift production from China to India.
“We are working with Carter’s to develop a special fabric which is specialty of China. It’s huge opportunity if it clicks,” shared P Sunder Rajan, MD, SP Apparels.
Sensing the shift, AEPC has too started making its efforts as it got into negotiations with some Korean and Taiwanese firms to form a JV in order to develop special MMF-based fabrics. “There is huge opportunity in MMF apparels, while we are strong in natural fibres. The talks are approaching well,” asserted A. Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC.
