Differentiation of product is at the core of success at QST, the world’s largest supplier of ‘quality construction components’ that go into manufacturing garments of all kinds. Though the US based company has a very wide range of products, the core products that it is marketing in India are its strength and there is practically little competition in the market for these products. In India recently to meet clients and explore possibilities of penetrating deeper into the domestic market, Alan Teo, Marketing Manager, QST, Singapore along with Amit Kaushal, Country Manager, India discuss with Team Apparel Online, why QST has a leadership position in its core products…
With a history that goes back five generations QST has gone from strength to strength to become a nominated supplier of many of its products to all leading brands. “We can say with pride that at least one of our numerous products is used in every garment, especially bottoms made for brands like GAP, Levis, Perry Ellis, Mens Warehouse, Express, Guess, M&S, etc. In fact almost any brand that is offering trousers are using our products to differentiate and enhance quality,” says Alan. The range of products include lining, interlining, pocketing, waistbands, waistband components, stretch fusing, Ban-Rol, Q-loop to name a few.
The waistbands options on offer are indeed amazing with different patterns, fabrics, logos, and designs. Many of the waistbands are a combination of different fabrics all finely put together for a unique look. Adding value to the waistbands, a rubber grip is attached at the back which keeps tucked shirts in place for a neat look. Many of the high-end brands are going for matching waistbands and pocketing which is again a specialty of the company. The company has facilities for customized finishes like soft hand feel, anti-bacterial, etc. which is popular for pocketing as they are constantly in touch with the hands.
While many brands give their customized requirements others pick from the wide collection available and then get it customized with their colour and logo preferences. “We have a design team sitting in UK which is constantly working on new ideas and the production facilities spread out over the world take over to ensure not only quality but consistent quality,” says Alan. With factories in all the continents and four facilities feeding Asia exclusively – Shanghai, Vietnam and Karachi, QST is geared to deliver anywhere in the world.
Of all these products that the company offers, the three that really differentiate it from other similarly positioned competitors are its stretch fusing, Ban-Rol and Q-loop. While Ban-Rol and Q-loop are registered products, stretch fusing, used mostly for casual bottoms so as to give strechability to the waistband for comfort, has only one major competitor from UK, but Alan claims that QST is much more competitive on price for this product.
Q-Loop is an exclusive product developed to eliminate belt loop fray and improve appearance for the life of jeans by using a resin tape. “Using Q-Loop eliminates costly, labour intensive hand trimming of belt-loop fray and the quality of the loop remains intact even after numerous washes,” says Alan. On the other hand Ban-Rol is the world’s leading waistband insert and the original “non-roll” waistband interlining famous for “eliminating unsightly waistband roll-over” in pants, slacks and skirts.
The unique products from the company have found many takers in the Indian domestic market. “We are in India since 2001, though the office was officially opened in 2007 and since then we have been successful in getting business from all leading Indian trouser manufacturers like Madura, Arvind, Indian Terrain, Mohan Clothing to name a few. The challenge now is to penetrate into the second level manufacturers who are not so organized and also very price-sensitive,” says Amit. With two offices – one in Delhi and the other in Bangalore, QST covers both the buying offices and the manufacturers.
Going forward, the domestic market is the growth driver. “Export from India has limited growth potential and a lot of business is moving to Bangladesh due to lower pricing from Bangladesh, which is now our focus market, but with the upper-end of the domestic market in India growing, we see huge growth potential in this segment from the country in the next few years,” concludes Alan.
