In an exclusive discussion with Apparel Resources, Jyoti Saikia, MD, Triburg and Christine Rai who will be CEO of a new venture built in collaboration between Triburg and Indian Inc. shared their vision and strategy behind coming up of this new, promising initiative.
The present time demands consolidation and many industry leaders have taken timely decisions in this direction. Just a few days back, Indian buying giant Triburg has entered into a strategic tie-up with another very strong and old buying office Indian Inc., to forge a new venture – Triburg Indian Inc., initially for the home products segment. This joint venture (JV) will bring together a strong team of experienced professionals focused on product development and design. By combining and consolidating best practices for the industry, this JV will provide a dynamic yet solid base for business growth.
With a focus on digital technology, design and on-time delivery, this initiative will be able to take the business to new heights – there’s a huge potential for the growth of home décor from India. While Triburg has many product portfolios in its vast basket of offerings, Indian Inc., founded by Christine Rai, is a three-decade-old company known for its design strengths in home furnishing. “The very fact that we both have great reputation in our own worlds has made this partnership more meaningful. We have the ability to create a powerhouse for home buying from India,” opined Jyoti and Christine.
Both are of the view that partnership for creating change, with the combined energy they bring, will trigger a significant shift in the home business world. The integration of the businesses will take place over the next three weeks, and there will be no change in the customer face of operations of merchandising, quality, design and CSR.
The venture will be seated at the headquarters of Triburg in Gurgaon and both teams are very excited about the possibilities. “As we looked at the changing global scenario, we felt that this was the right time to join forces to form our new venture – Triburg Indian Inc. Both our companies have been market leaders in their fields – Indian Inc. in home décor and accessories, and Triburg in apparel. The new entity aims to be a powerhouse for home and fashion, where we can become a centre for operational excellence with a focus on great customer service, design and customised solutions,” said Christine.
She further added that this JV aims to bring the technology and know-how of the apparel industry to the world of home industry in India. “Our goal is to make India more competitive in the global market and by consolidating strengths, the efforts are much more heightened and penetrative,” stated Jyoti with enthusiasm.
As mentioned above, this joint venture focuses on home segment and it is a known fact that apparel and home industry are individual identities…, so why this collaboration? They answered: “At this point of time, home has the greatest potential to grow, and that too to grow fast; we just need to start to apply the approach to design and also implement great technology that already exists in apparel. There is immense opportunity for India to take on more business from China – but we need to grow our capabilities to do this. Indian Inc. and Triburg see this as a tremendous opportunity. We can ‘make the change’!”
It is pertinent to mention here that many prestigious vendors are associated with Triburg and Indian Inc. And this new venture will help the vendors and clients’ base to grow the home segment in India, just the way apparel has done over the last 15 years. There is a lot that needs to change – the approach to sampling and product development is just one such example. More use of digital approvals will reduce the need to send multiple samples. Familiarity with technology and using it to reduce sampling time and costs is critical. Being able to do photography in India will reduce sample sending costs across the board. Training of home vendors along the lines of apparel factories is another benefit that will come out of this JV.
At the same time, there will be few changes that will be evident for both clients and suppliers like speed to market with new products and better use of the digital space – whether with virtual sample reviews or approvals. These will lead to huge cost efficiencies for both clients and vendors.
Both Triburg and Indian Inc. have seen growth in the last 2-3 months and as far as coming months are concerned, the JV will continue to innovate and create relevant new products and ship on time – as both women leaders can see the home business grow immensely in the coming months/years.
The joint CEOs feel that in home business, there is increased demand on many fronts – people are working more from home, so they need to create their own ‘working space’ there. They need shelves, cabinets, storage baskets or boxes. People are also buying new rugs and textiles to decorate the place that they are now spending a great deal and more time in. We are also seeing a huge increase in sales of mirrors and floor coverings. Across the board where people are not going to office, nor travelling abroad, and neither eating out – they want to refresh how their homes look and feel. This seems to be a world-wide phenomenon.
Home entertaining, cooking and baking are other major trends that have emerged from this pandemic. People are eating out less, therefore cooking and eating more at home. This has ensured a huge surge in demand for these products. India is very strong in mixed-media products, and we can cater to much smaller MOQs.
As per the honchoes, there is an increasing demand for ‘cozy’ and ‘comfy’ textiles – the look is casual and relaxed, not formal. We have seen a huge growth in our organic home textiles as well. While in home organisation and storage, home entertainment and kitchen are all in high demand.
“With this new initiative, we will be able to benefit from shared resources – design, technology and training that currently exist at Triburg,” averred Christine Rai.
