Indian Fabrics Intensify Grip On Made-Ups Market
April 2, 2003
DELHI - Several large Indian manufacturers of piece goods have launched lines of made-up items to expand their hold on the home textile industry in America and Europe.
Sales of Indian-made home furnishings textiles have expanded an average of 20 percent a year for the past five years, government officials said during the Tex-Styles India exhibition here last month.
With the added competition of lower-end Chinese lines, especially in the Austral-Asia region, where cheaper Chinese goods have gained a major foothold, Indian manufacturers feel they must further intensify their efforts to grow their exported fabric and made-ups business over the next five years or be forever left behind in the face of the Chinese textile invasion.
''The advantage of Indian made goods over the Chinese are numerous,'' said Sunil Choksey, owner of jacquard weaver Eden Mfg., a Tex-Styles India exhibitor (Feburary 28 - March 3; New Dehli). ''Indian fabrics are yarn-dyed while Chinese fabrics are piece-dyed. We can change the colors in the warp and the Chinese cannot. We offer greater diversity of styling as a result in smaller quanitites. They want containers while we want 300 yards. Also, the colors match with the Indian goods from dye lot to dye lot. India makes a superior product to the Chinese when it comes to fabrics and made-ups,'' he said. ''Indian prices for similar goods to what is made in Italy and Belgium cost 30 percent less.''
Larger Indian suppliers like Seasons, Eden Furnishings Pvt. Ltd. and Zenith Export Ltd., have a long history of fabric export. These firms unveiled ambitious plans to further increase total exports through made-up programs during Tex-Styles India in March.
Zenith Exports, Ltd., exporters of the Zensilk brand to the U.S.A., is in the process of ordering a ''significant number'' of stitching and cutting machines, said H.K. Loyalka, principal of this major silk fabric producer based near Mysore, about three hours from Delhi by car.
Seasons has also added a separate showroom for its 'Studio' line of made-ups adjacent to its office and showroom in Delhi. It counts as clients Robert Allen, Kravet, Swavelle and Warwick in the U.K. and Australia. These customers may introduce Seasons made-ups in the future.
Increasingly, American and European converters of piece goods have turned to their Indian suppliers to produce finished items, particularly bedding, drapes and cushions. In some cases, American converters who were producing made-ups in Mexico decided it was more convenient to order finished textiles from the same Indian suppliers, which had been providing the piece goods.
''Sending the fabric back and forth for stitching in Mexico just isn't as efficient as ordering from the Indian supplier where they have already been getting the piece goods,'' said Inderjeet S. Wadha, chairman of Seasons Furnishings Ltd. ''Once we have a working relationship with our American customers, it's easier for us to sew up the same pieces for the finished textiles and then send the container to the States.''
To meet the demand, Indian suppliers are lining up in-house as well as outsourced sewing facilities employing modern equipment for cutting and sewing.
Here are some scenes from Tex-Styles India and goings on around the exhibition in the New Delhi area. F&FI
Sales of Indian-made home furnishings textiles have expanded an average of 20 percent a year for the past five years, government officials said during the Tex-Styles India exhibition here last month.
With the added competition of lower-end Chinese lines, especially in the Austral-Asia region, where cheaper Chinese goods have gained a major foothold, Indian manufacturers feel they must further intensify their efforts to grow their exported fabric and made-ups business over the next five years or be forever left behind in the face of the Chinese textile invasion.
''The advantage of Indian made goods over the Chinese are numerous,'' said Sunil Choksey, owner of jacquard weaver Eden Mfg., a Tex-Styles India exhibitor (Feburary 28 - March 3; New Dehli). ''Indian fabrics are yarn-dyed while Chinese fabrics are piece-dyed. We can change the colors in the warp and the Chinese cannot. We offer greater diversity of styling as a result in smaller quanitites. They want containers while we want 300 yards. Also, the colors match with the Indian goods from dye lot to dye lot. India makes a superior product to the Chinese when it comes to fabrics and made-ups,'' he said. ''Indian prices for similar goods to what is made in Italy and Belgium cost 30 percent less.''
Larger Indian suppliers like Seasons, Eden Furnishings Pvt. Ltd. and Zenith Export Ltd., have a long history of fabric export. These firms unveiled ambitious plans to further increase total exports through made-up programs during Tex-Styles India in March.
Zenith Exports, Ltd., exporters of the Zensilk brand to the U.S.A., is in the process of ordering a ''significant number'' of stitching and cutting machines, said H.K. Loyalka, principal of this major silk fabric producer based near Mysore, about three hours from Delhi by car.
Seasons has also added a separate showroom for its 'Studio' line of made-ups adjacent to its office and showroom in Delhi. It counts as clients Robert Allen, Kravet, Swavelle and Warwick in the U.K. and Australia. These customers may introduce Seasons made-ups in the future.
Increasingly, American and European converters of piece goods have turned to their Indian suppliers to produce finished items, particularly bedding, drapes and cushions. In some cases, American converters who were producing made-ups in Mexico decided it was more convenient to order finished textiles from the same Indian suppliers, which had been providing the piece goods.
''Sending the fabric back and forth for stitching in Mexico just isn't as efficient as ordering from the Indian supplier where they have already been getting the piece goods,'' said Inderjeet S. Wadha, chairman of Seasons Furnishings Ltd. ''Once we have a working relationship with our American customers, it's easier for us to sew up the same pieces for the finished textiles and then send the container to the States.''
To meet the demand, Indian suppliers are lining up in-house as well as outsourced sewing facilities employing modern equipment for cutting and sewing.
Here are some scenes from Tex-Styles India and goings on around the exhibition in the New Delhi area. F&FI
