Home > Men Clothing > Improving market supported by new developments from fabric manufacturers

With the market picking up and offering fresh opportunities, both domestic players and direct exporters are feeling positive about growth. From top fabric players like Vardhman and Arvind, and strong regional players like Bindal Exports and Madhusudan Group in Surat to smaller companies across India producing 8 to 10 lakh metres of fabric per month, the mood is upbeat. Those engaged in the cotton business are no longer worried about the glut but are taking it as a temporary phase, while those specializing in polyester are confident that demand will increase. This sentiment is driving many textile manufacturers to expand capacities and invest in product development to attract more buyers. Apparel Online talked to some big and medium level players in the fabric segment to get a pulse of the market dynamics…

Despite currency issues in several countries, almost every company in India is expecting good orders in the coming months. “The US market is good and Europe is picking up; in fact, every product, be it denim, shirting weight, piece-dyed, non-piece-dyed, etc., are all doing well,” says Saurabh Kukreja, Senior Manager-Marketing, Arvind, who is handling exports. The company has expanded a lot in Europe and business has grown significantly, according to Ravi S., Chief Designer in the company, who is right now expecting business to come in bits and pieces from Europe.

Earlier, US and Europe were buying 100 per cent cotton but are now moving to cellulosic materials like Tencel, modal, viscose, rayon, etc., because of their better drape and feel. Buyers are also looking for new techniques in coatings and finishing on garments, while solids, PU coatings, blends of 30-40 per cent Tencel and 70 per cent cotton are in demand, which also benefit Indian exporters due to their duty advantages. Arvind, for instance, is seeing good demand for yarn dyed indigos and prints with the feel of jacquard fabrics which are otherwise quite expensive.

Vardhman Textile Ltd., which has introduced themes like ironic tailoring based on classic fabrics, blue couture (semi-casual, rugged-look, inspired by denim styles and all blue palettes), and Gr&dE (super stretch fabric) based on its A/W ’15-16 collection, is seeing good demand. The company is satisfied with the S/S ’15 season and is also expecting good business in the A/W ’15-16 season. Apart from US and European markets which are considered to be potential markets; the company is also focusing on other parts of the world.

Following capacity expansion and product development, Maral Overseas is now fully focused on market expansion. It feels that rayon, which is doing better in woven than in knit, will pick up in knits as well, which is also the company’s strength. It also has a strong hold on value-added yarns and prefers to make conventional and specialized cotton fibres like fair trade, better cotton, organic, slub, compact, reverse twist and zero twist. Maral Overseas has recently expanded into fabric dyeing and yarn dyeing with an investment of US $ 2.5 million (Rs. 15 crore). “We were willing to reduce our costs which became possible with more production capacity. Now we are more competitive and since the market is showing positive signs, we are expecting good orders,” says Subrata Sanyal, GM (Marketing). The company has come up with a new space dyed fabric range, developed especially for super dry only. It has got orders from Schiesser of Germany for which Maral has outsourced yarns from Vardhman and processed it in-house, giving it vibrant colours and gold finish. By applying enzymes and ultrasoft elastomerics, a fabric acquires extra elasticity without using lycra, so its stretch and recovery become very good, and is used mainly for undergarments. Maral is using the same technique for making spaghettis and chemise.

Many Surat-based companies are also moving towards development of both yarns and fabrics. Bindal Silk Mills/Bindal Exports in Surat is diversifying into viscose prints and will start production within the next two months, as according to Anupam Arya, ED, many of their buyers are asking for rayon and viscose. This OEKO-TEX certified company has the capability to produce flexible width sizes ranging from 44 inches to 58 inches, flexible repeat sizes from 68 cm to 2 metres, and repeat scarves sizes. Its daily capacity is of 250,000 metres and it supplies mainly to garment exporters, besides exporting to Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Madhusudan Group (Sudamo Impex), another respected name in Surat, is known for airtext, polyester, linen, corduroy yarns as well as fabrics. It has a yarn producing capacity of 5 lakh metres per month and offers yarns in different looks. It has developed 100 per cent polyester yarn that gives the look and feel of a woollen yarn, but is comparatively cheaper and more durable; 1500-1700 denier giving two tone effects (offer double colours in polyester). Similarly, its 100 per cent polyester gives the feel of jute. Recently, it started yarn (100 per cent polyester with stretch and 100 per cent nylon) for the knitting industry, which is a new segment for the company.

Adding garmenting, capacities, increasing market focus…

On the other hand, there are companies that are not focusing too much on product development as they prefer to work as per buyer’s requirements. These companies are concentrating on capacity enhancement, entering new markets and diversifying into  garmenting. Spinning company VP Tex Erode which has one lakh spindles and 300 looms for weaving is offering yarn as well as greige fabric, with a daily production capacity of 40,000 metres, it plans to increase production capacity to 1,00,000 metres in the next two years. Jainco Group, Mumbai claims that its presence across the entire value chain is its strength, and it is aggressively trying to open up new markets especially Latin America since the past one year, and subsequently, the African countries. Domestic player Jai Durga Textile based in Ichalkaranji has started to explore export possibilities and has also started a small garmenting unit. Mumbai-based Veefab Fashions and Gracious Synthetic have begun to focus on garmenting as well, while Mohan Spintex India is keen on entering both the bed linen and garmenting segments. Kalpataru Impex, Delhi is expanding its market reach; currently, its major markets are Bangladesh, China and Spain, and it is also entering Myanmar. Many of these companies participate in trade fairs and exhibitions to meet potential buyers and to make their presence more visible.

Glut in cotton yarn production is temporary…

Gujarat is coming up with 20 lakh spindles and Punjab is already investing more in spindles, despite the glut of cotton in the market. According to the industry, this is beyond their comprehension, but many players opine that the glut seems to be a temporary phase as demand is set to increase. Lycra, for instance, is seeing very good demand with almost everyone asking for this fabric.

Polyester increasing but not much impact on cotton…

While most companies say that demand for polyester has increased, others opine that there has not been a noticeable rise in demand. Cotton fabric producers also say that they have not seen polyester making any impact on their business, nor it is likely to, as cotton is their core business which has its own niche market. Pratik Tulsian, Director, PR Creation (Gomti Group of Textiles) in Surat, that offers 100 per cent polyester, feels that the fabric’s demand has almost doubled in recent times. Buyers who were earlier asking for small quantities are now giving good quantity orders. He attributes this to increase in production of polyester as companies which were producing 100 per cent cotton or viscose only, have now expanded into polyester in order to meet their buyers’ demand for the fabric. Hence, the higher availability of polyester is leading to more demand.

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