Dynamic and result driven leader with 20+ years of professional experience in Fashion; Jasveen Kaur, Director Sourcing, Newtimes Group has been working with the apparel industry mostly working with brands out of US , Europe , UK , South America.
In a tete-a-tete with Jasveen Kaur, she shared interesting insights about the changing market dynamics.
Excerpts…
PS: What according to you has changed in the apparel and textile industry post Covid?
Jasveen: The fashion industry was largely affected which was marked by declining sales, changed customer behaviour and interrupted supply chains across the globe, but we noticed textile industry adapting to digitisation rapidly which surely helped us generate more business.
Brands want shorter lead-times and sharp cost to keep low inventories and improved IMU’s however, digitisation is helping us at all ends of supply chain today.
PS: Sourcing from India, Make in India, Sustainability have become important pillars for the sector, how as a sourcing company you are aligning with all of them?
Jasveen: One of the key initiatives we have taken is to promote local fabric and trims which has not only helped us reduce carbon footprint and wasteful practices, but also shorten the lead-times and cost. Design and Fabric teams are constantly working with Indian mills to develop new fabrics andconcepts every season using sustainable yarns and dyes.
At the same time brands and consumers’are becoming more aware about sustainable fashion and we are also offering product traceability.
PS: What is your viewpoint about the current status of sourcing from India as an apparel and textile manufacturer?
Jasveen: Fashion industry is going through a tough time, but we surely have many advantagesIndia has strengths across the entire value chain from fiber, yarn, fabric to apparel with the flexibility we offer interms of MOQ ,diverse fashion textile offering andhuge design support.
India has great possibilities to grow and I feel with our competitive edge we can really focus on some of the core categories and grow some new categories as well in India.
PS: How has recession affected the business in India and what is the strategy to cope up with the situation?
Jasveen: Yes, recession has certainly affected the business with order cancellations andconservative buying so our strategy is to stay agile and flexible to support our brands at all ends providing creative solutions and alternative suggestions promptly.
PS: What is your feedback about the future of the textile and apparel sector of India, how will the business grow and which product categories will become India’s speciality.
Jasveen:- India has immense opportunities and it is expected to grow at a fast pace with the given push from the government, few active apparel and textile associations and sourcing companies/agencies in India.
The global apparel market is expected to grow to $2.1 trillion by 2025 and with government’s push to invest in hi-tech textile parks, incentivise work force and ease of doing business industry is poised for a good growth.
In addition to Japan, India has now signed FTA’s with the UAE and Australia. Further, India is also actively engaged in FTA negotiations with some of its trading partners including the UK, European unions and Canada. FTA should open more growth avenues for Indian apparel industry.
While I still feel that our prime focus should be on our core strengths like cotton, rayon ,viscose based products as there are still a lot of untapped possibilities in these segments, however, at the same time we must continue to push aggressively towards MMF (Man-made fiber) and sweater business in India.
PS: What type of products and vendors you are looking for and how much growth is being expected in FY 23-24?
Jasveen: MMF would continue to grow in India along with home and sweater business, projecting growth is difficult but we do anticipate approximately 15-20% growth in numbers.
PS: Which are the areas we as a manufacturing country should focus on?
Jasveen: Constant textile, product innovation, automation, sustainability, building capacities and staying open to chase with aggressive and Ontime TNAs.
PS: In the current scenario what will be your message to Indian exporters?
Jasveen: I would suggest to be creative and have an out of the box thinking. Tough situations need tougher / quicker decision.
Future is all about AI and technology thus, training staff and workers on improvising efficiencies and minimising wastage is important.
PS: How can India’s export sector leverage the A.I into production and management?
Jasveen: India is emerging as the technology and service hub. Factories and suppliers who have integrated and embedded AI or machine learning’s have seen huge cost and time saving.The pervasiveness and interest in AI among Indian exporters can be seen clearly and there are companies who have done an exceptional work.
PS: Any changes or improvements we need on the technical side to be able to grasp a bigger share in the world’s apparel and textile market.
Jasveen: Consciousness about quality is even more critical.
Awareness about latest technology and machinery is important along with great customer service.