Donear Group that has been in business for more than 30 years has a strong presence in 20+ countries globally. The company has been doing exceedingly well and intends to increase its product strengths with a vision to grow and become the market leader for Cottons and PV.
The company is able to supply fabrics to brands like Louis Phillipe, Van Heusen, Peter England, Blackberry, Arvind, Wills Lifestyle, Future Group and more. In retail, the Donear Group has a strong network of 185+ stores, marketing textiles under the D’Cot andDonear NXG brands.
There are 5 brands under Donear Industries DONEAR Suitings and Shirtings; D’Cot by Donear – Readymade Apparel, DONEAR NXG – Readymade Apparel, GRADO from the House of GBTL and OCM – Luxury fabrics and GRAVIERA – Stretch fabrics
In a tete-a-tete with Rajendra Agarwal, Mentor, Donear Group Team Perfect Sourcing gets the opportunity to get insights on the company and its future plans.
PS: How do you perceive the current scenario prevailing in the textile industry?
Agarwal:
At present, the textile industry is quite optimistic with growing awareness about the latest trends and consciousness among consumers. The present scenario of the textile industry is closely related to the rapidly growing middle-class segment which is expected to expand 19.4% this year. Increasing brand consciousness amongst the patrons also leads to the influx of foreign brands in the Indian market. India thus becomes the focal point for the fashion industry as its middle-class consumer base grows and manufacturing sector strengthens.
PS: Do you have any planning to expand or venture into other segments?
Agarwal:We are looking to consolidate our previous acquisitions further by delving into more niche products. Product innovations and extensions have always been a prime focus for us and we are committed to broaden the range of offerings to our end-customers.
PS: What is your annual turnover?
Agarwal:The brand’s annual turnover is approximately Rs. 600 crores per annum.
PS: Which of your products occupies the prized place in your stable?
Agarwal: All our products are doing pretty well in the market, but our PV and Cotton products have received fantastic response since our inception. We are one of the top manufacturing companies in the organised brand set up when it comes to PV. Donear Cottons have already made its mark as the best cotton suiting in the country with Liquid Ammonia treatment making our fabrics wrinkle-free.
PS:What is your current production capacity and do you have any plan to increase it?
Agarwal:We are currently operating at a production capacity of around 60 Lakhmeter per month across various range of product which makes us one of the largest manufacturers in terms of production in the country. Regarding increasing capacity, it is something that we keep a close look on maintaining a balance looking at the industry conditions and demand scenarios.
PS: Are you going to make any fresh investment in augmenting the capacity or the machinery base of your industry?
Agarwal: Machinery and technology is the backbone of our manufacturing setup and that is something that we continuously keep improving and re-inventing. Operational efficiency and product quality are the two most important factors that we look to optimise. In the process of delivering this, we practice a very informed and vigilant approach on machinery and technology buying.
PS: What steps are being taken by production department to enhance productivity and capacity?
Agarwal: At the outset, heavy investments in technology and process driven systems are given top priority. For a fully adept value chain, cross-functional department seamless coordination is imperative. This in turn churns out the best productivity through minimal errors.
PS: How do you perceive your market and do you plan to explore new markets?
AgarwalAt present, our market is very fragmented with each state having their own buying patterns.Some avenues we intend to explore include:Invest in creating experiential marketing zones to compete with the retail space of global entrants. Invest in technology for convenience to customers things like AI or even jumping onto the e-commerce bandwagon and investing in mobile-friendly apps and CRM.
PS: What are the plans to expand garment manufacturing business?
Agarwal: The garment business is implemented by our apparel divisions – Donear NXG &DCot – with both having a distinct portfolio to serve the new-age customer. Instead of focusing on formal wear alone, we have diversified to include the semi-formal and casual segments.
PS: Is the company exporting garments also, if yes to which markets?
Agarwal: Through our strength in cotton & PV, the company exports garments to Europe, Middle East and American markets primarily; apart from being present in over 50 countries.
PS: Is there any factory for garments or fabrics in pipeline? If yes what is the investment in the plant
Agarwal: As mentioned already, it’s a never ending process. The businesses are moving at such rapid pace that firms have to always be on the lookout on expanding capacity, both horizontally and vertically. Having said that, such decisions are always hinged on the economic viability, CapEx and overall ROI. So to answer the question in short, it depends.
PS: What, in your opinion, is ailing the textile industry?
Agarwal :One of the most prominent challenges includes easy availability and affordability of goods on various e-commerce platforms. The currently prevailing market scenario is extremely unorganised for the fabric and apparel segment. Apart from this, evolving fashion preferences of individuals and different climatic conditions are also some of the factors that create hindrance in the smooth development of this industry. One of the other major challenges that also has been existing is to figure out appropriate price points to suit the pocket needs of the end customer.
PS: Do you think the textile sector is witnessing a boom time, the way retail culture in the segment is sweeping the country?
Answer: There are ample of fragmented ways of entering the market place these days. The brands can make their way into the markets through malls, high street markets as well as occupying space in large format retail store. Even settling for minimum overheads through e-commerce platforms offers a colossal scope of growth to the textile and retailing brands overall.
PS: Are you satisfied with the current rate of growth registered by the textile industry?
Agarwal There is always a scope for more, if we look from a consumer point of view, the entire pie is shrinking but the market we’re covering in this shrinking space is more. From a B2B point of view, we feed in the fabrics for a lot of readymade garment production.
PS:What do you think the government should do to fuel the growth of the sector? Agarwal: There is an urgent need for more favourable policies from the State and Central Government. For the exponential and targeted growth of the sector some stringent norms and policies should be definitely formulated. Like, subsidies from a raw material’s point of view and reduced duties for importing machinery are the important few amongst others.
