What has been the biggest lesson for you as a company that was learnt from the slow phase of business
“What according to you was the biggest step that took Indian apparel exports towards a big decline; was it GST implementation, demonitisation or international economic situation? What has been the biggest lesson for you as a company that was learnt from the slow phase of business?“
I would say only one reason cannot disturb the entire system. Everything has worked negatively behind this decline. GST is a big matter of course. Exporters are not getting GST refunds and a good amount is stuck for that matter. The international economic situation is also not favourable. Moreover, the online business is also hurting the exporters. In this distress people have to control their expenses. Everyone is in losses due to the bank charges and bad economy and it is hard to manage the expenses. Also one needs to check the demand for the product they are manufacturing. We need to focus on manufacturing exclusive products to meet the market demand; catering the same products no longer works.
Alok More, Denimatic (India) Private Limited, Kolkata.
International economic situation to some extent has been responsible for the slow down in the apparel industry. However for Indian manufacturers, availability of skilled labour at competitive rates is another big issue. With the increase in standard of living, cost of manpower is only increasing. Other than that, the availability and cost of raw materials in comparison to international vendors is much more expensive over here in India. According to me the implementation of GST and demonetisation has not affected the Indian business scenario as much as these did. On the contrary it has only helped in organising the unorganised sector and creating and equated competitive platform across all types of vendors. It is also help in making businesses more compliant.
Kamlesh Katariya, Peppermint Clothing Pvt Ltd.
All the reasons collaboratively have taken Indian apparel exports towards a big decline in my opinion. However, as a company, it is very good to have transparency in terms of administration of the government. So the digitalization and GST helped us in that regard. Online submission of data and their availability on the government server is a very good development. Moreover, it is very good to have tracking of your business details online so physical involvement of the officers is avoided. The implementation and effect of the new regulatory system plus the International economy at a sudden time however caught the industry off guard and resulted in the decline. As long as you adhere to the quality of the products with timely dispatch planned and executed by the companies, there is still an opportunity to face the slow phase of business.”
Kiran Bhandari, Cotton ECO Fashion, Umbergaon.
“India is in the midst of a very worrying economic slowdown. The two successive shocks of demonetisation and GST had a serious impact on the growth in India. The growth has fallen off at a time when growth in the global economy has been picking up. The new government would have to rethink its policy on turning around India’s second-largest job provider, as the textile sector continues to gasp for growth. According to my estimation, it will take another few years to get out of this slowdown, provided the government acts sensibly now.”
Shalini Sukheeja, Aditee International, Jaipur.
