Fibre2Fashion

Even as recently as in 2010, when a premier research institution was working on the scope of sports retail in India, the idea of a website that meticulously and assiduously tracks running events in the country would have seemed a tad outlandish. That June, a working paper from the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) titled ‘Sports Retailing in India: Opportunities, Constraints and Way Forward’ had investigated select sports segments in India, but had...

Sometime in January this year, a group of 20-odd people had gathered at a textiles facility in the Peenya Industrial Area on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The occasion was the inauguration of two state-of-the-art printing machines that Fashion Matrix Overseas (FMO) had just installed. The sleek new machines had been purchased from Israel-based industry giant Kornit Digital, and officials of both Kornit and FMO were visibly animated about the event, and what it would to their respective businesses...

Bud Kilby: CEO and President, Renfro Corporation Please tell us more about this new deal with Walmart. After all, if I am not wrong, Renfro has been selling socks to Walmart since the 1970s. Yes, we have sold Walmart since the 1970s and have grown with them. We provide Walmart a variety of products, both branded and private label, across all departments, all genders. We have participated in Walmart’s US manufacturing initiative since its inception several years ago. Renfro was one of the first...

Let's start at the beginning. What's the story behind Fashion Matrix Overseas (FMO)? Vipin Sethi: I entered the industry in 1996 after completing my business training. I worked for an export house for about seven years. She (Seema Sethi) joined me in 2001; we worked in the same company. in 2003, one of our customers gave us the encouragement to move on our own. That's how Fashion Matrix Overseas (FMO) came into existence. When we left all our customers with whom we were working, they wanted to...

About 96 per cent of MSMEs (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises) in the country are likely to benefit from the 25 per cent cut in corporate tax rate for MSMEs having revenues less than Rs50 crore. Among others, this cut is likely to affect the textiles and apparel industry considerably, since the backbone of this industry is made up MSMEs. This was also the segment reported to have been the worst-hit sectors of the economy due to the November 2016 demonetisation. The announcement was made by...

When 'fast fashion', both as a path-breaking concept as well as a cutting-edge strategy, caught the imagination of the global textiles and apparel industry, few could have imagined that in around two decades or so not only would the argument be turned on its head, but also that it would be 'fast fashion' primarily that would be seen as giving fashion a bad name. Today, fast fashion is antithecial to sustainable fashion, and if fashion needs to become sustainable, then fast fashion will need to...

So, what brings you to India. Was it because of this event? Buck Kim: Yes, it was. How do you see the Indian market? How long have you been in India? Kim: We have been in India for two years now. It is now that we see a change in India, especially in the textiles and garments industry. This is because of fashion... less quantity and more variety in designs. Kornit Allegro With only seven meters in length, an impressive seven-colours process ink colors, photo-realistic print quality, an ability...

What are the three trends that you see shaping up e-commerce (from the fashion point of view) over the next five years? Abhishek Samdaria: More and more retailers will limit stocks and try to focus on customised merchandise in every major product category. Each collection will become theme-specific in order to give variety to customers. Pricing will play a major role in ecommerce going forward, differentiation for money spent will be the key. Varinder Singh Jawanda: Fashion e-commerce still...

What’s your story? What made you go in for a fashion startup, given that the fashion ecosystem is one that sees the most ruthless competition possible? Kaizad Hansotia: Honestly, I never imagined starting up a business in the fashion space, I mean if you had asked me the same question two years back, I probably would have said no way. Precisely because of the same reason you mentioned, too much competition and little scope of innovation. But after I observed my sister and her many other designer...

Estimates vary, but trends are by and large clear: e-commerce is growing, and fashion has emerged as a critical component driving online sales in India. The year 2016 saw a flurry of activities in the e-commerce space, with a lot of these related to apparel. The question in one’s mind is no more of whether e-commerce will grow or at what rate; it is now more about the dynamics of the fashion segment itself, as also about who will race ahead in online fashion sales. Of Numbers, Trends and...