India needs to get market-ready – fashionably quickly
Indian apparel industry stakeholders are reporting strong demand signals from big global brands, as buyers increasingly seek alternatives to disrupted Bangladesh supply chains. But a capacity crunch is seriously threatening that boom.Large fashion houses reached out to Indian suppliers with firm order indications at a recent trade meet, Bharat Tex, hosted under the aegis of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) in New Delhi, according to industry updates.Those exploring alternative markets included Tendam Global Fashion, Impulse, Kas Group Asia. LiverPool India, Superdry, New Times, Global Sourcing, JCPenney, Triburg, and Sourcenet Global.While the response was overwhelming, brand representatives generally voiced concerns over production capacity and lead times.According to AEPC, they believed it was critical for Indian processing houses to create sufficient capacity, along with the easy availability of man-made fabric (MMF) stocks to push Indian RMG exports.Explaining the industry pain points, sources said brands had sounded wary of the longer lead time for export flows out of India, averaging four days compared with a little over a day in Bangladesh or Sri Lanka, due to customs delays and other bottlenecks.Additionally, according to them, a more liberalised import policy was vital to addressing the MMF availability crisis in India, as it is generally the buyers who suggest input sourcing options.“A smooth supply ecosystem is the lifeline of retail brands, requiring them to keep their shelves stocked and customers happy,” one northern India-based apparel maker toldThe Loadstar.And AEPC chairman Sudhir Sekhri noted: “The question is not whether business will come to India, but whether we can handle the incoming business orders with existing capacity.”“It is an uphill task, though industry is making all possible efforts,” Mr Sekhri added.Premal Udani, chairman of the export promotion committee at AEPC, also believes India would need do a lot to catch-up with competing markets, as more opportunities were opening up.Indian RMG exports by value have been in positive territory since May 2024, rebounding from a 3% drop reported for fiscal year 2023-24. For the first eight months of 2024-25 through November, trade expansion was estimated at 11.4% year on year, according to provisional data. And looking ahead, New Delhi aims to reach $40bn in RMG exports by 2030.“We have been growing in double digits since the last few months despite global challenges,” said AEPC secretary general Mithileshwar Thakur.“This growth is on account of supportive government policies, industry’s increasing effort towards compliances and India’s improved brand image due to initiatives like Bharat Tex.”KM Subramanian, president ofTirupur Exporters’Association(TEA), also indicated a rising inflow of orders from global brands. Tirupur near Chennai is India’s textile hub, housing some 2,000 large factories.Mr Subramanian said the Tirupur cluster was already operating at 90%-plus capacity to handle the growth, but new capacity additions at large scale would need government support in the form of subsidies. According to him, Tirupur textiles would be ready with “digital passport” tagging by 2027, a global brand requirement for garments by which buyers could access product profiles.“We are navigating the challenges as best as we can to take advantage of the order rush,” Mr Subramanian said.Another industry source said: “India needs to swiftly become market-ready.”
