SYDNEY: Designers have been warned to take a ‘boots on the ground’ approach to producing garments in India, as its fashion manufacturing sector zeros in on the Australian market.
Rushing into deals with unknown businesses, relying purely on internet correspondence and being vague with garment specifications are major mistakes to avoid, according to experts at the recent Brand India Trade Fair seminar in Sydney.
The inaugural trade fair, held across Melbourne and Sydney recently, is part of a broader Indian government campaign aimed at combating a decline in global apparel exports. According to figures from India’s Apparel Export Promotional Council, tough retail conditions saw a 7.32 per cent decline (to US$4.84 billion dollars) in garment exports from April to September this year.
Australian womenswear designer Juli Grbac is in the early stages of working with Indian manufacturers and stressed that spending time at the factories was a vital step in commencing trade.
“There is a bit of a communication gap,” she said. “I think you do need to go there at least the first three or four times to make sure the quality is up to standard.”
She advised designers to take as much information as possible to Indian manufacturers to ensure productive use of time. “If I’ve got a sample that I made in Australia and I want it to be exactly like that, I will take that sample – the same with patterns,” she said.
Grbac advised against emailing fabric colour images as they can appear differently on screen.
“You need to go over to India with colour swatches – you need a swatch for yourself, a swatch for the dyer and a swatch for the manufacturer so they can match it exactly,” she said.
Indian apparel manufacturers speaking at the trade fair advised designers to spend up to two or three weeks in India when dealing with a new factory. They said time was required to collaborate on patterns and to approve samples on the spot.
Industry and Investment NSW senior manager Paul Judge, who attended the Sydney installment, said the fair demonstrated that India was taking Australia seriously as a potential market.
“They may have had their eyes on larger markets in Europe and North America, but the global financial crisis has hit some of those markets harder than Australia so suddenly they are looking this way,” he said.
He said price increases and large minimum orders in China meant Australians were considering alternatives.
“People are looking for lower cost locations like Vietnam and Indonesia, and India is making its voice heard.”
As reported on ragtrader.com.au, a key benefit of Indian manufacturing promoted at the fair was its long history of expertise in beading and embroidery. The acceptance of low minimum orders was also touted.
Apparel manufacturer Harmeet Bajaj, who is also the chief executive of Indian womenswear label Bian, said the first thing Australian visitors asked was about minimum order quantities. Similarly, exhibitor Rashpal Singh, of eveningwear label Night Fashion, had received the same question from numerous visitors.
Order minimums were of key interest to fashion designer Amber Baker, who is employed at womenswear retailer Seduce. Baker was also interested in the speed to market potential of India.
“In the past we have found dealing with India very slow and sometimes the product doesn’t look like the sampling, but things have advanced,” she said. “We are looking to turn around product in two to three weeks, not six to 12 weeks.”
In addition to Baker, a number of key industry players were spotted at the event, including womenswear designer Collette Dinnigan and retailer Belinda Seper of The Corner Store and Belinda boutiques. Exhibitor Mohit Jain of RNR International, who creates beaded kaftans, said Seper had expressed interest in his business. He also said International Fashion Group, Specialty Fashion Group and e-tailer EziBuy had made enquiries.
Jain said he was pleased with the Sydney turnout of visitors, but was disappointed with attendance at the Melbourne installment of the event. Exhibitor Abhilasha Adnani, of Mumbai-based apparel manufacturing company Kraftwork, also said Sydney had been much more productive.
“We’ve had people place orders but they are not confirmed,” she said. “People shortlist the styles they like and we will email them images and quotes for different quantities.”
Aqua Boutique owner Trish Huppatz flew to from Adelaide to Sydney to attend the fair. She said her aim was to establish direct relationships with womenswear suppliers.
“I’ve found some good quality pieces and the prices are competitive,” she said. “The beading is excellent, the kaftans lovely, the fabric is good.”
Melinda Oliver