NATIONAL: Carla Zampatti, David Jones, Manning Cartell, Fleur Wood and Country Road are among a group of fashion heavy weights to register their interest in sourcing products from India.
Representatives from each company are scheduled to attend the Brand India trade fair later this month, where 70 offshore exhibitors will showcase apparel, textile and homeware products and services as part of an Indian government push into the local market.
Collectively, exhibitors at the fair already produce for major international brands such as JC Penny, Target, cK, Nautica and Zara. In addition to fashion manufacturers, producers of organic cotton, cotton, silk and man-made fibres will also be in attendance.
Indian minister of textiles Dayanidhi Maran will officially open the fair, which kicks of in Melbourne on November 12 and 13 before moving to Sydney from November 16 to 17.
As part of his visit to Australia, Maran will also meet with key local industry and government bodies to discuss collaboration between Indian and Australian textile industries.
Since taking office in June, Maran has aimed to transform what is considered an emerging or 'sunrise' manufacturing sector into a fully-fleged, developed industry. This includes achieving a growth rate of 8 to 10 per cent in the Indian textiles industry, inviting substantial foreign investment into the country and encouraging growth in the technical textiles category.
The Indian textiles industry is currently worth US$52 billion, with US$21 billion in exports and US$31 billion based domestically.
Other groups which have registered to attend Brand India include Colorado Group, Kmart Australia, Therese Rawsthorne, Target Australia, Saba, Seduce and RM Williams.