Pictures by Ganesh Kalidasan
The 67th All India Textile Conference, hosted by the Delhi Unit of the Textile Association (India) on February 4 and 5 with its theme “Textile and Clothing – Emerging Global Scenario”, covered the problems and challenges facing the industry and the need for a renewed strategy for enhancing the global competitiveness of the industry.
The conference proved to be one of the biggest textile and apparel meets in recent times, drawing nearly 700 delegates from all over India as well as from Bangladesh, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Germany, the UK and the US. The highlight of the conference was change in the deliberation format. In the plenary sessions, there were speeches as well as paper and slideshow presentations. Instead, the Delhi Unit of TAI adopted the panel discussion format in which four-six eminent industry, academia and Government representatives who participated in each discussion shared their experiences and insights in an interactive way. This made the conference all the more important.
Inaugurating the conference, Mr. A.B. Joshi, Textile Commissioner, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said that despite several odds the Indian textile industry is performing very well and is on the path of high growth. He also briefly outlined the steps the Government is planning to ensure global competitiveness of the industry.
Mr. S.P. Lohia, Chairman, Indorama Corporation, Singapore, who was the guest of honour, highlighted the key challenges in the textile and clothing business, offering the company’s special solutions.
In his welcome address, Mr. R.K. Vij, President, Delhi Unit of TAI, said that this year it was more of a challenge to hold the conference, as no chapter of TAI was willing to host it because of the difficult industry scenario. However, the Delhi Unit stood up to the challenge.
Mr. Anil Gupta, National Vice President, TAI, in his address, observed: “The Textile Association (India) has donned the role for development of the sector since last many years. The phenomenal steady growth achieved by TAI over 72 years has been through the true democratic spirit of a vast number of dedicated professionals who have worked tirelessly for the Association’s success.
In his special address, Mr. Ashok Juneja, Chairman, 67th All India Textile Conference, said: “The theme of the conference – ‘Textile and Clothing: Emerging Global Scenario’ is very relevant in the current industry scenario. Though it is difficult to effectively touch upon the complete textile industry from ‘Fiber to Fashion’, we have tried to identify and discuss the most pertinent topics for the industry”.
He also said that the major difference conceived in the format of the conference was that there would be no presentations by any of the speakers.
In his presidential address, Mr. D.R. Mehta, TAI National President, highlighted the major issues faced by the industry needing serious consideration of the Textile Commissioner, the Ministry of Textiles and other Government bodies.
The conference was also addressed by Mr. Jagadish Hinduja, Managing Director, Gokaldas Images, Mr. Shishir Jaipuria, Managing Director, Ginni Filaments, and Dr. R.C. Jain, Chairman, T T Ltd., who presented their expert views on the industry, business and Government policies.
After the inaugural session, Indorama Industries Ltd. launched its spandex brand “Inviya”. Mr. Amit Lohia, Managing Director, Indorama Corporation, Singapore, and Mr. R.D. Gupta, Business Head, Indorama Industries Ltd., Chandigarh, briefly explained the different features of the new venture.
There were two panel discussions on the first day. The first discussion was titled “How to Manage Textile and Clothing Business? Views, Experience and Advice of CEOs”. This panel was co-ordinated by Mr. Prashant Agarwal, Joint Managing Director, Wazir Advisors. Mr. Neeraj Jain, Executive Director, Vardhman Textiles Ltd., Mr. Virender Goyal, Managing Director, Epic Designers Ltd., Hong Kong, Mr. V.K. Goyal, Executive Director & CEO, SEL Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Mr. H.B.S. Lamba, Executive Director, Must Garment Corp., Bahrain, and Mr. Rajiv Pande, Vice President, Maral Overseas, were the panel members.
The discussion highlighted the importance of understanding the working environment, training manpower on both technical and soft skills and making the company adaptive to changing market forces. The discussion brought out three key points on which companies need to focus to manage their business profitably: the people asset, looking inward for most solutions and enhancing adaptability.
The theme of the second panel discussion was “Innovations and Technological Developments in Products, Processes and Machines”. This panel discussion was co-ordinated by Dr. P.R. Roy, Management Consultant (Textiles), and joined in by eminent speakers like Dr. Arun Pal Aneja, Managing Director, Noeton Policy in Innovation, USA, Dr. S.C. Anand, University of Bolton, UK, Mr. Peter Stahlecker, Managing Director, Spindelfabrik Suessen, Germany, Mr. Prasanta Deka, Head – Marketing India, Rieter India Pvt. Ltd., and Mr. Ashok Juneja, Vice President – Marketing, KTTM.
The focus of the discussion was on disruptive innovation, and innovation in processes and products to achieve higher productivity, quality and cost reduction. The panel highlighted the fact that innovation is meaningful only if it is commercialised. Further, companies should follow backward integration with market research on a priority basis. It was stressed that innovative products like technical textiles should receive equal attention.
The second day of the conference witnessed the next four panel discussions. The third panel discussion had its theme “Textile and Clothing – Vision 2020”. The co-ordinator of the session was Mr. Annurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, exchange4media group, and the panelists included Mr. Sanjay Jain, Managing Director, T T Ltd., Mr. Manu Indrayan, Managing Director, Indian Yarns, Mr. Yatish Pandey, Managing Director, Texperts India Pvt. Ltd., and Mr. Manjit Singh Saini, CEO & Executive Director, Paramount Instruments.
They suggested that companies need to create a special niche for themselves in the market. Further, the next 10 years would witness a marked increase in demand for variety and standardized clothing, particularly among the youth. The industry would also attract the youth keen on improving their career.
The fourth panel discussion with its theme “Global Trade and its Competitive Issues” was co-ordinated by Mr. Arvind Sinha, Chief Advisor & CEO, Business Advisors Group & Allied Energy Group, USA. The panel members included Mr. Ashesh Amin, Founder, Reach Out To India (ROTI), Management Consultancy, Mr. Rajeev Gopal, Senior Executive President & CMO, Grasim Industries, Mr. Sudarshan Sharma, Director, CD Lifestyle Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Rajesh Bheda, Principal & CEO, Rajesh Bheda Consulting, and Dr. P. Nayak, Director (Market Research), Textile Committee.
The discussion dealt in detail with factors contributing for export growth, the role that logistics management has played for trade improvement, the impact of currency appreciation, increasing labour cost in China, India’s poor presence in the technical textile categories like lingerie, sportswear, technical textiles, etc., the emerging trade trends and their impact on Indian exporters, and other issues related to promoting competitiveness and trade.
Mr. Ravindra Singh, Managing Director, Protech India Ltd., co-ordinated the fifth panel discussion titled “Attracting Investment and Profitability in Textile and Clothing”. Mr. Sunil Khandelwal, CFO, Alok Industries, Mr. Gautam Chakravarti, CEO, Gokaldas Exports, Mr. D.K. Nair, Secretary General, CITI, and Mr. Vinod Nagar, Ex-Executive Director, Syndicate Bank, were the panel members. Their discussion covered the reason for low investments in the textile and clothing sector, lower returns, sluggish export and domestic demand, manpower shortage, policy issues like approvals, subsidies, interest rates, and the key policy steps required to be taken on an urgent basis.
The sixth and final panel discussion was directed by Mr. Harminder Sahni, Managing Director, Wazir Advisors. With the panel members Mr. Baqar Iftikhar Naqvi, CEO, Cotton County Retail, Mr. Vivek Gaur, CEO, Yepme.com, and Dr. Nidhi Shankar, Country Head, Ex-cell Home Fashions.
The focus of discussion was on how the Indian apparel retail market is evolving on account of changing consumer demographics and mindsets. It also covered new, emerging retail formats like online retailing and their acceptance by the Indian consumer.
The panel members also delved into the strategies their respective companies are following in order to retain customers. They also discussed the upcoming challenge for Indian retailers in terms of increasing consumer expectations, quality focus and growing competition.
At the valedictory session where Mr. V. Srinivas, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, was the chief guest. Mr. Prashant Agarwal, Joint Managing Director, Wazir Advisors, gave the conference wrap-up remarks.
In his valedictory address, Mr. Srinivas outlined the Government plan for the next few years to ensure high growth of the Indian textile and apparel manufacturing sector.