'High time denim sector achieves breakthrough in R&D' – Dr Roy

04 Jun '09

6 min read

2) Domestic value added branded Denims/Jeans market where the products are primarily cotton-based and specially finished.
3) Relatively less developed countries like Bangladesh who have converted Indian denim fabrics to ready made garments and which deliver to lower strata of the international branded jeans market.
4) Relatively less developed countries like Sri Lanka which have capabilities to cater to the up-market brands and also includes exporting directly to the industrialized economies where some appreciable conversion facilities still exist.

“The strategy for each of the above would be to understand and analyse the forces that shape the nature of the relevant competition in each segment and starting with an appropriate product-market mix, costs in particular, quality and on time delivery would continue to dominate. Strategic alliances in one form or other could be another front to explore to overcome competition and the other big challenge would be to develop radically new products not seen yet in the global market like Indigo-Wool and Indigo-Silk as developed by Malwa Group” he concluded by saying.

Next we asked him to give us a glimpse on the recent policy changes and its impact on the denim industry in India and what according to him are the areas that need improvement in terms of policy reforms and industry reforms, to which he said, “Industry as a whole was upset with the new MSP of cotton that made it perhaps for the first time in recent decades more expensive than its international counterparts, besides which duty draw back on ready made garment export, interest subvention on packing credit, refund of state level duty , etc were bone of contentions for the industry”.

“Although , taking corrective actions on such issues, particularly the MSP of cotton would favourably influence the industry's performance, perhaps the reforms by the industry itself on leadership and strategy, understanding competition, financial management skill and acumen, alignment of sales and marketing strategy with the business strategy, human capital needs and its management and finally the interplay of all, leading to development of sustainable new products would have more telling effects”, he added by saying.

“A quick glance at the last two quarters' performance of the denim majors brings out the fact that the underperformance is primarily due to derivative losses and inadequate assessment of the local currency movement against the US dollar”, he concluded by saying.

Probing further, we asked him to speak about the scope of R&D in the denim industry, to which he said, “R&D in any sector of the textile industry should not be seen isolated as the developments in one sector may lead to more fascinating developments in the other sector of the industry like the much talked about Liquid Ammonia Process, which was first utilized by 'Cluette- Peabody' for its 'Sanforset' process for denim jeans, but today, the process finds application at many places excepting perhaps in denim jeans”.

More Textiles News - India...