Turning unbranded Indian bed linen sector into organised market a challenge
Indo Count Retail Ventures Pvt Ltd (ICRVL), a subsidiary of Mumbai-headquartered Indo Count Industries Ltd, is a specialised end-to-end bedding line manufacturer and also the preferred partner for some of the best-known global brands like Debenhams, Bed Bath & Beyond, Laura Ashley, JC Penny, John Lewis, and Macy's. Boutique Living is an aspirational brand launched by the company to share its expertise in quality bed linen in the Indian market. ICRVL managing director Asim Dalal speaks at length about the home textile niche in India.
What are the three major shifts taking place in the Indian home textile industry?
The young generation in India is looking for fabrics with good quality thread count that are easy to maintain. We, at Boutique Living, have aligned our growth realising what is required in the home textile segment.
We spend one third of our life sleeping on the bed. Hence not only a comfortable mattress is required but also a good quality bed sheet, along with a comforter and pillow cover are of utmost importance. Since the bed sheet, comforter and pillow cover come in direct contact with your skin, they need to be soothing and skin-friendly for better sleep. People are getting more and more health conscious. They want a combination of comfort and good quality. Our focus on consumer preference products has led to more demand for our products.
In the last year, almost 85 per cent of our business came from the printed bed linen in India, although we are witnessing a trend where customers are inclined to buy plains and solids.
The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) has awarded Indo Count with a gold trophy for being the highest exporter of bed linen from India and as we cater to all major brands all over the world, we have the knowledge, research and access to trends and requirements.
Tell us about the retail presence of Boutique Living. Where do you plan to expand?
Today we are available in over 400 multi-brand outlets (MBOs) and we also have an online store, www.boutiquelivingindia.com. Our brand recall has grown exponentially over the last year. Considering we are still a young brand, it will be a while before we open our own retail stores. Today we are driven to provide good quality products at competitive prices to our customers. We are looking at increasing our presence in MBOs and large format stores as we are currently witnessing a strong demand.
Which POS are working well for the brand - in-store, exclusive online store, or selling through e-commerce marketplaces?
Our main idea is to be present in MBOs. Our focus is to expand our presence in more MBOs as we see that will continue to contribute to a major part of our sales. The focus will be to look at more presence in large format stores and concentrate on building our business on our online store.
What is the global market size for home textiles? What is the expected growth rate by 2020?
The global home textile market was estimated at $96 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach $131.5 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 3.5 per cent. The US imported $2.6 billion worth of cotton-based bedding products, primarily from India.
What is the annual production capacity at your units?
Our manufacturing units are fully integrated vertical set-ups with state-of-the-art technology capable of manufacturing yarn to finished products. Not only do we manufacture yarn for our consumption, but also cater to the domestic and international market. Our manufacturing units have the facility to print fabric using rotary and digital methods; these are also equipped with spinning machines and have a fully functional facility dedicated to cut-n-sew products. This allows us to maintain a strong focus on the quality as well. We have the capacity to manufacture 90 million metres and 22 million sheets annually.
How many collections do you come up with every year? Is the in-store collection different from the online one?
Last year we showcased four collections. We aim at having at least three collections every year. We focus on our customers' feedback and develop products and designs depending on the trends and market demands. Currently we have the same products sold in retail and online front, but we propose to introduce exclusive designs and products for our online customers.
What are the challenges hampering the growth of this industry? What would you propose to overcome them?
There are a handful of established Indian brands in the market. There is a huge customer base that travels abroad and picks up bed sheets and comforters, which in all probability is made in India. We would look at building the brand on good quality and interesting designs. There is a huge import of Chinese bed linen products to India. We are now seeing the trend where customers prefer our made-in-India cotton bed sheets. Keeping our government's thrust on indigenous products, we would like to focus on building the share of our products in the Indian market.
There is a huge unbranded unorganised sector, the challenge and the opportunity would be to convert them to the organised market. There are a few home-focused stores in our country. We need more home-focused large format stores in our country. This will create more shelf space for our products and choice for the customers.
Lack of awareness on quality and a better sleep experience are our main focus. These need to be experienced more than talked about. The scope for growth is tremendous, as the scope for educating a consumer is high and so is the possibility of introducing new ideas and products. An improved aesthetic sense will make us stand out and get noticed. The brand reflects aspirational living, which inherits its qualities for its parent company.
Which are your major markets abroad?
Today we are serving customers in over 60 countries. Our major markets are the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe.
Where do you source raw materials from?
Our primary raw material is cotton which we source from local markets.
Is your company taking certain initiatives for sustainability?
Yes. We understand the importance of managing our resources well. We have an effluent treatment plant where 90 per cent of the water is recycled. Our plant at Kolhapur has installed solar panels too and the endeavour is to continue to take steps on green initiatives.
What are the future plans for Boutique Living?
We are a customer driven company. Our focus will be on developing and offering best quality bed linen, comforters and other top-of-bed products at competitive prices. Setting trends through innovation and designs will be our goal. Indo Count has more than 30 functional patents for special finishes on bed linen, which will be introduced in the domestic market periodically. We will also focus on our other range of products that varies from bath linen to table linen. We aspire to make Boutique Living a one-stop destination for all home linen requirements. (HO)
How big is the design team at Indo Count? How different are products in terms of design and quality for export and ones made for Boutique Living?
We pride ourselves in saying that our design team is bigger than our sales team. Since we have a strong focus on design, we hire talent from renowned institutes like the National Institute of Design and the National Institute of Fashion Technology. We also have a separate team that caters to the international markets. Our design teams have experience and the knowledge in understanding market trends and demands and are on the constant look out for fresh trends to create designs which cater to a wide customer base.
Published on: 26/12/2017
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
