E-commerce market in India is growing at an amazing pace and have crossed all expectations.
Pulkit Seth, VC & MD, Pearl Global Industries Limited (PGIL) shares his joy of launching online retail store with Fibre2Fashion Correspondent Manushi Gandhi.
Synopsis:
PGIL is a multinational company making ready to wear apparel. It currently operates in 6 strategic locations & 2 continents. The company has production sites in India (Gurgaon and Chennai), Bangladesh (2 sites in Dhaka), Indonesia (Semarang) and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City). It has a turnover of 270 Million USD (Yr 2010-11) and has now stepped into online retailing.
Mr. Pulkit Seth, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of PGIL (manufacturing division). He has over six years of experience in the apparel industry. He has a Bachelor of Business Management degree from Leonard N. Stern School of Business, University of New York, U.S.
Excerpts:
How do you plan to make your online retailing venture big and take it to the next level?
Since launch we have seen our sales growing every month and this is the time when we are really focussing on our product designs, product quality, faster deliveries and in turn providing customers a complete shopping experience. It will be followed with ramped up promotions on social media, print media, ambient media and television networks. Efficient SEO, SEM is the back bone of these days marketing tools.
Can you please tell us, what is the advantage of having multi location manufacturing sites in terms of getting orders from big retailers?
Pearl Global has its own manufacturing facilities across India, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Multi country manufacturing helps us in providing flexible and cost-effective sourcing, offering complete product mix and best use of capabilities available in each country. While retailers are consolidating their vendor base, we definitely have an advantage with these key features being considered.
Having production sites in four major manufacturing countries of Asia, what kind of competitive advantage does your company get?
We currently operate 24 factories in 3 countries with a sales turnover of US$ 300M. Through our multi country and product manufacturing, we are considered as a one-stop-shop, as we can provide greater flexibility in terms of lead time, fabric country of origin, sales price structure. This flexibility is highly valued by large A-grade retailers who are looking for multi country operation partners.
Going forward, how do you foresee the topline and bottomline growth in garment manufacturing?
We feel that with the consolidation on the supplier side, top line growth can be in the region of 10-15% for all manufacturers who are stable, efficient and are looking to invest in garment manufacturing business.
The garment manufacturing business is a competition industry - so, bottom line growth will come from efficiency, automation and support from customers with consistent business. Companies which are willing and able to work on these fronts strategically will have a potential to grow top line continuously and maintain a healthy bottom line as well.
How do you see Asian garment retail market? Is it matured enough or is it still emerging?
Asia is a very large geographic region and can be further divided into South East Asia and Indian Sub-Continent. While, retail is quite mature in South East Asia and still growing at a fast pace, it is quite organised and all the large retailers are present in this region. On the other hand, the Indian sub-Continent and especially India has a huge potential to grow as organised product retail is still in its nascent stage.
In India over the next many years, we see a big growth in both brick & motor as well as e-commerce sales. In our view, we feel that e-commerce has a better potential to grow due to its ability to capture a wider market with much lower capital cost.
With regards to the prevailing economic conditions in USA, how is the flow of orders from big American retailers? What would be the condition in the near future?
The current economic conditions in USA are stable and as in any market there are both winners and losers. Some retailers are flourishing while others are losing market share.
Due to consolidation in large retailers sourcing strategy, the efficient and financially sound vendors are getting consistent business which is leading to higher efficiency at both ends. In the near future, as well as long term, we see a good growth in manufacturing opportunities in the Indian sub-continent as well as certain key countries in Far-East.
Inspite of having good human and natural resources, why do you think India is lacking behind when compared to other developed countries?
In my opinion, India is currently lacking behind due to problems of general infrastructure such as power, water and good quality fabric supply especially for the fall holiday season. At the same time, we see a good future for India in the long term considering ample pool of labour and raw material resources. Based on these fundamentals, it is a matter of time and support to the industry, which can lead it to flourish in future.
How do you see the e-commerce market in India and it’s growth prospect?
E-commerce market in India is growing at an amazing pace and have crossed all expectations. With rising costs for brick and mortar model, e-commerce has become very successful in a short span of time. This also allows you to reach every corner in the country as internet usage amongst people has grown substantially. Over a period of time, people have also started trusting reputed e-commerce portals for their product quality and do not hesitate in transacting online.
The online retail market being crowded with so many marketplaces, what would be the USP of sbuys.in?
sbuys.in is committed to create a trend of right products and exploiting their already available knowledge with best retailers. We are also committed to deliver best quality products with amazing prices to earn customer delight. All products are made in our own manufacturing facilities to keep complete check on the product quality and consistency. SbuyS is also committed to share its earning towards “Arpan” a charity organization run by the group.
What is the inspiration behind Pearl Global’s new venture called sbuys.in?
Sbuys.in was started with a vision of providing international fashion clothing to Indian consumer at the best possible prices. A team of experienced designers who are in complete sync with international trends makes it possible to bring those elements in our collection. The portal also supports young and upcoming fashion designers in showcasing their creations on sbuys.in and make seasonal sales for them.
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