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Interview with Pranav Sachdev

Pranav Sachdev
Pranav Sachdev
Partner
PN Thepchareon
PN Thepchareon

We are very strong in TC & TR fabrics
PN Thepchareon deals with all kinds of woven fabric ranging from children's wear, casual wear, business wear and uniform wear. It is one of the subsidiaries of the MR Amarnath Group based in Bangkok, Thailand, with investments in trading, manufacturing, real estate and hospitality. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, Pranav Sachdev, Partner at PN Thepchareon, speaks about the strengths of the company as a fabric manufacturer and the services it provides as converters to factories.

What is the market size of woven fabric (both cotton and silk) in Thailand?

The market size is vast. 

Fibres are generally imported. We have spinning factories in Thailand along with a lot of imported yarn from various countries like China and India where the prices are competitive. Personally, our company is also a shareholder in a spinning plant here in Thailand. 
 

Which are the Japanese affiliates you have tie-up with? Any specific reason you only use Japanese affiliated companies for both your raw material purchase and production goods?

We have had relations with the Japanese for generations. There is a strong bond and understanding. Japanese people are punctual and tend to work straight to the point. They also do not compromise with quality which helps keep customer satisfaction and confidence.

Among printed fabric, dyed fabric, denim, greige good and yarns, which are your best-selling products?

I wouldn't say we have a best-selling product as we get big orders for all our items. 

Thailand is home to exquisite handwoven fabric. What has kept this tradition running through the years?

I believe as long as there is demand, and the costs of labour and raw materials along with processing is not too high, Thailand will continue to weave fabric.

What are your strengths as a fabric manufacturing company?

Our strength is that we have good relations with many converters in the process of manufacturing fabric from spinning to weaving to finishing. We are able to cut costs by investing in various stages of production and converting the goods on our own using external factories.
What are your strengths as a fabric manufacturing company?

Which fabric has the most demand as per yardage across the various countries that you supply to, and of course within Thailand?

I believe we are very strong in Terylene/Cotton (TC) and Terry Rayon (TR) fabrics as we take uniform orders for big companies such as factories in the automobile industry and petrol stations etc, especially companies with a large workforce.

How are you bringing innovation to your products? What kind of research are you involved in studying market conditions?

We check on prices of fibres to forecast when and what we should invest in to remain competitive. We check on global prices of fibres along with prices integrated vertically in the production of fabric continuously.
How are you bringing innovation to your products? What kind of research are you involved in studying market conditions?

How many factories are you currently working with? What are the criteria for a factory to come under your vendor umbrella?

We work with many existing factories in Thailand, whether they are finishing, weaving, printing mills, dyeing mills. Over the years, the quantity of converting factories has decreased, however, there is still enough factories to fulfil needs of production.

We don't compromise on quality. This includes lead time, relationship, and loyalty. The prices also must be competitive in order to maintain a win-win situation. We make sure our customers profit from working with us so that they come back and place more orders with us.

What kind of printing do you do?

We mostly do reactive printing on 100 per cent cotton fabrics. However, we print as per our customers' demand such as on Terylene/Cotton (TC), Chief Value Cotton (CVC), and rayon as well. We are able to source much more. There is no limit. If the costs are too high for a specific item here, we source through our offices located in other countries.
What kind of printing do you do?

Globally, there is more focus on sustainability today. What are your commitments towards sustainability and reducing carbon footprints?

We try to work with recycled materials or goods certified by the BCI index etc. 

We also make sure to work with firms that have goods CSR. The standards of water treatment are very important to our values and to the end buyers. Therefore, we make sure to work with factories of high standard.

How have global trade events like the ongoing trade wars and Brexit impacted business?

The ongoing trade wars and Brexit have a marginal impact on our business. We capture a diverse market and therefore can maintain our revenue streams. There is always work.

What are the services you provide as converters to factories?

We provide finishing, dyeing, and weaving in greige form to customers.

Which are the major local brands in Thailand whom you sell your products to? List out brands you do the stocking for.

We will not name any brand as it is personal information. However, we are able to capture a vast number of brands locally and globally.

If we are not in direct contact with the brands, we sometimes still produce for them through orders coming from garment factories.

What expansion plans do you have for the future? Any new products in pipeline? Will you be increasing your capacity from one million yards a month?

In the future we plan to expand our sourcing from more countries that have lower labour costs to remain competitive in the market. We also export a lot of fabric, therefore remaining price competitive and maintaining high quality is vital. 

Yes, we develop new items regularly in order to provide new offerings to our buyers to keep high interest in our goods. 

Our capacity is not stable as we have big orders that are planned periodically with some customers as well as seasonal offerings such as student uniforms etc. We are not capped at million yards as we are able to sell much more than that if our customers demand it. (PC)
Published on: 05/03/2020

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.

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