Jainam specialises in the development of new fabrics with fancy yarns
With an aim to provide excellent quality fabrics at a reasonable price, Jainam Silk Mills was established in 1994. Since then, the India-based company has been carrying on the tradition of serving clients with fabrics that promise not just high-quality but a celebratory experience. The company has made it a priority to innovate and evolve to give its clients the variety they truly deserve. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, Jainam’s Director Virag Gada talks about fabrics’ demand, growth and shares suggestions for improvement.
How has the company grown over the years? How many kinds of fabrics did you start with and how many do you manufacture today?
Jainam Silk Mills is a very well-known name in the men’s shirting industry for a very long time now. It was incorporated in 1994 by three alumni of Sasmira Institute of Management Studies (SIMSR), Mumbai—Ashwin Gada, Jiten Gogri and Tarun Gada.
The company manufactured cotton and polyester blended fabrics for formal and party wear categories under the brand name ‘Divine Touch’. Later on, after gaining experience and studying the market demand, the company added high-end cotton fabrics for club wear category under the brand Azalia.
The Group became even stronger when Chandresh Dedhia, ex- marketing head of Bombay Rayon Fashions Ltd, and Rahul Agarwal, an alumnus of IIPM Delhi, joined in 2015. Soon, a casual wear fabrics segment was launched under the brand name Stella Moda Fab.
Trend shows that for over the past few years the space for ethnic and traditional clothes in people’s wardrobes has been increasing. People now feel more confident in carrying themselves by wearing ethnic clothes for small to big functions or events. So, looking at this trend the company ventured into smart and core ethnic wear segment in 2020 under the brand name Ethina, with Tejas Palan bringing his expertise.
Today, Jainam Silk Mills produces shirting fabrics for all occasions i.e., formal wear, club wear, party wear, casual wear, and ethnic wear.
How would you describe the current market demand for fabrics? What factors are responsible for this trend?
From macroeconomics perspective, global market has been in a vulnerable position for quite some time. Post-pandemic, we saw countries slowly recovering and getting back to normalcy. Fashion brands worldwide started placing new contracts with fabric and garment manufacturers. At that point, things looked very promising for Indian textile manufacturers as there was a huge rise in demand. The positive trend was not due to additional market demand but due to brands disassociating itself from China and shifting their supply chains to India. Factors responsible for this shift included: the allegation that COVID-19 had its origin in China, the US sanction on cotton grown in Xinjiang region of China, the country’s crackdown on its polluting textile industry, disturbances in supplies from China, and the Chinese government shifting its capex away from the textile industry. This gave India a good opportunity to fulfil the global market’s demand. However, the subsequent world events like the Russia-Ukraine war and the uneasy trade equation of the US with China and OPEC countries have significantly inflated the prices of all essential commodities. The cost of living for low to middle income earning population in all of Europe, Americas and Asia has skyrocketed. Therefore, people have very less disposable income to spend on non-essentials things like clothes. This trend is visible from the low sale figures seen even during a big festival like Diwali.
Which are your major markets in India and abroad?
We supply fabric pan-India and also export to a few Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, UAE and Oman. Jainam group now plans to expand its reach to the Americas.
Tell us about your mega expo in Delhi this year.
Jainam group had organised a Mega Product Expo in Delhi on 25th & 26th April 2022. It was a huge success for the group. It was specifically held for all our customers in North India region.
We have observed that over the years, successful fashion garment brands have expanded their product portfolio. For example, a garment brand which used to make formal wear has also entered casual wear and semi ethnic wear segment. So, the purpose of our Product Expo was to introduce all our customers to all product category of fabrics that Jainam group manufactures. A customer who regularly deals with Stella Moda (casual fabric division) was made aware that the group also manufactures formal wear, club wear and ethnic wear fabrics. This showcased our group’s strength of being able to supply all categories in shirting and ethnic fabrics. The exhibition with new collection was also a way to motivate the entire value chain in the difficult times.
What are some of the latest fabrics designed at Jainam?
The group specialises in the development of new fabrics with fancy yarns. New fabrics have been developed with excel-linen blend yarns, melange, poly-spandex, poly-spandex with sulphur dyeing, indigo dyeing, and polyamide blends. Apart from these, several fabrics have been developed with special finishes and printing technology. R&D with new yarns, new weaves and new finishes is the group’s passion.
What are some of the bottlenecks that hamper the growth of the fabric manufacturing sector in India?
The major difference between China/Turkey and India’s textile manufacturing sector is the investment in R&D and the drive to create new value-added fabrics. India needs to invest in new and better machineries, skilled R&D, world class wet processing units and branding itself as a premium textile manufacturing market.
India is a very price sensitive market with major textile mills competing with each other based on price rather than on developing new innovative fabrics. Price war doesn’t allow the textile units to earn a reasonable profit to invest in new efficient machineries. As a result, more than half of the textile units are bleeding.
What would be your suggestions to improve this sector?
The Indian government’s PLI scheme should boost manufacturing and thus promote exports of quality textiles and fabrics. This, in turn, will allow Indian manufacturers to invest in R&D and sustainable textiles and create better supply chain commitments. An industry grows when it has a better market to serve to.
What is next in pipeline at Jainam?
We plan to create a new design house where we can take care of each and every thing that a fashion brand wants. Right from pre-season planning of goods, creating fabrics and designs as per brand’s positioning and outlook to taking care of sampling requirements and ensuring timely supply of bulk goods. Jainam’s design house shall work as fabric and garment channel partner for fashion brands and let the brands focus on their core business of branding, retailing and distribution.
Published on: 06/12/2022
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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