Interview with Urmil Arya

Industry Speak

Urmil Arya
Director
Sushila International

There is more demand for low-priced shirts in international markets

Sushila International, a well established textile organisation established for more than 30 years, is a fast growing company engaged in adopting latest trends and working with many countries, with its wide range of innovative designs. Being committed to quality, the company creates designs, manufactures and markets a range of shirting with specialisation in jacquards for international and domestic markets. Urmil Arya, director of Sushila International, talks to Fibre2Fashion about expectations from the National Textiles Policy.

GST in India and factors like Trump and Brexit outside. How have these affected the business? What steps have you taken to counter them?

There is slowdown in business with GST. The concept is not yet clear and hence it will take time for businesses to cope up.

What are your expectations and suggestions for the National Textiles Policy (NTP)?

Considering the welfare of the public, the government should introduce such a policy that does not hamper the growth of business.

How is the RMG market faring worldwide and in India? Which are the issues that are to be worked upon for better performance in the sector?

Only a handful opt for customised shirts as people feel convenient to pick up the design and size of their choice. For production of customised shirts, we ought to have a large unit with skilled labour for stitching of quality products.

By what percentage has the demand for shirts dipped or risen, both in the domestic and international market?

The demand for shirts has neither dipped nor risen, it is constant.

How different is the requirement when you cater to both these markets - domestic and export?

In the domestic market, we sell high-end shirts and fabrics but in the international market, the demand is more for low priced shirts except for the European market where there is demand for fabrics with fine finish. However, the demand is not from the masses.

Does your design team provide the inputs or do the clients give you a design to work on?

Our design team is constantly working towards development. We work both ways. Also, our partner Dinesh Arya has an eye for innovation hence he gives ideas to designers for development.

How does the design process work with your exporters?

We show them our sample and we make modifications according to their requirement. Once the changes are made, we go ahead with the process of finalising the order.

Tell us about the state-of-the-art machinery that you are using. What is the latest technological trend?

The latest trend in machines is automation. We have jacquard machines that produce high-end fabrics of cotton linen and 100 per cent linen.

Which are your major markets abroad and in India?

We deal with various international markets. In India, we are working with top brands.

Do you use online and e-commerce for B2C segments to sell menswear?

Not yet.

What kind of sourcing challenges do you face?

We face many challenges in sourcing of yarns including non-availability, high pricing and such other issues.

How has the demand been from clients over the last couple of years?

The demand from clients has been extremely good but there is a delay in receiving payments due to demonetisation and GST.

How sustainable are your manufacturing units? What steps are you taking to reduce the consumption of water during the various stages of manufacturing?

Water consumption at our units is very low.

What can be called as a major achievement by your company in the year 2016-17?

We have started producing very high-end fabrics and they are doing well.

What are your growth expectations from the company for the next two fiscals?

We hope that next two fiscal will take us a way ahead.

What percentage of revenue is invested in R&D?

We invest 5 per cent in R&D.

What new is in the pipeline?

We are planning to produce 100 per cent cotton fabrics now.

What new can be expected, be in terms of treatment, design or finishing?

The new treatment in finishing include anti-crease, wrinkle free and wicking. (RR)

Published on: 24/11/2017

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.