Indian home furnishing giants, already enjoying growth in export market are now geared up for domestic presence in a big way. A common thread between these vertically integrated big setups is their niche products which are, as of now not widespread in India, so there are ample opportunities for these players. Most of these companies are not in a hurry as they have set strategies to gradually increase operations within the country. Team Apparel Online strongly observed a movement towards the domestic market at the recently concluded Heimtextil India, held in New Delhi. The show witnessed top Indian brands, Indian as well as overseas fabric manufacturers, and variety of exhibitors offering complete range in home textile business. New offerings, niche and focused product segments, good growth rate over the past years and same expectations for current fiscal again, proved that despite ups and downs of the market, companies are moving forward sustainably.
Exhibiting companies like Alps Industries, Premier Fine Linens, Linen Craft and Ascent Décor are among the export houses registering average growth rate of more than 20 per cent and now all these companies are focusing more towards Indian customers. Having more than 80 per cent of its total business into export, Alps Industries, Ghaziabad is expanding its base in the domestic market with its blackout curtains, as it claims to be the only Indian manufacturer of the same. “Blackout curtains are not yet popular in India, as people here are not as aware of the concept when compared to overseas market, but we want to see it as a basic commodity in the next 5 to 10 years in India. Our manufacturing strength is a strong advantage for us. Apart from blackout curtains, we are focusing a lot on cotton upholstery, as people like the faded look of cotton,” informed Nafis Saiyed, Asst. VP, Furnishing Fabrics, Alps Industries Ltd. The company is growing 30 per cent year on year, so capacities have also been increased in the same proportion.
Along with product specialization, companies are looking at the domestic market as a more profitable option compared to export, especially those that are working with top brands like Bangalorebased Linen Craft (100 per cent EOU) which claims to be only the second company in India having European Flax Certification, (The EUROPEAN FLAX® Charter, signed by all the linen producers, guarantees a level of local farming that respects the environment: zero irrigation, zero GMO, zero waste. It fits flawlessly into the cycle of good environmental practices promoted by the label Cradle to Cradle.) The company, supplying to brands like Zara Home and Tommy Hilfiger, feels that such brands are bread for the company while domestic market will provide the butter to it. Anurag C Aggarwal, CEO of the company says, “Linen is luxury and people understand and pay for its value, so domestic can be a great market for us. For top brands we are working on price point items while in domestic we will cater to the market with our own designs where margins are better and we can have good command over the process and product.” Increasing 20 per cent year on year over the last four years, Linen Craft is working on linen finishes in terms of washes and processing finishes. It offers a variety of products to the home segment and has worked on natural linen with Indigo dye in different washes.
Entering of such companies into the domestic scenario will definitely expand the market not only with niche and specialized products, but also with more quality-focused products. Coimbatore-based Premier Fine Linens, enjoying good orders from the US market and exploring Japan also, is going into the domestic market in a big way with a well formulated market strategy and will target first Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Mumbai markets. Later it will expand pan-India. “We offer such quality and luxury products which are hard to find in the market today like blend made of Supima, world’s finest cotton (known as cleanest, more long staple cotton) and luxurious manmade fibre, Tencel which gives strength, extra softness and natural cleanliness to the fabric. Similarly, we also offer bedding made out of Suvin, which was developed in the 70s by crossing Sujatha (Indian cotton) and St. Vincent (Sea Island cotton) and has no parallel or alternative in the world,” says T Kumaravel, GM – Marketing of the company. As of now the company is manufacturing some products for hotels and some e-portals in the domestic market. The company had doubled its processing capacity last year and this year it is targeting growth of around 15 per cent like previous year.
Not only companies with endproducts, but even fabric based companies are not far behind to encash domestic market. Present in 14 countries as of now, Ascent Décor, Bangalore with its brand ‘RUMORS’ has 70 per cent export share of total business and brings international style to the Indian market. The horizon of its collections is very vast as it caters to hotels, institutions and other segments with its creative fabrics for upholstery and drapery. The company’s decorative luxury high-end fabric starts from Rs. 300 per metre and moves up to Rs. 8,000 per metre. “We are completing two years in the Indian market and the success has been encouraging. ‘RUMORS’ is about vibrant designs as even the starting range is not in simple designs and every piece has creativity at the soul. The brand has been endorsed very well in US this year and Middleeast is also very strong for it,” informs Ramachandra Shastry, Director, Ascent Décor. The company has recently increased its capacity by 30 per cent and going forward it will be adding more capacities as business grows. Expecting growth of 120 per cent, Ramachandra proudly affirms that the expectations are realistic. Ascent Décor has very recently launched Quartz Collection, the third edition of RUMORS and is expanding the imported range of fabrics with a super line up of fine furnishings being launched in collaboration with Prestigious Textiles, their close associates from the UK.
Baby Loon, Ludhiana, offering a complete range of infant furnishing and having capacity of 50,000 pieces per month, ensures safety right from sourcing of raw materials, and designs, differently for boys and girls. Their latest collection includes fuchsia and bright colours as they follow European trends.
Another vertical setup from Coimbatore, DP Textiles doing total business of Rs. 25 crore, is assured about good growth from the domestic market and is expecting double business this year. Major share will come from home furnishing which is now 60 per cent of its total business. D. Pradeep, MD of the company, which is majorly exporting to European countries and now exploring new markets has a complete range of home furnishing including towels and is into garmenting also. The company uses a lot of bamboo and banana fibre in its products and the new collection is based on the 80s theme.
It will be really interesting to see that how much growth these companies really see in domestic market and how this market is going to be more intense with competition. In the meanwhile, Heimtextil India also saw few companies that are primarily into the domestic market and were point of attraction like Baby Loon, Ludhiana which was offering a complete range of infant furnishing and was the only company of its kind. Having capacity of 50,000 pieces per month, it ensures safety right from sourcing of raw materials, and designs, differently for boys and girls. “Our latest collection includes fuchsia and bright colours as we follow European trends,” says Neeraj, partner of the company who is exporting 20 per cent of its produce to the Middle-east and Europe.
Concept Home Textiles, Mumbai having specialization in pillows with special finishes and properties like anti microbial, microfiber, biotech, Vitamin-E treated, introduced orthoclase pillow which helps users having spondylitis problem. “We use Tencel, made by wood pulp in this biotech pillow which gives softness like memory foam pillows. There is requirement for these kinds of niche products and people are ready to pay. Every year 20 per cent growth is there,” concludes Sunil Chodankar, Director, Concept Home Textiles.
