The online edition of India’s biggest garment fair for domestic garment manufacturers will be organized from September 02-11, 2020.

As per the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), organizer of the show, the 71st edition of National Garment Fair (NGF) is re-evolved and re-invented to keep industry ahead of fashion trends and overall business opportunities.

To make the show successful, CMAI is approaching prospective participants effectively through various ways. The show used to take place twice a year in January and July. The July edition of the event used to take place in the first or the second week of the month. The 4-day-long July edition last year had over 1,000 exhibitors from across India and around 40,000 visitors including retailers, corporate buyers, wholesalers, agents, distributors, etc. visited it.

In India, so far in the textile and garment industry, Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) has organised two virtual sourcing shows but they were mainly for export. It will be interesting to see how the domestic market gains from a virtual show.

Mumbai-based SOCH Group has launched the first of its kind omni-channel sales platform ‘This or That’ (ToT) wherein a startup brand can showcase its products and reach out to their customers. It offers an experience, in which physical shopping and digital technologies interact with each other.

The group, which has so far been funding this platform via internal accruals, has planned to look for no further funding for the next two years. It aims to tap at least 70,000 companies by 2023 and a seven-fold growth in the next 10 years.

The group believes that this new initiative has an edge over others as startups are bringing in new innovations and uniqueness which are somewhere missing among the products manufactured by bigger outfits.

ToT will launch with 250+ brands onboard ranging from industries like fashion & lifestyle, food & beverages, beauty & wellness, furnishing & décor, sports & nutrition.

ToT is also bringing back the satisfaction of bargaining for its customer. It also encourages them to order product samples for free and lets a customer try and compare products before they can purchase.

Retailers in smaller Indian cities are likely to see business recovery sooner than those in metros thanks to the limited impact of the lockdown, migration to smaller cities and better rural income, says a report by analyst Motiwal Oswal Financial Services. According to the report, demand in smaller cities could return to normalcy by the festive season in October-November. However, overall revenue in FY21 could be lower by 20-30 per cent. Retailers expect a full recovery over the next six to nine months.

In fact, regional retailers in smaller towns are seeing footfall at 50-60 per cent of pre-COVID levels. In cities where the Coronavirus cases were limited, consumers are returning to stores, indicating pent-up demand. The report said sales were already in 60-70 per cent of pre-COVID levels as now, only serious buyers are turning up. Currently, customers are purchasing low ticket size essential products. However, the kids wear segment has seen a spike in sales, while demand for wedding clothes has dropped sharply.