25 November 2021, Mumbai:

What builds a brand such that it lasts forever and keeps growing as the ages pass, is no small task. Kankatala is one such saree brand that has been able to reach such heights. The company takes pride in having a loyal customer base through generations who return to their stores for every occasion.

Despite having such a long-standing player in the fashion retail sector, the 78-year-old brand has opened only a few outlets here in India. The company ascribes its conservative and traditional approach as the reason behind taking so long to expand to North India.

“So as a family we are very conservative in our business and careful in how we grow – we want to grow very sustainably,” said Anirudh Kankatala, Director, Kankatala Sarees. “We are very well planned and well-calculated in our expansion. We had our second store expansion only in 2000 and since then we have opened in Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, and Kakinada. And, only 3 years back we opened in Hyderabad – that was our first expansion outside Andhra Pradesh,” he added.

Established in 1943 by the late Kankatala Appalaraju, the business has now grown to 11 stores in Andhra Pradesh, several other cities, and has a strong online presence. In 1982, Kankatala Mallikharjuna Rao, Anirudh’s father, popularly known as Mallik, the second generation Kankatala, entered the business. There was a major turnaround, with the opening of the first plush Kankatala store, which was Visakhapatnam's first air-conditioned shop.

Retail Strategy

The company has a very single-dimensional approach in terms of retail strategy. Anirudh stated, “So, actually as a retail strategy, we don’t try to differentiate based on stores, we try to maintain our USP and don’t change the product as per the city.”

It is indeed true that when a brand comes to Delhi, it is assumed that people will expect to go there for Banarasis (popular North-Indian Saree made in Varanasi) more than Kanjivaram (silk sari made in the Kanchipuram region in Tamil Nadu) because it is north of India.

“However, we as a brand believe that many people know Kankatala for Kanjivaram - people have been shopping at Kankatala because they like Kanjivaram. We decided not to change the strategy of the brand catering to our customers,” Anirudh further added.

The company is planning to open more stores in the north, in (Mumbai) Maharashtra, one in Ahmedabad in Gujarat, and Kolkata.

Building Online Presence

In this technology-driven age, much of the competition is on how strong the brand’s presence is online. Being deeply traditional in its approach, the brand had obviously faced tough challenges to transition to online.

Anirudh stated, “We did have a lot of challenges to take a traditional business online. For us it is 1,000 products, it is only one quantity, and once it is sold it is gone. Then we need to take the new pictures and upload them.

So I have to train my team to understand e-commerce and go online.” “And, we are from Visakhapatnam, so finding talent to go digital was also a challenge. The family support was there to help us expand online,” Anirudh further added.

The brand took almost one year (in 2017) to start the online website and since then it is reported to be growing at 30 percent YoY. In fact, the company attributes its online explorations as the reason behind the company’s growth.

“One of the main reasons for the growth is because we started online, social media and shipping. Then we have realized that there is so much potential for our brand in Hyderabad and Bangalore.

Then we have realized the potential to take Handlooms to the capitals of the states and then after Hyderabad, we had a vision and my father’s dream to be in the capital of India and finally since the last three we have been looking for a place,” Anirudh stated.

The company is also said to be very particular about Vastu. Anirudh said, “For us to find a place in south ex which is almost a 50-year old market, it was very difficult. Finally, we have been able to find a place and our landlord has been very supportive to us and we finally opened in New Delhi.”

Indian Retailer  (The news article has not been edited by DFU Publications staff)

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26th August 2021, Mumbai:

According to reports, the Afghan turmoil has harmed Surat's textile sector, since payments to over 100 traders have been delayed. It's worth mentioning that textile items worth Rs 1,000-1,200 crore (the US $ 145-155 million) were being exported yearly from the Indian state of Gujarat's textile powerhouse Surat to nations like Iran and Afghanistan.

Around 150 textile dealers from different marketplaces on Surat's Ring Road have been exporting textile items to Afghanistan every year.

According to reports, the Afghan turmoil has harmed Surat's textile sector, since payments to over 100 traders have been delayed. It's worth mentioning that textile items worth Rs 1,000-1,200 crore (the US $ 145-155 million) were being exported yearly from the Indian state of Gujarat's textile powerhouse Surat to nations like Iran and Afghanistan. Around 150 textile dealers from different marketplaces on Surat's Ring Road have been exporting textile items to Afghanistan every year.

Textile dealers in Surat have been directly touched by the upheaval, and they risk losing money worth more than $100 million as a result. The city's textile sector has lately taken a hit as a result of the GST and the coronavirus shutdown. Consumer spending during the Onam and Akha Teej holidays did not turn out to be as successful as predicted, adding to the problems.

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_YB9Wje2hA

Pitti Bimbo will be held in Italy, January 11 to 13, 2022.

This is a children’swear event. Pitti Bimbo will offer an extensive panorama of this highly diverse industry, with about 170 leading brands exhibiting, of which 81 will be coming from outside Italy. Among them, will be established and niche brands alike, providing a comprehensive international overview of children’s products, from essentials to sportswear, from directional fashion to everyday wear, from footwear to accessories. In parallel, several adult fashion labels will be presenting their children’swear lines in their own stands at PittiUomo, which is being held simultaneously.

Pitti Bimbo’s exhibition area has been extended to include multiple pavilions, and the layout is different from the June session. The 100 per cent Bambino section will showcase leading and long-established children’s labels, offering a wide range of wardrobe choices for all ages, from babies to teenagers: luxury and tailored items, sportswear and urban wear. The Pitti Bimbo section is dedicated to avant-garde children’swear and children’s lifestyle products, showcasing young, pioneering brands distinctive for their constant search for innovation, their materials and style. Both visitor and exhibitor numbers will be up, compared to the last edition, thanks to targeted promotional initiatives to attract major international retailers as well as new, emerging e-tailers.

23rd August 2021, Mumbai:

Despite a drop in domestic sales as a result of the second wave, the export market has provided a much-needed boost to denim fabric sales. Denim sales and production at Gujarat mills have increased as a result of continuous export demand. Gujarat is justifiably known as the denim capital of the country since it houses around 60% of the country's total denim production capacity.

"Demand from the foreign market, which includes nations such as the United States and Europe, has substantially improved, and orders have begun to stream in. Export orders, in fact, were a lifeline for denim manufacturers, as they helped compensate for a drop in domestic demand from April to June 2021, when the second wave of Covid-19 was at its peak and a slew of restrictions were imposed to keep the spread in check "Jindal Worldwide Limited's head of corporate finance and strategy, Gaurav Davida, stated.

Despite the fact that denim producers saw strong growth in the first quarter, owing to a low base from the previous fiscal year's same quarter, the output is gradually returning to pre-Covid levels. "Manufacturers are also seeing higher price realizations, which is helping to offset margin losses. This is due to a rise in demand, with merchants in major regions such as Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States reporting a double-digit increase in both offline and online sales "a source in the sector stated. Clearly, major denim fabric manufacturers saw a significant increase in revenue in the first quarter of 2021-22.

Arvind Limited, for example, recorded a 186 percent rise in denim revenues in the first quarter, going from Rs 145 crore in the first quarter of 2020-21 to Rs 416 crore in the first quarter of 2021-22. Overall volumes increased 2.8-fold year over year, according to the company's investor presentation. "We achieved at least 80% of our pre-Covid level of revenues from denim sales in the April to June quarter of 2021-22," Davda continued, "thanks to the higher realization from exports, we registered a revenue of at least Rs 500 crore during this time." Manufacturers all around the globe have been searching for alternatives to China since the Covid-19 epidemic. 

Gujarat, as a denim manufacturing center, stands to benefit, according to denim manufacturers. According to P R Roy, a denim expert, "Given its huge manufacturing capacity, China is a major participant. However, following the recent US and European sanctions on China's Xijiang province - a textile manufacturing powerhouse – based on reports of human rights violations, companies have moved their focus to India, and specifically Gujarat, for denim sourcing." As a result, Gujarati denim manufacturers have begun to receive more export orders.

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16 November 2021, Mumbai: 

*Stylumia, part of the Nasscom DeepTech Club, was founded by former Myntra COD Canesh Subramanian in 2015 with the idea of predicting future trends and demand for fashion products Fashion specialist Hemamalin Padmanabhan and Al specialist Sharath Puranik joined the team later.

*Subramanian said they saw fashion forecasting and demand planning were done subjectively, or were based on traditional consumer research, or on data platforms that throw supply-driven signals "We realised these methods do not solve the fundamental challenge in fashion of trend spotting and prediction. The full prices through continues to remain around SC The biggest wastage in the fashion industry is the one caused by ill-informed decision-makin," he said.

Styluria uses computer vision and a proprietary Al-powered demand sensing algorithm to analyse consumer demand data. It analyses millions of consumers' voices to define consumer likes and dislikes for the present and the future. It analyses what's available for consumers, it looks at fast-moving products, and, more importantly, what is not selling at colour size level for assortment planning.

It also processes and analyses millions of images and textual attributes of fashion styles across runways fashion websites, and e-commerce to generate winning design ideas for designers and brands.

*Stylumia, which has 30 employees, works with brands and retailers across 22 countries Customers include Vira Moda, Fossil, Ray-Ban, Amazon, AJIO, Myntra, Flipkart Aditya Birla. Group Arvind, LVMH, and Jack & Jones. TOI

(The news article has not been edited by DFU Publications staff)

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17th August 2021, Mumbai:

In his address at the Garment Export Promotion Council's (AEPC) 42nd annual general meeting, chairman A Sakthivel expressed optimism that apparel exports will play a key role in reaching the $400 billion in goods exports objective for this fiscal year.

According to A Sakthivel, apparel exports increased by 91% from April to July 2021 compared to the same period last year. According to him, India's clothing exports are increasing as a result of widespread COVID-19 immunisation in every Western market.

“We are growing our exports to our key markets.

Exports to the United States grew by 22% from January to May 2021 compared to the same period last year. In January-April 2021, India's exports to the EU [European Union] increased by 22% over the same period the previous year. Exports to other markets, such as the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Japan, and Australia, are also increasing, according to Sakhtivel.

The government's decision to prolong the Rebate of State and Central Levies and Taxes (RoSCTL) programme through March 31, 2024 will provide a stable and predictable policy environment, he added, as well as promote exports by making Indian clothing globally competitive.

31th August 2021, Mumbai:

FirstCry’sGlobalBees, a Thrasio-style venture, has acquired sustainable home care products company The Better Home. This is the company’s first acquisition.

Prior to this acquisition, the company had raised $150 million in a mix of equity and debt in a Series A led by the parent company FirstCry and some of the ecommerce unicorn’s investors. Besides this, Lightspeed Venture Partners has also invested in GlobalBees in what is one of the largest Series A funding rounds in the Indian startup history.

Post the acquisition, the 15 member core team that built The Better Home will join GlobalBees and continue working towards the company’s initial goal. The Better Home products have so far been selling on Amazon and the company’s website.

The Better Home was launched by its parent company The Better India in 2020 by Dhimant Parekh, and is a D2C range of sustainable home-cleaners. The company claims to have made deliveries across 600+ cities and towns in India and reached over 70,000 customers in its first year of operations.

Founded by NitinAgarwal and SupamMaheshwari, GlobalBees invests in and acquires seller businesses on Amazon India, Flipkart and other ecommerce marketplaces. It is one of the early adopters of the Thrasio-like model in India.

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14th August 2021, Mumbai:

The consolidated net profit of Aditya Birla Group firm Grasim Industries jumped by around four-fold jump to Rs 2,447.97 croreduring the first quarter ended June 2021. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 616.99 crore during the April-June quarter of the previous fiscal.

The company’s revenue from operations increased by 52.72 per cent to Rs 19,919.40 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 13,043.51 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Its total expenses increased by 36.67 per cent toRs 16,853.28 crore, as against Rs 12,330.93 crore during the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Grasim Industries' revenue from viscose-pulp, viscose staple fibre and filament yarn segment increased by over three-folds to Rs 2,102.76 crore in Q1/FY2021-22 as against Rs 557.68 crore a year ago.

However, sequentially the segment has witnessed a degrowth of 17.9 per cent as it was at Rs 2,583.40 crore in the January-March quarter.

Revenue from cement business UltraTech Cement increased by 54.21 per cent to Rs 11,829.82 crore as against Rs 7,671.05 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Its revenue from the chemicals segment was up over two-folds at Rs 1,436.48 crore as against Rs 701.57 crore of Q1/FY 2020-21.

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