This presentation was delivered by Aditya Chandavarkar, CEO, Inkjet Forum India, at the recently concluded 3rd International Digital Textile Congress on 4th & 5th September at the University of Gent organised by Unitex.
This was very well received and attended event with over 250 delegates & 24 speakers from US, Europe & Asia. The response received for this conference indicates the growing interest towards digital textile printing.
Inkjet Forum India strives to lead the global printing industry towards innovation in Inkjet. Our online portal is focused on keeping the printing industry updated with the latest technological developments, innovative applications & market trends in the areas of digital textile printing, industrial printing, packaging, labeling and 3D printing.
Inkjet Forum India helps small, medium and large business houses from the worldwide inkjet industry to capture and increase their market share by providing cost effective and innovative brand promotion solutions for reaching to a focused target audience in the shortest time. We also organize the most comprehensive and informative conferences, seminars and courses for the inkjet industry which allures the key stakeholders of the industry.
One of the leading textile industries in the world
Major contributor to fast growing Indian industrial sector
1) Manufacturing flexibility
The small scale of operation in India’s textile industry has created the capability for enhanced flexibility in production. Indian firms are used to handling small-runs, and have skilled manpower with the ability to produce not only large orders but also smaller and complex orders. The flexibility offered is a significant advantage for the fashion industry, which typically demands small lots of complex designs. These advantages also enable the Indian industry to produce high value customised apparel that is increasingly finding demand in several exports markets.
Additionally the industry also has a large Pool of skilled and cheap work force
2) Multi-Fibre Raw Material Availability
It is well-established that India possesses a natural advantage in terms of raw material availability. India is the largest producer of jute, the second-largest producer of cotton and silk and among the largest producers of wool across the world.
India also recently emerged as a a net exporter of cotton, compared to its asian counterparts China and Pakistan are net importers. This has led to lower costs and better cotton availability in India
3) Product Development/Design
India has built adequate infrastructure throughout the various stages in textile development,
that is, design, sourcing, merchandising and production. Indian firms have leveraged this strength to develop a competitive advantage – the ability to contribute to the design, not only in preparing samples and prototypes, but also in translating concepts into varieties of finished designs, as well as introducing designs of their own. High value, up-market specialty buyers such as Gap, Banana Republic and J. Crew value such expertise and have been leveraging this while buying from India.
4) Industry Competition – Promotes Innovation
Despite a large and growing market, the presence of a large number of small scale players
makes the Indian textile Industry highly competitive. The high level of competition in the industry impels the firms to work to increase in productivity and innovation. India today is one of the lowest cost manufacturers of quality textiles, not only due to its inherent strengths, but also because
industry rivalry has prompted firms to focus on quality improvement, cost reduction and
productivity increase.
5) Favourable Government Policies
The central and state governments provide interest and capital subsidies to those companies purchasing capital equipment for the purpose of Technology Upgradation.
A example is the TUFS scheme of central government which provides 4-5% of interest rebate on loans for new equipment
The Textile and Apparel Supply Chain comprises diverse raw material sectors, ginning facilities, spinning and extrusion processes, processing sector, weaving and knitting factories and garment (and other stitched and non-stitched) manufacturing that supply an extensive distribution channel. This supply chain is perhaps one of the most diverse in terms of the raw materials used, technologies deployed and products produced.
The presence of capabilities across the entire value chain reduces the lead time for production and cuts down the intermediate shipping time. Indian textile firms have leveraged this advantage to integrate their operations, either forward or backward.
Demographic trends in India are changing, with increase in disposable income levels,
consumer awareness and propensity to spend.
Increasing % of working women - Research shows that working women spend 1.3 times as compared to an average house wife. Good news for the brands … bad news for husbands in India.
These trends offer great growth opportunities for companies across various sectors, including textiles.
Increasing retail penetration – Textile and clothing retail comprise 40% of the organised retailing in India. Share of organised retailing to increase from about 5% currently to about 24% in FY 2020
Hotel room demand is expected to grow at 10 % p. a for next 5 years – driving demand for home textiles
Health care delivery market to grow at 13% p.a over next few year, creating demand for more hospitals – to boost demand for home textiles, work wear
Rising disposable income in the hands of rural consumers due to rising agriculture income and increased employment generation to drive the demand of basic textile products.
“Brands such as Zara, Marks and Spencers, Benetton and Tommy Hilfigerposted a healthy jump in their year-on-year revenues and have ambitious expansion plans for India,” Fast fashion, a phrase used for designs that move quickly from the catwalk to showrooms to tap the latest consumer trends, is growing at a yearly pace of 25-30%, twice the rate of the overall market. “These four global brands collectively achieved sales that equalled the apparel sales of established department store chains such as Shoppers Stop and Lifestyle International,”
Source: ETRetail,
Digital textile printing industry is currently at a tipping point
Companies with Entry Level printers are investing in Production Level Printers. Composite mills budgeting for DTP in next F.Y
(Around 30 machines – Reggiani, MS JP5 Evo, MS JP6, MS JP7, VEGA Kyocera)
Top Installed – Mimaki, MS, La Meccanica, Atexco
Rest – KM, Regianni, DGI, Kornit, Ichinose, Zimmer, Durst
New Entrants: ITE, Durst, Konica Minolta Nassenger Series
A key factor for the success of DTP in the Apparel and Fashion segment is due to the acceptance of digitally printed ethnic wear in India. Ethnic wear will continue to drive the growth of digital textile printing.
Indian Ethnic wear majorly constitutes of the saree and the salwar kameez.
Ethnic wear was initially a category that was largely restricted to the older age segment. However, it is now finding acceptance even among younger consumers. The young college going girl teams her Indian kurta with either a pair of denims or leggings that represent a fusion of ethnic wear with western wear. This has led to brands focusing on ethnic fusion wear product offerings, in western styles and prints, in order to capture the opportunity.
Over the next decade, India will witness an increase of more than 10 million women within the working middle class across the top 115 urban Indian cities, thus presenting a potential of 35 million consumers by the year 2020 in the relevant cities. Further, since this growing population of women includes a large proportion of working women, there will be a corresponding increase in the disposable income of families.
14 – 15 million lm/year
Companies taking first steps.
Marketing structure and mindset needs to be correct
Smaller scale companies more enterprising in digital due to speed to market and less fixed costs
The top 5 companies in India have not moved into digital yet.
Companies in India are targeting niche lines with designers and retailers e.g Walmart, Ikea, etc
Smaller scale companies more enterprising in digital due to speed to market and less fixed costs
The top 5 companies in India have not moved into digital yet.
3rd Largest Curtain and upholstery manufacturer in the world
Fully Robotized Warehousing: Comprises everything from stocking to packaging to dispatch. It is the first of its kind in the textile industry in India.
Wider Width Capability, Own brand, strong marketing strategy which is digital specific, Brand recall
The company is vertically integrated, having a factory area, inclusive of storage of raw material, dyeing and manufacturing facilities, packaging and material handling space, of more than 1.6 million sq.ft.
Trained manpower and support
Costing in printing houses
Low technical knowhow
Skipping of processes
Pigment based Inkjet technology
Availability of pre-treated media.
Experience of fabric preparation to make best use of digital printing technology
Maintenance of machines
Users need education/training
Needs more machines supporting pigment/Currently all leading technology suppliers providing Digital Printers with reactive dye ink.
Many local brands not established, hence majority of the digital printing houses providing brands in Europe/America printed fabrics/ready to retail products based on their designs and pricing.
Investments and learning skills are required.
Cost issue – understanding of DTP cost model Production + Maintenance/Marketing Strategy
Training & Education of Owners / Manpower / Operators / Marketing Team / Designers.
Confidence in Technology - Investment by Technology suppliers required in providing local technical/application support.
Availability of pre-treated media / Experience of fabric preparation to make best use of digital printing technology
Many local brands not established, hence majority of the digital printing houses providing brands in Europe/America printed fabrics/ready to retail products based on their designs and pricing.
Investments and learning skills are required.
Tier II & III cities in India are showing interest in modern designs and purchasing power has increased with favourable demographics.
Perfect vehicle for small /mid sized companies to capitalise on flexibility and adopt speed of change.
Overall product cost is still lower compared to USA or Europe in India (Production + Stitching + Packaging).
E-channel can provide a much better medium for stocking of a
much wider range and actually much more effective product
display
India's e-commerce market grew at a staggering 88 per cent in 2013 to $ 16 billion, riding on booming online retail trends and defying slower economic growth and spiralling inflation, according to a survey by industry body Assocham. "The increasing Internet penetration and availability of more payment options boosted the e-commerce industry in 2013,“
Smaller towns and rural areas driving e-commerce in India, reveals eBay census.
Negligible incremental cost in reaching out to customers in small cities and upcoming hot-spots