India's Textile and Apparel Industry: Opportunities for Sourcing and Collaboration
A Textiles Intelligence special report on India as a source of textiles and apparel, and as a partner for collaboration
India ranks among the top target countries for any company sourcing textiles and apparel. Apart from China, no other country can match the size, spread, depth and competitiveness of the Indian textile and apparel industry. Moreover, the global elimination of quotas at the end of 2004 has greatly enhanced the opportunities for sourcing from India. This special Textiles Intelligence report focuses on the opportunities India now offers as a source of textiles and apparel. Based on a detailed examination of the performance of a large number of apparel and home textile products in the US and EU markets in 2005, it identifies those which offer the greatest scope for sourcing from India. It includes profiles of Indian textile and apparel companies which are potential partners for sourcing or collaboration, examines the competitiveness of India's yarn and fabrics industry, identifies opportunities for foreign collaboration, and provides a wealth of statistical data.
Where India Competes: Apparel, Product by Product
Chapter 3, the report's sourcing core, works through apparel systematically: export trends, composition and destinations; the structure of the apparel industry and where its exporters are located; and then competitiveness measured in the two great import markets. For the USA, India's international competitiveness is assessed from US imports of 16 key products, from men's and boys' cotton knitted shirts, women's and girls' cotton shirts and blouses, cotton skirts, trousers and dresses to cotton underwear, nightwear and pyjamas, man-made fibre shirts, skirts and dresses, and men's and boys' wool trousers and coats. For the EU, 14 key products are assessed, including cotton knitted T-shirts, jerseys and pullovers, babies' cotton knitted apparel, and women's and girls' cotton dresses and nightdresses. The chapter closes by identifying the most promising items for sourcing from India, for US and for EU importers, and by comparing India and China directly.
Exporters, Home Textiles, Yarns and Fabrics
Chapter 4 profiles major Indian exporters of apparel — among them Ambattur Clothing, Arvind Mills, Celebrity Fashions, Eastman Exports, Gokaldas Exports, Leela Scottish Lace, Orient Craft, Raymond, Shahi Export House and SP Apparels — with contact details, and notes domestically oriented companies such as Madura Garments. Chapter 5 applies the same market analysis to home textiles: US imports including cotton terry towels, sheets, bedspreads and quilts, pillowcases, wool floor coverings and blankets, and EU imports including table linen, bed linen, curtains and carpets, ending with the most promising home textile items. Chapter 6 profiles home textile exporters such as Welspun India, Alok Industries, GHCL and Sabare International. Chapters 7 and 8 cover sourcing yarns and fabrics from India — production, industry structure and global competitiveness — and profile exporters including the Vardhman Group, Arvind Mills, Raymond, the LNJ Bhilwara Group, Century Textiles and Industries and Aditya Birla Nuvo.
Collaboration and the Policy Background
Chapter 2 sets the scene: India's international competitiveness and exports, the factors determining competitiveness, well known foreign retailers and leading apparel brands which source from India, and the government policy changes behind the industry's opening — dereservation, low cost funds for technological upgradation, improvements in infrastructure, access to raw materials at international prices, special economic zones, export promotion and human resource development. Chapter 9 covers foreign investment and collaboration: FDI policy, sourcing relationships, licensing agreements, technical expertise, retailing and overseas acquisitions, with profiles of foreign collaborative initiatives and brands in India including Arvind Brands, Levi Strauss, Jockey, Benetton, Esprit and Armani. Appendices cover the export promotion councils and a glossary. A companion report, Sourcing Textiles and Apparel from India, is linked from this page.
Common Questions
Why did the end of quotas matter for sourcing from India?
The global elimination of quotas at the end of 2004 greatly enhanced the opportunities for sourcing from India, which — apart from China — no other country could match for the size, spread, depth and competitiveness of its textile and apparel industry.
How does the report identify the best products to source from India?
By a detailed examination of the performance of a large number of apparel and home textile products in the US and EU markets in 2005 — 16 key apparel products for the US and 14 for the EU — identifying those offering the greatest scope for sourcing.
Which Indian exporters are profiled?
Apparel exporters such as Arvind Mills, Gokaldas Exports, Orient Craft, Raymond and Shahi Export House; home textile exporters such as Welspun India and Alok Industries; and yarn and fabric exporters including the Vardhman Group and Century Textiles and Industries, with contact details.