We introduced the concept of IP in Indian fabric market: A Akhtar

Aamir Akhtar, Chief Executive Officer, Arvind Denim, says, “An innovative line of Flip Denims (reversible denims), 360 degrees MUTANTS™ (multidirectional stretch knit denims) and XL MUTANTS™ (wider width knits for better production efficiencies), to name a few, were introduced,” while speaking on their various IP products during an interaction with the ITJ.

What are the factors like demonetization that affected the denim industry recently? How did Arvind manage to tide over crisis?

Q3 sales and to some extent Q4 sales of FY17 were impacted due to demonetisation. However we saw a strong recovery in sales since February 2017.

What is the present status of denim industry?

Globally denim fabric consumption is close to 4.5 billion metre per annum and Indian domestic market consumes approximately 750 to 800 million metre annually. Additionally India exports close to 200 million metre annually in a fabric or garment form. At present, Indian domestic market continues to grow at a double digit CAGR. However on the contrary, growth is higher in value segment in the market.

What are the latest developments at Arvind Denim in terms of product innovations and new blends for the future?

Arvind Denim has recently launched its latest collection – Azurite Denims – Arvind’s patented technology of premium saturated indigo fabrics. For the very first time, we have introduced the concept of intellectual property in the Indian fabric market. An innovative line of Flip Denims (reversible denims), 360 degrees MUTANTS™ (multidirectional stretch knit denims) and XL MUTANTS™ (wider width knits for better production efficiencies), to name a few, were introduced.

The latest launch also saw a new collection of DENIM EXPRESS™, which is a speed to market solution of versatile fabrics that is always in vogue. The collection is further extended to popular Arvind categories of BLUE NATIVES™, NEOBUBBLE™, BOOMERANG™ and few others. The highlight is also on the khadi denim collection. We have received much appreciation globally for this phenomenal sustainable fabric and also won the prestigious ‘Global Denim Award’ for the best fabric at Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Please give us some insights into Arvind’s tie-up with Invista.

Arvind Limited and Invista have collaborated and have been partnering closely to bring innovations like Collmax and Dual FX Denims for their consumers.

What are the future plans of Arvind Denim?

Our major markets are the USA, the European Union and India. We see growth with key customers in all these markets. We have also recently set-up Arvind Denim Lab (ADL), a state-of-the-art laundry in Ahmedabad, which offers the latest in wash trends to our key customers. In the functional clothing area, we have recently collaborated with Google and Levi’s to offer ‘wearable technology in denims’ called ‘Project Jacquard’. The denim jackets made out of this collaboration are now available in Levi’s stores internationally.