CMAI’S Brands of India Trade show paves the way for MENA market

The recently concluded show attracted an impressive gathering of over 2000 visitors from 60 countries, underlining India’s strong global appeal as a leading supplier of quality apparel.

The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) once again set a new benchmark in the global sourcing market with the successful conclusion of the second consecutive edition of Brands of India that showcased of over 150 Indian clothing brands and white label manufacturers. The exhibits at the trade show were a vast selection of latest fashion in men’s, women’s, and kids’ wear—including casual, ethnic, formal, denim, athleisure, winterwear, sleepwear, innerwear, tops, bottoms, scarves, socks, and much more.

The recently concluded show attracted an impressive gathering of over 2000 visitors from 60 countries, underlining India’s strong global appeal as a leading supplier of quality apparel. The buyers comprised of retailers, wholesalers, and importers from diverse markets like the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, UK, USA, Australia, Canada, Germany, Greece, Singapore, South Africa and many other countries.

Amidst prevalent disruptive environment at global apparel manufacturing hubs like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and China where exports continue to remain tepid; total Indian Apparel exports are expected to reach US$ 17 Bn in 2024, marking a 5-7 percentage increase compared to 2023. In recent years, India’s ready-made garment (RMG) exports to UAE is expected to get further impetus under CEPA and the show presented an ideal opportunity for a potential rise. 

Speaking at the conclusion of the show, Santosh Katariya, President, CMAI expressed,“The second edition of Brands of India has been a phenomenal success, exceeding expectations. We are incredibly grateful to all the participants, retailers, and buyers who collectively contributed to its resounding triumph. The order bookings and lead generation at the show is a testament to the exceptional quality, diverse range, and competitive pricing of Indian apparel. We are confident that the sourcing relationships made at the show will help us to capitalise and drive further growth in exports.”

India is globally recognized as a prime sourcing hub for buyers seeking quality Apparel due to its low labour costs, flexible production capabilities, quality products, competitive pricing, timely delivery, efficient logistics systems and expertise in white label contract manufacturing. Leading manufacturers from cities like Mumbai, Jaipur, Surat, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Tirupur, Kolkata, Noida, Ludhiana, New Delhi, Indore, Solapur had exhibited under one roof exemplifying the diversity of India’s manufacturing.

Mujeeb Rehiman, Director – Buying, Lulu Group International, UAE, a key Gulf retailer said “India comes out as a better sourcing option for our group in comparison to China where textile, fabric and manufacturing costs are gradually going up. Their factories are also getting environment compliant and following modern manufacturing processes which is quite a draw for us”. A leading retailer from Kenya, Rosalin Wambui Wamwiriastated“We are happy to be here and find the merchandise we wished to source. Seeing the wide variety what India produces, it’s a win-win and we have mutually benefited. Their production process and quality is quite amazing and we plan to introduce samples of kidswear in our local markets.”

Nirav Sanghvi from ColourHunt, an Ahmedabad based Men’s Casualwear brand,one of the repeat participants, having presence across Gulf region,stated “The show has helped us to expand our presence and introduce new generation fashion on a global level since Dubai is a huge hub for Asia, Europe and African countries. We managed to connect with many retail buyers and good distributors with whom our brand could resonate. The first edition was reasonably good and we are happy to be part of this second edition which has become an important Apparel sourcing show in the Middle East.”Madhav Goel & Jaivardhan Goel, Ankhua Group, who are at the forefront of fashion since forty years, launched their specialty in ladies’ woven dressesdesigned by their London based creators,stated, “The show is very well organised and CMAI has done a great job through their marketing efforts to bring a lot of buyers.” Another exhibitor,Yash and Raj from Maven,a women’s bottom wear brand elatedly said, “We were quite excited before coming here and our samples of jeggings, jeans, shorts, capris including boot cuts, wide legs, straight fit, mom fit was well received by the buyers. We generated some significant leads and expect conversions into orders in the next few weeks.”

Some of the leading exhibitors at Brands of India include 8i, All Seasons, Amul Florio, Amul Kandyfloss, Anchor Socks, Ankhua, Arun Varun The Fashion Studio, Banswara, Berri Kids, Bodycare, Bodydecor, Boom Jns, Carbon, Cocosherry, Color Hunt, Cool Colors, Cotton Opera, Dazzle, Dedart, Denim Dusk, Eleventy One, Espanio, Essa Garments, Evolve, Fck Plus, Feel It, Figli, Floramour, Floret, Fort Collins, Frd13, Hi-Flyer, Inferno, Jeeboy, Johnston, Juniper, Lara Fashion Scarves, Little Times, Lux Premium, Lyra, Max First Cry, Millschi, Nari, Neo, Nitro, Noor By Aditee, Okane, One Ethnic, Only Boyz, Pep-Up, Real N Rare, Red Rose, Royal Raccon, Sara, Satya, Satya Fusion, Shahitaka, Shinaaya, Simone Federico, Sonari , Spread, Stocai, Terri Kidz, Tiny Times, Topman, TT, Urbasy Apparels, Vanesis, Venfield, Victor & Jane, Vitamins, Wink & Blink, Yoke and others.

The show was supported by Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, Embassy of India in UAE, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC), TEXMAS (Dubai) and Readymade Garments Merchants Group (Dubai). The first edition was held last year in Dubai and an estimated business worth US$ 350 million is expected to be generated over three years.