Hitting a Home Run!

A recent exhibition on home products revealed how the home textile industry is scoring over other products. Home textiles occupied over 50 per cent of the space in the home product exhibition. New names in bed linen, upholstery and carpets have sprung up all over India, with the unorganised segment in home textiles reaching 85 per cent of the total industry space. The bed linen and bed spread segment alone which was worth approximately $2.3 billion acouple of years back is projected to increase to around $3.3 billion by 2020.

This segment has been riding on a wave of success triggered off by the real estate boom and infrastructure growth, following rise of the middle-class with greater disposable income. India is globally recognised and appreciated for its wide variety and exquisite designs in home textiles and furnishing fabrics. The country is on the verge of a big boom in the affordable housing sector and there is good growth in employment opportunities, especially in the services sector and hence high disposable incomes in the hands of young consumers. A combined result of these factors have seen the demand for home textile products growing by a healthy 30 to 40 per cent per annum, say experts. Heavily unorganised market still, the Indian home textile market is an untapped potential for the organised players in the trade.

India is home for some of the world’s biggest producers in the segment like Welspun (third largest towel producer), Trident (largest terry towel producer), Dicitex (fifth largest furnishing fabrics producer) and Bombay Dyeing. Many Indian brands like Indian Drape, RR Décor, F & F, Maspar, Goldtex, ABN, Portico New York, Birla Century, Spread, Swayam, MYCK, Zyneand Super Net, etc recognised nationally are growing at a healthy pace. A large number of international brands like Zimmer+Rhodes, Designers’ Guild, Esprit Home, Harlequin, United Colour of Benetton have experienced a 20-30 per cent annual growth in the Indian market. Besides, India has an unchallenged global leadership in handmade carpets with an impressive 38 per cent share in world exports. The trend shows clearly that the consumer will be getting a better deal year after year, because the home textile industry is rife with severe competition. Undoubtedly, it also augurs well for the home textile industry, which is one of the growth engines for the entire textile industry.

The Indian Textile Journal September 2018 Vol. CXXVIII No. 12

S Joseph
Editor & Associate Publisher

(Feedback welcome at mail id: Joseph@ASAPPinfoGLOBAL.com)