Pearl Global is a multinational apparel manufacturing company that provides end-to-end supply chain solutions to brands across the globe. The company develops apparel for people of all ages, genders, locations, and style preferences by using sustainable means. All clothes manufactured at Pearl Global are made through sustainable solutions. the co-creation process to design apparel and fabrics are sourced from some of the best locations worldwide to meet international quality standards. Pallab Banerjee, Managing Director, Pearl Global Industries, opines on the current state of fashion industry and how the company is contributing to the same.
How was your company’s performance in FY21-22?
The company registered an admirable performance with growth of 82% in overall revenues with overseas business showing 147% year-on-year growth. There was a combination of strong sales growth, market share gains, pieces shipped and a record increase in profitability.
The prime reason behind the success can be attributed to improvement in capacity utilisation, commencement of commercial production in Bangladesh factories and the partnership facilities in India and Vietnam. Strategic partnerships across the supply chain helped in gaining better returns, faster turnaround time. Overall, Company witnessed tremendous progress in all facets including sustainable development, gender equality and inclusion.
How is the textile market at present (in India as well as globally)?
Fashion industry being the 4th largest sector in the world. It is one of the key value-creating industries for the world economy. India is the 6th largest exporter of textile and apparels in the world. The domestic Apparel and Textile industry contributes 5% to country’s earnings and 12% of the country’s export earnings. It also owns 7% of the industry’s output in value terms. India also produces silk and 95% of the world’s hand-woven fabric comes from India. In 2021-22, India achieved its highest-ever T&A export total of USD 44.4 Billion, representing a significant rise of 41% and 26%, above equivalent amounts in 2020-21 and 2019-20, respectively.
A primary driver of India’s textile sector’s growth is likely to be apparel brands’ increasing diversification of their supply chains away from China. Due to increasing manufacturing costs and growing tariff issues amidst the US-China trade war, international brands had already been seeking to reduce their supply chain dependency on China even before COVID-19. The biggest gainers in apparel manufacturing have been in Bangladesh and Vietnam, followed by India, Pakistan, and Myanmar. This shift will continue to gain momentum despite some major western economies’ fear of high inflation and recession
Among the major apparel export markets, American retailers experienced a high pent-up demand while EU, the U.K., Japan and Australia experienced prolonged lockdowns and slower opening.
What are your plans to grow your business further in 2023?
Primary goal for the coming year is to foster an environment of creativity and sustainability amid the dynamic fashion industry. Catering to individual styles sustainably without any compromising on quality while keeping the planet & safety of people is at the core of operations. Company looks forward to pursuing scalable expansions, searching for new partnerships, and streamlining processes to co-create value for everyone with the least planetary impact. Our Concept in addition to the store ability will propel this cause, and our fashion trend analysis by talented design personnel and unique modern techniques will help us craft and execute strategies based on our robust business model.
Company looks forward to achieving operational excellence through a well- managed manufacturing process that enables us to carry out bulk production. The Company balances technology, innovation, talent, planning, cross-operations, and communication to deliver value sustainably. Company strives to strengthen the sustainability initiatives like using eco-friendly fabrics with longer life span, environmental impact measurements, and solar power generation.
Outlook for 2023
According to Euromonitor, the world’s apparel retail market expectedly enjoyed a 7.5% growth in 2021-22, which increased to USD 1.84 Billion in 2022, and expects a 6.1% growth in 2022-23 to USD 1.95 Billion in 2023. It is expected that the Indian Textile & Apparel industry will witness a CAGR of 16% over the next five years, driven by greater exports and sustained domestic market demand.
Western retailers will continue to look for alternatives to China providing an enormous opportunity for Indian textile industry to regain leadership as a top exporting economy. Capex and investments are expected to pick up in the sector, while productivity and industry competitiveness will improve. With the improvement in the domestic economy and increase in exports, domestic production is expected to increase substantially to meet the demand. With favourable demographics and industry dynamics, India is poised to become a global textiles hub. Performance of other emerging countries in garment industry, will depend on their infrastructure, available manpower, raw materials, and the local government policies.
Fashion and apparel industry has been constantly adapting to keep pace with the changing demands of customers – entailing big changes in raw materials and manufacturing processes. The situation is expected to continue pushing the global retailers to rework their supply chains and lead time for creating and manufacturing fashion. The increasing penetration of digitisation over the years, which has provided a great push amid the COVID-19 restrictions, will also continue to support the textile market, through further growth of the online fashion industry. The technical textiles segment is also on a rise, led by the growing prevalence of industries like medical, construction, etc.