The industry is looking for directions to improve its manufacturing and sourcing skills. Third Eyesight is providing important inputs for the same by organizing series of workshops and training sessions for the industry.

The apparel and textile industry has grown and matured a lot over the last few years – from an unorganized to an organized sector. However, this in turn has increased the need for constant improvement and upgradation of knowledge and skills. Keeping this in mind, various companies and consulting agencies are these days conducting regular workshops and training sessions and are trying their best to contribute to the growth of industry. Third Eyesight, a Delhi-based consulting firm, is following the same track and has taken the job of organizing a series of workshops related to the industry. The firm recently presented its first series of industry-focused workshops and seminars under the tag name Third Eyesight Knowledge Series@ on Textile Facts &Fabric Sourcing. The Third Eyesight Knowledge Series@ comprises several workshops, designed and developed to help functiona heads, line managers and executives, who upgrade themselves and attain product expertise. Moreover, the workshops have been designed as an integrated series where each module is complete and self-contained that allows participants the flexibility to attend either complete series or select independent modules according to their requirements.
The first part of series that was held in Delhi focused on clothing, textile and fashion industry. It covered topics related to Product Development, Supply Chain Management, Fabric Sourcing, Merchandise Buying and Planning, Business Communication and Fashion Brand Management. The prime
The workshops have been designed as an integrated series where each module is complete and selfcontained that allows panicipants the flexibilitvto aRend either complete series or select independent modules
objective of the event was to impart information about fabrics that are usually used by the apparel industry; identify the sources of these fabrics in the domestic and international source markets; understand costing of textiles ba1>edon the value addition and finishing processes carried out on them and acknowledged participants about end uses of textiles.
Sharmila Katre, Consultant at Third Eyesight, has been associated with the Clothing and Textile Industry for the last 28 years, conducting programmes and enlightening the participants about the facets of this industry. She has been teaching the subject at various fashion institutes including the NIFT,Pearl Academy and the Institute of Home Economics in Delhi.
Professionals from different brands, retail business and those engaged in design and product development participated at the event and appreciated the content of the workshop and the way concepts were presented. They felt that topics were very current and relevant to their requirements. Many mentioned that the workshop helped them in acquiring understanding of the basic and primary raw material, and resource of the business in their own company. Participants liked the one-onone interaction sessions between the workshops as they realized that many problems faced by them were common across the industry and were able to share opinions and suggested solutions. The next workshop in the Third Eyesight Knowledge Series@ would focus on Creating and Managing Fashion Brands and will be held at the ITC Sheraton, Delhi on 23rdAugust.

Source: ApparelOnline

By Rasul Bailay

MINT (Exclusive Partner The Wall Street Journal)

NEW DELHI, 11 August 2008

As costs rise and economic growth slows, Indian retailers are looking at ways to trim expenses and protect their profits.
Pantaloon India Ltd, the country’s largest listed retailer, has begun integrating the management, marketing, human resources, or HR, and information technology, or IT, departments of its units into one. The company says this one step will help it save around Rs. 165 crore (Rs. 1.65 billion) a year.

“It is only cost and efficiency that we are focusing on now,” said Kishore Biyani, managing director of Pantaloon. “Instead of having separate management, administration, HR and IT teams for different business units, we are merging them. So all the smaller businesses are getting managerially integrated into the larger ones.”

This essentially means the company will have a common HR team, one IT team and one management for all its business units. Pantaloon is also planning to prune its advertising budget, reduce electricity bills and cut packaging costs.

The company recorded a revenue of Rs. 3,236 crore (Rs. 32.36 billion) and net profit of Rs. 120 crore (Rs. 1.2 billion) in the business year ended June 2007.

Inflation, which has jumped to a more than a 13-year high of 12.01%, on the back of a surge in food and fuel prices, increasing interest rates and concerns of a slowdown in consumer spending, are for the first time casting a shadow on the ambitious expansion plans of organized retail companies.

Rapid economic growth in the past three years had prompted retailers to step up spending on opening new outlets, hike marketing and advertising budgets and spurred a frenzied hiring spree.

“Unlike mom-and-pop stores, large retail formats have much higher cost obligations,” said Devangshu Dutta, chief executive of retail consultancy firm Third Eyesight, based in Gurgaon. “Organizations with larger cost heads will be first to get hit in case of a slowdown.”

Shoppers Stop Ltd, the country’s No. 2 listed retailer, said it was studying options for cost rationalization and will take steps to prune overheads. “If the company fails to achieve its sales target, then there is a possibility of reducing costs to that the company’s revenue target is protected,” said C.B. Navalkar, chief financial officer at Shoppers Stop.

A recent study by Mumbai-based Edelweiss Securities Ltd said Pantaloon’s “same store”—stores that have existed for more than a year—grew between 11% and 12% during July 2007 and May 2008, compared with 16-17% a year ago.

Though Shoppers Stop maintained the same stores growth was 20% in fiscal year ended March 2008, Edelweiss says it came mainly from price increases rather than growth in volumes.

Subhiksha Trading Services Ltd, which operates the country’s largest chain of discount stores, said it had no special plans to prune costs. “We are a low-cost (retailer) and cost- cutting is a perpetual part of our life,” said R. Subramanian, its managing director.

Reliance Retail Ltd said the company is still in investment mode and has no plans to launch any cost-cutting drive. “For us, it’s business as usual,” said a top Reliance official, asking not to be identified.

Some retailers are even seeing a silver lining in the economic slowdown. Sky-rocketing real estate rentals, which had doubled in the last three years, have stabilized. “There is a perception among the retailers that there might be a slowdown and (rental) prices might cool off,” says Shubhranshu Pani, president for retail services at real estate consultancy TrammellCrow Megharaj. “Some of them are optimistic and feel that in some pockets the prices will fall.”

The Third Eyesight Knowledge Series© comprises of workshops designed and developed to help functional heads, line managers and executives refresh and upgrade functional and product expertise.  

Third Eyesight’s next workshop in this series is focussed on Creating & Managing Lifestyle and Fashion Brands.

IS THIS FOR YOU?

This workshop will be useful to you, if you are 

• a brand owner wanting to look at growing your scale
• a manufacturer wanting to add value to your products and to gain additional margins
• a retailer wanting to invest in your own brands / private label
• a brand manager looking to expand the footprint of your brand over more products
• an entrepreneur wanting to launch a new brand
• an investor who wants to understand how brands create value 
• an exporter or buying office professional wanting to understand your customers and markets better
• a brand owner and believe that your business is undervalued
• a designer wanting to scale the business beyond yourself
• a marketing or sales professional looking to add value to your skill-base
• a service provider working with the lifestyle and fashion sector
• a teacher or researcher looking at understanding the process of brand development

THE WORKSHOP CONTENT

This workshop will help participants in understanding:

• the basics of lifestyle brands and their positioning in the lifestyle consumer goods industry
• the development of the brand ethos
• how to translate the brand intangibles into reality,
• how to attract and retain new customers in the competitive environment, and
• how to sustain and nurture the brand value over a period of time

REGISTRATIONS

Click Here or Call +91 (124) 4293478 or 4030162