International Textile

Japan calling tirupur textile sme exporters

After occupying a major share of the Western markets such as the US, the UK and Europe in the hosiery and knitwear sectors, Tirupur textile exporters are now busy assessing the consumer-buying behaviour and market preferences in Japan. The country is emerging as a favoured export destination for several small and mid-sized textile firms as it offers immense scope and holds out the promise of greater returns for apparel exporters. The idea of tapping the Japanese market has largely been triggered by the mounting recessionary pressures, which are making it difficult for the Indian SME textile exporters to retain their share in the traditional export markets. Shift in focus Analysts, largely, blame the slowdown for prompting the Tirupur SME textile exporters to shift their focus to emerging countries such as Japan, South Africa and the Middle East. The recession has eaten into the volume and the profit margins of the small textile exporters supplying products to the US, the UK and Europe. Over the past few months, there has been more than 30% fall in the orders placed with the Tirupur knitwear cluster by buyers in the European Union and the US, which accounts for 55% and 30%, respectively, of the total textile exports from the region. “The hostile trading conditions, consistent fall in orders and protectionism practised by the US and the European countries have prompted Tirupur textile exporters to explore opportunities in lucrative markets like Japan,” said D Dasgupta, Financial Analyst at CMC in Kolkata. Furthermore, interest shown by some of the big Japanese apparel retailers to source products from Tirupur textile units, ample scope in the high potential Japanese market and the promise of government support from both nations are encouraging apparel exporters to assess the business opportunities in the ‘land of the rising sun’. “The opportunity to make inroads into newer markets like Japan is exciting for the textile SMEs since so far a very small and insignificant share of this lucrative market has been captured by the Indian enterprises. Therefore, there remains immense scope for the Indian SMEs to offer high-quality knitwear and Textile Products to help them gain a larger foothold in this market,” said S Ramasamy, Proprietor of Aalfa products, a small-sized manufacturer of hosiery items in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu. The SME Textile Exporters in the region, planning to enter the Japanese market, can also seek help from the textiles ministry, which is planning to forge a tie-up between India's National Institute of Fashion Technology and National Fashion School in Japan. This collaboration will offer new entrants a better understanding of the Japanese market. However, going forward, Indian SMEs planning to foray into Japan with their product basket need to modify their conventional business models and maintain high-quality standards to carve a niche in this emerging market. For more detail on Toys Manufacturers log on to http://www.bizxchange.in