Knitting dreams: How a son of textile mill worker spun Rs 1,400 cr apparel empire

India’s textile and apparel exports stood at $44.4 billion in the financial year 2022, a year-on-year increase of 41 per cent. India, the third largest exporter, holds 4.6 per cent share of the global trade in textile and apparel. On the back of various government initiatives and foreign direct investment worth $4.31 billion over two decades, India’s textile market is expected to reach $209 billion by 2029. The words, India and textile have been synonymous over centuries. And, what has made this possible? Entrepreneurs, textile mill workers, artisans and others associated with this industry are the one’s keeping the country’s textile spirit alive.

Bizz Buzz interviewed N Chandran the founder of Eastman Exports, who has been in the garment industry for nearly five decades, to learn about his journey and India’s garment and apparel narrative. Tamil Nadu-based Eastman Exports operates a state-of-the-art design studio equipped with virtual fit simulation, and graphic design, a spinning facility housing modern equipments, mill equipped with autoconers, knitting plants with circular, flat knitting machines and collar knitting, advanced HTHP dyeing division, rotary printing machines, embroidery division, green certified production facilities, elastic division, quality testing laboratory, research and development division, and they also produce compact yarn, organic cotton among others

What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?

My parents were textile mill workers. Being born and raised in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, highly popular for knitwear, I grew up with a fascination for colours. While I studied history, economics and political science at the university, I also represented the institution in various sports. I would always look forward to such events so that I could wear multi-colour vests. That was when I realised my fate was knit closely with garments and colours. Soon after my graduation, I started the business in 1975. Tiruppur is known for its entrepreneurial spirit. The extraordinary stories of entrepreneurs, especially in the knitwear industry, amazed me and that inspired me to start my own business. Given the fact that the entire household was dependent on the wages earned from the textile industry, it naturally became my first choice and I decided to take the plunge.

What was your first experience with textile as an entrepreneur?

I started with a humble lab from home and used household utensils. I then bought hand-operated machines for dyeing clothes. There were quite a few trials and errors. Though the resources were scarce, I focused on quality, and I believe that worked in my favour. I started getting orders from domestic and foreign buyers for colour processing and dyeing. Soon, I realised that though Tiruppur was a hub of white products, there was acute shortage of mechanised, modernised dyeing units to address the export demand. I tried to fill this void and floated a modern dyeing company named India Dyeing. Eastman Processing, Colorkraft, India Processing Chennai, etc, followed. The company quickly earned a place in the region as one of the best dyeing houses for exports. Buoyed by the success, I dived into the export sector. In 1983, Eastman Exports was born.

Was having a family member in apparel export business useful?

My brothers were working in the industry, and they joined me later at different stages. Together, we worked our way up as nothing came easy. In 1984, just a year after we launched Eastman Exports, there was a major strike in the region. However, we continued to make some shipments which helped us gain immense confidence and led us towards building multiple capabilities. Our business flourished.

What strategy supported your growth in the early stage of business?

The resilience we showed during the strike in 1984 helped us grow, in fact we started manufacturing in large scale 1987 onwards. By then, we had begun to build the company as a vertically integrated entity, bringing all processes – right from yarn to manufacturing of readymade garments – under one umbrella. We gradually established factories in and around Chennai for woven garments. In the early 2000s, we shifted our operations from Chennai to Tiruppur. Since then, main focus is on Tiruppur and on knitted garments. With time, we grew to the level we are today.

How has expectation of your clients changed over the years?

We are glad as well as fortunate to have built robust relationships with our clients and our decades-old ties with most of them are a testimony to this. One major aspect that has helped us stay relevant is the quick turnaround time. Being a vertically integrated company, we are fully equipped to cater to their demands efficiently. Another important aspect is our in-house design capabilities. More than two-thirds of our designs are readily accepted by the brands, which is much higher than the industry standards. Constant learning, staying relevant and timely service has helped us in not only catering to the changing requirements of the industry but also consolidating our bonds with the clients.

Tell us about your product categories and export market?

We started off with woven and knits apparels. Currently, more than 90 per cent of our manufactured and exported products are knits. We exported our first product to the US. Currently our largest market is the US with over 50 per cent share, followed by Europe, UK and others. In India, we have our own brand called Huetrap, and we sell it via omnichannel. We also manufacture for other leading e-commerce platforms. This business is relatively very small compared to our export business.

Tell us about your first investment and the current financials…

Since we started from garage, initial investment was minuscule. It was mainly my savings. Last financial year we closed with a turnover of more than Rs 1,400 crore with profit at par with industry standards. As I mentioned domestic business is on very nascent stage but it is adding significantly to our overall business. Currently, we have a little over 16,000 people working with us.

What are your plans going ahead?

We are evaluating few projects like improving our fabric capabilities, synthetics, to focus more on sustainable fabric. By doing all of this, customer centricity is going to remain priority.

What are the challenges striking textile and apparel industry?

One of the major challenges is intense competition from neighbouring countries such as China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Indian companies are currently trying to resist their monopoly in the lower-priced garment market while battling a lack of technology and infrastructure development. This is coupled with increasing raw material prices. Additionally, the West is strengthening its commitment to sustainability and not many companies are ready for this change, yet. As Eastman Exports focuses on mid to high-fashion apparel, the competition is relatively less. Also, our commitment to responsible and green manufacturing since the beginning has helped us be fully compliant with the norms.

What is your take on India’s apparel industry and its growth compared to other competitive markets?

India holds a four per cent share of the global textiles and apparel trade. In India’s overall exports basket in 2021-22, the textiles and apparel share was 10.33 per cent. Besides this, the textiles and apparel industry is also the country’s second largest employer of rural women after agriculture. The country’s relatively better skilled workforce, diverse textile infrastructure, government support, sustainability initiatives, and global competitiveness give it a distinctive advantage over others. Additionally, India stands to gain from the West’s intensifying China+1 strategy and the prevailing tension in Bangladesh’s textile manufacturing and exporting space. However, we need to constantly innovate and improve our infrastructure and skills in order to capitalise on these opportunities.

The support this sector looks forward to while competing with other countries?

The government has been supporting the textile industry as much as possible to make India more competitive in the global market. Measures such as allowing 100 per cent FDI (automatic route), PLI scheme, PM MITRA parks, emphasis on synthetic fibre, Free Trade Agreements, extension of Scheme for Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies on Export of Garments and Made-ups (RoSCTL) until 2024, have really helped. We look forward to the impending FTAs, especially with UK and European Union.

After 48 years in the industry, what remains to be accomplished?

We want to be the preferred supplier to the world’s leading brands and retailers with ethical practices.

The garment industry for long has faced backlash for poor treatment of its workers. Did an incident have to occur at your facility to trigger a change?

Our company has always been committed to ethical and responsible business practices, yet, we recognise that there are challenges within the industry that needs to be addressed. We have undertaken comprehensive measures to address issues such as fair wages, reasonable working hours, and a safe and respectful working environment. In fact, we have gone the extra mile in setting up creche facilities, offering the workers scholarships, ensuring their safe travel to work and back home, etc. We also work closely with them to improve their lifestyle. We also provide full freedom of movement to them. For any forward thinking, progressive employer, enhancing the experience of employees and workers is always a progress.

The learning’s from your experience that could be a take away for the current /coming generation entering this industry?

Prioritise authenticity and this will take you a long way. Many businesses in this industry face scrutiny for allegations of greenwashing. I understand implementing green manufacturing processes incurs significant costs, and this is where multiple stakeholders will need to pitch in. Additionally, committing to continuous learning will empower them to stay ahead of the curve and navigate situations comfortably on their path to success.