International Textile

Ludhiana textile cluster makes strategic shifts to beat downturn

After suffering for almost a year on account of labour shortages and plunging overseas and domestic sales, the Ludhiana textile cluster has decided to fight the recessionary demons through both strategic and tactical responses. Textile units are rewriting governing practices to cope with the adverse effects of the slowdown. According to the findings of a recently conducted study, MSME textile clusters in Ludhiana are reviewing their business strategies to find viable solutions to their existing problems, which largely arose due to the recession. The study was commissioned by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and conducted by the Federation of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME) in association with Market Insight Consultants. Finding a way out The MSME Ludhiana textile cluster is now making strategic shifts in their focus and turning to the domestic market for better returns and healthy offtake in the current financial year. Besides, textile firms with diversified businesses have also begun focusing on other areas of activity in order to reduce their dependence on textiles. “Textile SMEs in the cluster have to make sustained efforts to invest in new ventures and reduce their reliance on the export market. To deal with the recessionary pressures such as contraction of export orders, delayed payments for goods exported and uncertainties in future contracts, small textile units need to make planned shifts,” said G Kaul, proprietor of Trade Centre, a small-sized textile trading agency in Ludhiana. Smaller textile units are making attempts to build their own brands and strengthen their foothold, while some others are taking up strategic initiatives to gain core competencies in retail marketing. Upgrading machinery and skill training sessions have been set in motion to resolve the labour shortage problem. “The textile units need to train the local labour force, to reduce dependence on migrant labour. The implementation of special schemes for creating greater awareness among the labourers of small and mid-sized units will help increase their operational efficiency and produce high-quality products,” said V Laddha, Saroj Garments, a supplier of textile and apparel garments in Amritsar, Punjab. Moreover, the government’s plans to make significant investments in setting up local training institutes and opening public-private-partnership (PPP) model-based institutes can help in developing highly skilled labour within the cluster. Strategic shifts in focus by SMEs in the Ludhiana textile cluster are expected to help the Textiles Manufacturers industry in the region weather the financial storm. For more detail on India Business News log on to http://www.bizxchange.in