New Delhi, Aug 13: Recent fashion weeks and marriage festivals notwithstanding, industry insiders feel lack of infrastructure and lukewarm response from big business houses is hampering the growth of Indian fashion industry. It works more or less as a cottage industry where designers have to take care of everything right from creation to marketing and unless major houses back them up it would be difficult for them to bloom, they say.
"This industry has tremendous growth potential. The combined turnover from both domestic and foreign trade can touch more than Rs 10 billion in the coming years," Vinod Kaul, Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) executive director says.
"But for achieving this target we need big investments. Now the industry is functioning like a cottage industry. Corporatisation of the industry, on the same lines what we see in foreign countries, is needed," he says.
Fashion industry, part of the bigger apparel industry worth more than Rs 60,000 crore, is comparatively new and had last year registered an annual turnover of about Rs 200 crore. It is expected to post a modest 30 per cent growth this year.
But to register a continuous upward growth rate, it needs forward and backward linkages and tie-ups with established business houses, he says. Bureau Report