Krishna Lamicoat Pvt. Ltd. is based in Bengaluru, India. Ltd., is one of the foremost producers of specialty papers and films for the garment industry, both in terms of quantity and quality and is a well-established name across global apparel manufacturing destinations – from Bangladesh to Tunisia.
Krishna Lamicoat Pvt. Ltd. was founded by visionary Amar Chhajer, who combined technical knowledge, business acumen, and a natural spirit of discovery. This foundation is based on honesty and innovation. Ltd., has come of the age from its one-room existence to what it is today – the largest supplier amongst the SAARC nations even as it sets its sight to dominate the world market.
What’s more, recognising the potential to create and deliver specialty products for this rapidly growing industry, Krishna Lamicoat worked closely with CAD/CAM developers like Lectra (France) and Gerber Technologies (USA), to develop the right machinery and products and thus came into being Krishna Lamicoat Specialty Papers and Films (established in 1997).
The company has also been a dynamic force in the accessory market, offering readymade BIAS, straight-cut fabric, waistbands, and other accessories.
Apparel Resources (AR). Catch up to the dynamic Ashok Chhajer (Director of Krishna Lamicoat Pvt. Ltd.Krishna Lamicoat, a Dhaka-based garment manufacturer, spoke to me recently about his opinions and perspectives on Bangladesh.
The highlights of our extensive interaction with Krishna Lamicoat’s dynamic Director are listed below.
AR: Tell us how do you envision the market for apparel changing after the Pandemic.
Ashok Chhajer: The market is very fluid at the moment and there isn’t much of stability so as to say since sentiments are down. However, I think the market will recover after May-June.
People stopped buying during the Covid-19 epidemic. Once it was over, however, sales went up. However, sales have slowed down again as retailers and brands hold stocks that they need to sell first. Everybody wants to stay safe especially with rumours about a possible pandemic wave, and more so after what happened recently in China (fresh outbreak of Coronavirus).
Fear psychosis is driving this market, and I suspect it will continue for at least another 2 to 3 months. These developments have had an impact on the garment industry in one way or another. The market is currently in turmoil, even though many large companies report that they are having trouble filling work orders.
AR: Coronavirus seems to have affected everyone. But what about Krishna Lamicoat, who is also suffering from the virus?
Ashok Chhajer: We have been blessed by the pandemic. I’ll tell you why. Many businesses did not have anything to do in the face of the pandemic, even though they tried to save money wherever possible. It was a great opportunity for us to communicate with our customers, explain and educate them about how they could save money.
This gave us the time and space to consider, see areas of opportunity, eliminate bottlenecks, refine things, consolidate operations, and achieve maximum results.
AR: Bangladesh is an important global player in apparel exports and manufacturing. What significance does it hold from Krishna Lamicoat’s perspective?
Ashok Chhajer: Bangladesh remains one of our principal markets. I’m confident that Bangladesh will be an important market in the future for at least 5-10 more years. Today, Bangladesh’s apparel exports stand somewhere around US $ 47 billion and they plan to take it to US $ 100 billion by 2030, so you can very well understand the opportunities that are on offer.
China, which remains the top global producer and exporter, is now losing ground. As it looks up the value-chain, its main focus is shifting from apparel to other areas.
Vietnam has recently lost some of the shine it once had.
Another big factor behind Bangladesh’s mercurial rise and its growth prospect is buyers’ unwavering faith in Bangladesh, after all the country as a whole is dependent on the apparel industry even as 80 per cent of its GDP comes from the apparel sector. It is the bloodline of the country’s economy.
Bangladesh is also slowly evolving and growing to include the upper to mid-middle segments.
AR: Do you have a particular problem that you’d like to discuss?
Ashok Chhajer: The paper import duty is approximately 57%. But the best thing is that India can import from Bangladesh duty-free. We are also considering establishing a bonded warehouse. However, there are many restrictions that must be followed. For example, if we establish a warehouse within a specific economic zone we cannot supply anyone outside of the area.
AR: Why don’t start a manufacturing unit instead?
Ashok Chhajer: It won’t make business sense, as there aren’t enough quality raw materials in this country. We are strict about quality control and our standards. Besides, if we have to import raw materials, it’ll still not work out due to the additional duty that we have to pay on imports.
AR: Are there any growth goals you’ve set for Krishna Lamicoat of Bangladesh?
Ashok Chhajer: Our goal is to double our business and have set a one-year timeline. I am of the opinion that unless you are not doubling every year, you are wasting your time as business normally grows by around 15 per cent – 20 per cent anyways, so one needs to set a little more challenging target.
AR: Given the price-sensitive nature of the industry, don’t you think Chinese players have an advantage over others?
Ashok Chhajer: If you compare Chinese products to ours today, they would cost more. Although our products might appear more expensive than the ones offered by local companies, when we take out the wastage percentage ours will be 10 percent cheaper.
Today, in spite of Bangladesh having 7-8 players in the product categories that we are into, they haven’t been able to establish the right quality of products (especially perforated paper). Because the majority of their equipment is from China, the hole quality and consistency is not perfect.
Chinese equipment, as is very well known, works perfectly initially say for about 6 months to one year and then you can see deterioration in terms of the quality of products that they churn out and since by then one must have already invested in the machines, there’s little scope for course correction.
We are able stand out from the rest of the pack because of the high quality of our machines and products.
Local producers are inconsistent in their quality control and paper binding. The industry needs to be educated in this area. There are also some mistakes that you need to avoid. In some cases, there is an understanding between the parties concerned and one doesn’t usually always get the exact volume of product (paper) they order, which does not happen when you buy from us.
We are now consciously focusing on the top 10% of our customers because of the complexities. Many countries give 20% of people 80 percent of the business while 20% are allowed to keep 20%. We aim to reach the top 10%. Although this is a difficult task, once you are there things get easier.
When you have that eagerness to grow you’ll find solutions and that is exactly what we are doing as we build smaller goals to achieve the bigger objective.
In business, innovation is essential. Paper is one of those products that most garment manufacturers don’t think much about. However, they have to consider the vital raw materials needed for making clothes. They are often late ordering paper, which in the end affects their delivery times. This is why we analyze each client’s usage patterns and prepare stock for them. We can still ship papers to them even if they place late orders. We have been able to serve our clients more effectively and also formed a special bond with them.