U.S. Based Textile Company To Launch Products In India

BANGALORE: Leading U.S.-based home textile company Nextt, which is headed by an Indian, has decided to participate in the 'Make in India' initiative by launching its products in the country early next year.

The company is a supplier of home textiles, garments, apparel fabrics and polyester yarns to major retailers like Walmart, Kohl's, Dillard's, JCPenney and Target.

"Besides having my roots in India, the new government's 'Make in India' initiative provides an opportunity to make India a key part of our strategy. Textile sector is an important employment generator in India after agriculture and will always remain crucial to Indian economy," says Nextt CEO Arun Agarwal.

"We are in discussions with multiple levels of retail channels and hoping to launch our brands in India in the first quarter of 2016. Our manufacturing partnership with Alok Industries gives us an advantage," he told.

The focus market area of Nextt in India would be the millennial generation, which "appreciates quality and brands, but still seeks value", he says.

The $500 million company, which sells popular brands like Raymond Waites, Trina Turk, Kathy Ireland and Jessica McClintock, does 99 per cent of its sourcing from India with only micro fibres procured from China.

Agarwal plans to innovate its home textiles range by marketing them as fashion products and not as commodities in India.

"One thing I have done is combining design with functionality to have a winning combination. A well designed product does not have to cost more. And that is what you will see from us," he says, adding "we will raise the bar for customer expectation in terms of design and quality of products."

The Indian consumer, according to him, is very vibrant and demanding at the same time.

"Multinationals have failed when they took Indian consumers for granted. We have the advantage of knowing this consumer and bringing global brands and product to them and our marketing approach will reflect that," he says.
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