CMAI to hold the biggest ever garment fair on June 23

Like every year, the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) is organizing, this time the largest ever domestic apparel trade show, the 59th National Garment Fair, from June 23 to 25, 2014 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon (East), Mumbai. To be inaugurated by Union minister for

textiles, Santosh Kumar Gangwar, the fair would witness a lot of activity throughout the three days. Zohra Chatterji, IAS, Secretary (Textiles) would attend the inaugural as the Guest of Honour. CMAI has planned many initiatives relevant to the trade this time.

Elaborating on this year’s mega-event, Rahul Mehta, President, CMAI and the Vice Chairman of International Apparel Federation says, “Spread over about 4.50 lakh sq. ft. this B2B event will host 697 stalls displaying over 737 brands. This will be India’s largest ever garment fair held so far. Nearly 40,000 retailers from across the country are expected to visit the fair.”

Brand promotion activities

Over one lakh invitation cards providing information about the participating brands under men’s wear, women’s wear and kid’s wear have been sent out by exhibitors to retailers, wholesalers, agents and distributors asking them to visit their stalls, as this is a booking event for the forthcoming season. CMAI would be organizing ‘Fashion Fiesta’, where fashion shows will be held on June 23 and 24 showcasing the latest collections by brands. The USP of last three fairs: ‘business networking sessions’ will continue to be a part of this year’s fair as well.

Mehta says they are expecting business transactions worth Rs 500 crores. Upbeat about business ahead Mehta says, “Last financial year was good for the domestic industry. The overall industry grew by 10 to 12 per cent. But in the last few months, the industry had slowed down. Since there is a stable government and a positive atmosphere on the economic front, we should grow at a minimum 15 to 17 per cent.”

CMAI's initiatives to boost growth

CMAI’s has been appointed as one of the lead implementing agencies under Component II of the Integrated Skill Development Scheme (ISDS) of the Ministry of Textiles, to impart training to 35,000 trainees in the 12th Five Year Plan. CMAI plans to set up 50 apparel training centers across India with the first centre coming up at Baramati’s Hi Tech Textile Park in Maharashtra.

CMAI, in association with the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and supported by the Ministry of Textiles is working on a new initiative called ‘Size India’ to carry out a scientific, systematic anthropometric study of Indian population for the purpose of developing a standard sizing system for the Indian domestic apparel industry.

The organization has also launched ‘CMAI’s Domestic Apparel Retail Index’ to gauge the health of domestic apparel retail market and provide concrete and credible information for assessing the performance of the industry which can facilitate all stakeholders in taking informed business decisions. Based on the data collected from 100 brands from four distinct turnover segments,CMAI’s Domestic Apparel Retail Index is compiled and released once every quarter.

In association with the Development Commissioner for Handlooms (DC, Handlooms), and supported by the Ministry of Textiles, CMAI has also launched an initiative titled ‘Promotion of Handloom Products in Modern Retail’ to create a connect between handloom weavers and brands/retailers to promote handloom products. During ‘The Handloom Textile Day’ at the recent Lakme Fashion Week, collections were showcased by leading fashion designers like Krishna Mehta and Anita Dongre. CMAI, in association with DC, Handlooms, also organized ‘Buyer-Seller Meets’ in Delhi and Mumbai in April and May 2014, which were well attended by retailers and brands.