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Sravanthi Challapalli

Chennai May 16 Munch Design, a part of the Prateek Apparels group, is looking to expand its accessories design business as well as design more for the European market, directly or through Indian exporters.

Mr Karunesh Vohra, CEO and Principal Designer of Munch, a three-year-old firm that provides integrated fashion design solutions to the apparel, accessories, textile and associated industries, told Business Line that the company will actively scout for more business now. Its clients current and past include lifestyle store Westside, ITC's John Players, Taj Hotels, TVS Scooty and German brand Orsay.

India may not be able to compete with countries such as China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka when it comes to price and speed-to-market but it has huge advantages in its craft, service orientation, language capabilities and its intellect, Mr Vohra said. Outsourcing apparel design from Europe, as it tends to happen, is very costly but India offers a cost advantage as well. "Our designers' ability is on par with their European counterparts, and in graphics, our skills are superior," he said.

Mr Vohra said professional and holistic apparel design is at a nascent stage in India. It's only in the last three or four years that businesses have begun to realise design's importance as a `business enabler' but there's a long way to go and mindsets to change before they begin to act on this knowledge, he added.

Munch covers a suite of services including trend forecasting, design of apparel, textile, graphics, accessories and packaging, market research and sampling. It has its own high-end brand of prêt clothing called Moh which retails at select stores.

More Stories on : Outlook | Readymade Garments

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