Apparel Manufacturers of India, a group of manufacturers and traders, on Tuesday inaugurated their first zonal fair at Hitex Exhibition Centre in Hyderabad.
The 13th edition of the fair was inaugurated by Suresh Raja Mouli, Director, RS Brothers Pvt Ltd (Telangana). The fair will see the coming together of over 2,000 retailers from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the next three days.
TP Seetharaman, Executive Director, Kalyan Silks (Kerala), expressed concerns over the alleged neglect of the country’s apparel sector and called for the need to work together to get the concerns addressed. He said that while the GST brought down prices, the market is faced with money flow crunch, especially in the businesses such as garments, gold, real estate. “The small players are the one who are reeling in crisis. Footfalls are down. Hopefully, we should see brighter business environment in the next financial year,” he said. Nikhil Furia, Key Organiser, Apparel Manufacturers of India, said, “Market has not been great for the last few months but is picking up. The wedding season ahead should bring back the business.”
The association seeks to bridge the gap between manufacturers, retailers, agents and suppliers and build a robust community. So far, the association conducted five fairs in Chennai, six in Kochi and one in Hyderabad over the last 2 years.