Celeb-influence creating a pseudo-demand in Khadi industry
Updated: Jan 21, 2016 03:43:32pm
New Delhi, Jan 21 (KNN) Khadi has been given the title of the fabric of nation as act of paying homage to Gandhi. But the upsurge in wide varieties of synthetic cloth materials has shadowed the popularity of khadi. This has been evident by the downfall in the demand for the fabric. Along with that, the drastic hike in the cloth price has pushed the industry to a state of concern.
KNN caught up with various Khadi manufacturers and the exporters over the nation to extract the reason for the occurrence of the phenomena.
“The demand ok Khadi is declining over time. We have been observing a drastic fall in the demand in India, as well as abroad” said Javitri Shakya , Proprietor of M S Exports. Shakya deals in manufacturing and exports of khadi textiles.
Agreeing to the statement, Vijay Kataria of Kataria Groups specified that price hike in the material is rooted to the high costs demanded by the weavers. “The reason behind khadi being expensive is because of the high rates offered to us by the weavers” kataria told us. “To cover the high marginal cost, we are forced to increase the price” he added.
Complemented with the high price, another issue hovering over the industry is that of the retreating popularity of the material. Fading fame of khadi can be attributed to the availability of the new synthetic materials that are more durable tagged with much lower price in comparison to Khadi.
KNN had a talk with Sahil Choksi, Owner of Ayushman Group of Companies which is a major exporter of Khadi merchandises. “First of all, the increase in overall inflation has contributed to the phenomena to some extent. Specifically, Khadi was cheap initially. But the lesser durability of the Khadi clothes has decreased its admiration among the customers,”Choksi expressed his opinion.
“The overall expenditure of buying the expensive khadi cloth material accompanied by the stitching price makes the clothes overall expensive. Such high cost in spite of the lower durability has made khadi less attractive to customers economically. The utility value of khadi hasn’t been sustained. The arrivals of the new cloth materials which are long lasting and provide better finishing at cheaper rate are gaining popularity nowadays,” he further added.
From our discussion with the exporters, it was deduced that the exports of Khadi have been severely affected too. Supplemented with the global slowdown of the exports, khadi has experienced a fall of more than 50 per cent. In spite of the continuous efforts undertaken by association and designers , there has been no significant change in the sale. Narendra Modi has been on a roll in pushing the sales and popularity of Khadi, but as per our talk with the companies proficient in the concerned sector, it has been in vain.
“The promotion of khadi by the popular designers and Modi as well , have increased the demand to some extent. But overall the demand still hasn’t increased,” said Kataria.
Further commenting on the matter, Choksi said, “The usage of Khadi by the influential people has made khadi even more expensive. The increase in demand by khadi has been observed only in the 2-3 per cent of the population belonging to the upper class. But the display of khadi as iconic fashion trend has led to an increase in price for all, thereby an overall fall in demand”. The industry refers to this as pseudo-demand.
Cause of this pseudo demand can be attributed to the fact that the momentum given by the influential icons stays limited to a minor fraction of the population rather than inflicting effect on the mass. Some manufacturers also hold the view that these promotion strategies and celebrity influence has made khadi even more expensive.
“The efforts of promoting khadi by the associations and the designers have inflicted in manufactures’ mind in an opposite way” Choksi told us. “Realising the expansion in popularity of the Khadi, the manufacturers are inflating the price over what the actual price is. They aren’t ready to sell the the material at lower price” he went on further.
Lack of substantial government policies to uplift the industry is bothering the manufacturers overall the nation. Further, they claim that act of promotions conducted by the government are just the “show-off”.
“Government is making no effort in upliftment of the sector. Rather, it appears that they are more interested in showing-off via promoting” said Choksi expressing his opinion over the subject.
As per the predictions in the industry, the situation of pseudo-demand is going to continue for several more years before the manufacturers realise the lack in real demand.
“The situation will continue for coming few years. The price might fall thereafter” Choksi said. He concluded by making the statement on the fate of Khadi price. “The virtual demand will disappear in few years. The manufacturers will realise that the demand is actually very low in comparison to what appeared. Thus, if they won’t reduce the price, ultimately they would be recurring loss” he said. (KNN Bureau)
KNN caught up with various Khadi manufacturers and the exporters over the nation to extract the reason for the occurrence of the phenomena.
“The demand ok Khadi is declining over time. We have been observing a drastic fall in the demand in India, as well as abroad” said Javitri Shakya , Proprietor of M S Exports. Shakya deals in manufacturing and exports of khadi textiles.
Agreeing to the statement, Vijay Kataria of Kataria Groups specified that price hike in the material is rooted to the high costs demanded by the weavers. “The reason behind khadi being expensive is because of the high rates offered to us by the weavers” kataria told us. “To cover the high marginal cost, we are forced to increase the price” he added.
Complemented with the high price, another issue hovering over the industry is that of the retreating popularity of the material. Fading fame of khadi can be attributed to the availability of the new synthetic materials that are more durable tagged with much lower price in comparison to Khadi.
KNN had a talk with Sahil Choksi, Owner of Ayushman Group of Companies which is a major exporter of Khadi merchandises. “First of all, the increase in overall inflation has contributed to the phenomena to some extent. Specifically, Khadi was cheap initially. But the lesser durability of the Khadi clothes has decreased its admiration among the customers,”Choksi expressed his opinion.
“The overall expenditure of buying the expensive khadi cloth material accompanied by the stitching price makes the clothes overall expensive. Such high cost in spite of the lower durability has made khadi less attractive to customers economically. The utility value of khadi hasn’t been sustained. The arrivals of the new cloth materials which are long lasting and provide better finishing at cheaper rate are gaining popularity nowadays,” he further added.
From our discussion with the exporters, it was deduced that the exports of Khadi have been severely affected too. Supplemented with the global slowdown of the exports, khadi has experienced a fall of more than 50 per cent. In spite of the continuous efforts undertaken by association and designers , there has been no significant change in the sale. Narendra Modi has been on a roll in pushing the sales and popularity of Khadi, but as per our talk with the companies proficient in the concerned sector, it has been in vain.
“The promotion of khadi by the popular designers and Modi as well , have increased the demand to some extent. But overall the demand still hasn’t increased,” said Kataria.
Further commenting on the matter, Choksi said, “The usage of Khadi by the influential people has made khadi even more expensive. The increase in demand by khadi has been observed only in the 2-3 per cent of the population belonging to the upper class. But the display of khadi as iconic fashion trend has led to an increase in price for all, thereby an overall fall in demand”. The industry refers to this as pseudo-demand.
Cause of this pseudo demand can be attributed to the fact that the momentum given by the influential icons stays limited to a minor fraction of the population rather than inflicting effect on the mass. Some manufacturers also hold the view that these promotion strategies and celebrity influence has made khadi even more expensive.
“The efforts of promoting khadi by the associations and the designers have inflicted in manufactures’ mind in an opposite way” Choksi told us. “Realising the expansion in popularity of the Khadi, the manufacturers are inflating the price over what the actual price is. They aren’t ready to sell the the material at lower price” he went on further.
Lack of substantial government policies to uplift the industry is bothering the manufacturers overall the nation. Further, they claim that act of promotions conducted by the government are just the “show-off”.
“Government is making no effort in upliftment of the sector. Rather, it appears that they are more interested in showing-off via promoting” said Choksi expressing his opinion over the subject.
As per the predictions in the industry, the situation of pseudo-demand is going to continue for several more years before the manufacturers realise the lack in real demand.
“The situation will continue for coming few years. The price might fall thereafter” Choksi said. He concluded by making the statement on the fate of Khadi price. “The virtual demand will disappear in few years. The manufacturers will realise that the demand is actually very low in comparison to what appeared. Thus, if they won’t reduce the price, ultimately they would be recurring loss” he said. (KNN Bureau)
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