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'Entrepreneurship is vital for success in global
business'
 Yogesh
Malhotra, Manager,
ICRA (Investment Information & Credit Rating Agency)
To say the least, entreprenuership, the zeal to excel and perform better
than before was rewarded to a lower extent in a quota-ridden world. It
would not be wrong to say that entrepreneurship was practically dead in
quota ridden textile trading world. To earn profits, all that a player
required earlier was to produce according to quotas and since, its sales
could not exceed quotas, its business skills were of limited use. In the
quota-free market, the rewards are unlimited for an efficient player while
the inefficient player, to whom also earlier the business was assured
would find it tough to survive. The accession of textile trade to the
WTO presents both an opportunity and a challenge to the developing world.
While there are now new opportunities of free markets, competition among
the developing countries has also increased. As a result of which the
share of the poor performers would be taken away by the good ones. Prior
to accession of textile trade to WTO, the quality was not the imperative
concern. However, now meeting quality norms of the buyers (outsourcers)
would be the critical test. In a deregulated market, players would be
required to build their own business competitive advantages to succeed.
The dyes, buttons and the overall design (whether adhering to fashion
trends) would be crucial determinant of the performance and would directly
add to the bottomline. The high net worth companies, which become profitable
would have further opportunities to grow and add up. It is the customer
who will decide and the players who can meet customer’s desires at
the right price would win the war for the new market. Entire value chain,
logistics, fashion design, level of integration, quality of finished fabric
and apparel would all be important and whoever could succeed the most
in providing these would not only take away the cake created by the new
opportunities but also sieze the earlier share of the non worthy partner.
Fortunately, for India there is significant growth potential post 2005,
but the key to realisation of this potential is the entrepreneurial abilities
of our textile industry and its constituents. As for non-tariff barriers,
their impact would not severely affect the performance of an astute entrepreneur.
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Entrepreneurial skills create new opportunities
 R
A Thirumoorti, CEO,
Apparel Directions & Designs
Definitely yes. Entrepreneurial skills are very much needed in doing
any business. If Indians are highly recognised for their skills in software
development, it is because of the entrepreneurial ability of a group of
people who identified the potential and existing resources and leveraged
it. Similarly, India's success in textiles can be rightly attributed to
the entrepreneurial skills of our industrialists. Had we lacked such skills,
we would have either been out of business or just ended up in being just
convertors, doing just CMT. It is because of our entrepreneurial skills,
India has a become a force to reckon with in textiles. The knitwear town
of Tirupur is a best example. The enterprising attitude and the entrepreneurial
skills of knitwear exporters is just amazing. They have grown from scratch
into a huge export hub of national importance, exporting to the tune of
Rs 5,000 crores annually. Now that we have grown has not rendered us complacent
and we have set for ourselves higher targets. Today, buyers recognise
us as partners and not mere job workers. Participation of exporters in
the business processes has increased and their opinion is sought by buyers.
Working with different buyers/markets has given rich experience to exporters.
Now some of the buyers rely on exporters for development of new fabrics,
designs and style. Entrepreneurs do not wait for business to come, but
they create opportunities. For instance, when there was widespread fear
about the future after quota removal, it was exporters from Tirupur who
were very enthused about it. They were very optimistic and saw huge opportunities.
They were one step ahead of others and thinking ahead of others is an
entrepreneurial quality. The industry started preparing for the new opportunities
by investing in technology and infrastructure. Our ability to think and
act globally has given us the calibre to move up the value chain and offer
high-end products at competitive rates. We have been shrewd enough to
find niche markets too for the very fact that we work with leading brands
and retailers. Buyers look for flexibility and we best understand our
buyers requirements. That way, exporters are not rigid and accommodate
orders of any size with lesser lead times. When it comes to external factors
like government policies, the way exporters unite to loud their requirements
to the policy makers is commendable.
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