C Devarajan & P Raajashekar
Vice Chairman & Managing Director Texvalley
Tag Expo is one and only event of its kind
Texvalley, located in Erode in southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is spread across 20,00,000 square feet and has been re-positioned as price less marketplace. It organises Tag Expo bi-annually to provide a platform for manufacturers and buyers to increase their business. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, Texvalley vice chairman C Devarajan and Managing Director P Raajashekar discuss the recently concluded three-day expo.
Which all events that Texvalley organise?
We organise Tag Expo twice every year covering spring-summer and autumn-winter seasons. This expo is targeted towards providing manufacturers and buyers a platform for doing domestic and international businesses.
We also conduct Weaves—an annual handloom and textiles expo. Overall, we organise 5-6 large events every year.
What is the USP of Tag Expo? How is it different from other textile trade shows?
Every year, TAG Expo not only conducts buyers-sellers meet, but also encourages fashion designers to promote and showcase their products through a fashion show. Our event is held in 3 parts—Conference, Fashion shows, Awards. We also celebrate achievements of small and medium manufacturers in different categories, and recognise brands for their performance through a jury of industry renowned personalities. The event is one and only of its kind.
How many businesses, buyers, and visitors participated in the recently concluded Tag Expo 2023?
We had approximately 3,000 buyers and 200 exhibitors. Apart from this, for the fashion event and the awards ceremony, we had more than 6,000 footfalls, since it was a ticketing event.
What were the key highlights of the three-day event?
There were 160 nominations for the awards. We recognised 40 plus brands, manufacturers and traders. Many aspiring brands got recognised for their work during the year. Our fashion event was choreographed by Prasad Bidappa, one of the notable persons in the beauty and fashion industry. Some of the eminent guests from the Kongu region (a geographical region comprising present day parts of western Tamil Nadu, southeastern Karnataka and eastern Kerala) who were present during the event included Satish, MD of Milky Mist; KK Baluswamy, Founder, KKB; and Durai Palanisamy, MD, Pallava Group.
Where did the majority of the sellers, buyers and visitors hail from?
The majority of them were from South India, and few were from other states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan and West Bengal.
What was the business generated at the event this year?
An estimated sales of ₹300 crore plus was generated from the expo this year, apart from the year-long purchases that will be made by the buyers. Every new business at Texvalley is also a reoccurring business for the manufacturers, and they bear the fruits of long-term benefits of being at Texvalley.
What were some of the trends discussed at the event?
Our panel discussions were focused on two main topics. The first topic was ‘Challenges & Opportunities for Mid / Small Manufacturers’, meant for those who wanted to scale up their business. The distinguished panel of speakers included K Mariappan, President of Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA); Perumal Muthusamy, MD, South India Textiles; SMS Sankaralingam, CEO, KEA; Somasundaram, Advisor from Mechery Handloom Center; Ratheesh Vasu from HEPC; and Umesh Golecha, Managing Partner, Consulting & Beyond.
The second topic was ‘How do Branding & Retail help Mid / Small Scale business owners to grow big?’ The distinguished panel of speakers included Pearlraj Cannivady, VP-Marketing & E-commerce, Landmark Group; Arun Kumar, MD, KK Balusamy & Co; Manikandan, MD, Babuji Handlooms; Nawas Babu, CEO, SA Fabrics, Madurai; Dr. Karthikeyan VP, KSR Institute; Dr. NVR Nathan, Advisor to the Textiles Ministry, Governments of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
What are the challenges faced by small-and medium-sized businesses in the textile and apparel industry?
Every manufacturer has keen interest to do business. However, since there is a slump in exports business, manufacturers are now looking for opportunities in the domestic market. They are also looking for opportunities to expand their brand and product portfolio to improve their business.
How can textile and apparel MSMEs become brands?
Every brand has to look at avenues and market scope across the categories. It is important to establish the brand’s presence in the modern retail as well as general trade. Today, the opportunity in India itself is significant and therefore they should cash-in on the opportunity. Many domestic brands have the scope to become large players in India as well as overseas.
Published on: 02/03/2023
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
