Pakistani textile targets India's women for Salwar Kameez

Hyderabad, July 1: Enthused by the good response to its range of women's wear in India, Pakistan's leading brand Lala Textiles plans customised products for the Indian market. The 65-year-old company believes it has something different to offer for Indian women in its salwar-kameez-dupatta range.

Lala Textiles sees huge potential in the Indian market and has joined hands with Fair Lady, a Surat-based importer, to market its products. Lala Textiles CEO Pervez Lala believes the innovative concept, good quality and the affordability of the products are the company's USP.

"Our products are 15-20 percent cheaper when compared to India but the main thing is the difference of concept and of quality. That is the reason we are successful here. People need something new. They like us. We have a different concept which India lacks," he told IANS.

He was here to showcase his brands at 'Surat dreams', a textile exhibition which concluded Sunday.

The company, through its distributors in India, is currently selling the products which are available in Pakistan. "We see huge potential. We will definitely go for customised products for India. It takes time because we are also in the learning process. We are in the process of finding out the tastes of Indian women, the colours and the dresses they like."

Lala pointed out that the market in India is huge for salwar-kameez-dupattas, constituting 50 percent of the overall textile market.

After participating in various shows in Delhi and Mumbai, Lala Textiles displayed its products for the first time in southern India. "We see a huge market in south India, especially in Hyderabad, where there is a large Muslim community."

Lala's grandfather started the company after he migrated from India to Pakistan at the time of the partition in 1947. Today the company has a turnover of 3.5 to 4 billion Pakistani rupees and also has presence in markets like Bangladesh, Britain and the UAE.

"From the concept to finished product, everything is done in our company. We don't outsource any work," said Lala, the third generation businessman of the family.

He claimed that Lala Textiles is the only company in Pakistan which caters to all four segments of society - lower middle class, middle class, upper middle class and the elite.

"We have suits with a price range of 600-700 to 3,000-3,500 rupees. We are very economical with good quality," he said.

Lala is of the firm belief that liberal trade between India and Pakistan will benefit the common man on both sides. He said people in both the countries would have access to cheaper products.

He said the business community was facing a lot of problems regarding visas and they were requesting both the governments for a liberal policy.

"We have some technical issues. We are already discussing with the ministries of trade and commerce. Inshallah (God willing) things will get better," he said about the talks to grant most favoured nation (MFN) status to India.

Lala was hopeful that liberal policies by the two countries would promote bilateral trade and business.

IANS