An association of brand owners, Bangalore Apparel Manufacturer’s Association (BAMA), recently organised the third edition of the Texstyl Show in Bengaluru. “In a year, we organise two fabric and one garment fairs,” says Pravin Mutha, President, BAMA. “For this show, we sent almost 10,000 e-mails and called every brand head. We got 40,000 hits for the event,” he adds.
Currently having 55 members, BAMA accepts only branded garment manufacturers as its members. “We have primary and secondary members. Of this, only our primary members have voting rights,” states Mutha further. “Our members are selected on the basis of selection criteria. They are organised manufacturers who sell their products at MRPs only,” he adds.
BAMA highlights the issues of these brand owners by collaborating with like-minded associations across India. “This gives us an added advantage over other associations,” says Raj Sanghvi, Vice President of the association. “For instance, it is currently helping us to present a united front against GST,” he adds.
The recently held Texstyl show was open to all manufacturers who have a good supply base and aim to enter the Bengaluru market. “We had people from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Delhi,” adds Pankaj, Secretary, BAMA
The show was organised in Bengaluru which is considered as the hub of garment manufacturing in south India. “The city has huge garment units which operate through a line system whereas the rest of India operates through a piece work system. Also, export volumes from the city are huge,” adds Sanghvi.
BAMA plans to organise the next edition of this fair in a much bigger way. “The show will have more participants and larger stalls. The average size of current stalls is 180 sq ft. This will increase to 500 sq ft in the next edition. The stalls will be customised to the exhibitor’s requirements.
BAMA also plans to organise a garment show soon. “The theme of this show will be Urbane 2020. It will be autumn/winter show and be open to all Bengaluru manufacturers. To be organised in May, the event will have around 82 exhibitors and focus on men’s wear and other categories. We plan to invite 400 top retailers to the show,” adds Pankaj
