Brandix India Apparel City, which owns and operates one of India’s largest special economic zone for apparel, will be launching a Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) to enable some of its marquee clients like Victoria’s Secret, Calvin Klein and others to market their products in India, says Dora Swamy, the India Partner of the Sri Lankan apparel major.

BIAC, established in 2007, employs 18,000 people and almost 88 per cent of the current workforce comprises women, who produce an intimate garment like a brassiere every six minutes.

As per Indian trade laws, the units set up under SEZ, EPZ or EOU schemes are permitted to carry out their activities only within a custom bonded area, while DTA is outside of it. The government’s nod to the DTA will allow the industrial park’s client partners to market up to 25 per cent of their production in the Indian market.

As per Dora Swamy, almost one lakh bra pieces are churned out daily for Victoria’s Secret alone. In fact, roughly 60 per cent of the brand’s products retailed in the United States are manufactured by BIAC, which also is the leading manufacturers of panties, producing 5 lakh pieces a day. The apparel produced at BIAC from different buyers is delivered to the client’s overseas locations by air as well as sea route, he further explained.

BIAC is part of the Brandix Lanka, which is owned by the family of Ashroff Omar in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The company posted revenues of Rs. 1800 crores in 2017, and expects to grow at a CAGR of 25 per cent.