With the threat from the unorganised garment segment looming large, the garment sector is in for days of fierce competition. Rajkumar Lalwani, director of Royal Fashions India Ltd, which promotes the Pan America garment brand talks to Seban Scaria about the woes that ail the sector and the brand itself.

What is the status of your operations?

Pan America is available at 70 outlets in the twin cities. But we have planned three exclusive showrooms, lined up for next year. We are the leading garment brand in the middle class and upper middle class segment of customers with a market share of 25 per cent. Pan America was launched five years ago and today we generate Rs 7 crore from the state. We have eight manufacturing units in Bangalore, which produce 1.5 lakh garment pieces every month. We have employed about 1,200 workers for our operations. Besides Pan America, we have two more brands called Legend and Mindware that cater to the premium segment. The products are distributed through agents to almost all the states in the country. Our annual turnover is around Rs 30 crore.

What are your fabric purchasing patterns and how is the product designed?

Every month we purchase at least 3 lakh metres of fabric from the textile mills of Aravind, Ashima and Dhar in Mumbai. The fabrics are turned to garments at the production units. We have a separate design and research lab, which incorporates the latest trends in the market and design garments. The design team is responsible for the garment designs with the help of a customized designing software. The designs are send to distribution agencies through e-mail. The distribution agency, in turn, evaluates designs and places orders. The orders are based on regional preference and demand for a particular design. At least 200 new designs are generated in our labs every month.