With the ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia and Ukraine, the free trade agreements have been a positive development for Indian manufacturers in the garments sector, according to Sanjay Jain, Group CEO of PDS Limited.
Speaking to NDTV Profit, Jain said, "last 12-18 months have been turbulent time," while flagging issues such as Russia-Ukraine war, tariffs concerns, and the most recent US-Iran war.
While highlighting that the FTAs signed with key markets such as UK and EU amid other global concerns, he said, "The government is pursuing a very structured agenda. So it has been a very a balanced development."
In terms of PDS, which is a a global fashion design, manufacturing, and sourcing company, the Group CEO mentioned that the company has a well-diversified market in UK and Europe with a 70% of market share, while North America is gaining traction. "We are well placed to benefit of the FTAs unfolding," he said.
Last week, PDS Limited informed the exchanges that it has entered a Sourcing as a Service (SaaS) contract with a leading US based value retailer.
Under the agreement, PDS will provide support through sourcing, using its global network across vendor management, compliance, and supply chain execution. The contract is expected to drive sourcing volumes of approximately Rs 450 crore, with potential to scale up gradually, the company said.
According to Jain, North America has been a growth market for PDS in the last 18 months.
In terms of sourcing, the company is focusing on various countries such as Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Turkey. "This gives flexibilty to navigate these challenges much better," he said.
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What To Expect This Fiscal?
Acknowledging industry wide concerns due various geopolitical concerns, PDS CEO said, "One or two more quarters, we have to be continue to patient about spanning out of all these negative factors."
Calling a modest growth as positive, he added, " We are walking into the new fiscal with a caution note, things are bit turbulent."
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