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Chapter 1 – INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this dissertation undertakes to analyze the business ecosystem operating
for contemporary Indian fashion designers. Furthermore, the study identifies the
challenges encountered by emerging and established designers .The study has
strategically analyzed the challenges faced by fashion designers in terms of business
operations. And to encounter them a strategic business plan addressing the operational
difficulties faced by the Indian fashion designers .In this chapter, research background,
rationale for conducting the research, research objectives and methodology is stated.
Lastly, dissertation outline and the chapter summary are included to provide a precise
direction of the entire research.
1.1 Research Background
India has become a hub for designer wear market. The industry has made a great mark on
the world stage. The Fashion Industry has become million-dollar global enterprise devoted
to the business of making and selling clothes and accessories. It is growing at a fast pace
with making radical changes in the purchasing power of people. Designer wear industry is
growing big in India. According to ASSOCHAM (2012), the industry would cross Rs.
11,000 crore mark by 2020.
According to D S Rawat, (Secretary General, ASSOCHAM) “The designer wear industry in

India is driven by higher disposable incomes leading to rising purchasing power, emergence
of mall culture, changing sense of style, dressing and growing fashion consciousness among
urbanites,”
Figure 1.1 – Self Illustration
According to a report by ASSOCHAM (2012) the industry is growing at a compounded

annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 40 per cent. The industry is currently pegged at Rs 720
crore, with a growing popularity seen in boutiques selling designers, local wear showcasing
finished and ready-to-stitch garments and trendy dresses. India‟s share in the global designer
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wear industry is a minimal 0.32 per cent, and is likely to reach about 1.7 per cent by 2020.
The global designer wear industry is currently poised at over Rs 2.2 lakh crore and likely to
cross Rs 6.1 lakh crore mark by the end of the decade.
Designer wear market in India has become extremely competitive with an array of budding
designers getting into this profession. This profession is extremely lucrative as well as
unpredictable. The industry has a huge growth potential but regardless of this fact there are a
lot of obstacles to it. Since the success stories are the lens through which one sees the global
fashion industry, the emerging fashion designers are left feeling downbeat and marginalized
when their dreams of success fail to materialize. It is however very important to identify the
barriers to this business.
1.2 Research Rationale
Indian fashion industry poses significant risks to business owners and fashion entrepreneurs.
With relentless competition in the designer wear sector, it has become extremely difficult for
fashion designers to be profitable and sustain themselves in the market. Since the industry is
fickle, ever changing and often elusive, identifying the challenges and problems in this field
is very important to overcome the hindrances in this business. A lot of times when fashion
students complete their formal fashion design education and start their own fashion label,
they tend to face a lot of failures and challenges in their business, reason being the difficulty
of applying their business knowledge into practicality. The study will help bridge the gap
between industry and the education.
Also when operating a business, an entrepreneur begins by working on the aspects of

backward integration, as opposed to a fashion designer who begins by working on the
designs trending. This need gap or lack of efficient understanding of the business ecosystem
has impacted the progress capabilities of the fashion design industry. Building on the
previously done study in this area, which lacked a structured approach, the study
strategically analyzed the challenges encountered by fashion designs today in terms of
business operations.
1.3 Research Significance
There are a lot of challenges that a fashion designers face during the course of their business.
To be able to address these challenges a strategic business plan is developed. The business
plan will help fashion designers in evolving their business and grow to achieve their vision.
It will help designers to adapt unexpected competitive threats, and provide them a gainful
position in the sector. It will benefit them in scrutinizing their trade and master it by working
on tactically strengthening the weaker facets. The idea is to make design trade knowledge
accessible and understanding about how to do business effectively with optimum utilization
of resources. It will benefit the upcoming designers to be aware about the challenges they
might face in future and also learn about various aspects of the business. It will be aid for
fashion designers in developing their future strategies better.
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1.4 Research Objectives
 Research Objective 1–To analyze the business ecosystem operating for

contemporary Indian Fashion Designers
 Research Objective 2 – To identify the challenges encountered by emerging
and established Indian fashion designers
 Research Objective 3 – To develop a strategic plan addressing the operational
difficulties faced by Indian Fashion Designers
1.5 Research Methodology
The most appropriate method of research design used to understand the three research
objectives is Exploratory Research. It will help understand the insight of the business
ecosystem operated by Indian fashion designers, how the designer wear industry works,
what is the market scenario, various challenges encountered by Indian Fashion designers in
running a fashion label. Thus, it will benefit in understanding the concepts better and will
help crystallize the defined gap. Data collection methods used is both primary and
secondary. Secondary data are obtained from websites, articles, journals and Internet.
The primary research is conducted by personal interview to get the in-depth understanding
about how the fashion designers manage their fashion label and identify the challenges they
have encountered.
1.6 Research Outline
The chapters included in the dissertation in a chorological order. The outline constitute of
five main aspects mentioned below:
Chapter 1 – Introduction: This chapter incorporates Research Background, Research

Objective, Research Methodology, Research Rationale, Research Significance and Chapter
Summary summarizes the chapter
Chapter2–Literature Review: This chapter Literature has overview about the Indian
fashion industry, how is evolved, periodic developments in the industry, market
overview, different types of challenges faced by fashion designer
Chapter 3 – Research Methodology: This chapter incorporates type of research design

adopted, Data collection method and tool used, sampling technique and research grid.
Chapter 4 – Findings and Analysis: This chapter incorporates the key findings of the
research and analysis of the personal interview. Strategies to combat the challenges are also
mentioned in this chapter.
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Chapter 5 – Conclusion and Recommendation: Finding and Discussion: Discuss the data
analysis technique and present the result and data analysis of the survey. Suggestions and
managerial insights are also provided.
1.7 Research Limitation
The aim was to examine the appropriateness of the combination of techniques for eliciting
information about the comprehensive understanding of the challenges encountered by the
Indian fashion designers and developing strategic business solutions to address the same.
Some of the limitations of the research reported here surround the nature of the research
design and sample. For instance, the limitation of the sampling (purposive) places
restrictions, though not necessarily on the applicability - of the findings. Another limitation
is that the findings derived from an exploratory study which adopted an interpretive
approach to study design, data collection and analysis; and this will also restrict any
claims which might be made about the findings. Some key limitations faced during this
research are stated below:
 Geographical and Time limitations - The area of research is limited to

Delhi & NCR as the entire country could not be covered in this research due to
the limited months provided for research.
 Limited Sample size - A sample size of fashion designers studied was only
35. This could increase the error term.
 Limited Information Access - In India there is no authentic government

body who does category specific detailed customer research as happens in west.
1.8 Future scope of the Research
A more systematic approach can be adopted to understand the comprehensive

understanding of challenges encountered by fashion designers across all states in India
and also understanding the barriers on global level.
The scope of the study is recommended to be expanded further. A larger sample size
would induce a higher level of reliability and representative of the findings. The analysis
of the business ecosystem operating for fashion designers can be investigated in more
details. The findings are expected to be more insightful which are more valuable for the
industry and can better advance the knowledge in the field. Apart from the sample size,
different fashion industry experts can be interviewed and analyzed to an in depth
understanding about the hindrances. Thus, a more comprehensive analysis can be
generalized. Further research could examine a wider number of fashion designers, from
different work background like accessories, footwear fashion lifestyle designer‟s .Thus, to
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get a more holistic understanding about the challenges the research has to conducted in
different geographical areas with designers from different experience and classification.
1.7 Research Process
Research Topic
Literature Review
 Identified Need Gap
 Research Problem
 Evaluate market and industry
 Develop research objectives
Research Methodology
 Research Design
 Data collection Method and Tool
 Sampling Technique
Findings and Analysis

 Personal Interview
 Interpretation
 Analysis of the findings
Conclusion and Recommendation
Figure 1.2 : Research Process

Source - Self Illustration
1.8 Chapter Summary
This chapter defines the overview of the whole dissertation, including background, rationale,
objectives, methodology and research outline. The study of this dissertation is done in the
above-mentioned process and there is further discussion on the literature review in the next
chapter followed by research methodology and then the findings and analysis which is
summarized in the last with recommendations.
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CHAPTER – 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Global Fashion Industry
Global fashion industry has become a multi-trillion dollar global enterprise, which is
devoted to the business of making and selling clothes and accessories. It has become one
of the most important segments of the economy in terms of investment, commerce,
revenue and employee engagement all over the world. (Anon, n.d.) The fashion global
industry (including textile, clothing, footwear and luxury fashion) is currently worth
nearly $3,000 trillion. (Anon, 2015) Currently, women‟s wear accounts for 50.0% of the
global demand while the remaining market share is divided between menswear (34.5%),
clothing accessories (3.9%), babies' garments (2.8%), gloves and mittens (2.3%),
headgear (2.0%), other garments (4.1%) and parts of garments and clothing accessories
(0.5%). The world menswear industry is approximately $402 billion. Whereas, the world
women‟s wear industry is about 621 billion. The industry is increasing at an annual
growth rate of 5.1%. Major hubs for fashion are Brazil, China, Italy, Japan and the
United States of America.(Anon, n.d.) Fashion market is expected to grow by 12% in
India, 10% in China and 8% in Russia from 2010-2025 and average 5% CAGR in the
rest of the world.
Figure 2.1 : Global Apparel and Footwear Market Value (Sales 2008-18)
Source - http://one-org.s3.amazonaws.com/us/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/rsz_apparel-graph.png
Earlier the industry had distinguished the fashion industry (high fashion) and the apparel
industry (which makes ordinary clothes or commonly called the (mass fashion), but by
the 1970s the boundaries between were indifferent. Today the industry has magnificent
variety of products, small product life cycles, unpredictable and impulsive demand.
However, the fashion industry incorporates various aspects such as fashion designing,
manufacturing of the garment, distribution and placement, marketing and retailing of all
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types of apparels and accessories, in all the categories including men‟s, women‟s, and
children from the most rarefied and expensive haute couture (high sewing) and designer
fashions to ordinary everyday clothing.
The fashion industry has evolved as a product of the modern age. During the mid-19th
century, nearly all clothing was handmade, either produced from home or on demand
from dressmakers and tailors. By the 20th century, new technologies were introduced
and there was advancement in machinery such as the sewing machine, there was
development in the factory system of production, and the upsurge of global capitalism
and the proliferation of retail outlets were witnessed during this century. The fashion
industry developed first in Europe and America, and today it is an international and
highly globalized industry, with clothing often designed in one country, manufactured in
another, and sold in a third.
2.1.1 Factors affecting the Growth of fashion Industry
Changes in the economy and trends in consumer confidence may adversely affect the
fashion industry and the operating results.
The fashion industry is cyclical. Purchases of apparel and related merchandise are
generally discretionary and thus tend to decline during recessionary periods. Reduced
levels of consumer spending, both domestically and internationally, can also result from
increase in interest rates, decline in the availability of consumer credit, increases in
taxation rates, and decreases in consumer confidence in future economic conditions and
reduction in levels of consumer disposable income. Due to these cyclical factors in the
fashion industry, it is difficult to maintain the growth in revenues or earnings, and
remain profitable particularly during economic downturns or periods of economic
instability.
Excess inventories because of failure in anticipating consumer demand and

Incapability of supplying quality products on time
Today a significant majority of the finished products are purchased from international
third-party vendors. Because of this commitment, the products eventually received
might not be consistent with constantly changing consumer tastes. However, with the
accurately anticipated consumer fashion trends, the vendors sometimes fail to supply the
quality products and materials the buyer requires. Moreover, it could lead to failure in
effectively marketing or merchandise these products. The above factors could cause
excess in inventories and higher markdowns, which in turn could have a material
adverse effect on the results of operations and financial condition. (GIS, 2008)
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2.1.2 Future of fashion industry
The dynamics of fashion industry will change drastically in the next 5 to 10

years. Sustainable fashion is the product of modern age fashion industry. It is a new
trend that will prevail not only for a season but also for years now. Sustainable fashion,
also called eco fashion, is a part of the growing
design philosophy and trend of sustainability;
the goal is to create a system, which can be
supported indefinitely in terms of human impact
on the environment and social responsibility.
Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in
the world. 25 percent of chemicals produced
worldwide are used for textiles and the industry.
61 percent of companies lacked the knowledge
about the manufacturing of their products. 76 per
cent didn‟t know where their fabric was woven,
knitted or dyed, and 93 per cent didn‟t know the
origins of the raw fiber. To overcome the
environmental problems sustain fashion was
introduced and prompted in the industry.
Figure 2.2 : Sustainable Fashion 2020
Source - http://www.iamindia.in/public/images/news/
1423029149Poster.jpg
2.1.3 Experts Outlook on Global Fashion Industry
Leading fashion CEOs expertise on Global Fashion Industry
(Clockwise from Top left) Rodrigo Bazan, FabrizioCardinali, Wen Zhou and Adrian
Figure 2.3 (Leading fashion CEOs expertise on Global Fashion Industry)
Source - http://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/will-growth-come-2015-fashion-ceos-speak
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2015 was a challenging year for fashion industry. Germany is at risk of falling into
recession in a stagnant Europe, while Japan, following a brief period of growth, has
entered its fourth period of recession since 2008. Fashion industry in China shrunk in
2015. Meanwhile, in India, the election of pro-business Prime Minister Narender Modi
has sparked a wave of new optimism.
Rodrigo Bazan of Alexander Wang: According to Rodrigo Bazan, US, Europe and
Asia are fast growing fashion markets today. The growth is strategically planned
simultaneously in all three regions, to keep a much curated positioning and distribution.
The ready-to-wear onto designer shop floors have strong demand in the market.
Growing e-commerce globally has paved a way for fashion industry.
Fabrizio Cardinali of Dunhill: According to Fabrizio Cardinali, Asia has become a

key growth area. However expansion in retail and wholesale network to Europe and the
US would be improving too. Digital sales have become important and growth prospect
in future.
Wen Zhou of 3.1 Phillip Lim: There are prodigious growth prospects in strategic
growth in the Middle East, with continued growth in Asia. For 2015, the key growth was
seen in the Middle East and Dubai. The potential of digital sales is massive. There are a
lot of voracious online consumers today. According to Wen Zhou, the product category
that offers the most growth potential in today‟s market is footwear.
Adrian Joffe of Dover Street Market: According to Adrian Joffee, the coming years
fashion will be strongly concentrated around London. Digital sales are becoming
increasingly important and we‟ve seen amazing growth in this area. However, the same
energy and attention should be given to all product categories.
John D. Idol of Michael Kor: In the coming years as the situation of Europe is
economically improving; Europe is foreseen as a very exciting piece of our long-term
growth strategy. The brand plans to open approximately 50 stores across Europe during
fiscal 2016. Japan has a fast growing fashion industry; the brand plans to expand by
opening retail stores in the country. Asia has become an important region for
development. And a strong growth potential is seen in the Middle East. There are a lot of
opportunities in the e-commerce and digital sales channel. And therefore the brand plans
to build a platform that will be rolled out globally.
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Marc Jacob on Fashion Business
According to renowned fashion designer, Marc Jacobs there are a lot of struggles in
starting a new fashion business. Many young designers rush into setting up a business,
attracted by the perceived glamour that is associated with the fashion industry. A lot of
times young, talented designers after graduating from St Martins or Parsons start their
own fashion label. Most of the stories one comes across in this industry are about the
fashion startups, which failed and dashed hopes of most of the budding designers. This
is the reality of this industry.
Marc Jacobs in a panel discussion spoke about how the fashion students jump onto
launching their fashion label without giving a thought on how it will be carried out. One
of the most common questions he has been asked by designers who have just completed
their fashion course (at both the bachelor‟s and master‟s level) is: “Should I start my
own business or should I go work for a big fashion house?” However, Marc Jacob
believes that it always depend on one‟s aim and aspirations. First thing that every
fashion designer should think about is do they really want to run a business.
He articulates that fashion business is more than just beautiful people, parties and a
flight of creative fancy .One needs to know about the realistic apparition of the fashion
industry. Running a fashion label is sourcing of raw materials (fabrics, trims), managing
the manufacturing of the garments and placement and distribution of the merchandise
across all stores. One is likely spend less than 10% of your time designing, while the rest
of the time you will be managing production, sending clothes to magazines, dealing
with suppliers, managing the employees. And also have to make sure that the business
is financially sound to declare
some kind of dividend from the
business.
One of the key drivers of success

is the entrepreneurial skills and
the commitment to running a
business. In order to be successful
in this industry, one should think
about being a CEO first, fashion
designer second. (Amed, 2007)
Figure 2.4: Marc Jacob
Source: http://diamondgalleria.co.nz/images/14/marc-jacobs-leaving-louis-
vuitton-1.jpg
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2.2 Indian Fashion Industry
2.2.1 Overview of the Indian Fashion Industry
The Indian Fashion industry has carved a niche for itself across the world with its
designers and the numerous fashion institutes in the country. The industry is growing at a
very fast pace. Indian fashion varies from one village to another village, from one city to
another city. India‟s fashion heritage is rich in tradition, vibrant in colors and
prepossessing. Bold colors created by the inventive drapes of the textiles catch the
imagination like no other contemporary clothing.
India Fashion Industry covers a whole range of clothing from ornate clothes designed for
wedding ceremonies to prét lines, sports and casual wear. It even includes the traditional
Indian techniques of embroidery like chikankari, crewel and zardosi. Indian designers
create Indo-western clothing using traditional weaves and fabrics. Sarees are woven in
silk, cotton and artificial fibres. Kanjivaram, Mysore, Paithani, Pochampalli, Jamdani,
Balucheri, Banarasi, Sambalpuri and Bandhini are some varieties of sarees from different
regions of India. In Rajasthan and Gujarat men wrap and twist a length of cloth in the
form of a dhoti around their lower limbs and a shirt-like kurta.
Since the last decade the Indian fashion industry has progressed from the embryonic
stage to a developing phase. Fashion designers have contributed immensely to the spread
of fashion as a driving force, both among Indian consumers and select segments of
Western markets. India can now boast of dozens of leading fashion designers, who
match any European fashion designer in their concepts, styles and designs. Ritu Beri,
Rohit Bal, Ritu Kumar, J.J Valaya, Ravi Bajaj, Rina Dhaka, Wendell Rodricks, Anna
Singh, Ashish Soni, Jatin Kochar, Madhu Jain, Manish Malhotra, Ravi Bajaj, and Tarun
Tahlliani top the growing list of reputed fashion designers in India.
2.2.2 Fashion Designing in India
In India, fashion has endured since ages and is flourishing since long. However, in the
modern times, there are plenty of new avenues and newer prospects that have paved the
way for the youth of the country. The field is apt for those who have an eye for style,
fashion, trend, creativity and originality, above all, a knack for promoting their creations.
Fashion designing is counted amongst the most demanding and lucrative career options
in today‟s time.
The Indian Fashion Industry is evolving and so are the opportunities to make a career in
this industry. People are realizing the importance of professional training before entering
the business. Along with fashion designing, niche subjects like fashion forecasting,
fashion merchandising, pattern making & illustration, fashion marketing, fashion
writing, and celebrity styling too are gaining popularity Fashion designing is a dynamic,
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fast paced field with implausible career potentials. Students from the fashion designing
institutes have various options like working in export house, textile and fabric
consultant, apparel designing, Fashion consulting, accessories designing, trend research
and reporting, corporate uniform designing or working for other designers. But having a
fashion label is always ones dream. According to the management experts an average
growth of about 10-12 percent is anticipated for the Indian fashion industry in the future.
Though, the growth rate could be more than 15%, if infrastructural and other logistical
bottlenecks and obstacles are overcome. Today fashion designers have recognition as
well as wealth and there is a lot of personal satisfaction in expressing one‟s creativity.
But to achieve success in this profession, one has to address a lot of problems like
sourcing of raw materials, targeting the right consumer and market, the financial side of
the business. So, in order to make it big in this industry, a concrete foundation is
required.
However, it is also a challenging career, as fashion designers need to combine their

creativity with managerial skills to sustain in this industry.
Figure 2.5 : Indian Fashion Industry

Source - http://www.didiswardrobe.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Future-2-.jpg
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2.2.2 (A) Scope of Fashion Designing in India
India is economically progressing rapidly with great future prospects. Therefore, the
country is today witnessing rapid growth in the fashion industry sector. Fashion
designing is gaining a lot of popularity abroad because of cheap labour and excellent
craftsmanship. Many top Indian designers are now catering to this growing international
demand for quality fashion products and accessories. The demand for Indian garments,
designer saris and textiles has also increased.
The scope for fashion design jobs in India is immense as Indians have increasingly
become more fashion conscious and seek to enhance it in every way. Clothing
companies hire people in a variety of jobs, ranging from fashion designers, textile
designers, models, retailers, buyers and merchandisers, to provide end-to-end solutions
to their clients.
2.2.2 (B) Analysis of Design Industry
2.2.2 (B) 1 Designers in Various Design Disciplines
Fashion (textile,
jewellery, leather),
9.75
Automative,
Industrial and
Retail Design, 29 Graphic Design,
18.09
Allied (Toy, Set

and Exhibition
and Research
Design), 22.63
Human Computer Animation and
Interaction, 10.94 New Media
Design, 9.64
Chart 2.1 Designers in various design disciplines

Source: Self Illustration
The above graph illustrates that maximum concentration of designers is in the area of
architectural and industrial design followed by interior designing. The reason of the
majority of designers in architecture sector is that it has been well entrenched for a long
time A significant percent of 9.75 per cent is concentrated to fashion designers in the
country.
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2.2.2 (B) 2 Fashion Design Industry (Turnover)
Fashion Design Industry (Turnover)

Number of design companies
(in%) less than Rs.
2,50,00,000
(in%) Rs. 2,50,00,000 -
4,99,50,000
(in%) Rs. 5,00,00,000 -
25,00,00,000
(in%) Above Rs. 25,00,00,000
Chart 2.2Fashion Design Industry (Turnover)

The graph shows that maximum number of fashion design companies i.e. 73 per cent
has a turnover of less than 25, 00,000.And 9 percent of the companies are more than 25,
00,000.
2.2.2 (B) 3 Geographical distribution of design industry
Chart 2.3Geographical distribution of design industry

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The major hub for fashion designing studios in India is Bangalore i.e. 24.12 percent.
Followed by Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Ahmedabad. The major concentration of design
companies is in four urban areas viz. Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. All the four
cities are industrially active and are home to the majority of well-known Fashion design
studios.
2.2.2 (B) 4 Employment Distribution of Designers
Many designers are employed in workplaces other than the design industry. Many
companies prefer to have in-house designers in addition to their sourcing of design
services. Many companies entirely rely on in-house design expertise. With the changing
character of the Indian industry, the role of fashion designers is also becoming more
intensive. Earlier the Indian industry was manufacturing focused, relied on designs from
outside sources and would employ in-house designers to translate these designs as well
as make some minor modifications.
There are no available figures of the exact split between designers working in the design
industry in-house designers in other industries.
Employment Distribution
Independent (in%)
Employed (in%)
Unknown (in%)
Chart 2.4 Employment Distribution

The graph illustrates that about 10 percent of the fashion designers work independently,
35 percent of the designers in the country are employed and about 55 per cent of the
designers work in an unorganized sector or are unemployed.
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2.3 Fashion Education in India
2.3 (A) Design Programs in India
Fashion Design Programs
Post Graduate
Under Graduate
Diploma
Certificate
Chart 2.5Fashion Design Programs

The Indian fashion design education system offer diverse programs choices at all levels
such as certificate, diploma, under graduate and postgraduate programs. However most
of the postgraduate programs are essentially after-graduate programs. There are about
198 under graduation programs, 187-diploma course, 183 short courses and 27 post-
graduation courses in the country.
2.4 Designers wear Industry in India
The designer wear industry in India is driven by higher disposable incomes leading to
rising purchasing power, emergence of mall culture, changing sense of style, dressing
and growing fashion consciousness among urbanites. (ASSOCHAM, 2012)
According to a study by ASSOCHAM, the major drivers for designer wear industry are
boutiques selling designer and local wear showcasing finished and ready-to-stitch
garments and trendy dress material.
The domestic designer wear industry is currently poised at about Rs 720 crore. The
industry is growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 40%, the
booming designer wear industry in India is likely to cross Rs 11,000 crore mark by 2020
(ASSOCHAM).
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Mr D.S Rawat secretary general of ASSOCHAM stated in a report that a huge growth
potential is foreseen in the market as a lot people are buying branded products and
apparels and exhibit a strong desire for individuality in their self-expression as dressing
has become one of the important aspects of one's identity and overall personality.
Currently India's share in the global designer wear industry is a minimal 0.32% but is
likely to reach about 1.7% by 2020.
With over 150 dedicated fashion institutes, a number of youngsters in India are making a
career in fashion industry. The chamber has called for removal of infrastructural and
various logistical bottlenecks that are proving to be a bane for growth and development of
designer wear segment in India.
According to a recent ASSOCHAM survey nearly 35% of male and over half of female
shoppers in urban India prefer shopping at retail outlets which are one-stop shopping
destination as one can find almost all the leading local and international brands under one
roof. Nearly 40% of working couples prefer buying designer wear clothes. Even though
the industry is regarded as a sunshine segment for overall apparel market it is grappling
with issues like lack of strong brands and financing options for budding designers.
(Ghosal, 2012)
2.4 (a) Market Capitalization
Indian Fashion Industry is net worth of Rs 1,000 crore. Currently, the worldwide market
for designer wear is amounted at $35 billion. According to ASSOCHAM the Indian
Fashion Industry accounts for barely 0.2 % of the international industry's net worth.
Currently the market for designer wear is worth about Rs 1,62,900 crore and growing at
9.5 % every year.
The branded Fashion market's size is nearly one fourth of this or Rs 5,000 crore. Designer
wear, in turn, covers nearly about 0.2 % of the branded apparel market. Today the largest
sales turnover within the designer wear segment is about Rs 25 crore, with other well-
known names having less turnovers of Rs 10-15 crore.
Indian designer wear commands a category engagement of 65 % for male customers and
35 % for female customers. The category engagement in western designer wear is 5%.
2.4 (B) Employment opportunities
There has been growing consciousness among the Indian men and women towards
fashion, styles and designs of the dresses since long times. There are several institutes like
National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Indian Institute of Fashion Technology
(IIFT) and other fashion academies which have been established where the students are
taught to translate their creativity into dresses and fabric designs. The media has also
played an important role in the fashion boom by providing good coverage to the fashion
world and even several magazines are specifically devoted only to the fashion scene.
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The proliferation of fashion-based programmers on the satellite television channels has
increased the consciousness of the average Indian masses about the changing trends in the
global fashion. This industry is also generating a lot of business and becoming a booming
industry for generating a lot of jobs for people. More and more fashion training institutes
and fashion corporations are picking up. Many national and international brands are
establishing themselves in Indian market. The mall culture has immensely helped in the
growth of our fashion industry. Thus, globalization has completely changed the face of
our Indian fashion industry.
2.4 (C) Latest Developments
The organized market for designer apparel is about Rs 250 crore and designer wear
calculates to less than 1 % of the apparel market. The global market for designer wear is 5
% of total apparel market and the global market for designer wear industry is largely
dependent on the small-scale sector. Consumers for designer wear have a yearly
household income of Rs 10 lakh-plus. There are 3 lakh such households developing at 40-
45 %. Designer wear industry is projected to increase more than Rs 1,000 crore by 2016.
More than 81 % of the population below 45 years of the age is fashion conscious.
Today the fashion designers and management experts foresee an average growth of about
10-12 % for the Indian fashion industry in the coming years.
Though, the growth rate could be more than 15%, if infrastructural and other logistical
bottlenecks and drawbacks are overcome, Indian fashion design industry is expected to
grow much faster than projected (Rs. 500 cr.) and likely to touch Rs.750 cr. by 2012 from
the current level of Rs.270 cr. because Indian companies are heavily investing big sums in
the industry, consumers are increasingly shifting focus towards designer wear, exposure
to western media and readily available of designer wear in the shopping malls, according
to The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM).
2.5 Expert’s outlook on Indian Fashion Industry
Design in India, make for the world
Dr. Darlie Koshy has contributed to fashion and design education over the last quarter of
a century. He is a doctorate in management from IIT Delhi. Koshy has been also trained
at FIT New York in Fashion Marketing & Merchandising.
He was the Chairperson of Fashion Management Studies at NIFT, he was also appointed
as a director of National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmadabad. Koshy's book on 'Indian
Design Edge' traces the evolution of Indian design while arguing for a design-enabled
India.
Page | 18
Mr. Koshy states that 'apparel', 'clothing', 'garment', 'fashion' and 'lifestyle' industries have
undergone significant changes since the beginning of the new century. The curriculum for
fashion need to turn to focused
attention on "fashion business" from
just extreme focus only on 'design'.
World over the word 'management' is
giving way to the more old-fashioned
'business' with focus on individual
'entrepreneurship' made possible
through advancement in digital
Figure: 2.6 Design in India, make for the world technologies.(Koshy, n.d.)
Source: http://www.darliekoshy.com/images/front.jpg
Ritu Beri
The fashion industry has undergone a tremendous metamorphosis. Initially fashion was
more to do with ritual dressing like a wedding, festivals, etc. but now it is more about
being well dressed and trendy all the time. Today the designers are constantly showcasing
in various fashion capitals of the world. Indian designers are primarily couture designers
blending the old charm traditional embroideries with modern flavor and western
silhouettes.
In recent years there has been a certain element of schizophrenia in the Indian fashion
industry when it comes to picking
what to focus on, the growing
wealth and disposable incomes of
the country‟s middle and upper
classes is creating big opportunities
for high-end designers. As a result,
their need then to look outside India
for haute, niche and commercial
success is limited. The Indian
fashion industry is still in its
infancy. For Indian designers, the
possibilities on either side of the
equation are large. A domestic
market with more than one billion
potential clients, as well as an
international market keen to see
them combine traditional flare with
Western commercial viability.
Figure: 2.7 RituBeri
Source: http://d1ykou0h1xzzyc.cloudfront.net/ritu-beri.jpg
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Sitharaman take on Indian fashion industry
The fashion industry in India has played a fantastic role in the past 20-25 years. In fact,
the fashion industry moved much before
the government moved towards
globalization. According to Sitharaman
the fashion industry has played an
excellent role in leveraging all that "our
legacy has given us.
The fashion industry is a dynamic and
growing industry. According to her
government should play the role of
facilitator allowing the industry to bloom
on its own and stay at an arm's length.
Since India is fast becoming a leading
fashion market in the world and the
industry is setting the trend in the world
by bringing color, vibrancy and
Figure: 2.8 Sitharaman take on Indian fashion industry
flamboyance in a rather grey setting.
Source: http://topnews.in/law/files/nirmala-sitharaman-01.jpg
Tarun Tahiliani
'Indian Fashion has moved from hollow to hip'

According to TarunTahiliani, there was a time when
Indian fashion was hip and hollow and there was no
substance in terms of business, no hype. But there has
been an infrastructure change over the years. Earlier there
were no definitive benchmarks to measure. But today,
times have changed. Designer wear industry has gone a
tremendous change with new opportunities. The growing
demand has huge growth potential and array of new
budding designers getting into the business. (Dravid,
2006)
Figure: 2.9 Tarun Tahiliani
Source:http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/
07/21/article-2176787-
1425F4D6000005DC-186_306x366.jpg
Page | 20
2.6 Fashion design Entrepreneurs
2.6.1Challenges Faced by Fashion Entrepreneurs
The challenges of a fashion entrepreneur can be differentiated between specific

industry challenges and individual challenges. The fashion design entrepreneur as the
heart of the company has to balance creativity and a hard fact managerial approach, as
well as to consider industry related aspects.
Industry Specific
Challenges
Fashion Design
Entreprenuer
Indivisual Challenges
Chart 2.6 Fashion design entrepreneurs

2.6.1 (A) Industry Specific Challenges
The fashion industry has certain structures, mentalities and processes, which lead to
specific characteristics of this sector that have an impact on fashion entrepreneurs. The
norm that exists in the fashion industry has to be emphasized. There is an infinite
amount of different products, operation methods and individual requirements. This has
consequences for fashion design newcomers. According to Burke (2008) entrepreneurs
do not operate in a vacuum, they work within a company, within an industry and within
a particular market sector.
Page | 21
The industry specific challenges are split into five categories:
Industry Conditions
Economics of the
Industry
Early Fiance
Industry Specific
Challenges
Governmental
Support
Fashion Clusters
2.6.1 (A) 1 Industry conditions
Stone (2008) articulated in her book that “Fashion is, in many ways, like a river. A
river is always in motion, continuously flowing – sometimes it is slow and gentle,
sometimes rushing and turbulent. It is exciting and never the same. It affects those who
rest on its shores. Its movement depends on the environment.”
To be an entrepreneur in the fashion sector is not easy. It demands a lot from fashion
start-ups, as it is hard to overview the entire industry. The fashion designer Rohit Bal
expressed it in this way: “I make, I unmake, and I remake. There are other careers. One
can work behind a desk or counter. It's a safe bet. Fashion is ephemeral, dangerous,
exciting and unfair. ”The fashion industry is an unpredictable and hyper competitive
market with short product life cycles. It is a subjective market with the need to be
cutting-edge and relevant in terms of the creativeness (as Jones2008 cites Crewe and
Beaver brook 1998). Thus, fashion is based to a great extent on individual preferences
and the taste of people.
In addition, the fashion sector can be seen as a saturated and volatile market. To gain
market share fashion companies have to take customers of their competitors. The
fashion companies have to focus on the unique selling proposition of the products and
on the differentiation from competitors. A fashion company needs an innovative
business idea and a unique design language to capture the attention of customers that
have an infinite choice of different products from upcoming fashion companies.
As Bruceetal (2002) expressed: “Design matters. In a world where customers have
increasing choice about what they buy and from whom, what makes them choose one
product or service over another ? In a word it is design.”
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2.6.1 (A) 2 Economics of the industry
Seasonality
One of the most powerful elements in fashion is time. Apparel is developed for
different seasons, special events and for different times of the day (Jones, 2005).
Fashion designers work according to the traditionally fashion industry calendar, which
is divided in to two major seasons – spring/summer and autumn/winter. The whole
fashion industry has arranged its business around this standard, it is visible for instance
in the timing off fashion shows, which take place two times a year. Fast fashion
companies have changed, however, the fashion landscape since they develop annually
more than ten collections.
Every company has naturally its own fashion cycle, whereby fashion design
entrepreneurs mostly follow two major collections a year to be part of the fashion
business on a professional base. Managing the cash flow is especially a challenge in the
fashion industry with its seasonal schedule. Due to the seasonality, the forecasting of
the order volume is another challenging aspect. If a designer is new in the market, it is
difficult to indicate how many clothing pieces will be sold.
Establishing a sustainable company is hard since developing and producing a collection

has to be pre-financed. A fashion designer gets there venues back when selling the
clothes but the next collection has to be started already in the meanwhile.
Designers have to pay for the production costs of the clothes up front. Thus, a critical
Overlap of costs can emerge for the entrepreneurs, for a time the costs are higher than
the earnings. Nidhi Mahajan, fashion designer of a label in New Delhi pointed out:”
For you to sit was very difficult to sell only twice a year, you get only paid twice a year.
But you have to accept that, this is how it is.”
Margins and Production
Another challenging aspect is the production process. Young fashion design ventures
often have problems in finding an adequate production partner to produce their
collections.
At the beginning it may be possible to produce in-house but at a certain stage of growth
there will be a need to outsource. Designers have to be aware that to outsource the
production means higher cost, uncertainty and a higher risk. A designer of a label in
Niche in Bangalore stated: “When producing our first collection, everything, you could
imagine, went wrong.” At the beginning the production volume is small, which means
that the production of each single piece is much more expensive andare not economies
of scales. Consequently, the margin is significantly lower.
Another problem presents the small amount of remaining manufacturing companies in

most of the parts in India such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bangalore and Delhi, as
expressed by the entrepreneurs. Sometimes these domestic companies are the only
possibility to produce a very small quantity of garments; bigger clothing manufacturers
Page | 23
may be more difficult to enter. Moreover, the domestic production companies offer the
fashion entrepreneurs a better control over the production process. The fashion
designers are able to visit the domestic production company easily and communicate in
their own language.
There are further difficulties for small fashion businesses. Due to the small quantities of
clothing pieces they are at the back of the queue when it comes to manufacturing. More
powerful and larger clients will be in the forefront (Jones, 2005). Ridhi Mehra, an
emerging Indian fashion designer, said: “Manufacturers are always going to make stuff
for larger clients first. I used to work with the factories that made for Next
(International Brand), So they are always going to put their orders down first and then
do ours at the end. Consequently her consignment got delayed by two months late on
delivery last season and half of the shops returned stuff.”
2.6.1 (A) 3 Early finance
According to the Indian fashion industry experts, getting finance for their start-ups is
one of the major issues fashion entrepreneurs are facing. Difficulties in financing a
new venture, condition the growth opportunities of a company. In the fashion design
industry it is relatively difficult to start in contrast to other industries. The barriers to
entry depend of course on the dimension of the venture, but for a small label it is
possible to start with a basic sewing machine, compared to the clothing business where
expensive machines are required (Burke2008).
There are two possible sources of external finance: debt and equity. “Debt is
borrowing money from an outside source with the promise to return the principal, in
addition to an agreed-upon level of interest”. Where by equity occurs when a company
gives away part of the ownership of their business. Sources of external finance can be
financial institutions, venture capital, business angels, grants, credit unions and the
most way to source funds is from friends and family. Early finance for fashion start-
ups is very limited and mostly only available for companies in a mature stage. New
ventures need an adequate amount of capital to survive. A large number of businesses
fail due to lack of enough finance backing the venture. Fashion entrepreneurs have
difficulties in accessing financial support because the business ideas are often
considered to be high-risk investments and the margins are low. Additionally the value
of a creative product is difficult to measure; the success of a collection depends on a
big portion the valuation and personal taste of the customers. Hence it is difficult to
indicate the profit of a fashion business. It is hard for a fashion entrepreneur to predict
the return on investment, which makes it less attractive to banks and investors.
Investors or even business angel investors invest only if they see a large growth
potential.
Designers and investors/banks have to understand each other in order to gain a

common ground for a business connection. Since investors and banks evaluate the
Page | 24
business idea and the possibilities of the idea, it is firstly important to have a business
plan and secondly to present it in an adequate manner. This seems to be a challenge for
most designers. Banks refrain from financing fashion entrepreneurs when they
determine that the business and entrepreneurial skills of a designer are insufficient.
Banks look at four criteria: firstly the entrepreneur as a person, secondly the collateral,
thirdly the return on investment and lastly the certainty in terms of assets. The bank
has to be convinced of the commercial success potential of the products, only a small
amount of designers succeed in doing that.
In general designers are afraid of owing money to banks. According to Sahil Dhingra,
director of Orient Craft Limited, fashion entrepreneurs usually finance their ventures
through personal connections such as friends, family and private savings, because it
seems less risky. However, starting a company with private money represents a high
personal financial risk.
The scale of finance has also to be considered. If the designers do not require such a
high amount of money, it may be that the scale of finance has to be adjusted since it
may not be suitable for early finance of a young fashion design venture. A relevant
question is if entrepreneurs only demand such a small amount of money or if this
carries the danger of starting with too little money. According to Sugars (2007), author
for the online magazine Entrepreneur, there are six biggest mistakes in raising start-up
capital. One of the mistakes is that entrepreneurs “start out with too little money”. The
failure is often caused by their financial calculations, which is mostly based on a best-
case forecast rather than a worst-case scenario. These entrepreneurs are too optimistic
about their possibilities. The small-scaled nature of fashion entrepreneurs, which will
be mentioned in the chapter of the personal challenges, is hence influencing not only
the growth of accompanied but also the entire success of the venture.
2.6.1 (A) 4 Governmental support
Fashion design is recognized as a sub-sector of the creative industry. In the last years
the creative industry as a whole has drawn attention in politics due to the dynamically
economic contribution.
In India, governmental support for the creative industry is in the early stages but it is
far behind the support for other industries such as the technology and engineering
sector. A fashion industry expert pointed out: “In general there is a big offer for people
who want to establish a business but not so much for creative people. These
supportive programs vary to the ones in other branches, they are structured in a
different way, and many lack a reference to entrepreneurship.”
Governmental support for creative entrepreneurs is still very limited in terms of the
amount of different support initiatives and it is mostly limited in time. An organization
has to apply with a concept for governmental financial support. Then the government
has to allow the application and concede money. A coordinator of a support initiative
Page | 25
in Delhi stated in a conversation: “Our support programs are financed for three years,
after this time unfortunately only some of them will be continued.” With such a short
duration these initiative are beneficial but not sufficient. They do not contribute to a
sustainable support system.
2.6.1 (A) 5 Fashion clusters
As Burke (2008) pointed out, a fashion cluster is formed when a number of companies
that work in the fashion industry gather in close proximity and they further form a
critical mass providing work, a pool of fashion industry talents and a fruitful
environment encouraging innovation, creativity and competition. It includes
supporting industries and services, fashion designers, patternmakers, marketing
agencies, publishing, retailers and education institutes that teach fashion skills.
According to Burke (2008) clusters encourage cooperation with other companies,
facilitate networking and enable useful industry contacts. The businesses in the cluster
can be regarded as extended companies that use the common location as a base for a
relationship that ease work and offer a learning platform. It is a platform to interact
and exchange. For fashion entrepreneurs these clusters present a potentially useful and
beneficial environment to start up a new venture. Especially cultural appealing cities,
mostly metropolises, attract creative people. Such clusters of creative people lead to
an increased desirability of certain regions, in particular for fashion
entrepreneurs. Mira Bhalla, a well renowned fashion designer in Mumbai stated that
“For a designer the location of the workplace is crucial, it has to be a creative place
where people meet.” This is at the same time a challenges clusters stimulate
competition. It is a local accumulation of similar operating businesses that compete on
the same market. In a cluster, it can be even harder to establish a successful position.
Page | 26
2.6.1 (B) Individual challenges
Several factors can influence and challenge the foundation and growth of a fashion
design company: individual network, personality, education, personal background,
attitude, role and behavior of a fashion design entrepreneur. It has to be mentioned that
the following is a general reflection and does obviously not apply for all fashion
designers. These challenges will be illustrated with results from the research and
underlined by literature review. The challenges are split into seven categories:
Set of Skills
Behavioural
Business Skills
Individual Challenges
Education
Communication
Designer as a brand
Small Scaled
Chart 2.8 Individual Challenges
Jackson etal (2006) argued that designers must be multi-skilled. The tasks of a fashion
designer vary from company to company but as an entrepreneur, a fashion designer
needs a large set of skills. It is a leave-taking from the traditional designer role into the
balancing act of two elements- creativity with business kills and art with commerce.
Firstly, the design part consists of the aesthetic and technical product development
process. Secondly, the business part includes the business strategy and management of
the label.
Page | 27
Fashion design entrepreneurs have to be aware.And in charge of all the different
fields of the business:
General
manageme
nt
Sourcing Research
Production
Product
developme Marketing
nt
•
Distributio
n
Chart 2.9 Different field of business

Fashion designers have chosen their profession due to the creative and artistically
sphere of activity. In day-to-day work as an entrepreneur, design is only a fraction of
the whole. Much more time consuming are all the other aspects that have to be
managed, which requires a large commitment of time and energy. A great stamina and
openness is needed to accept this fact and to get along with it. If a company consists
only of one person or a small team, lack of time is an eminent challenge. Designer Ritu
Kumar stated: “The biggest mistake of beginners leaving the school is to believe that
they are able to establish a label right away, with all the different fields which are
connected to it. The creation of an interesting collection is only one aspect among
several others, which are necessary to build a successful brand.”
The designers often feel overburdened by the enormous number of different fields of
activities. A designer has the possibility to outsource certain fields of responsibility but
it has to be mentioned that to handover certain tasks to specialists like the
patternmaking process, requires financial capital. And as it was shown before, this is a
burden for small fashion design labels. According to Anjali Mehta And Arjun Kumar
emerging fashion designers in Delhi Expressed: “We think it is the best to outsource as
much as possible to give a part of the responsibility away. If you are not sure about
things, so many mistakes can happen. And if them is takes happen to others it is much
easier for fashion designers because they have a contract. This is of course more
expensive but at the end it is better for the designer. “Even if these entrepreneurs said
that they do not like to giveaway too much work, they were aware of their limits and
recognized the significance of outsourcing certain fields of activities.
Page | 28
And the founders continue with a specific problem the label was faced at the
beginning: “The production is really a big problem for us. It is not easy to
communicate everything in a way that the production company understands. We have
not enough experience in doing business for example with a production company. On
the first invoice, they had listed only one absolute amount of money. How much each
single work performance cost was not visible and how this amount of money was
calculated.”
In general creative people tend to be into doing everything on their own. It seems not
easy for designers to give away parts of their work. A fashion designer from Delhi
said: “I think it is normal for designers that we want to do all the tasks by ourselves,
we want to have the control over everything, this has a lot to do with passion and the
personal connection to the products.” If a label is reaching a certain size, it is naturally
to outsource as much as possible in order to be able to concentrate on the essential
aspects. The director of a fashion incubator told from her experience within the
incubator: “A lot of designers want to do all the different tasks by themselves but that
makes it inefficient.
2.6.1 (B) 2 Personality – Behavior – Attitude
Schumpeter (1934) argued that a strong personality is needed as entrepreneurs face

opposition from different sources. Funding and managing a business requires hard
work, persistency and the ability to cope with uncertainty. The whole attitude of an
entrepreneur such as the approach towards the concept and progress of a new venture
is crucial for the development of a company. It influences the company culture, the
spirit of enterprise and the self-motivation.
Some designers argued that they feel no other possibility on the harsh fashion labour
market than self-employment. They mentioned that the aesthetical direction of the
brand is an essential criterion for choosing an employer. A c c o r d i n g t o a fashion
designer with a label in Delhi has put it this way:” If the aesthetical direction does not
fit to my own sense of artistic style. It is too difficult to get a job at one of my favored
designers.” Henry (2007) mentioned the notion “accidental entrepreneurship”.
Creative entrepreneurs often setup their own business because it is the only way to
work.
Creative people set up a business in a different way, mostly without extensive and
complex market studies and operational structures. As a director of a fashion incubator
stated: “Many designers do not regard themselves as entrepreneurs or even as owners
of a business. It is more of an art project, designers create something that is
representing them and this is what they want to communicate. As a consequence, it is
more difficult to plan the result of the work.” Shamita Mehta of Vogue India shares
this view: “Many designers see themselves as artists‟ and that‟ show they think. But
fashion is a business. An artist does not have to care about marketing but a designer.
A designer has to sell his cloth.”
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Creative minds are highly involved in their work, have strong personal values and are
driven mostly by their internal motivation. Passion and commitment are essential
characteristics to describe the relation to their work. It is a close connection of product
and creator. According to Brown (2007) the emotional attachment of a c r e a t i v e
entrepreneur to his/her idea is often bigger than in other sectors. On that account the
emotional impact of failure is very high. Designers have to be convinced about their
creative output and be proud of the own products but at the same time, this presents a
dangers and could influence a clear, objective and realistic view on the business idea
and the management of the company. Creativity comes from having a clear vision
(Jones, 2008).Therefore emotional spirit has to be connected with rational spirit. It
shows that starting a sustainable business is partly dependent on the personality and
the behavior of a fashion designer.
According to fashion designers and industry experts, it turned out that generally
fashion designers have a lack of business skills. It gains importance when fashion
designer actually set-up an own business. Whereby it is naturally due to the focus of
their education on design .Additionally and even more parlous, they lack interest for
economic topics. The formulation of a business plan is only an example for the lack of
interest of business skills in general. It presents an enormous problem because
awareness and attention for economic issues is absolutely essential when running a
business.
2.6.1 (B) 3 Business skills
The conducted conversations illustrate the lack of entrepreneurial and business skills
as a main challenge for fashion designers in becoming an entrepreneur. While they are
often very confident about their creative work, they lack confidence entering the world
of business. Management, marketing, accounting and financing have to be considered
as weak points off fashion entrepreneurs. Naturally it develops and increases by
gaining experience.
According to Mc Robbie (1998) designers generate a sense of tension between

themselves and the business world. As a main characteristic of fashion entrepreneurs
various respondents expressed that designers think in a different way. An industry
expert stated to the point: “It is like talking two different languages. It is an industry
where two different worlds clash. A culture entrepreneurship consultant stated that
entrepreneurs do often not have a relation to economic issues. They have an idea,
passion and enthusiasm, but if it comes to create. A business plan and a business
concept, which is absolutely essential, it gets difficult for them. A designer, resident of
a fashion incubator, said in a conducted conversation: “I think you cannot be super
creative and handle all the collection, you would need three education to handle
everything by yourself.” According to Pearl and NIFT faulty, fashion institutions need
to prepare their students more for the commercial world, they stated that “I think we
do have a problem that we produce wonderfully creative people who obviously want
Page | 30
to go on and make their own collections and get out into the big wide world of fashion
but really have got very little business strength behind them and very little finance.”
2.6.1 (B) 4 Communication – Network
According to Burke (2008), networking can be defined as the ability to connect with a
broad range of contacts with the aim of sharing useful information and resources. The
relationship is usually mutually advantageous and collaborative. A well-grounded
network is essential in every industry but especially in the fashion industry the
interaction and communication of people is very important. This can be a challenge for
young fashion designers whose network is often very limited. It may take a certain
time for a new entrepreneur to build up a network. Through a network of relevant
contacts, it is possible to get useful information, to gain access to important contacts
and share knowledge. Especially at the beginning a relevant and broad network is very
helpful to startup the label. The statement from one of the fashion entrepreneurs is
characteristic: “I think to be a successful fashion designer, it is 10% talent, 90%
network.” A designer young label in Mumbai explained the benefits of their network:
“The whole photo shootings and preparation ofthe booklets would have not been
possible without a network of people who do these things for a very small amount of
money or for free.”
Bulletal (1993) defined three stages of network concepts of small firm communities.
The first stage are the networks interims of membership and linkage, secondly the
dynamics within the network of relations between members. The third stage is the
competitive advantage. Small firms benefit from a particular network due to the
location of the network. Therefore, a network has different characteristics and
benefits.
Networking can be a problem for a number of creative entrepreneurs when dealing

with business partners. In particular when interacting with the counterpart, some
designers are incapable of communicating with business people in the right way in an
appropriate business language. A manager of a support prograstated: “I see that the
designers are very often not able to communicate with producers and that producers
have often to adjust to the designers.” According to Heller (2002), designers are
dependent on the environment: “The minute you depend on creativity for a living, one
can control to somebody else‟s judgment. Designers should know how to
communicate and how to take their ideas to the marketplace. The most challenging
task for fashion incubator is being a salesperson: “One has to sell yourself-to sell
yourself to a completely stranger, one have to show an increase the integrity.” A
fashion designer described their biggest problem on the way to set up their label: “We
had big problems in selling our clothes-to describe the uniqueness of the pieces. All
the buyers look for a story. One really has to prove yourself at the beginning but you
get better every day. It is a constant learning process.” When communicating about
business issues, there are always two parties involved. Not only the designers, but also
Page | 31
the other side has to be considered. According to Bruceetal (2002) barriers for
integrating design is among others the design illiteracy on the side of business people.
2.6.1 (B) 6 Designer as a brand
A designer has to stand behind and represent the label. This means the fashion
designer stands for the brand 24x7 and as a result incorporates the brand. A director of
a fashion incubator explained it like that: “It is not you and the business, you are the
business.” The linkage of founder and business implicates a close emotional
connection. The tight relation carries the inherent danger of being not rational enough.
Especially in the fashion industry, the publicity and awareness of the designer‟s name
and the associated design language is more present than in other branches. Brands‟ and
designers‟ names became of particular importance in the 2000‟s century. It is quite a
challenge to create not only an interesting collection and good products but also to
communicate the aesthetics of the products and to connect the personality successfully
with the collection. The founder and fashion designer of a small business is at the
same time a spokesperson for the label.
2.6.1 (B) 7 Small Scaled
The intention to set up a label may have various reasons, ranging for instance from
personal fulfillment, financial self-reliance to artistic freedom, but in the middle of the
focus is the generation of value. For a creative person value can be related to a
financial, social or emotional outcome. Helleretal (2008) stated that some designers
view profit as relative, which cannot always be translated” as coming from the
connection of art, design and commerce.
This is a significant aspect, since it could have an impact on the growth of a company.
If a business founder does not think big but rather in a small-scale, then the focus does
naturally not lay on further growth. McRobbie (2010) stated that in the fashion design
industry, economic issues are subordinated to creative and cultural aspects. Most of
the designers prioritize the creative over the financial outcome. A person in charge of a
support initiative reported from her experience: “Creative people are less risky; they
do not like to take a credit and rather start their business small-sized.” Some
companies prefer to stay small because the fashion entrepreneurs are afraid to burden
themselves too much and they are afraid of the fashion industry as an uncertain, fast-
paced and unpredictable sector (Leadbeateretal, 2005).The small-scaled nature of the
business is a challenge for an entrepreneur. If a young and small company is not yet
well established on the market, the founder is confronted with obstacles such as the
dependence on a few customers and the missing effect of economy of scale in the
production process as already examined in the industry specific challenges.
Page | 32
2.7 Experiences of Indian Fashion designers
2.7.1 Challenges Encountered by Indian Fashion Designers
New Age Fashion Designer – Kresha Bajaj

Kresha Bajaj‟s new fashion label “Koëcsh” created a lot of buzz in the industry. The label
was created out of love for the unconventional. It enables people to wear what they want
to and not what others thought they should. She had always embraced expression and
emotion in the way she dressed and with Koëcsh, she felt others can start doing the same
too.
Kresha bajaj - Her Journey

Kresha studied fashion for 7 years in London, New York, Paris and Los Angeles .She
realized that there is a huge gap that existed in markets worldwide for something that had
high fashion appeal at high street prices. Koëcsh is an online brand, available in every
country around the world. Her collection is about revolving fashion and trends. The
online portal is product driven rather than brand driven. (Anon, 2013)
Figure 2.6 Kresha Bajaj

Source: http://www.smartindianwomen.com/an-interview-with-a-fashion-designer-kresha-bajaj/
Challenges faced in starting the business

Kresha felt that she had encountered more challenges had she had expected. Her main
challenges were with production and logistics. With production, she faced a lot of
problems with the finishing. Since she is very particular about every stitch, if everything
is in place, especially with how affordable she wants her products to be, there was huge
back and forth that happened to ensure that there were able to achieve the most amazing
quality and finish products while keeping affordable prices.
The other major challenge that she faced was with logistics. She wanted to ensure that she
not only launched the site to India but to the entire world. Being the first retailer to be
shipping globally, the brand had to do a lot of testing and major decision making to be
able to ship to 233 countries. With logistics she also wanted a shift customer policy of
Page | 33
exchanges and returns so getting the logistics partner to adhere to it and respect the
timelines was a task.
Future Plans
She had shared the vision of her brand Koëcsh around people, but she got a lot of
raised eyebrows – all questioning me if she had lost my mind because a brand like this
would never work in India. Today, the brand is not just selling in India, but across 233
countries. She wanted Koëcsh to emerge as a platform for other designers that shared
similar taste in fashion but have not been able to make it big because no retailer wants to
risk its space with them.
Figure 2.7 Collections by Kresha Bajaj

Source: http://www.smartindianwomen.com/an-interview-with-a-fashion-designer-kresha-bajaj/
Page | 34
Ridhi Mehra
About her journey

Ridhi Mehra made a remarkable achievement rare for most designers her age. At just 23,
she found breakout success with her fashion label in a competitive industry. According to
her, business acumen is very important to carry out your own fashion label. Her collection
mainly focuses on aesthetics, which blends European tailoring with Indian craftsmanship,
which has alleviated her designs stand out in a competitive marketplace. Many bollywood
stars such as Sonam Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma, Richa Chaddha,
Sonakshi Sinha, and Huma Qureshi to southern actresses Samantha and Tamannaah
Bhatia have been seen in her garments within just a few years of
the launch of her label.
After three years of working as a store assistant, Ridhi launched
her own line of bridal wear, contemporary ethnic wear and
innovative jumpsuits, and within months she show cased her
collection on popular online fashion portal Pernia‟s Pop Up
Shop. The prominence for her fashion label led to further tie-ups
with outlets such as Aza, Ogaan, Anahita, Evoluzione, Carma
and 85 Lands downe in India, besides others in Jakarta, London
and Bangkok. She also exhibited at luxury wedding exhibitions
across India, and plenty more retail partnerships began to
Figure 2.7 Ridhi Mehra
materialize, along with her first Lakme Fashion Week show.
Source: http://couturerani.com/interview/2013/11
/get-know-designer-ridhi-
Challenges of launching a fashion label in such a competitive market

There are lots of challenges when developing high-quality design. While she
acknowledges that this industry generates a lot of employment opportunities, the labour
available for producing couture pieces is still unorganized and mostly uneducated. One
the most grueling tasks she faces is assembling materials and fabrics and coordinating
with craftsman within a stipulated deadline, and
sticking to a promised delivery date. According to
her sourcing is one of the most difficult and
challenging tasks. As there is so much detailing that
goes into it. Every garment is an ensemble of so
many little details, and the end product absolutely
has to match the sample ordered by the client. Since
these patches of fabric and embroidery come from
different sources, hence the job becomes hard to
handle. Production and quality check are two most
difficult and important aspects in running a fashion
label. It is very important to have a good team
working in the production department.
Figure 2.8 Challenges
Source:http://www.azafashions.com/uploads/images
/11013450_10152645946655936_33492972415264
58586_n.jpg Page | 35
Masaba Gupta
Masabha Gupta is one of the most popular names

in the Indian fashion industry. She started her
career at the age of 19, she made a mark in the
industry with her bold prints, kaleidoscopic
colors, and rule-breaking silhouettes. At 23 she
had not only made a mark for herself as a fashion
designer but she also emerged as an entrepreneur
.She got an appreciation of the fashion flock and
also became famous in the masses.
Figure 2.9 Masaba Gupta
Source: http://www.rediff.com/getahead/slide-show/
Masaba’s Journey in the fashion world been

The journey had been surreal for her. She was told that designers usually take a long time
to make a mark. But in her case everything happened at a fast pace, not just popularity
wise, but also from the business point of view, it was quite phenomenal for her. She
didn‟t expect people to take to her clothes so quickly because they weren‟t really
commercial earlier. Hence when she got acceptance from people, she knew that she has to
act on it fast, and not just be a one-hit wonder.
Thought Process and Exclusivity

Her brand sustained in the industry also because she thought it was the fact that her work
didn‟t look like anybody else‟s. The use of Indian textiles and modern silhouettes became
a hit. She was also experimenting with the sari (her earliest innovation was the pocket
sari), and using very bright colors. It was very India-kitsch.
Challenges faced by her during her journey

Even though she became eminent and successful in a short span of time, there were a lot
of challenges that she faced. She initially thought that creating the design is the important
aspect but on the contrary selling was the biggest hardship that she faced. It was
something that one has to put a lot of investment in, and there‟s no formula for being
successful in retail. There is lot of trial and error, and that process is very exhausting. A
lot of money is required in that process. Masaba also encountered a lot of challenges in
launching her collection in the online portal. Turning to the online medium, after having
tried pret and setting up her own studio, she felt that her biggest challenge was to
maintain the quality of garments while keeping the prices intact. She thought that when
one is designing for the masses and for an online segment, the customers are actually
looking at other designers with yours, because they want to own a piece of designer wear.
So the reputation of a designer is at stake and therefore keeping the quality level in tact is
very important. Masaba felt that since today‟s customer is smart enough to know when
they're getting a bad product. At the same time, the prices have to be within a certain
bracket as well. After making a remarkable stand in Mumbai, she thought of launching
her boutique in Delhi as well. When she started getting queries from a lot of young
Page | 36
fashion designers from the Delhi fashion circuit, she thought it was the best time to
expand in Delhi and decided to launch her boutique in the capital. A lot of thought went
into the new store launch with multiple exhibitions held to test the marker. She felt Delhi
market is a big challenge, where bling dominates so for her to launch a boutique in Delhi
with a line of pure silks/ikat was a brave move. She was true to her signature style of
eclectic prints and white decor with pinewood finishing similar to her Mumbai store,
though she had made a few changes for her Delhi clientele. She had a lot of velvets and
raw silks, basically styles suitable for winter, which didn‟t have in Mumbai.
Difference in designing clothes for a college show and designing lines for a fashion
week or designing clothes for people to actually come and buy your designs
According to Masaba, fashion week is like a creative outburst. One gets to do what they
love, experiment and create out-of-the-box stuff. But
as a student she had always watched shows and
realized that if one can't show things on ramp with
which a middle class Indian woman can't be
associate to. Designs should have some sort of
commercial viability even if it is on ramp. She felt
that India is still not a fashion forward country. It is
still not ready to think of fashion as an art. For her
fashion is still a business. She thinks she has
managed to find that middle point where she does
things that are not done before but at the same time
something that people can wear.
Figure 2.10 Masaba Gupta
Source:
http://www.missmalini.com/2014/05/02/masaba-
to-design-sportswear-for-womens-international-
cricket-league/
Future Plans
She wants to do something that is more affordable. Her future plan is to create a brand
that is available at every lifestyle store in India. That‟s the plan for the next two-three
years. In the next seven to eight years, she plans to become a far larger brand with many
more extensions of the label, like furniture, home décor, cutlery and more.
Ashwini Deshpande - Co-founded Elephant Strategy and Design

(Co-Founders – Ashiwini Dehspande, Partho Guha and Sudhir Sharma)
Ashwini Deshpande graduated from National Institute of Design (NID) and since then she
knew that design is a team game. She wanted to build a “multi-disciplinary design”
enterprise with a new team of passionate people. She and some of her co-owners had
done projects and internships with larger agencies (Lintas, Ulka, Mudra) and corporate
(Tata, Blue Star, BASF) but they were inspired by the work of Pentagram & Frog Design.
Since there was no such design company around in India in 1989, they decided to form
that company. There were a lot of challenges faced by them during the early days of
Page | 37
setting up Elephant Strategy and Design. The challenges faced then are rather trivial now.
The first task was to explain to their chartered accountant about
what their business was going to be. The next and the tougher
part was to elucidate the same thing to a bank manager who
was not convinced when they needed a current account since
any income seemed a remote possibility to the manager
considering design as a business. The third challenge that they
faced was explain to some of their early clients, on why needed
to charge, design fee since no agency had ever charged it as a
separate component. But surprisingly they never faced any job-
less days since they started their business.
Figure 2.11 Ashwini Deshpande
Source: http://kyoorius.com/2012/06/designer-
entrepreneur/#sthash.8AIReoll.dpuf
Sumit Patel, Co-founded by Leaf Design
Sumit Patel co-founded Leaf Design in 2003. He started with his friend Satvinder
Channy, along with one assistant and an office help. Before starting Leaf Design, he had
worked in the digital sphere. He felt that it is very important for designers to know about
management skills by going through a course at management schools.
He felt that since the design council in the UK had written in their report about multi-
disciplinary learning environments, where
designers interact with technologists,
engineers etc. Designers need to be
innovation leaders. He believed that he
should be applicable in India too. In the
start-up mode, a key issue he faced was
building a team of efficient members. He
and his team found it challenging in
getting people on board in their start up
because a lot of people at that time resisted
working in start-ups. And also there was
so much learning on the business front,
which the designing college did not
prepared for.
Figure 2.12 Sumit Patel
Source: http://kyoorius.com/2012/06/designer-
entrepreneur/#sthash.8AIReoll.dpuf
It is important for designers to update their business skills, as in the first few years; design
entrepreneurs spend most of their time learning those skills. He did have a four-week
module that dealt with design management in national institute of design, but it dwelled
on  the subject on the surface level. He believed that for most designers who start their
own firm, they don‟t look at it as a business. Its very passion led, very skilled. This in turn
becomes their liability. After few years, the problem of sustainability emerges. It‟s not
about survival but more about the ability to grow because if the company doesn‟t grow,
Page | 38
then it‟s called just a boutique. The continuous challenge is to understand how do you
grow and stay more focused.
Bhavika Shah of Beyond design said there were a number of challenges that she had to
grapple with, during her early start-up days. She explained starting a business had its
challenges, as She didn‟t know how to decide on her price points, how to build a client
age, how to be commercially viable. So everything practically ended in question marks.
She had made a lot of mistakes in making the decision; through her journey she had much
fewer fears and inhibitions now. She faced challenges in analyzing the market, as to
which target audience will prefer collection.
IshanKhosla, founder, IshanKhosla design
He studied design abroad and spent five years in a New York design firm after
graduation, before deciding to return to India and start something. He admitted he was in
two minds about whether to work on his own or work under someone else.
Having recommended by his friends to work on his own, he decided to launch his own
design studio. The main motivation was the freedom to do the kind of projects that he
wanted to do. He had his own vision and ideas, which, perhaps, didn‟t match that of the
studios he was wondering whether to join, at the time. Also, in Delhi, with laws
undergoing changes as far as real estate was concerned, that was something else, on the
operational side that was a challenge.
2.6 Ambiguities in Indian Fashion Industry
There are a lot of drawbacks in the Indian fashion industry. Some of them are: Lack of
resilient brands in the country, about 75 percent of domestic apparel market is
commoditized and unbranded; people still don‟t prefer to buy designer wear clothes. Also
a lot of people feel that designer wear is not meant for middle class population in the
country. One major issue that people face is the collection that a designer showcases is
not appropriate to be worn ordinarily. Inability of designers to raise finance – Designers
often face the problem of raising funds that are required to carry out their business. Even
well renowned designers are incapable of tapping finances from organized resources.
Since a vital part of their assets are brands and design talent which are not measured in
terms of money and hence it becomes difficult to judge the value in monetary terms.
Lack of creditability to new emerging designers: Most of the young designers are hired
by the bigger names to work in their studios, thus imprinting their work with the label of
the big designers. Individual performance is not an alternative for most of the young
talent, because of the limitation of finance, so a beginner designer‟s name often fails to
emanate to the forefront. A suggestive roadmap is a need of the hour to build strong
brand base in India: Building a strong brand in fashion capitals of the world like Paris,
Milan and New York needs innovative designers, a seamless supply chain, control over
retail and distribution and concentration on quality. Every stakeholder including
Page | 39
designers, exporters, textile players and retail chains needs to come together and build an
association to ensure that the position of Indian fashion is strong in future. Different
business models Required: The Indian fashion industry has many views but only one
model, wherein a designer creates a retail venture with his/her own brand through
organized retail chains. There are many other models that can be explored and worked
upon. Designer education & motivation: Fashion education in the country should be
encouraged in the country. The fashion students should be motivated and they should also
get international exposure, this can be done by sponsoring exchange programs with
international universities, increasing participations in the fashion capitals of the world,
motivating and offering business incubation to new designers and rewarding efforts
through proper design awards
Page | 40
CHAPTER 3 – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter describes and justifies the research method and tools, which are used in the
research project. Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research
problem. The system of collecting data for research project is explained in detailed in this
chapter. This also includes various steps in studying the research problem along with the
logic behind them.
3.1 Research Methodology
Research methodology is a systematic way to solve a problem. It is a science of studying

how research is to be carried out. Essentially, the procedures by which researchers go
about their work of describing, explaining and predicting phenomena are called research
methodology. It is also defined as the study of methods by which knowledge is gained. Its
aim is to give the work plan of research.
3.1.1 Importance of Research Methodology
The study of research methodology gives necessary training in gathering material and
arranging or card-indexing them, participation in the field work when required, and also
training in techniques for the collection of data appropriate to particular problems, in the
use of statistics, questionnaires and controlled experimentation and in recording evidence,
sorting it out and interpreting it. Importance of knowing the methodology of research or
how research is done stems from the following considerations:
 The knowledge of methodology provides good training especially to the new

research worker and enables to do better research. It helps to develop disciplined
thinking or a „bent of mind‟ to observe the field objectively. Hence, the researcher
must develop the skill of using research techniques and must thoroughly
understand the logic behind them.
 It helps to gain the knowledge of how the research will inculcate the ability to
evaluate and use research results with reasonable confidence.
 When one knows how research is done, then one may have the satisfaction of
acquiring a new intellectual tool, which can become a way of looking at the world
and of judging every day experience. Accordingly, it enables us to make
intelligent decisions concerning problems faced in practical life at different points
of time. Thus, the knowledge of research methodology provides tools to take at
things in life objectively.
Page | 41
3.2 Problem Statement
The problem addressed through the dissertation was challenges encountered by fashion
designers in India. An opportunity gap was identified to address this problem by
proposing a strategic plan for the emerging and established fashion designers in India,
which will postulate more opportunities to fashion designers to overcome their difficulties
in running and developing their fashion label and expand their label successfully
3.3 Research Objectives
 RO1–To analyze the business ecosystem operating for contemporary Indian Fashion
Designers
 RO2 – To identify the challenges encountered by emerging and established fashion

designers in Delhi/NCR
 RO3 – To develop a strategic plan addressing the problems faced by Indian Fashion
Designers
RO1–To analyze the business ecosystem operating

For contemporary Indian Fashion Designers
RO2 – To identify the challenges encountered

by emerging and established fashion designers in
Delhi/NCR
RO3 – To develop a strategic plan

addressing the problems faced by
Indian Fashion Designers
Figure 2.13 Research Objectives

Page | 42
3.4 Research Model
Project Ideation
(Supported by Literature Review)
Background Study
(Secondary Research)
Research Objective1 Research Objective 2 Research Objective 3

To analyze the business To identify the challenges To develop a strategic plan
ecosystem operating for encountered by emerging and addressing the difficulties
contemporary Indian Fashion established Indian fashion faced by Indian Fashion
Designers designers Designers
Research Design
Exploratory Research
RO1 – Data Collection Method RO2 – Data Collection Method RO3 – Data Collection Method
Secondary Secondary Data Secondary Data
(Articles, Websites, Books) (Articles, Websites, Books) (Articles, Websites, Books)
Primary Data Primary Data
(In-depth Interview) (In-depth Interview)
Finding and Analysis
Conclusion and Recommendation

Figure 2.14 Research Model
Page | 43
3.5 Research Design
According to Kerlinger, Research design is the plan, structure and strategy of

investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions and to control
variance. Research design is used to ensure that requisite data in accordance with the
problem is collected accurately and economically. It is a framework for the research
study, which guides the collection and analysis of data. The research design, depending
upon the needs of the researcher may be a very detailed statement or only furnish the
minimum information required for planning the research project.
The most appropriate method of research design used to understand the first and second
research objectives is Exploratory Research.
Exploratory research will help understand research objective the insight of the business
what is the market scenario, various challenges encountered by Indian Fashion designers
in running a fashion label. Thus, it will help understanding the concepts better and will
help crystallize the defined gap. It is used when the researcher has an idea or has
observed something and seeks to understand more about it. It is a systematic, but a
flexible method of research design that allows the researcher to investigate through
various sources like qualitative techniques, secondary research and expert‟s opinions. For
example, the researcher from the previous information can use books, syndicated
research, case studies, focus groups, expert interviews and survey techniques to conduct
exploratory research
In reference to the report “Social Computing: Study on the Use and Challenges of
Collaborative Content”. The research objectives of this report are to study the market
scenario of social computing and the challenges impacting the industry. The researcher
had slight knowledge about social computing, so to gain insights about this situation the
researcher used exploratory research. Exploratory research helped to understand about the
industry, its impact and challenges in-depth the research used exploratory research. It
allowed the researcher to define the problem more precisely and to generate hypotheses
for the impending study. This is similar to this research study.
Page | 44
3.6 Research Methodology for Research Objectives 1
RO1–To analyze the business ecosystem operating for contemporary Indian

Fashion Designers
Research Design
Data Collection Method

Secondary Research
Data Collection Tool

Articles, Websites, Books and journals
Figure 2.15 Research Methodology for RO1

3.6.1 Research Design
The most appropriate method of research design used to understand the first research
objectives is Exploratory Research.
Exploratory research will help understand research objective the insight of the business
what is the market scenario, various challenges encountered by Indian Fashion designers
in running a fashion label. Thus, it will help understanding the concepts better and will
help crystallize the defined gap. It is used when the researcher has an idea or has
observed something and seeks to understand more about it.
3.6.2 Data Collection Method

Secondary Data
The Secondary data is collected through articles, case studies, books, research papers,
and current information in the online websites, the secondary data helped to identify the
problem and the need gap in the industry. The secondary data helped in getting clarity
about the market scenario, scope of the fashion industry, statistics of the market, and
insight about how the fashion industry has evolved future of the industry. It has helped
build a structure and understanding for the primary research.
Page | 45
RO2–To identify the challenges encountered by emerging and established

Indian fashion designers
Data Collection Method
Research Design
Primary Data Secondary Data

In-depth Interview Articles, Books,
Websites
Page | 46
The most appropriate method of research design used to understand the second research
Exploratory research will help understand research objective the insight about how the
designer wear industry works, various types challenges of encountered by Indian Fashion
designers in running a fashion label. Help understand the challenges in terms of industry
and individual. Thus, it will help understanding the concepts better and will help
crystallize the defined gap in the fashion industry.
3.7.2 Data Collection Method
Secondary Data
The secondary data collected to conduct the research are through articles, case studies,
books, research paper sand current information in the online websites, the secondary data
helped to identify the problem, establish need gap and to suggest the solutions to them.
Primary Data
The primary data is collected through in-depth Interviews with emerging and established
fashion designers in Delhi/NCR. In-depth interviews helped get a clear understanding
about the various kinds of challenges faced by fashion designers .And also helped in
analyzing the levels of operational difficulties that varied across fashion designers with
experience in the industry.
Page | 47
RO3–To develop a strategic plan addressing the difficulties faced by Indian

Fashion Designers
Research Design

In-depth Interview Articles, Books,
Websites
Page | 48
The most appropriate method of research design used to understand the third research
Exploratory research will help understand the strategies apt for combating the
challenges faced by fashion designers. It will help in suggesting future strategies to the
fashion designers to be able to strategically solutions the problems that they face in
running their fashion label.
Secondary Data
The secondary data is collected through articles, case studies, books, research papers
and current information in the online websites ,the secondary data helped to identify the
problem and to suggest the solutions to them.
Primary Data
The primary data is collected through in-depth Interviews with emerging and established
fashion designers in Delhi. The type of questions in the in-depth interview were
qualitative to get a in depth understanding about what types of challenges does a fashion
designer face
3.8.2 Sampling Technique
A sampling technique is the name or other identification of the specific process by which
the entities of the sample have been selected.
The sampling technique used for this research is Non-probability sampling. It is a

sampling technique where the samples are gathered in a process that does not give all the
individuals in the population equal chances of being selected. In this sampling technique,
the sample is selected in such a way that the chance of being selected of each unit within
the population is unknown. Indeed, the selection of the subjects is arbitrary or subjective,
since the researcher relies on his/her experience and judgment. Almost all qualitative
research methods rely on non-probability sampling techniques. Non-probability research
is appropriate for qualitative research design, non-probability sampling techniques, such
as purposive sampling, can provide researchers with strong theoretical reasons for their
choice of units (or cases) to be included in their sample.
Page | 49
Non Probability
Sampling
Purposive
Sampling
Expert Sampling
Figure 2.18 Sampling Technique

Purposive Sampling, also known as selective or subjective sampling, is a type of non-

probability sampling technique. Purposive sampling relies on the judgment of the
researcher when it comes to selecting the units (e.g., people, cases/organizations, events,
pieces of data) that are to be studied. Usually, the sample being investigated is quite
small, especially when compared with probability sampling techniques.
It is purposive sampling is when a researcher chooses specific people within the
population to use for a particular study or research project. The rationale behind
purposive sampling is to concentrate on people with particular characteristics who will
better be able to assist with the relevant research. There is a wide range of purposive
sampling techniques. The most appropriate sampling technique for the research is Expert
Sampling.
3.9 Expert Sampling

Expert sampling is a type of purposive sampling technique that is used when the research
needs to glean knowledge from individuals that have particular expertise. This expertise
may be required during the exploratory phase of qualitative research, highlighting
potential new areas of interest or opening doors to other participants. Alternately, the
particular expertise that is being investigated may form the basis of the research, requiring
a focus only on individuals with such specific expertise. Expert sampling is particularly
useful where there is a lack of empirical evidence in an area and high levels of
Page | 50
uncertainty. Therefore, expert sampling is a cornerstone of a research design known as
expert elicitation.
Figure 2.19 Case Study

In reference to the case study, purposive sampling assembles a sample of persons with
known or demonstrable experience and expertise, in handling a particular field. Likewise
in my research study, Fashion designers are being interviewed with an experience and
expertise in the field of fashion industry to get the real insight scenario of the market and
about what types of challenges and problems that emerging and established designers face
in running their fashion label. The most appropriate method of sampling was the subtype
of purposive sampling i.e expert sampling, which is being applied in this research too.
Page | 51
3.10 Sampling Size and unit
Eastablished
Fashion
Designers
Emerging (experience
Fashion above 5
Designers years)
(experience Sample Unit and Frame
of 5 years or Fashion Designers In
below) Delhi/NCR
Figure 2.20 Sample Size and Unit

Sample size denotes to the total number of respondents that are targeted and contributed
their views and perceptions. Sampling Unit is a single section selected to research and gather
statistics of the whole. The sample size appropriate for this research is 35.According to a
report by Anita Hordon (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands). The qualitative studies aim
is not to be representative of the population. The validity, meaningfulness and insights
generated from such studies have more to do with the information richness of the cases
selected, and the analytical qualities of the researcher than with the sample size. Generally
qualitative comparative studies have at least 10 informants per group. In reference to this
report the sample size selected the research is 35.
Page | 52
Emerging Fashion
Designers
Sample size - 20
Eastablished
Gestation Stage
(Ideation phase) Fashion
Sample Unit Designer
Sample size - 5 Sample Size -
10
Figure 2.21 Sample Unit

According to Aarti Uberoi (design faulty in pearl academy) it takes minimum of 5 years
to an individual to start up and develop a fashion label in Delhi. So the in-depth
interviews have been segregated according to the experience the fashion designer has in
the industry. Fashion designers with an experience of 5 years and below are categorized
as the emerging fashion designers, and 5 years and above are categorized as established
fashion designers in the industry. And therefore, the In-depth interviews are segregated by
the experience of 5 years.
Fashion Designing is still an emerging profession in the India; most designers are still
emerging in the country. Since the maximum number of designers is still in its nascent
stage, the sample size of the in-depth interviews will have majority of the fashion
designer interviewed in the category of 5 years experience or below.
Sampling Frame - A sample frame is a list that includes every member of the population
from which a sample is to be taken (Jessen 2003).The sample frame for this research is
Delhi/NCR.
Page | 53
3.11 Research Grid
Data Data
Research Research Sampling Sampling Sampling Sampling
Collection Collection
Objective Design Technique Size Unit Frame
Method Tool
Articles,
Report
RO1 Exploratory Secondary - - -
Journals,
Websites
Articles,
Report
RO2 Exploratory Secondary - - -
Journals,
Websites
Expert Expert Fashion
Primary 35 Delhi/NCR
interview Sampling Designers
Articles,
Report
RO3 Exploratory Secondary
Journals,
Websites
Expert Expert Fashion

Primary 35 Delhi/NCR
Interview Sampling Designers
3.12 Chapter Summary
Research methodology chapter frameworks this whole dissertation project, it outlines

the complete process from ideation, background study, Research objectives to analysis
and conclusion. The research methodology for the RO‟s explains that exploratory
research is used throughout the project and more of qualitative data is collected in the
primary data and the secondary data is used more to understand the topic well and
connect it with the primary data to conclude the findings.
Page | 54
Chapter 4: Findings and Analysis
This chapter will analyze the data collected through secondary data in Literature Review
and the primary data collected through personal interviews, the data will be discussed
with respect to the Research Objective, and the analysis will be made by correlating the
primary and secondary data and also by correlating the findings of research objectives.
4.1 Research Objective 1 – To analyze the business ecosystem operating for

contemporary Indian Fashion Designers
Fashion industry of India has seen a boom and gained popularity in world as a fashion
centric nation. Earlier, not many people knew about India and Indian fashion. However,
today India is a renowned nation famous for its elegant attires and diverse use of fabrics.
The Indian fabric and Indian textile is equally popular and in demand in international
markets.
India is a diverse nation and doesn‟t have a unique or a standard dressing style. This
diversification of dressing style has given Indian fashion designers ample scope of
creativity. There are been many milestones in the Indian fashion industry.
Starting and running a fashion business is an intense, all-encompassing experience. A

fashion designer just spends about 10 percent of your time designing. Fashion designers
have to oversee all aspects of the business, not just the creative parts. There are four key
steps in the fashion value chain:
 Market Analysis
 Customer Analysis
 Key Developments in the industry
 Key Issues
 Changes in the fashion industry throughout the different ERAs
4.1.1 Major Milestone in Indian Fashion Industry
Periodic Development in the Business of Fashion
1990s 2006-09 2016
1980s 2000-05 2010-2014
Figure 2.22 Periodic Developments in the Business of Fashion

Page | 55
1980s 1990s
Designers in the era –Fashion industry Designers in the Era – The number of
had limited number of designers when fashion designers increased in this Era.
started working in the industry. Some of Some of the well renowned fashion
them were Rina Dhaka ,Tarun Tahiliani, designers of this era are– Rohit Bal, Manish
Satya Paul , Rohit Khosla , Abu Jani- Arora , JJ Valaya , SuneetVarma, Manish
Sandeep Khosla, Anuradha Mafatlal ,Ritu Malhotra , Sabhyasachi Mukherjee , Anita
kumar and Ravi Bajaj Dongre , Anju Modi, Ashima leena , Neeta
lulla , Rohit Gandhi and Rahul khanna ,
Concept of multi designer store was Anamika khanna , Ranna Gill , Siddhartha
introduced. First Indian multi- designer tytler , Rajesh Pratapsingh , Rocky S ,
store “Ensemble” boutique launched by in Shantanu and Nikhil , RituBeri , Varun Behl
Mumbai by TarunTahiliani with the , Namarata Joshipura and Nikhil and
collaboration with American designer Shantanu and Rajesh Pratap Singh
Customer Analysis Customer Analysis

 Target - western clientèle and NRI  Focused on the upper middle class
 Upper middle class population of the country
 Indian designer largely focused on haute  Capturing global market and building a
couture strong clientele outside
Key Development Key Development

The turning point of the industry was the Economic liberalization of the Indian
establishment of the National Institute of economy took place, which propelled the
Fashion Technology (NIFT) in 1986.Which fashion industry. Fashion industry
gave a major boost to the new fashion experienced a boom, both in terms of
designers. volume and trends in this era.
Key Issues Market Analysis

 Lack of opportunities  In 1980s, Indian designer largely focused on
 The market was scattered and unstructured haute couture, but in the next decade there
 Low investments was a growth in the domestic retail industry.
 Import was restricted. Designers couldn‟t  Many Indian designers started their prêt-à-
import a zip or a button as the market was porter (ready-to-wear) lines
completely closed  Fashion Design Council of India was
established, which later started the India
Fashion Week in Delhi, to promote Indian
designers and manufacturers
Product Line – Western wear, Indian Product Line – Western wear, Indian wear,
wear, Indo-western wear Indo-western wear
Table4.1 Periodic Table

Page | 56
2000-05 2005-09
Designers in this ERA – Gaurav Gupta, Designers in this ERA –Shivan and Narresh ,
Rimple and Harpreet Narula , Rahul Mishra, Rinku Sobti , Anjali and Arjun
Amit Agarwal ,Renu Tanton , Amit Kapoor , SulanshanA Monga , Pankaj and Nidhi
Gupta , Kanika Goyal , Mandira Wirk , Hemant and Nandita , Gauri and Nainika
Bhumika Sharma ,Rabani and Rakha Amrit Kaur and Anubha Jain
Market Analysis Market Analysis
 Design ACT 2000 was introduced by the Great scope of designer wear market in In the
Government of India to make the fashion Middle Eastern countries
industry more structured
 Influx of outsourced garment business from the
 The industry had under a major western countries
perception change it was now regarded as
a serious business platform.  Rise in number of buyers and upcoming
designers In the industry to cater to the middle
 Indian fashion designers started class population of the country
representing India globally in Hong
Kong, Paris and Miami
Key Developments Key Developments

 Explosion of media helped fashion  Wills Lifestyle fashion week was started in
industry in getting a lot of recognition. Delhi.
 India‟s first formal fashion week was
held in 2000.About 53 leading designers  Bangalore Fashion Week (BFW) is a bi-annual
had participated in the event. fashion event held in Bangalore, India.
Established in 2009.
 In 2000, the council organized India‟s
first Lakmé Fashion Week, one of the Key Issues
country‟s most influential fashion events.
This helped improve domestic demand  Quality is the key issue that most designers in
and stirred Indian fashion circles the industry encounter
 Lack of foreign buyers and a corporate structure
for designers remain the biggest challenge for
the industry
Product Line – Western wear, Indian Product Line – Western wear, Indian wear,
wear, Indo-western wear Indo-western wear
Table 4.2 Periodic Table

Page | 57
2010 2015
Designers in this ERA – Masaba Gupta, Designers in this ERA - AgrimaBatra
AneethArora, AnujSharma ,Anushree ,NehaTaneja, NishikaLulla, DhruvKapoor
Reddy , RidhiMehra , RidhimaBhasin , , Dhora , Purvi Joshi ,Ekru and Ekaya ,
Nikhil Thampi ,Nitya Bajaj , KarishmaSondhi
Market Analysis Market Analysis
 The fashion industry was at 7.5 billion by Huge shift towards sustainable fashion
2012  The industry changed its focused towards
organic fabrics and natural dyes.
 Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) Innovative wearable drapes
has announced the launch of its new  Slight drift from the current state of mind,
fashion initiative - Pearls Delhi Couture taking current styles back to the '70s all
Week over again
 Fashion is penetrating and designers are
 The second is the initiation of a Trend targeting tier 2 and tier 3 cities
Dialogue between the government and
designers to inculcate in them the
concept of fashion.
Customer Analysis Customer Analysis
High class, Upper middle class, Middle High class, Upper middle class, Middle
Class Class and now fashion designers are
targeting tier 3 cities as well
Product Line –Western wear, Indian Product Line – Western wear, Indian
wear, Indo-western wear wear, Indo-western wear
Key Developments
 There are about 1000 design schools in

India today
Table 4.3 Periodic Table

Page | 58
Changes in the Fashion Industry from 1980s to 1990s
Economic liberalisation of
the Indian, propelled the
fashion industry. Indian Fashion designers changed
fashion industry their focus to domestic
experienced a boom, both In 1980s, Indian designer
Indian market largely focused on haute
in terms of volume and
trends Number of fashion couture, but in the next decade
designers increased in this there was a growth in the
industry and started their domestic retail industry as well
prêt-à-porter (ready-to- as influx of outsourced garment
wear) lines business from the western
countries
FDCI was established to
promote Indian designers and
manufacturers
Figure: 2.23 Analysis of the Periodic Development

(1980’s to 1990’s)
Changes in the Fashion Industry from 2000 to 2009

Better quality and larger
manufacturing facilities
were easily available Design ACT 2000 was
locally introduced by the
Increase in the number of government to make the Explosion of media helped
emerging designers industry more structured fashion industry in getting a
targeting the middle class lot of recognition
Great scope of designer
population of the country wear market in In the India‟s first Lakmé Fashion
Middle Eastern countries Week was organized which
gave a boost to the emerging
and established designers

(2000 to 2009)
Changes in the Fashion Industry from 2010 to 2015

The second is the
initiation of a Trend
Dialogue between the Fashion Design Council of
government and India (FDCI) has announced
the launch of its new fashion Huge shift towards
designers to inculcate sustainable fashion,
initiative - Pearls Delhi
in them the concept of Couture Week industry changed its
fashion focused towards organic
Fashion is penetrating and fabrics and natural dyes.
designers are targeting tier 2
and tier 3 cities
Page | 59
(2010 to 2015)
4.1.2 Inspiration of the collection through different ERAs
1980s
 Ancient traditions of Indian craftsmanship
 Art history
 Mughal Era
1990s
 Reflecting the ancient traditions of Indian craftsmanship in a contemporary way
 Indian history and various Cultures
 Blending Oriental influences with Indian aesthetics
2000-2004
 Designs mixing vintage
 Antique look with the new and contemporary lines
2004-2008
 Incorporation of European style on Indian textiles like bohemian
 Influence of paintings from the seventeenth and eighteenth century painters like
Bruegel, Claude Monet and others
 Blending western influences with Indian aesthetics
2008-2012
 Collection inspired by four Indian flowers, champa, lotus, palaash and hibiscus
 Soft metallic and jewel tones compose the couture collection of western outlook
on Indian attire
2012-2015
 Incorporating western and more contemporary silhouettes into classic Indian
attires
 Collections had emotional aspect in their collection – love, romance and crisis
 Western world looks inspired by small cities on India like Surat, Udaipur and
Gwalior
 Different silhouettes by the use of button practices recycling, re-purposing and re-
cycling
Some of the common

inspirations used throughout all
the eras are:
1. Ancient traditions of
Inspirations Indian craftsmanship in a
contemporary way
2. Collection inspired by art,
culture and Indian tradition
3.Incorporating western
silhouettes in Indian attire
Figure: 2.26 Common Inspirations through the Page | 60

Era’s
4.1.3 Latest Developments in the Indian Fashion Industry
Tax exemption to startups for 3 years – To promote growth of startups, profit of

startups, set up after April 1,2016, shall be exempted from income tax for a period
of three years.
Benefit
Tax fashion
Start ups designers in
Exemption setting up the
3 years business
Introduction to annual Incubators – Government of India to support creation of

successful world-class incubators in India, selected 10 incubators who have the
potential to become world class. These incubators would be given INR 10Cr each as
financial assistance, which will ramp up the business. Special initiative by
government “Skill India “in which special financial aid would be given to emerging
fashion designers of the country.
Business Incubators will

provide financial aid Help femerging ashion
designers in setting the
busienss
According to ASSOCHAM (2015), the booming designer wear industry is currently

poised at about Rs 720 crorein India and is likely to cross Rs 11,000 crore mark by
2020
2020 Expected to
cross Rs 11,000
crore
Rate of Growth
40%
2015 Cuurent Share
Rs 720 Crore
According to ASSOCHAM, "India's share in the global designer wear industry is a

minimal 0.32% but is likely to reach about 1.7% by 2020."
• India's share in global 2020

designer wear industry
0.32% • Expected share
1.7%
2016
Figure: 2.27Latest Developments

Source: Self Illustration Page | 61
4.1.4 Classification of Indian Fashion Designers
Couture Designer
Mass market
Premium Designer
Designers
Figure: 2.28 Classifications

Couture Designer
Couture designers are those designers that follow the old rules of design for catering to
the wealthy clients. They specialize in creating custom apparel for an individual customer
and have achieved great success in prêt line. Couture fashion designers make custom
garments based on the exact measurements of their client. They are admired or have a
desirable social status. Some of the top notch designers in India are Tarun Tahiliani,
Manish Arora ,Rohit Bal , Sabyasaachi, Manish Malhotra, Anita Dongre etc.
Premium Designer
Premium designers focus on apparel for the middle class population of the country, while
reserving some effort to get the perfect cut, material, and presentation for the wearer.
They are in the growth or the developing stage and strive for an advanced and established
stage. These fashion designers aren‟t creating designs for millions of people. Rather, prêt-
a-porter designs are manufactured in limited numbers. Some of them are Ridhi Mehra
,Anushree Reddy, Nitya Bajaj, Shabani Mir and Ridhima Bhasin.
Mass market Fashion Designer
Budget designers are those who create new styles for the general population. Their items
are mass-produced and sold in the open market. There are no limited editions or custom
fitting involved in producing mass-market apparel. This segment of mass-market apparel
is the most popular option among new designers entering the field of fashion. For
example Rabhya fashion House ,Aneeth Banerjee and Raasha Mehra.
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4.1.5 Emerging Fashion Designers are Approaching towards being Top Notch
Emerging Fashion
Designer Top Notch
Drive Towards
beoming Top Notch
Figure: 2.29 Emerging fashion designers are
approaching towards being top notch
There is a drive among emerging designers to become Top-notch designers. These

designers are striving to work hard to make their brand big. These designers are
coming out with clothing that's wearable while allowing them to indulge in
experimental styling and silhouettes. These designers are working strong on their
brand image, PR (public relation), market positioning and expansion.
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4.1.6 Introduction of diffusion Line by Top Notch Fashion designers in India
A diffusion line is a secondary line of merchandise created by high-end fashion designers

that retails at lower prices. These ranges are separate from a fashion designer's "signature
line", or principal artistic line, that typically retail at much higher prices. Diffusion
products may be on sale alongside designers' signature line but they can also be made
available at concession outlets and certain chain stores. The use of a diffusion line is a
part of the strategy of reaching the mass of the country. Where luxury brands attempt to
reach a broader market in order to increase revenue and brand recognition. Diffusion
ranges serve several purposes for designers. They can substantially increase sales
volumes as their products become affordable to a wider audience at the lower price point,
with the designer at the same time leveraging the desirability of their premium ranges to
create a kind of halo effect.
Gaurav
Gupta Top Notch
Designers
Ridhi Top
Mehra Emerging Rohit Bal
Notch
Tarun
Rahul Tahiliani
Mishra
Figure: 2.30 Introductions of diffusion line by Top

Notch
Page | 64
Ritu Kumar Manish Arora Anita Dongre
Ecommerce plays a key role for Anit Dongre lasunched a pret

• Ritu Kumar's sub-brand called 'Label' designers who have new-found lines to cater to the middle class
caters to the ready-to-wear segment,
with 70% of the apparel range priced love for the middle class. poplulation of the country .Her
below Rs 5,000. Manish Arora is foraying into sub-brands AND (western wear
menswear with his label 'Indian brand for women) andGlobal
by Manish Arora X Koovs' on Desi (boho chic brand for
Koovs.com. The range includes women)
bomber jackets, shirts, t-shirts,
vests, sweatshirts, trousers and
shorts and accessories priced
from Rs 495 to Rs 1,995
Figure: 2.31 Diffusion line introduced

Tarun Tahiliani Manish Malhotra Rohit Bal
Tarun Tahiliani launched Manish Malhotra tied up Rohit Bal designed

a new product line in his online retail platform exclusively.in (online
spring-summer 2016 Exclusively.in for a fashion portal) for a new
collection. this called a economical range for fairly priced collection
doit-yourself range priced apparel to reach a wider priced between ₹8,000
at Rs 10,000 onwards auidence and ₹15,000
within his spring-summer
2016 collection.
Figure: 2.32 Diffusion line introduced

Page | 65
4.2 Research Objective 2 – To identify the challenges encountered by emerging and
established Indian fashion designers
The second research objective was analyzed through primary data (Personal Interview)
to identify the problems faced by the fashion designers. The study has insight about
various kinds of challenges that are faced as a fashion entrepreneur .It can be
differentiated between specific industry challenges and individual challenges. The
fashion design entrepreneur has to balance creativity and the hard fact managerial
approach, as well as to consider industry related aspects.
From the expert interviews undertaken, it has been evaluated that the challenges faced
by fashion designers differ across phases of business development. The three approaches
of the supportive concept interviewed are:
The three approaches of supportive concepts that foster fashion design entrepreneurship
has been introduced and descried. Fashion designers experience three critical stages. In
the first stage, the gestation phase, the fashion design entrepreneurs identify the idea and
explore how the idea can be applied. The second stage, the growth phase, the fashion
entrepreneurs develop business skills and develop a business plan. A sustained growth of
the fashion label is the critical process in this phase. Fashion designers within the work
experience of 5 years fall into this category. And the third stage, the established stage.
Fashion designers with an experience of 5 years or above fall into this category. In this
stage, fashion designers have an established market position. The fashion entrepreneurs
have a strong industry base in this stage. The three stages experienced by the fashion
entrepreneurs in the course of establishing the fashion label can be applied on the
presented concepts. Thus, these concepts have a different starting point, focus and
intention and above all that they are not mutually exclusive. The approaches of the
concepts depend on different needs of fashion entrepreneurs.
Figure: 2.34 Supportive Concept

Page | 66
4.2.1 The challenges encountered are segregated into four main core areas:
42.4% 27.2% 18.1% 12.1%
42.4%
Figure: 2.35 Challenges
Source: Self-Illustration
Page | 67
4.2.1.1 Operational Challenges
Operating challenges pertain to fashion label‟s core business activities such as

manufacturing, logistics, and sourcing, technical aspects distributing and selling the
products. These activities provide the majority of a company's cash flow and will largely
determine whether a fashion label is profitable or not.
Figure: 2.36 Operational Challenges

Page | 68
4.2.1.1 (A) Production Challenges
Insight Industry Overview

Low efficiency in the production According to Kresha Baja, one of the most
line: renowned emerging fashion designers in today‟s
Production Break down time encountered a lot of challenges with the
Underutilization of manpower production system. .Since her products are priced
Maintaining high quality garment at affordable range, it was very hard to keep up
Underutilization of the capacity with the quality and the costing of the product. Cost
effective production was a major challenge for her.
To counter down the wastage is a
big challenge during the According to RidhiMehra, a remarkable fashion
production. designer of today‟s time faced challenges in the
Overhead expenses are exorbitantly production department
high, more than anticipated budget, .Keeping up with production efficiency and
which in turn affects the costing of maintaining high quality are the two most difficult
the garment. Production planning is aspects that she faced in running her fashion label
very challenging to cope up with.
According to Masaba Gupta, her major challenge
Finishing is a major drawback that in running her fashion label was maintaining
majority of fashion designers have quality of garments while keeping the prices intact.
encountered.
Synopsis - According to primary and secondary research, it has be analyzed that production is a
major drawback for fashion designers to handle. The major issues encountered by majority of the
fashion designers interviewed were low. Efficiency in production, maintaining a good high quality
product while keeping their budget intact . Managing overhead expenses in production is also very
challenging as production planning budget is much more than what is anticipated, which
in turn affects the costing of the garment. To keep up with that is a big problem.
Figure: 4.4 Production Challenges

Page | 69
4.2.1.1 (B) Logistics

Logistics is a big challenge to manage for According to According to Kresha Bajaj,
fashion designers whether it‟s in exclusive logistics was a major challenge as
retail or a multi designer store shipping the products globally wasn‟t an
easy task. The brand had to t a lot of
Exclusive Retail – Inefficiency and lack of testing and major decision making to able
control on logistics is a major issue for to ship globally. With logistics the brand
designer label‟s image. Logistics is required had also shifted customer policy of
for inventory facilities, delivering, because exchanges and returns so getting the
even a minute detailing of the garment have logistics partner to adhere t it respect with
to be taken into consideration and worked the timeline was a big challenge.
accordingly with needs constant approval
from the designer and merchandiser. If the
production unit is in a distance from the store
is also a added part for logistics.
Multi –designer store – High cost of
logistics is required to manage a multi
designer store as orders and alterations
placed are of different designers in different
states and cities, any delay and inefficiency
in logistics is a major drawback for the brand
name. And in turn, maintaining the stated
timeline delivery is a major task.
E- Retailing – For fashion designers their

customer service is of prime importance and
any delay and inefficiency in the logistics is
a big drawback for their brand image.
Logistics in e-commerce is very challenging
to manage a
Synopsis – According to primary and secondary research, it has be analyzed that

Major challenge for the up-charge of the costing is miss management of logistics.
Common problem for all the fashion designers selling through different retail formats is
logistics. Inefficiency, delivery and high cost of maintenance for logistics are the main
drawbacks, which is an added cost for the label with needs to be addressed.
Figure: 4.5 Logistics
Page | 70
4.2.1.1 (C) Technical
E-commerce
I. Most fashion designers have an opinion that e-commerce is a big risk in India. High
maintenance for the designer products is required which is very difficult to maintain.
When the products on the fashion websites (third party) are unsold and returned back to
the designer, the state of the garment is such that it is a dead stock for the designer. And
accumulated dead stock is a major lose of the fashion business.
II. Liquid flow in e-commerce is very slow, and that is a major set back when one doesn‟t
have that cash for inventory and money flow is getting late, it‟s a very big challenge
III. There is no cash on delivery (COD) system in designer wear clothes. Since the designer
products are highly priced and Indian consumer sales are still dominated by primarily
COD so it very difficult to convert a lot of sales when it comes to online designer clothes.
Setting up the business

I. Biggest challenge faced by majority of designers in their initial stages of starting the
business is how to set up the business. What aspects are of prime importance? In terms of
finding an ideal place to start the business, how work on the financial projections and
delivery right product at right place.
Figure: 4.6 Technical
4.2.1.1 (D) Sourcing
Initial challenge –Lack of knowledge about According to Ridhi Mehra, sourcing is one
the fabric‟s leads to a lot of problems. of the most difficult and challenging tasks.
While sourcing the fabrics from the As there is so much detailing that goes into
vendors there were times when the vendors it. Every garment is an ensemble of so
used to sell the fabrics by saying its pure many little details, and the end product
cotton but the actual content of the fabric absolutely has to match the sample ordered
was viscose with a mixture of polyester. by the client. Since these patches of fabric
Building a network of right people- tailors, and embroidery come from different
pattern masters, and solid database for sources, hence the job becomes hard to
sourcing good quality fabrics & materials. handle.
Synopsis – According to primary and secondary data, it has been analyzed that
sourcing is one of the most difficult and challenging tasks. As there is so much detailing
that goes into it. Every garment is an ensemble of trims and different types of fabrics, and
the end product absolutely has to match the sample ordered by the client. Since the
sourcing from different places, sometimes-different cities and countries also Hence the
job becomes hard to handle.
Figure: 4.7 Sourcing
Page | 71
4.2.1.1 (E) Market Analysis

Hemant and Nandita , well renowned Masaba Gupta after making a remarkable
designers based in Delhi ,when first stand in Mumbai, thought of launching
participated in Lakme fashion week and her boutique in Delhi as well. When she
exhibitions in Mumbai faced a lot of started getting queries from a lot of young
challenges as the designers had always fashion designers from the Delhi fashion
participated in Wills lifestyle Indian circuit, she thought it was the best time to
fashion week, in Delhi. Networking with expand in Delhi and decided to launch her
new international buyers and dealing with boutique in the capital. A lot of thought
entirely new market was very challenging went into the new store launch with
as Mumbai market and consumer is very multiple exhibitions held to test the
different from what a Delhi consumer is. marker. The most challenging part was to
According to Aakash Girdhar, emerging evaluate the market dynamics of Delhi
designer and Co-founder of Ameeran market and audience .She felt Delhi
stated that the biggest challenge is to market is a big challenge, where bling
evaluate where the problem is arising and dominates so for her to launch a boutique
also what is causing a stagnant in sales. in Delhi with a line of pure silks/ikat was
Studying the market dynamics is a brave move. She was true to her
extremely important and challenging signature style of eclectic prints and white
because is changing at a fast pace. The decor with pinewood finishing similar to
brand changed its working and instead of her Mumbai store, though she had made a
selling everything. The brand created a few changes for her Delhi clientele.
niche segment of collection inspired by Challenge was to evolve according to
only gotapati work. Delhi target market and therefore She had
a lot of velvets and raw silks, basically
styles suitable for winter, which didn‟t
have in Mumbai.
Synopsis–According to primary and secondary data, it has been analyzed that evaluating
the market is a big challenge. As dynamics of the market is changing, fashion designers
a lot of times fail to identify what the market wants and what they providing. Every
place has different customer base, tastes and preferences and to able to cater to that a
detailed knowledge and understanding of market is required. Emerging fashion
designers as well as established ones, have faced this is problem which have incurred
them in loses due to wrongly anticipating the market.
Challenges encountered in evaluating the market:
Inter state/city retail expansion
Market Demand
Commercially viable
Figure: 4.8 Market Analysis
Page | 72
4.2.1.1 (F) Financial Challenges
Funding is one of the major issues According to Ashwini Deshpande, Co-founder of

that the designers face when they Elephant Design the major challenge in the initial
start their label. Lack of stages of starting the business was to explain the
knowledge as to how they should cater account about how the brand is going to
to procure funds. work. The next and the tougher part was to
elucidate the same thing to a bank manager who
Achieving break-even point is was not convinced when on approving the loan
another big challenge in the initial since any income seemed a remote possibility to
stages of starting the label; the manager considering design as a business.
therefore efficient use of finance is
a challenge.
Most fashion designers have

limited capital to invest initially
and therefore, they find it difficult
to use the resources with optimum
utilization.
Financial projections was very

challenging, as designers
projections evaluated are not exact
and right which is a major
drawback as the planning ahead
gets affected, and sometimes leads
to failure.
Synopsis –According to primary and secondary research, funding is an issue that the
designers face when they start their label. They have lack of knowledge as to how the
funds should be procured. Managing limited capital and optimum utilization of
resources is very challenging, when the prime importance for designers is designing.
Another key aspect faced was financial projections which was difficult for designers to
cope up with, as projections evaluated by most of them were not exact and right which
had effected their production, cost of the product and retailing.
Figure: 4.9 Financial Challenges
Page | 73
4.2.1.2 Managerial Challenges
Managerial challenges refer to the problems in different roles and responsibilities that the
organization undertakes. The most commonly cited functions of management are
planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.

One single leadership team and overall
Managing all the departments like management organization is applied on several
manufacturing, retailing, marketing fashion labels. The central management takes
with efficient utilization of finance is strategic decisions. The fashion designer is in
a very big challenge. Scope for charge of handling different departments such
expansion narrows down as there is a as production, purchase, human resource,
lot that a fashion designer has to marketing as well as the financing, accounting,
manage. administration and brand‟s strategy. In this way
Miss-management of inventory led to common synergies can be efficient. The
shortage or excessive of stock, which strategy and direction of each label may vary
is a major drawback for designers as significantly, which has to be considered in the
shortage leads to lose of potential management operations. Any decisions taken
customers and excess stock by the management has consequences on the
accumulates a lot of dead stock, which brand and corporate image (Saviolo ETAL,
is very difficult to sell. 2002) and influences the design process.
According to Saviolo ETAL (2002) it is not
Recruiting an efficient team of people possible for a creative person to be efficient in
in all the departments from managerial skills, because it would limit their
manufacturing i.e. local embroideries creative potential. According to Mr Amitesh
to a creative design team is a big Singhal (designer and faulty at Pearl Academy),
challenge because the growth of the if a creative person starts a fashion label, they
label is dependent on it. end up being a businessperson than a creative
person. Concentration on business development
Taking up multi projects at a and chasing the customers become the prime
particular point of time was very focus. Sometimes the business aspects are more
challenging because the focus gets dominated and the creative aspect is not
deviated, so managing everything satisfied.
efficiently is a big problem.
Synopsis - According to primary and secondary research, it was analyzed that it was
challenging for fashion designers to manage all the departments from sourcing,
production, retailing to marketing and networking. Since there are diverse activities that
happen in each department and each requires great attention, managing everything
becomes very difficult. Thus, many fashion designers felt that recruiting an efficient
team to manage everything is a big task. Major drawback is miss management in any
department leads to accumulation of inventory which is a big loss for their label .
Figure: 4.10 Managerial Challenges
Page | 74
4.2.1.3 Marketing Challenges
The most challenging part of running a fashion label is to create its image in the
market. Image building of the brand is most crucial thing that designers encounter
throughout running their fashion label.
Marketing is an expensive affair and to keep up with marketing budget is a challenge.
Focus on marketing is less, as there are a lot of other departments to manage
Social media marketing has changed the way things work, it has become so fast
fashion that its very difficult to keep up with the pace at which the fashion trends and
technology is changing.
Creating a strong visual stand in the market is very difficult. Since marketing is
costly it is very important to get the return on investment by the money spent on
marketing
Figure: 4.11 Marketing Challenges
Page | 75
4.3 Research Objective 3 - To develop a strategic plan addressing the problems
faced by Indian Fashion Designers
According to the primary research, the four core challenges that the fashion
designers face are operational challenges, managerial, financial and marketing. To
address to these problems a structured business solution is proposed.
4.3.1 Challenges Faced by Indian Fashion Designers
Production, Logistics,
Operational market
Analysis,inventory
Managerial Management problems
Source of funding,
Financial Financial projections ,
optimum utilization
Marketing Marketing
Problems
Figure: 2.37 Challenges faced by Indian fashion

designers
4.3.2 Core areas that will help combat the issues
4.3.2.1 Operational Challenges
Sourcing
and
Logistics
Efficient
Production Operational
Challenges
Technical
Knowledge
Scaling up
the
business
Figure: 2.38 Operational Challenges

Page | 76
4.3.2.2 Managerial Challenges
Setting up the
business
Recuitment of
employees
Managerial
Challenges
Manageing
Inter-
departements
Figure: 2.39 Managerial Challenges

4.3.2.3 Financial Challenges
Financial
Projections
Source of
Funds
Financial
Challenges
Utilization
of funds
Figure: 2.40 Financial Challenges

4.3.2.4 Marketing Challenges
Marketing
strategies
Create a
brand
Marketing
Challenges
Figure: 2.41Marketing Challenges

Page | 77
The research study has strategically analyze the challenges faced by fashion designs today
in terms of business operations and a consolidated manual is proposed, which
systematically lays down procedures to combat these issues.
Manual
The resultant manual for fashion designers will benefit them in scrutinizing their trade
and master it by working on tactically strengthening the weaker facets. The idea is to
make design trade knowledge accessible thereby giving each fashion entity a chance to
drive towards growth, by doing business effectively with optimum utilization of
resources. The manual for fashion designers will cover the core aspects of the business
like planning, setting up the business, finance, production, marketing, branding and
expansion.
Manual Contents
Planning
Setting up the business

1. Finance
2. Legal
3. Production
Marketing
Expansion
Figure: 2.42 Manual Contents

Page | 78
Chapter 5 – Conclusion and Recommendations
This chapter summarizes the work based on the findings of data through secondary and
primary sources. The chapter gives a conclusive understanding about the research.
Further, recommendation to the study is proposed in this chapter to address to the
challenges encountered by fashion designers in Delhi/NCR.
5.1 Research Summary
Fashion industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. The industry has
increased massively both in terms of volume and sales. Thus, Designer wear market in
India has become extremely competitive with an array of budding designers getting into
this profession, which is extremely lucrative as well as highly unpredictable. Even
though, the industry has huge potential, it has become extremely difficult for the
emerging fashion designers to be profitable and sustain themselves in the market. The
research study is segregated into three main research objectives. The first research
objective is to analyze the business ecosystem operating for contemporary Indian
fashion designers. The periodic development in the business of fashion through different
ERAs is analyzed. The business ecosystem is evaluated on the following parameters –
market analysis, product line, inspiration of the collection, customer analysis, list of
designers in the Era, key developments and issues in the each Era. The development
through each ERA has been highlighted from 1980s, when the Indian industry evolved in
India till 2016. It also includes classification of the fashion designers on the basis of the
social class of population that the designers cater to. Furthermore, the analysis also states
the diffusion lines launched by high-end fashion designers to target the middle class
population of the country. The consumer demand in India has undergone a tremendous
change and therefore due to huge potential in the buying capacity of the middle class
population of the country including a significant amount spending power by youth in
India‟s time. The high-end designers are launching their diffusion line or sub brands to
tap that segment of market. The industry has a huge growth potential but regardless of
this fact there are a lot of obstacles to it. Since success stories are the lens through which
one sees the global fashion industry, the emerging fashion designers are left feeling
downbeat when their dreams of success fail to materialize. However, it is very important
to identify the barriers to this business of fashion.
The second research objective is to identify the challenges encountered by emerging

and established fashion designers in Delhi/NCR. To get the insight of the various types
of challenges that a designer face in running their fashion label was done by conducting
an In-depth interview with the designers across Delhi and NCR. Designers gave an
overview about as to how they work and manage their fashion label and gave an in-depth
understanding about the problems they encounter in carry out the business operations.
The major problems highlighted after conducting interviews across designers from
different experience in the industry were operational challenges, managerial challenges,
Page | 79
financial challenges and marketing challenges. All the problems were scrutinized in detail
to get the best and efficient business solution to combat the issues that fashion designers
face in running their fashion label. After examining their problems in-depth.And
structuring down the challenges encountered by them. The best way to address to the
issues was to consolidate a manual, which systematically lays down procedures to combat
these issues. The third research objective of this research is to develop a strategic
plan addressing the problems faced by Indian fashion designers. To strategically
tackle the business operations and problems that designer face, a well-structured manual
is suggested.
5.2 Recommendations
5.2.1 Manual
The resultant manual for fashion designers is suggested to combat the challenges
encountered by them. The manual will benefit them in scrutinizing their trade and
master it by working on tactically strengthening the weaker facets. The idea is to make
design trade fair by making its knowledge accessible thereby giving each fashion entity a
chance to drive towards growth, by doing business effectively with optimum utilization of
resources. The manual for fashion designers will cover the core aspects of the business
like planning, setting up the business, finance, production, marketing, branding and
expansion.
Planning
In fashion business it is very important for the fashion designers to mark their current
status and plan the goals. It is an important tool in keeping the focus in the face of fashion
fantasy.
Planning
Elements of the business Plan
Company Overview
Market and Sales Planning
 Market Analysis
 Target Market
 Unique Selling Point (USP)
 Sales Strategy
Competitor Analysis
Operational Plan
Financial Projections
Figure: 2.43 Manual Content - Planning
Page | 80
Planning section gives an overview about how the fashion designers should plan their
fashion business. The fashion designers should state the company overview, background
of the fashion industry and the potential for the product in the market. State the structure
of the business and how it fits into the industry as a retail or custom operation. Describe
for whom the design is made for and whether it targets high-end, mass, or niche markets
or fits an important lifestyle trend. Include the attributes that make the product exclusive
and unusual from the competition. Describe the customers along with the strategy to
reach them in terms of the stores selected to place the product and the marketing and
public relations efforts plan to use. Always do a top-line review of the money involved,
the factors that will make it profitable, and the related time frame. Analyze the market,
Identify the size of the market both in terms of number of customers and monetary value
of the market. Make a operational plan to get a clear picture of how a team, section or
department will contribute to the achievement of the organization‟s strategic goals.
Financial projection is the key for survival, which should be projected efficiently and
effectively.
Setting up the Business
Setting up the Business

Business Entity
Trademark
 Choosing the Company Name and Trademark
 Legal Requirements of Trademark in India
 Duration of a Trademark In India
 Benefits of Trademark Registration
Partnerships and Advisors
Recruiting Employees and External Professional Management

 Legal issues
 Bookkeeping and accounting
 External professional management
Figure: 2.44 Manual Content – Setting up the
business
This section gives a detailed understanding about how the fashion designers, no matter
what the size of the business, should decide business entity best suited for them. In-depth
understanding about each entity is stated in this section. Details about trademark and
importance and procedure to procure a trademark in India. This section also states details
about partnership and advisors. Recruiting employees and importance of fashion
designers to opt for an external professional management to handle the various
departments like production, PR, purchase, sales and brand‟s strategy.
Page | 81
Finance
Cash Flow
Source of Funds
Personal Financial Sources
Bank loans
Bank Loans in India
Bank loan for an established fashion designer
Bank Loan for a Fashion Start-up
Security required for loan
Bank Interest Rate and Chargers
Professional Design Associations

India Design Association (IDA)
Association of Indian Design Industry (AIDI)
India Design Association (InDeAs)
Design for All Institute of India
Design Facilities
National Design Business Incubator
Special Initiatives
Color Next
Elephantversity
Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Creativity
Figure: 2.45 Manual Content - Finance

Finance
This section gives an overview about the management of finance in a fashion label. It
gives detailed understanding about how the cash flow should be taken care of; various
sources of funding options are given in detail which will help a designer in starting and
growing their fashion label. Procedures for applying bank loans in India are explained in
detail. Details about required for a loan and bank interest and chargers. Various
professional design associations are mentioned that are managed by government and
private limited companies, which help emerging and established fashion designers in
funding their projects.
Page | 82
Legal
Design Policy
National Design Policy
Benefits of the policy to the Fashion Designers
Major Highlights
Industrial Design Right
Indian Design Act 2000
Figure: 2.46 Manual Content - Legal
This section in the manual lays down all the policies and legal ACTs that the government
has introduced to help uplift the fashion designing sector in India. It is important for the
fashion designers to be aware about certain rights that a fashion designer has when
operating in the country. All the benefits that the government provides to the fashion
designers are listed in this section.
Production
Production Plan
Time and Action Calendar
Different formats for preparing Time and Action Calendar
Cost of Production
Estimate Cost of the production
Review the sample collection
Factory Alternative
In-house Manufacturing
Outsource Manufacturing
Method of Manufacturing
Boutique Manufacturing
Production Management
Quality Control
Technology
Inventory Management
Figure: 2.47 Manual Content - Production
The production section in the manual covers all the operations in the production.
The most important aspect of bringing a fashion product or collection to market is
production and manufacturing. Production describes the process by which concepts are
made into a saleable physical product. The manual has detailed understanding about the
how a production planning is executed, how time and action calendar helps in
increasing the efficient of the production, estimate cost of production, factory
Page | 83
alternative, method of manufacturing to be adopted and how the production
management is done.
Marketing
Be a brand
Logos
Press and Sales Kits
Marketing Materials
Promotional Mailers
Website
Public Relations (PR) Strategy
Dressing Celebrities
Networking
Blogging
Sales VS PR (Public Relation)
Cost Effective Marketing Strategies
Figure: 2.48 Manual Content - Marketing

This section gives an overview about how the fashion designers should create their brand
image and work of their marketing. Cost effective marketing strategies are suggested in
this section.
Expanding the Business
Retail Expansion
Licensing
Brand Line Extension
Figure: 2.49 Manual Content – Expanding the
business
This section in the manual covers three main aspects of expanding a business. The aspects
are retail expansion, licensing and brand line extension. How the fashion designer should
strategically scale up their business is explained in detailed in this section.
The detailed explanation about the manual is given in the annexures.
Page | 84
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Chapter 1 – INTRODUCTION

1.1 Research Background

According to D S Rawat, (Secretary General, ASSOCHAM) “The designer wear industry in

Figure 1.1 – Self Illustration

According to a report by ASSOCHAM (2012) the industry is growing at a compounded

1.2 Research Rationale

Also when operating a business, an entrepreneur begins by working on the aspects of

1.3 Research Significance

 Research Objective 1–To analyze the business ecosystem operating for

1.5 Research Methodology

1.6 Research Outline

Chapter 1 – Introduction: This chapter incorporates Research Background, Research

Chapter 3 – Research Methodology: This chapter incorporates type of research design

1.7 Research Limitation

 Geographical and Time limitations - The area of research is limited to

 Limited Information Access - In India there is no authentic government

1.8 Future scope of the Research

A more systematic approach can be adopted to understand the comprehensive

1.7 Research Process

Findings and Analysis

Conclusion and Recommendation

Figure 1.2 : Research Process

1.8 Chapter Summary

2.1 Global Fashion Industry

2.1.1 Factors affecting the Growth of fashion Industry

Excess inventories because of failure in anticipating consumer demand and

The dynamics of fashion industry will change drastically in the next 5 to 10

2.1.3 Experts Outlook on Global Fashion Industry

Leading fashion CEOs expertise on Global Fashion Industry

Fabrizio Cardinali of Dunhill: According to Fabrizio Cardinali, Asia has become a

One of the key drivers of success

2.2.1 Overview of the Indian Fashion Industry

2.2.2 Fashion Designing in India

However, it is also a challenging career, as fashion designers need to combine their

Figure 2.5 : Indian Fashion Industry

2.2.2 (B) Analysis of Design Industry

2.2.2 (B) 1 Designers in Various Design Disciplines

Allied (Toy, Set

Chart 2.1 Designers in various design disciplines

Fashion Design Industry (Turnover)

Chart 2.2Fashion Design Industry (Turnover)

2.2.2 (B) 3 Geographical distribution of design industry

Chart 2.3Geographical distribution of design industry

2.2.2 (B) 4 Employment Distribution of Designers

Chart 2.4 Employment Distribution

Fashion Design Programs

Chart 2.5Fashion Design Programs

2.4 Designers wear Industry in India

2.4 (a) Market Capitalization

2.4 (B) Employment opportunities

2.4 (C) Latest Developments

2.5 Expert’s outlook on Indian Fashion Industry

Design in India, make for the world

'Indian Fashion has moved from hollow to hip'

2.6.1Challenges Faced by Fashion Entrepreneurs

The challenges of a fashion entrepreneur can be differentiated between specific

Chart 2.6 Fashion design entrepreneurs

2.6.1 (A) Industry Specific Challenges

2.6.1 (A) 1 Industry conditions

Establishing a sustainable company is hard since developing and producing a collection

Margins and Production

Another problem presents the small amount of remaining manufacturing companies in

2.6.1 (A) 3 Early finance