Thappar joins in, "Innovation is a never-ending story; as globalization spreads its wings in India, originality becomes the mantra to stand out. In this era, if a company wants to survive, they need to continuously think and innovate on various levels like products, sales, promotions and communication. Defining USP for the product is essential."
Arun Kumar, Marketing Head at Salona Cotspin Ltd, stressed, "When it comes to natural raw material production, innovation is limited. However, if we consider designs, innovation plays a vital role."
Parasar, however, disagrees with this. "Textile is still a traditional market and people are basically followers, not leaders. So, much scope for innovation is not available. In textile, it is more of sales marketing," he said.
Director of Dhar Textile Mills Ltd, Manish Jajoo, said, "When it comes to a company in its pioneer stages, innovation need not be a priority. However, for entities like Dhar, consumer surveys play a big role in innovation and helps to create new concepts and novel products that meet buyer satisfaction."
Avinash Parasar said, "Usually, prime focus for innovation is forecasting colors, texture and pricing. Rates matter a lot in this business as, even now, drawing rooms and bedrooms are very traditional. Pricing is a major factor since takers for curtains worth Rs 2 lakh will be handful. If companies concentrate solely on quality and class, they won't be able to survive. So, the correct marketing strategy is to cater to the masses."
marketing@alchempro.com
