NTC launches retail stores
NTC launches retail stores

The National Textile Corporation Limited (NTC), which falls under the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, has inaugurated new retail stores to provide quality products straight to consumers at affordable price.

The stores will primarily serve to fulfill all retail needs of consumers for home and lifestyle products ranging from home furnishing to home furniture to ethnic garments to lifestyle home products directly to the consumers enabling them to attain quality assured goods at low prices as compared to the higher margins at which other stores sell to make huge profit.

RK Sinha, Chairman & Managing Director, NTC Aloke Banerjee (Director Marketing) in the presence of Zohra Chatterjee, Secretary – Textile, Govt. of India, while holding a press conference on the 20th of February at Crafts Museum, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, have launched five of its initiatives named Brand India, Indian Republic, Streevijay, Raasa and Setu.

The initiatives will facilitate the weavers or producers to achieve greater hold in the Indian market and overseas, reaching out directly to the consumer’s through government retail stores and offering products to international customers. Banerjee said, “We are planning to open 25 stores in four countries abroad”. Quality assurance, guarantee from the government of India and excellent exclusive products are the three major advantages of buying from NTC retail stores”.

According to the press briefings in order to ensure the best designs, NTC has roped in India’s Ace designer Raghavendra Rathore, who will help to choose India’s best designers in various categories to design exclusively for NTC’s ‘Brand India’, thereby promoting young designer talent in India.

The product will be sourced from various clusters in India thus promoting local weavers through its handloom procurement initiative. Setu, an initiative of the corporation will ensure that the NTC procures handloom products directly from the weavers and eliminate the middlemen.

‘Indian republic’ stores will have merchandise and will bridge the gap between the branded apparel sector and the unorganised market. Its aim is to be the most affordable branded apparels in the country.

Raasa is another initiative for home and bath linen brand which is being launched with latest designs and trends.

Lastly Streevijay is an initiative to empower women by turning them to entrepreneurs of the country. It is a direct selling scheme aimed mainly at women empowerment and their upliftment in the society making them self dependent. Women through this initiative will work and contribute for themselves and their family.

When asked how the initiative will help empowering the women of our country, Banerjee replied, “We are sourcing at very nominal rates and giving it to women to sell at much lower prices than MRPs, and they will earn anyway between 25 to 35 percent margin on MRPs.”

Zohra Chatterjee said, “Women are very intrinsically related to the textile spectra, 80 percent of the handloom weavers are women, they are quietly performing their productive role, and we want their contribution in the textile industry. It is an unfortunate feature of our labour laws that women are not allowed to work night shifts so we are also working for that. The laws may be amended and they have equal opportunity to work which would straight away improve the productivity and provide labour, which is needed for the industry”.

( Compiled By - Harsh Suman) 

 

 
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