In Conversation with Mr. KR Vijayan, Chairman, Indian Finished Leather Manufacturers and Exporters Association (IFLMEA)

As 2024 comes to a close, Mr. KR Vijayan shared his optimism for the Indian Leather and Leather Products Industry. "There is noticeable improvement in the demand for travel goods," he remarked. While the finished leather sector remains steady, the demand for finished leather from cow and goat suedes for shoes and leather garments is showing promising growth.

Mr. Vijayan noted a significant development: much of the cowboy boot production traditionally based in South America has now shifted to India, bringing robust orders for both tanneries and shoe manufacturers in the country. Additionally, while non-leather shoe manufacturing is on the rise, leather shoe uppers continue to perform moderately well.

Highlighting the importance of R&D in the leather industry, Mr. Vijayan emphasized IFLMEA's collaboration with CSIR-CLRI on an innovative project to convert shaving dust into proteins and syntans. Although the stringent testing parameters may limit commercial benefits, he underscored its value in promoting sustainability and circularity within the industry.

Dr M Rafeeque Ahmed, President, AISHTMA

In the last three years, the Tanning Industry has weakened! In the sense of ‘financial.' Financially, they are not the same as they used to be! If you take the small, the medium or the large tannery; we must give a solution to see what kind of reform we can give to the industry. What kind of profitable results we can give. As much as possible, less of hardware, less investment; but bring in more work with what is running now. Maybe, a little bit of change in the process, savings and everything. When we do this, it will reach out to a greater number of tanneries. In fact, if you allow me to use a very high-cost intervention to make it cheaper; there are few people who can invest that high cost. “Investment to make a good production.” – only a healthy, cash-rich company can do that. This will not be spread across the country. AS AISHTMA President, I have requested members to see that where the investment is least, adjustments are least: production adjustment/ process adjustment – can be able to produce profitable outcome of leather. This is my view!

We have had an excellent session with all three speakers enlightening us. The way forward is to first stop looking at the rear-view mirror, Instead, look forward and invest in state-of-the-art systems. If one looks at the successful tanneries around the world; they are collecting data from within the drum, from within the machine. Looking forward is just not investing in hardware; it's also the software – in technical and technological advancements. There are going to be fewer ‘larger people.' There are going to be smaller people. In the last year and a half or so; we got so much help from chemical people like Salma International and others like Tango line. It has turned processing upside down!

So, in my thought process, I am very optimistic; but we cannot look at it as a trade; we have to look at it as relationships. We have to do like what M/s KKSK did from more than a decade ago! It's a different world, it demands a different outlook!

In his opening remakes, Mr Panaruna said that “most important of all is costs saving.” He recalled the origin and establishment of the IFLMEA at the office of Dr M Rafeeque Ahmed and Late Rajagopal Naidu of Jai Bharat Tanners was nominated as its founding Chairman. Mr Panaruna added that his association with IFLMEA has been from the very formative days. Since then, said Mr Panaruna, IFLMEA has been progressing well.

If you want to increase profitability today; unless you upgrade yourself, the profitability will not increase. He cited an example by stating that the company ECCO would change its tanning / shoe making machines every three years. In those three years, ECCO would take the maximum value of the machines, calculate the depreciation and get rid of those machines and replace them with machines with newer technologies. That's how successful tanneries are working overseas, he said. Are we able to do that in our Tanneries, he questioned? Here, we are trying to manage with the old machines and we expect the profitability to come – it will not come, he emphasized. He gave another example. Mr Panaruna said that he was recently returning back from a U.S. trip and happened to read a FORTUNE magazine in flight- an article on how Samsung and Apple do their developments. Every year, they bring a new product into the industry; if one does not do, the other will perish. So, if you want to flourish in business, other than upgradation and technical development, need to focus on cost saving. Cost Saving is so important, he stressed.

I was so impressed by the technical presentations today. Every minute detail is a saving; plus, the yield that we get from the leathers is high. Even in footwear if we buy an automatic machine, one can save a lot of materials, for example; threads; which otherwise is mostly wasted. Likewise, where you have a lot of stitches and you are using manpower; manpower cost is going to increase. Today, why are we expensive when compared to Vietnam; it is because their productivity is high, their efficiency is high.

I personally feel, he said: “The most profitable business, if done rightly, is the Tannery business.” This is my take! He added that we have tanneries that are doing millions every month; but we know what we are doing and what opportunities are there in cost saving. My thinking here is, we have to find what is suitable for the Indian condition. In that sense, multiple SKUs of articles, multiple colours; still, we need to do in the best and most efficient way. This way, we can, in the long term, sustain the tannery business. Multiple articles of sheep, cow, side, buffalo, everything. Multiple animals, multiple colours and we still need to do in the most efficient way – it is still possible. We just need to change our way of working. This is just one point.

Another point is quoting what Mr Vijayan said earlier in the day at the AISHTMA meeting that ‘Designers of brands are selecting the articles.' As you all know, I started going to LINEAPELLE some 15 years back. At that time, it was only a Leather Show. In the last decade, Product Teams and designers from brands are also visiting. Even from our own Team, we have been sending our Product Development colleagues to interact with the designers.

Industry 4.0 Detection and Traceability. Personalization Production on the concepts of Industry 4.0

The Indian Finished Leather Manufacturers & Exporters Association in India is beginning to play a new and important role. Not long ago, this association of leading leather manufacturers from the country started working on Traceability of Raw Materials by creating a software and portal named “Geotrace.” TODAY, they ready with GEOTRACE and they hope play an important role. Chairman of Indian Finished Leather Manufacturers & Exporters Association, Mr K R Vijayan, who is also a leading tanner and manufacturer & exporters of shoes and accessories besides finished leather to the global brands speaks on GEOTRACE; while Md Sadiq of CSIR-CLRI speaks on "Framework for personalization production based on the concepts of Industry 4.0."

See full video presentation here:

https://youtu.be/M9Y3MQNqF-Y?si=m9V9Ke3WgwQTwydu

Curtains raised on the Autumn Winter 23/24 season by Dr KJ Sreeram, Director, CSIR-CLRI in the august presence of Mr KR Vijayan, Chairman, Indian Finished Leather Manufacturers & Exporters Association (IFLMEA) and Mr AR Senthil Kumar, Honorary. Secretary, IFLMEA on 2nd February 2022 at the Design & Fashion Studio, CSIR-CLRI. Director, CSIR-CLRI spoke on the Vision for 2030 and said that the "focus of CLRI changes from leather-to-leather products. CLRI will focus on Footwear including non-leather materials." Mr AR Senthil Kumar, Honorary Secretary, IFLMEA said that "until 2013, Rathnam Leathers used to purchase the Trend Books and Colour Cards from overseas designers. After joining CLRI Design club, he continued stating that we have stopped purchasing the trend books and are using the CLRI provided Colour Trends of FASHION TREND POOL and MODEUROP." We are very successful in our business by using these Trend directions, he said in conclusion. Mr KR Vijayan, President, IFLMEA said " earlier, they (buyers) used to give the colours and ask us to copy/ replicate them. Now, they (buyers) are asking us to give our colours & textures. This is a great mileage to us.

Watch full video here:

https://youtu.be/q48i_rDJ3YA?si=mNkIWLnOWNCNWbmE