unhealthy obsessions
...GES THEIR COPY RIGHTS. MUMBAI: A towel sold at $3.5 by an Indian exporter has a price tag of $17 in US departmental stores. Similarly, jeans made from Indian denim sell for prices ranging from $20 to $ 400 with the manufacturer realising only a fraction of the price. Indian manufacturers, who do not stand a chance against the Chinese in volumes, are waking up to margins in branding and are looking at cross-border acquisition of brands in a bid to survive in international markets. At present, Indian manufacturers are looking at acquiring brands in textiles and the cosmetic sector. Speaking to ET, Bala Swaminathan, country head of corporate banking, ICICI Bank, said the issue is more to do with the cost of brands. “Most Indian balance sheets are not deep enough to purchase these brands. Which is why we need to think of new structures.” One such structure was brand wareh...