Amid signs of recovery in major export markets, Indian home textile exporters have reason to cheer in the current fiscal ending March 31, 2024.
ICRA, a rating agency expects the four biggest Indian home textiles manufacturers to report a 7-8 percent year-on-year increase in revenues to INR 215 billion in the ongoing fiscal.
The revenue hike is attributed to an expected recovery in demand conditions and restocking by big retailers from the US market to realign their inventory levels.
The four listed home textile companies in ICRA’s sample are Welspun, Trident, Himatsingka, and Indo Count, who together account for around 35–40 percent of Indian home textile exports.
India’s home textile exports reported a drop of 18 percent in fiscal 2022-23 and 12 percent in the first four months of the current fiscal.
The US remains the largest market for Indian home textile exports, with 56 percent in fiscal 2022-23 and 58 percent in the first four months of the ongoing fiscal.
According to ICRA, the US retail inventory levels for furniture, home furnishing, electronics, and appliance stores have come down from 2022 levels, with destocking being almost over.
Due to this, ICRA expects retailers to start buying in the subsequent months to restock their inventory and improve the order book position and revenues of the home textile manufacturers
Among value-wise exports of various home textiles products, bed, table, toilet, and kitchen linen remain the biggest products category with a share of 32-33 percent in the previous fiscal.
This is followed by followed by carpets & floor coverings with a 31 percent share in the present fiscal.
