Harsh winter warms up Ludhiana

Minna Zutshi & Shivani Bhakoo in Ludhiana

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The severity of the winter cold, and the prolonged spell without sunshine, has taken everyone by surprise in the region, but speaking for the woollen and hosiery industry in Ludhiana, to quote Albert Camus (completely out of context, one may add) — ‘in the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer’.

The biting winter has given a new impetus to the hosiery and woollen industry in the industrial town, resulting in a season of brisk sales. If the manufacturers are smiling through the winter freeze, the workers, who in the previous winter seasons had erratic work schedules, are working overtime to meet the perked-up demand.

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“God has been kind this winter. At the onset of the season, the fear of going without work was lurking. But as the winters intensified in this part of the region, apprehensions gave way to hope. With repeat orders this time, we are not out of work,” says 51-year-old Sohan Lal, who migrated to the industrial town 20 years ago. “Yeh shehar bhookha nahi rehne deta. Agar aap mehnat karne ko tayyar ho, yeh aapko sab kuch deta hai… mera ghar hosiery key kaam se chala itne saal… haan beech mein kabhi thoda sa manda hota hai (This city does not let you starve. If you are willing to put in hard work, the city has a giving hand. All these years, the work in the hosiery industry supported me and my family. Yes, at times it is not so easy…).”

Oldtimers say the knitwear industry in Ludhiana dates back to the late 1800s. There are references to a knitwear unit, equipped with imported hand-operated machines, being established in Ludhiana in the early 1900s. There are stories about Ludhiana knitwear catering to the defence forces’ demand for woollen wear during World War II. From 1950 onwards, the hosiery industry in Ludhiana gradually grew.

Today, Ludhiana manufactures a whole range of winter wear, sweaters, woollen socks, pullovers, cardigans, thermal wear, gloves, mufflers, beret caps, shawls, jackets, jerseys, blankets, knitted bedsheets, knitted skirts, knitted tops, sportswear, night suits, summer wear, T-shirts, cotton and blended socks and undergarments.

It is the never-say-die spirit of Ludhiana that has made the city a leader in the woollen and hosiery industry. The ecosystem of entrepreneurship has been markedly strong here, according to Knitwear and Textile Club president Vinod Thapar. “The first hosiery unit was set up by a person from the Muslim community here in 1893. In pre-Partition days, most of the skilled workers were Muslims,” he says.

Partition and its attendant geographical and historical changes failed to dampen the indomitable spirit of the city. In fact, those who migrated here post-1947 played a pivotal role in upgrading the hosiery industry. These people were dedicated, hardworking and focused.

Today, Ludhiana hosiery meets more than 90 per cent woollen outer wear demand in the entire country.

“A distinct feature of the Ludhiana hosiery industry has been its sheer willingness to improvise and adapt. One unit with hand-driven flats would do its bit, another unit would do the embroidery work and so on — setting off a chain of modification and completion. Of course, now we have come a long way from hand-driven flats. These are now power driven and computerised,” explains Thapar.

Unfortunately, when it comes to branding, Ludhiana hosiery industry fails miserably, he rues. But this does not take the sheen away from the hard work that has gone into the making of Ludhiana woollen and hosiery industry.

Previous records broken

The winter this season has broken all previous records as far as the intensity of cold is concerned in this part of the region. Those into hosiery manufacturing for decades also term the winter “intense” as compared to the previous many years. Many maintain that the dealers are asking for repeat orders, which were negligible earlier.

Sudershan Jain of Oner Knitwear has an interesting take. He says the trend of winters is not stable and clear. “In previous times, dealers were not even sure whether the stocks would be cleared or not as the spell of winters was less and the onset was often delayed.”

For a manufacturer, he points out, the winters start when the bikers start wearing half-sleeve jackets, etc. in evenings or early mornings, which usually happens in the last week of November or early December. “But this year, this trend came early in the first week of November. The severe cold wave changed everything. The dealers are running out of stock and they are ordering for repeat. At the same time, they are taking each step cautiously, not to be in losses. The orders are given on a weekly basis, not that huge quantities of sweaters, jackets, warmers, etc. are being ordered. You never know after about a week or so, how would the weather be and whether a similar cold wave will persist or not.”

During the past many years, the entire stocks of dealers never got cleared as the spell would be small and the intensity of cold wave normal. But the winter in 2019 has changed all that.

Hosiery manufacturer Varinder Kumar Billu from Sunaina Hosiery says the repeat orders are up by up to 5 per cent. “It may be sweaters or jackets or cardigans or woollen lowers, the retailers are demanding more stuff to cater to the needs of buyers. We are supplying stocks all over India where there is a cold wave. And there are repeat orders by the dealers/retailers.”

He adds that summer production has been put on hold to first make the repeat orders as the demand has suddenly increased. “The labour is engaged to work overtime and they are paid well because it is all labour-oriented job (manufacturing woollen stocks). Earlier, the season was slow but it picked up all of a sudden with the spell of severe cold.”

Mridula Jain from Shingora Shawls says the domestic market has witnessed good business while exports are normal. “We have got 50 outlets all over the country and after the severe cold conditions, the sales at all outlets have gone up, which is good as far as business is concerned.”

The homemakers, the kids, the elderly — you go anywhere and winters and the cold wave is the topic of discussion. The markets for the common man, like Chaura Bazaar, Mochpura and Field Ganj, are flooded with customers for getting products like mufflers, woollen gloves, socks, caps, knee-caps, etc.

Sonu from Sonu Garments at Field Ganj says poor or rich, one has to survive in this biting cold. “Depending on their purchasing power, all are buying woollens to beat the prevailing weather conditions. The previous stocks have also been cleared this year,” he adds.

It’s been a good season without a doubt, but several manufacturers cite instances of many in the hosiery line who are crying foul that just the retailers have been gainers. One manufacturer, though partly agreeing with this notion, rounds off on a positive note: “The retailers are running out of stock and repeat orders are coming. We can make up all the losses (due to recession) if we have the zeal.”

And zeal is what has always defined Ludhiana Inc.