Knitwear manufacturers in Tirupur feel the Northeast presents great opportunities. They plan to go through the e-commerce route. This will help knitwear manufacturers immensely as it drastically cuts the cost of marketing. Knowledge of English is high in the region and some of the states have English as the official language. People are internet savvy.

Markets in the Northeast demand apparels made of heavy GSM (grams per square meter) fabrics that can withstand the cool climates in states such as Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. Fashion garments are popular among youngsters here.

The region is emerging as a magnet for upscale apparel and accessories labels. Makers of sports and fashion wear, branded jewelry chains and retailers are heading to the north-east to open their first stores or expand their presence. Rapid economic growth in recent years has increased the purchasing power of consumers in the region. This is a brand-conscious and fashion-forward market. Pockets of the north-east mirror the consumer behavior of high-income pockets of suburban Delhi and Mumbai.

The region’s traditional ethnic clothes represent the true spirit of India. However, supply chain and logistics-related issues loom as potential challenges and scaling up may be a challenge given the limited density of population of cities in the region.