The company commenced manufacture of garments with leased capacities under the prestigious John Players label, for ITC Limited, India, in January 2004 with a strategy to quickly overcome the learning curve, build sustainable competitive advantage and become a significant player globally.
In the quest to achieve the above, Surya Nepal had to invest substantial sums of money in upgrading infrastructure including plant and machinery. Considerable time and effort was also spent in the training of manpower, introducing work processes, work aids, and quality systems to enable production of international quality garments. Appropriate systems in the area of quality, logistics and finance had to be introduced to enable efficient monitoring and quick decision-making. Considerable effort was also undertaken in recruitment training and development of personnel into a well-knit team, which blended with the value culture and ethos of the company.
The vision is clear – “To make the world wear our quality apparel ”. The company’s mission is focused on “creating competitive advantage for its buyers by providing a superior sourcing solution”. Nepal, being a LDC, enjoys preferential access to numerous markets including duty-free access to the European Union & Canada.
Within the first year of commencing operations, our Garments Division has exported more than one million popular segment “John Players” branded formal shirts and semi-formal trousers to ITC Limited for sale in India. The garments have been ranked first in the Product Quality Rating System (ITC’s internal quality evaluation methodology) as against high-end shirts and competitive products from Bangladesh and India.
John Players - Nepal Market
Surya Nepal launched the fashionable and youthful men's apparel brand, John Players, in October 2004. John Player is designed keeping in mind the fashion preference of today's youth and the most contemporary trends. The brand is currently available in over 70 multi-brand outlets across the country. John Players now enjoys high recognition from both consumers and in the fashion industry. The brand won the coveted 'Rising Star Brand of the year' award at the 5th Annual Images Fashion Awards 2005 in India.
John Players provides a complete wardrobe solution for the fashion and quality conscious male in Nepal. The range includes formal, casual and party wear shirts, formal and casual trousers, chinos, corduroy jackets and trousers, sweat shirts, trendy tees, jackets, 100% pure merino wool sweaters, blazers and suit’s. Also available are trendy denims reminiscent of the 70s rock fusion era.
SPRINGWOOD
After the success of the John Players range of branded men's wear, the company now introduces the SPRINGWOOD range of branded men's wear. The SPRINGWOOD range has now been introduced in the Kathmandu Valley, Butwal, Bhairwaha, Narayanghat, Hetauda, Birgunj , Biratnagar & other key markets across the country.
SPRINGWOOD addresses the needs of quality and price conscious readymade men's apparel consumers in the country, who currently have a limited choice in terms of low quality imported garments.
This is a huge opportunity area for the company, which is being tapped by offering consumers a proud "Made in Nepal" brand with a 100% quality guarantee and at prices that are surprisingly affordable. This strategy is in line with the Corporate Vision of delighting domestic and global customers with a proud "Made in Nepal" label.
This stems from our core values of customer focus, innovation and excellence. This initiative we believe will also contribute towards boosting economic activity in Nepal and in growing the Nepali garment industry by substituting low quality imports. The SPRINGWOOD brand proposition is to offer quality products with a wide range of vibrant colours in checks, stripes, solids and patterns inspired by the colours of nature, with good fits made from high quality fabrics.
SPRINGWOOD apparels conforms to the highest quality standard in the industry with fabrics imported from some of the finest mills abroad, its patterns and fits are generated by Surya Nepal's computerized design development cell taking special care to incorporate body shapes and sizes of Nepalese consumers. The manufacturing is done under close supervision of Surya Nepal's quality assurance team consisting of highly qualified and trained garment engineers and quality inspectors.
OUR OWN FACTORY
Encouraged by the initial success, the company has set up its own manufacturing facility at Biratnagar, Nepal. It is expected that such investment would significantly enhance our competency to deliver world-class quality, reduce response time and showcase Surya Nepal’s capabilities to prospective buyers from other countries. Accordingly, a facility with a capacity of 4,000 garments per day, using state of the art systems for cutting, sewing and finishing is operational. This facility has product-focused lines using state-of-the-art technology, world-class manufacturing systems and people processes. The product range includes formal and casual shirts, ladies’ tops, and semi-formal trousers. In future, our factory is also expected to manufacture high- end fashion wear through a rapid response multi-skilled line.
We believe that an optimal mix of technology, people processes and shop-floor systems is required to deliver superior performance. Towards this end, the company also has a strategic tie-up with ITC’s Technical Services Department based in Gurgaon, India. This department has, under one roof, facilities of design, CAD, pattern making, prototype development, and garments engineering, including digital textile printing and state-of-the-art washing facilities in addition to textile and garments performance testing laboratory. This assists Surya Nepal in providing superior customer solutions, as it is possible to work closely with the designers from concept to samples, thereby engineering the product for robust manufacture. The patterns can then be electronically transferred to Surya Nepal’s facilities in Nepal for execution.
WORK COMMENCES ON A NEW FACTORY AT BIRATNAGAR
Buoyed by the improved business scenario, the company has decided to set up a state-of-the-art garment factory in Dharan Road, Biratnagar. The construction work commenced as of 15th January 2007. The total built up area will be 1, 10,000 sq. ft. which includes the factory building, warehouses, canteen, worker conveniences, and office block and will be fully compliant with all environment, health and safety requirements. This factory site in Biratnagar has potential for future expansion to cater to increased volumes.
