"At present, JC Penny is sourcing $150 million textile materials from India. We are planning to increase this to $800 million in the next four-years," a senior JC Penny official said.
Speaking on the sidelines of a textile seminar organised by FICCI, he said the proposed sourcing material includes apparel products and home furnishing material.
"Though JC Penny is adding more and more vendors from all parts of the world, India still remains as favourite outsourcing destination for global retail majors due to easy availability of material and better product development abilities," he said.
Global textile majors are looking at countries like India, Pakistan, China, Vietnam and Bangladesh for large scale sourcing of textile materials, he said.
"However, the fragmented textile industry and the high cost of capital and power are key challenges to India textile competitiveness. JC Penny is looking at vendors who can offer material at a competitive price in all situations," he said.
He said the country should forge alliance with mills and factories in neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to provide the products in desired time.
India should constantly endeavour to reduce merchandise cost structure and reduce lead-time. Moreover, it should achieve flexibility in managing deliveries, he added.
© 2025