Lead Story

Made to order

Prateek Apparel's design-to-delivery model appeals to retailers, but maintaining margins is a struggle

File photo

In a cavernous hall, hundreds of workers sit in neat lines at Prateek Apparel’s Hosur Road  facility in Bengaluru, cutting and sewing what will likely become several hundred pairs of Levi’s jeans. “We now make almost every pair of Levi’s denims sold in India,” says Sanjay Dalmia, the company’s president. Prateek also counts competitor brands such as Wrangler, Pepe and Lee as clients. It also makes garments for private label brands — Rig, Bare Denims, Mix & Match, Code, Forca — of retail chains such as Lifestyle and Future Group.