8th June 2014

Courtesy: The Hindu

Sivakasi YES team to US

A 100-member delegation visits America to study business opportunities and improve bilateral trade

If the delegation of Young Entrepreneur School (YES), a youth development programme of the Tamil Nadu Chamber Foundation, signs a trade contract during their visit to the popular brand’s Visitors’ Centre in San Francisco, Madurai can expect a Levi’s jeans manufacturing unit.

“It is part of our plan,” says V. Neethi Mohan, Chairman, YES. “The Visitors Centre is a permanent installation in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Levi Strauss and Co. showcasing the company’s history and business. We will be visiting the Levi’s facility on June 23.”

The 17-day trip is titled as "Bizcover America". Members drawn from various YES centres such as Chennai, Dindigul, Ramanathapuram, Karur and Sivakasi leave on June 8. The delegation will also visit US India Business Council, a premier business organisation representing America’s top companies investing in India. They have planned to visit New York, Washington, Niagara, Orlando, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“We have also planned to visit ZAPPOS.com, a popular online store for shoes and clothes based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The store is presently owned by Amazon.com. We will be there to study their business culture and understand their core values,” he says. The team’s prime focus is to improve trade links in food processing and garment industries.

According to Neethi Mohan, e-commerce is a rapidly growing business in the country as the total business done through online shops in the country at present stands at around one billion dollars and it is expected to grow up to 76 billion dollars by 2020. “Already showrooms are being converted into warehouses and businessmen are showing keen interest in e-commerce,” he says.

“The team will study the business models, tools for business development and their best practices. The key objective is to increase volume of bilateral trade and promote industrial investments,” says S. Rethinavelu, chairman of the foundation.

The group will also be at the Infocomm 2014, one of the largest professional AV shows in the world with more than 950 exhibitors from over 110 countries attending.