NRI bizman named member of Texas product development board

Arun Agarwal, head of leading US-based home textile company Nextt, has been appointed as a member of a board to stimulate the development of small businesses in Texas.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott named Agarwal to the Product Development and Small Business Incubator Board for a term which will expire on February 1, 2019, the first Indian American to be appointed to the key post.
Agarwal says the board will be aiding in the development of products in the areas of business that are most successful for Texas and have had the most commercial success like nanotechnology, biotechnology, renewable energy, agriculture, biomedicine and aerospace.

"With my company headquarters being based in Texas, being able to stimulate the economy by being a part of such a board which has a key initiative to aid in the success of these small businesses is very important to us as a company. These small businesses are the future of the state and the nation," the Nextt CEO told PTI.
He says his priority as a member of the board is to ensure that the development of small businesses in the State continues to be stimulated as they are a vital part of the economy.
Nextt, which manufactures home textiles, garments, apparel

fabrics and polyester yarns, had recently acquired the rights to Alpha Cotton.

Giving details, Agarwal says Alpha Cotton since the patent's finalisation in September of 2015 has had tremendous success.
"We have confirmed licensing rights to many of the supplier leaders in the industry and really have taken control of this product in the marketplace. Alpha Cotton's business constitutes for USD 3 billion of business worldwide. Retailers and suppliers have continued to be successful with the product because of the inherent benefits the product provides: ultra softness, durability, economical, easy case, wrinkle resistance, colourfastness, quick drying and low pilling," he says.

The patent will provide a new way of using polyester yarns with cotton for the home textiles industry, which in turn creates a high thread count luxurious fabric, which is 30 to 40 per cent cheaper than 100 per cent cotton fabric.
Agarwal, who also has plans to launch Nextt's brands in India soon, says the launch date has been pushed back a bit just due to typical product development processes and finalisations.
"But we are excited to see our products arrive in stores in the very near future. We have just finalised plans to launch the Mikasa brand in India as well," he says.

Nextt is a supplier of home textiles, garments, apparel fabrics and polyester yarns to major retailers like Walmart, Kohl's, Dillard's, JCPenney and Target.
The USD 500 million company, which sells popular brands like Raymond Waites, Trina Turk, Kathy Ireland and Jessica McClintock, does 99 per cent of its sourcing from India with only micro fibres procured from China.