Gokaldas Exports, the largest manufacturer of sports apparel in India, is reportedly holding talks with Jack Wolfskin and several other companies that want to shift some of their sourcing from China to other Asian countries. Based in Bangalore, Karnataka, Gokaldas is chiefly known in the sports industry as a supplier for brands such as Nike, Adidas and Puma. The prospective partners identified by Indian newspapers include the U.S. retailers Wal-Mart and Sports Authority. The reported talks with Jack Wolfskin might have to do with the fact that the majority of Gokaldas shares have been held since 2007 by the Blackstone Group, the U.S. private equity fund that agreed to purchase the German outdoor brand last summer. Blackstone took over managerial control of Gokaldas earlier this year from the Hinduja family, who founded the company, as its performance deteriorated and its share price plummeted. For the financial year ended last March, the apparel maker's sales inched up by 1 percent to 108,188 lakhs rupees (€158.3m-$217.9m) but costs inflated much faster, leading to a loss of 9,007 lakhs rupees (€13.2m-$18.1m). Among several other issues, Gokaldas pointed out that the Indian government cut its subsidies to apparel exporters and the minimum wage in Karnataka increased by nearly 64 percent in the last five years, to about 164 rupees (€2.40-$3.30) per day in 2011.

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