Textile manufacturer PT Trisula Textile Industries Tbk. (BELL) expressed his hope for the improvement of the performance of the domestic textile industry this year. Until the third quarter of 2021, the textile and apparel industry still recorded a year-on-year contraction of -3.34 percent. However, the contraction rate has shrunk from the second and first quarters of 2021, namely -4.54 percent and -13.28 percent, respectively. Corporate Secretary of Trisula Textile R. Nurwulan Kusumawati said the direction of improvement in the domestic market had begun to be felt in the last quarter of last year, which was welcomed by intensifying retail products and customized orders.

During the pandemic, the company anticipates declining sales by maximizing digital marketing on e-commerce platforms.

"In the third quarter of 2021, BELL's total online sales increased by 38.4 percent year-on-year," he said, Wednesday (12/1/2022).

Nurwulan continued that the company also found opportunities for omnichannel sales with malls and shops that had started operating normally. The two strategies are expected to improve the company's performance this year so as to seize the opportunity for a surge in demand in the 2022 Eid season.

Looking at the company's financial statements, up to the third quarter of 2021, Trisula's sales were corrected by 32.22 percent to Rp.293.67 billion from the same period in 2020 of Rp.433.25 billion. The company targets sales growth of 8 percent in 2021.

"Regarding the realization of growth in 2021, it is currently still in the process of being calculated. However, it is hoped that it will be in accordance with the plan," said Nurwulan.

Previously, the Ministry of Industry targeted the textile industry's growth of 5 percent this year, with a projected growth realization in 2021 of 1.37 percent.

The Indonesian Textile Association (API) is optimistic that this target can be exceeded, provided there is no new wave of pandemics due to the spread of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus.