Think cross-border Indo-Pakistan fashion retail and PFDC Boulevard Delhi’s name inevitably pops up; the franchise store ambitiously launched two years ago by the Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) alongside businesswoman Mini Bindra. The store was going to be the first-of-its-kind retail avenue in India selling designer wear by the crème de la crème of Pakistani fashion. Or so it seemed.

Within a very short span, Delhi’s PFDC Boulevard has endured far too many ‘hiccups’. Although some brands — Sana Safinaz, Libas, Karma, HSY and Sania Maskatiya, for instance — continue to feature at the store, updated collections by quite a few other brands are no longer available. Some designers have deliberately opted out of the store’s entourage while the Bindras have ceased to place orders with others.

Mini Bindra recounts her experiences of running the store, outlining the nightmares of a multi-retailer. “I don’t have any personal grudges against anybody but I do expect professionalism,” she says. “There are some designers with whom I share a fantastic work relationship but there are others who have sent in clothes with colour bleeding from the embroideries.

There have been times when an order for a bridal dress has arrived four months late. We have had to deal with livid clients, running the risk of getting sued, paying back huge advances simply because the delivery from Pakistan was late. We strike deals in good faith and have been swindled by designers who sell us their unstitched lawn for three times the price at which they are selling it in Pakistan.”

The process of payments and tax restrictions are yet another obstacle. “I agree that sometimes payments to designers have gotten late but this is to be expected in transactions taking place in between two countries, amidst so many duties and restrictions,” explains Mini. “Eventually, of course, it all gets sorted out — although we do get frustrated when we realise that we have gotten conned into paying extra. Many designers expect to be paid on the very next day following a sale. Long-term alliances simply aren’t built like this.”

There is, however, a flipside to every story. Even within Pakistan, many designers bemoan the late payments they receive from certain local multi-labels — the problem only gets accentuated in the case of cross-border trade. A riled Fahad Hussayn clearly states that he has long been awaiting his ‘pending payments’ from the Bindras and that he ‘no longer wants to work with them’.

Other brands that are no longer doing business with the store — Elan, Zara Shahjahan, the House of Kamiar Rokni and Shehla Chatoor come to mind — are more open towards a future working relationship. “My retail experience in India has been fantastic in terms of customer response,” says Khadijah Shah, “but right now, logistics make it difficult for me to stock there regularly.”

Misdemeanors, the burden of taxes and duties, payment issues and misunderstandings … it all boils down to a conundrum that has the PFDC Boulevard Delhi flailing rather than rising as the one-stop destination for Pakistani fashion in India. Mini Bindra says that she is now considering also stocking Indian designers at her store.

The PFDC, at the time at which this story was printed, was not available for comment but one can’t pinpoint the council for the franchise’s troubles. The PFDC, historically, has worked hard to further the business of Pakistani fashion and yet, you win some, you lose some; some things work out immediately while others take time.

The fledgling PFDC Boulevard Delhi seems to belong to the latter category. There are chances that once payments and quality-control issues are resolved, the store begins to function more smoothly and to be fair, there’s still some of Pakistan’s best designer-wear on the store’s racks. But it’s hardly the hefty, star-studded line-up that PFDC Boulevard Delhi initially started with. Will the store stay afloat or fade into oblivion? Time will tell.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, August 31, 2014