Arvind Ltd.’s key global accounts continued to remain strong and helped its textiles business grow by a healthy 10 per cent during 2016. The brands and retail business delivered a market leading growth of 26 per cent. Implementation of GST will bring a few fundamental shifts in the textile and apparel retail market.
While estimates vary, it is assumed that at least 75 per cent of the Indian apparel market today is unorganised. Once the initial hiccups related to GST implementation are resolved, the apparel retail industry is expected to shift towards the organised sector, which augurs very well for players such as Arvind. Its value retail format “Unlimited” has been doing extremely well for the last few quarters, and expects an even better traction in the post-GST era.
Mr. Sanjay S. Lalbhai, Chairman & Managing Director, said: “We at Arvind have always believed in being at the leading edge of transformations impacting our businesses. Innovation always excites us and we continue to experiment with new products, technologies and business models. For instance, our expanded apparel manufacturing facilities and the new plants in Ethiopia are designed to plug seamlessly into the global supply-chains of our customers, at least total cost and best supply times. The patented Neo process creates water-less dyed Indigo products which have significantly reduced environmental impact. During the year, we launched Azurite, which is our patented technology of premium saturated indigo fabrics.”
Arvind’s innovative methods for conserving natural resources in its facilities got the company multiple awards. It was also chosen as supplier of the Zero Liquid Discharge system by the Ethiopian Government for its largest apparel manufacturing park at Hawassa.
Strengths in manufacturing
Arvind is one of the largest manufacturers of denim globally with annual capacity of more than 100 million meters. In an industry plagued by over-capacity, Arvind is one of the few players with high capacity utilisation. Its strong expertise in every step of denim fabric manufacturing value chain, including spinning, dyeing, weaving, and finishing, and its high-end design capabilities has allowed it to maintain high utilisation rate and continuously improve profitability.
In wovens, Arvind has an annual production capacity of 132 million meters and is one of the leading players in the country. Over the years, the company’s in-house R&D department has successfully developed and perfected a number of finishes adding value to its products and uniqueness to its range. In addition, it has a dedicated in-house design team constantly working on product innovation and fashion forecasts for the domestic and international markets, leading to strong connect with its customers.
Arvind is the market leader in voiles with annual capacity of 40 million meters and supplies its super fine fabric to both domestic and international markets. The company produces a range of long cloths, dress material and blouse material using materials like cotton, polyester viscose blend, polyester cotton blend etc.
With an annual capacity of 9,400 tons for knit fabric the company continues to grow rapidly. It manufactures both basic knits, including jersey, pique, rib and interlock and specialty knits, including yarn-dyed, auto stripers, jacquards and stretch.
With an increasing production capacity, Arvind is fast becoming a key supplier of garments to leading brands across the globe. The company is a one-stop shop for apparel solutions catering to an array of national and international clients. Its specialised capabilities include automation in various processes and skilled artisans for hand processes. With Ethiopia operations starting, its capacity will significantly go up and allow the company to continue the growth momentum.
Arvind is also a leading fashion player and partner of choice for a many international brands. It has a portfolio of brands that are distinctive and relevant for a diverse set of consumers. The company brands are present across multiple channels, price points and consumer segments. With more than 1,000 standalone stores and a large third party distribution network, Arvind’s brands are present across the country.
Advanced Material Division
Advanced Material Division (AMD) is one of the youngest and fastest growing divisions of Arvind Ltd. which manufactures a range of advanced materials, including coated fabrics, protective wear, composites, etc, which are used in a variety of industrial applications.
The division develops woven and non-woven filtration fabrics for chemical, pharmaceutical, mining, power, cement and steel industries. Its state-of-the-art warping, weaving and processing facility will develop these fabrics.
Arvind’s technical marketing and product development team works with customers to provide complete solution. It has a joint venture with a Japanese company to manufacture nonwoven fabrics for hot-gas and liquid filtration.
Arvind has developed woven fabrics for oil and water filtration and nonwoven fabrics for meeting pollution control norms. It has also developed fire-retardant fabrics and garments for steel, safety services and metal plants.
The company leverages its spinning, weaving, processing and garmenting expertise to supply fabrics and garment in this segment. It has developed fabrics which are metal splash resistant and Basalt based fabrics for conveyor belting application. These fabrics are used to make belts for mining application.
Outlook
Arvind’s future will be driven by multiple growth drivers. In the textile space, large opportunities in the global textile and clothing markets are driving growth. While the company’s brands and retail business continues to grow driven by large domestic consumption, new opportunities are seen in the advanced material division and the segment continues to grow at a rapid pace. The company expects its brands and retail business to contribute 40-50 per cent to its consolidated revenue over the next four-five years.
Arvind has been growing its brand and retail portfolio through its strong international brands and speciality retail stores that work across multiple channels, price points and consumer segments. It is rapidly expanding its distribution footprint further and expects to be present in over 300 cities over the next few years.
The manufacturer aims to achieve an annual growth of more than 20 per cent for the next few years. In the textile business, it continues to grow its asset light garment business as part of its vertical integration strategy. The newly commissioned Ethiopia plant for garments enables it to compete more aggressively in the international market and will likely be a key part of the growth story.