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The Textile Magazine
SEPTEMBER 2011
What started with just 15 stores six months ago has
now grown to 80 stores which sell all Arvind brand
products under one roof. These stores offer a range
of suiting, shirting, knitted wear and denims, besides
casual and formal garments of some well-known in-
ternational brands that share a marketing tie-up with
Arvind.
Not just ramps and fashion weeks, you can also look
forward to the Arvind brand being flashed in realty
and industrial circles too. While textiles remains its
core business, Arvind has diversified into real estate,
technical textiles like composite material used by au-
tomobiles and aerospace industries, brands & retail,
shirtings and woven fabrics. This diversification strat-
egy has firmly placed Arvind in an arena where up-
heavals in cotton prices no more affect its bottomline.
“By 2014, we will become a Rs. 9,000-crore group,”
says Arvind’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mr.
Sanjay Lalbhai, beaming with confidence. “Our focus
is on growth, profit and value for shareholders. We
are looking at 100 per cent growth from the present
Rs. 5,300-crore turnover to over Rs. 9,000 crores by
2014-2015”.
Sanjay Lalbhai’s sons – Punit and Kulin – also reflect
their father’s upbeat mood about the group’s growth
prospects. “We are no more just a textile mill. We now
grow organic cotton, use environment-friendly dyes,
produce fire-retardant fabrics, bullet-proof jackets &
composite glass and multi-axial fabrics. These can be
widely used in industries such as aerospace, automo-
biles and windmills,” points out Mr. Punit, Executive Di-
rector, New Initiatives, also an MBA and post-graduate
in environment science.
The secret of Arvind Ltd.’s success formula lies in
the proactive business strategy which gets a regular
overhaul. Their decision to manufacture denim fabric
to survive the textile crisis in the 1980s when over 100
textile mills in Ahmedabad closed one after the other
reflects their prowess as visionaries.
From being just a manufacturer of fabrics as a com-
modity, over the years Arvind has evolved into a com-
plete attire solution provider. Its focus is fast shifting
from B2B to B2C, with a goal to enter the wardrobe
of the upwardly mobile middle class as well as that of
the haute couture.
“Today, Arvind produces 120 million metres of den-
im and commands 7% of the global market share,”
says Mr. Aamir Akhtar, CEO, Denim Fabrics, Arvind
Ltd. “With state-of-the-art technology, design, inno-
vation and marketing initiatives, we have created a
strong entry barrier for our competitors.”
Last year, the denim division netted a revenue of Rs.
1,360 crores to Arvind’s portfolio, of which exports
accounted for Rs. 729 crores. With assured quality,
Arvind’s buyers list can boast of world leaders such
as GAP, Levis and VF Corp., besides other top Euro-
pean garment companies. “We work closely with these
global market leaders in denim jeans. Our designers
based in New York, Hong Kong and Dhaka keep us
posted on the changing style & fashion and suggest
the right mix of fabrics for these valuable customers,”
explains Mr. Akhtar.
Not just South Asian countries, Arvind has set its
sights further – beyond the proverbial seven seas. As
the fashion trends in the US and Europe shift focus
from man-made to natural fabric and dyes, Arvind
has kept pace with them by making denim fabric from
organic cotton and natural indigo. “We also produce
Mr. J. Suresh,
MD & CEO, Arvind Brands & Retail
cover story