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The Textile Magazine
SEPTEMBER 2011
hand-spun, hand-woven denim which can rightly be
called Khadi Denim,” says Mr. Rajesh Gupta, Head
- Designs, Denim Division. “With fibre from the Bir-
la Group, which has qualities similar to cotton, we
have developed an ultra fine, stretchable and smooth
denim fabric which is best suited for making jeans for
women,” says Mr. Akhtar.
It’s not just the end product, but Arvind has upped
its ante on the manufacturing front too. To streamline
the manufacturing process, Arvind hired profession-
als from the automobile industry, which is known for
lean manufacturing practices. “This has helped us
cut cost and wastage. We have also introduced ERP
in our plants to achieve efficiency,” adds Mr. Akhtar,
who joined Arvind nine years ago to head its denim
division.
Though Arvind became the world’s largest manufac-
turer of denim, the company’s bottomline often took
a beating because of the fluctuating cotton prices. To
combat this situation, “the company began de-risking
its business by focusing on its brand and retail divi-
sions”, observes Mr. Jayesh Shah, Chief Financial Of-
ficer and Director.
Just as the textile business is back on the growth path
and with Arvind’s core business of denim on the up-
swing, Mr. Sanjay Lalbhai is betting big on the Brand
& Retail business. He says: “We have been investing
Rs. 100 crores each year over the last five years in the
brands & retail business. This is growing at a CAGR of
33% and is expected to be a Rs. 2500-crore business
by 2014-15.”
Mr. Sanjay Lalbhai restructured the Brands & Retail
business into three business units in 2005. He formed
a joint venture with VF Corporation, a $12-billion
US-based company with portfolio of brands like Lee,
Wrangler, Nautica and Jansport, and another joint
venture with the Murjani Group and Arvind Murja-
ni Brands Pvt. Ltd. to market the marquee designer
brand Tommy Hilfiger.
Even as the joint ventures were going great guns,
the rest of the business consisting of brands like Ar-
row, Flying Machine and Excalibur and the company’s
retail chain Megamart became Brands & Retail Divi-
sion of Arvind. Over the last four years, Brands & Re-
Standing (from left) Mr. Aamir Akhtar, CEO, Denims Division, Mr. Susheel Kaul, CEO, Lifestyle Fabrics – Shirting,
Khaki & Knitwear, Mr. Milind Hardikar, Group President, Strategic Initiatives, Mr. Punit S Lalbhai, Executive Director
– New Initiatives. Seated (from left) Mr. P.D. Chavda, President, Arvind Products Ltd., Mr. Sanjay Lalbhai, Chairman &
MD, Mr. J. Suresh, MD & CEO, Arvind Brands & Retail, Mr. Kamal Singal, CEO, Real Estate Division
cover story