Himatsingka Seide Ltd. is a vertically integrated home textile group that manufactures, retails and distributes bedding, upholstery, drapery and bath products. The group operates two manufacturing facilities in India and four distribution businesses across North America, Europe and Asia. A major distributor of branded luxury home textile products in North America and Europe, it also offers private label home textile products to major retailers and is the third largest distributor of “Top of Bed” products in the US.
The portfolio of brands includes Calvin Klein Home (currently the second largest selling bath and bedding brand sold through departmental stores in the US), Barbara Barry, Peacock Alley, Bellora, Esprit, Waverly and ‘Atmosphere’.
Despite a challenging and volatile economic environment and ongoing market weakness in the US and Europe, at group level, Himatsingka achieved a 15.4 per cent growth in sales. The company’s net revenue stood at Rs. 1431.62 crores this year, compared to Rs. 1240.68 crores in the previous year.
Vertical integration
A few years ago, Himatsingka embarked upon a strategy to vertically integrate by way of establishing world class manufacturing facilities in India and acquiring reputable and effective distribution companies overseas to promote this concept. The company succeeded in realizing its goals, and the effectiveness of this strategy has been validated and regarded as a key strength by its clients overseas.
Currently, Himatsingka caters to 20 of the 30 large retailers in North America. It supplies to high profile brands, including Calvin Klein Home, Barbara Barry, Bellora, Atmosphere, Esprit and Waverly. The company has recently obtained a licence for another luxury US brand, Peacock Alley. This will further enhance its visibility in the branded space.
“Atmosphere”, Himatsingka’s retail and distribution arm, sells furnishing fabrics in India, South-East Asia and the Middle East. Last year, the company added bedding products to Atmosphere’s portfolio positioned to sell the entire range of curtain, upholstery and bedding products. Looking to the future, Himatsingka aims to enhance its retail presence.
Himatsingka operates in the home textiles segment, an important part of the textile industry. The global environment for home textiles has been different in different geographies – buoyant in the American markets and under continuing stress in the European markets. It is expected to be relatively stable in the coming year.
There has been a conscious movement towards brand expansion at lower price points. Private label distributors / retailers and brand distributors have consciously cultivated the mid-market segment. High input costs, competition, cost competitiveness, low productivity levels and the rupee volatility are some of the key challenges faced by the industry.
Design and fashion capabilities are the differentiators that have enabled the Indian industry to build relationships with global retailers and score over competition from China and other countries. Hence, investing in design and product development expertise has become a key for success.
Himatsingka’s bed linen manufacturing facility at Hassan, and along with distribution and brand synergies of Divatex Home Fashions Inc., DWI Holdings Inc. and Giuseppe Bellora SpA, the company has created a strong presence in the home textiles segment. Its plant at Doddaballapur, Bangalore, is dedicated to manufacture high-end silk / blended home furnishing fabrics. While these are marketed internationally through well-known interior brands, in India and Asia products they are marketed through its own brand ‘Atmosphere’ – the group’s own brand which has 12 showrooms in India and one each in Dubai, Singapore and Jordan.
Himatsingka’s core strengths lie in product design and development capabilities, state-of-the-art and flexible manufacturing facilities and efficient marketing and distribution channels. Its in-house design studio is considered amongst the best in the world for its design capabilities. It is equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure and related facilities to be able to churn out more than 1,500 new products annually.
In addition, Himatsingka invests in expanding its design teams both in India and overseas to be able to address the increasing need for new products globally.