Aiming at No.1 spot in infant garments business by 2017
The global children’s wear market is estimated to be $173.6 billion by 2017. Developed regions within Europe and North America are considered traditional leaders and account for a principal share of the global children’s wear market. Asia-Pacific, spurred by rapidly escalating markets in India, China, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and others, is poised to deliver the fastest growth rate of 5.3 per cent through to 2017.
The kids’ clothing market in India is growing up. In 2011, it was Rs. 37,300 crores (around $7 billion), according to research and consultancy firm Technopak Advisors. It will record a CAGR of above 10 per cent for the next decade, says the Delhi-based firm. A study by Assocham is even more upbeat. It sees market size in 2015 at Rs. 80,000 crores ($14.8 billion).
Indian manufacturers are building capacity to tap this huge domestic and global potential. One such company is the Kerala-based Kitex Ltd., which aspires to become the global leader in kids garments by 2017. The company possesses the entire knowhow and technology for fabric weaving, processing and garment manufacturing.
Kitex, a dynamic and professionally managed textile company, was started in the 1979 by the late M.C. Jacob, a true visionary, at Kizhakambalam, Kerala. The textile division was started with the main intention of providing employment to nearby villages. During the early 1990s, the garmenting unit was started with a workforce of 300 people. Today Kitex has more than 14,000 employees and makes an annual turnover of Rs. 500 crores from its textile division alone. Much of what Kitex has achieved is credited to the efforts of the company’s Managing Director, Mr. Sabu M. Jacob.
Kitex, the short form of Kizhakambalam Textiles, is one of the fastest growing kids apparel manufacturers, recording a blistering growth rate of over 25 per cent year-on-year. Kitex houses more than 500 latest airjets and water-jet looms from all the top brands, equipped to make weaves and qualities like cambrics, sheetings, poplins, mulls, casements, drills, twills, linos, satins, bedfords, oxfords and stripes as well as special fabrics like slub fabrics, Leno & Dobby design qualities, yarn dyed suiting and shirting in stripes, checks, dobby designs, etc.
The garmenting major has all its textile units at Kizhakambalam, clearly recognized as the best in India for infant garments, has massive fabric manufacturing facilities of 30 million metres per annum and garment manufacturing facility of 55 million pieces per annum, now being expanded to 110 million pieces per annum.
The company’s ultra-modern garmenting unit was set up in 1994 at Kizhakambalam equipped with all the latest machines and infrastructure. The unit aimed at manufacturing garments for all segments. But the company soon realized that there was a great business opportunity in the infant garments area. By 2005, the garmenting unit was restructured into a 100 per cent infant garment producer concentrating predominantly on the export market.
During a one-on-one with The Textile Magazine, Mr. Sabu Jacob says: “There is a huge gap in the global kids wear market for high quality yet affordable products. Kitex seeks to fill this gap by providing contemporary styled products at affordable prices for today’s children.”
Demand for infant garments is increasing day by day. Simple to manufacture they are easily marketable both in urban and rural areas. With consumerism and disposable income on the incline, the retail sector has witnessed rapid growth in the past decade. Several international retailers are also focusing on India due to its emergence as a potential sourcing destination.
Always at the cutting-edge of fashion and innovation, Kitex has for over a decade now sourced technology, fabrics and garments globally. The company is a global supplier for premium international brands such as Jockey, Little Me, Mothercare, Carter’s, Babies’R’us, Gerber, etc.
Kitex Ltd. also manufactures and exports high quality greige fabrics which are extensively used in home furnishings, industrial and apparels. The state-of-art weaving unit produces high-quality greige fabrics, yarn dyed fabrics as well as Dobby and Leno dobby fabrics made of cotton, polyester-cotton, cotton-nylon, cotton-linen, cotton-lycra, polyester-lycra and linen. The fabrics are economical and highly durable and have elegant texture and patterns.
The company also has the most modern processing facility that is second to none within the Indian sub-continent. Latest technology such as open width continuous bleeching, auto dye dispensing system, continuous cold pad, batch dyeing, sanforisers, latest screen engraving machines, rotary printing and placement printing, completely automated fabric spreading and cutting, hi-tech embroidery machines and most sophisticated sewing machines are some of the reasons why the brand has an upper hand when compared to competitors.
“Kitex was the first company in India to pass the social-compliance test conducted by Wal-Mart in 2002”, says Mr. Sabu.
Fabric procurement
Dyed, printed, bleached cotton, synthetic fabrics as per international regulations and demands are manufactured at the company’s in-house processing warehouse. The fabric will then be inspected using state-of-the-art inspection machines before cutting, so that unevenness in colour or shade or any other fault detected in the fabric is eliminated.
Kitex harnesses the power of young, driven professionals from nearby towns and villages sculpted and trained within its production facility. For years now, empowered and motivated employees have propelled Kitex towards achieving quality, customer service, design and brand equity comparable to the best worldwide.
Kitex garments are present in more than 1,300 premium multi-brand stores and over 300 departmental stores. It is one of India’s fastest growing garment manufacturing companies and a premium lifestyle player in infant retails. The company’s brand portfolio includes product lines ranging from affordable and mass-market to luxurious, high-end style and cater to the age group of less than 5 years. Kitex is defined by its brands that personify style, attitude, luxury and comfort.
Kitex is today one of the most-sought-after brands in the indian as well as international fashion markets. Kitex has a number of achievements to its credit. It is recognized as the first garmenting unit in India to have a complete centralized air-conditioning system with over 3000 tonnes of daily usage. It is also one of the few players within the textile vertical to provide food and accommodation to its entire workforce.
Company history
The Kitex Group started as an aluminium products manufacturer way back in 1968. It later expanded into other sectors gradually, extending its business into manufacturing of food, spices, textiles, etc. After the outset of its aluminium business, the Anna Group soon established a textile unit for the manufacture of Kitex garments. This was followed by the opening of the state-of-the-art manufacturing units of ScooBee Day and TrawellDay Bags, two major divisions under Kitex, catering to the growing demands for school bags, travel bags and similar products.
Financial performance
“Kitex Garments achieved an all-time high of Rs. 456 crores of revenue in 2013-14 which is 42 per cent more than the previous year’s, and PBT of Rs. 88 crores, a 100 per cent growth compared to 2012-13. Our company has capitalization worth Rs. 74 crores as on the year, of which a major portion was utilized for expansion of our process plant” says Mr. Sabu M. Jacob, Chairman & Managing Director, Kitex Garments Ltd.
Kitex Garments Ltd., the group’s sister concern, is now one of the leading cotton griege suppliers in Kerala that provides authentic griege fabrics to world class retailers and manufacturers like Mother care, Jockey, Wal-Mart, J.C.Penny, Sarah Lee, Gerber, Fruit of the Loom, to name a few.
Kitex Ltd., the group’s leading-edge textile unit, kick-started in 1975, now manufactures and exports a wide range of cotton fabrics, clothing materials, traditional wears like lungies, dhotis, inner garments, infant wear and cotton bedspreads. It also manufactures high-quality greige fabrics for home furnishings and apparel manufacturing. The brand continues to cater to various fashion conscious markets across the world, with the help of a well-maintained network that includes more than 2,500 authorized dealers across the globe.
The company makes garments which are 100 per cent combed cotton, using the cutting-edge German technology, meeting stringent quality standards and customer demands. Its shirting and suiting brand, Dago Bert, is made from the finest cotton, by incorporating contemporary designs along with the latest weaving techniques.
Kitex has a premium lingerie creation section with brand names Adonis and Agna. Adonis includes comfortable intimate wears for men and Agna has a range of lingerie for women, designed and stitched using specially processed fabric for comfortable fit and seamless finish.
The company has a comprehensive portfolio of diverse and the most-sought-after labels of apparels, now being exported to the US, the UAE, Australia, Europe and Canada. Kitex has a capacity to manufacture more than 1.2 million metres of woven and 25 tonnes of knitted garments per month from its Kizhakambalam facility.
Future prospects
The company plans to take its performance to the next level by further modernizing its plants, by creating new markets in Europe and the US, by implementing niche products using high-tech and time-saving machinery and devices, and by improving the quality of its employees by training, research and development. It also plans to introduce its own brand in the US in the coming year, which would hopefully bear fruit in the following years.
With its order books getting bulkier, Kitex is confident that it will become the leading manufacturer in the world in the infant wear apparel segment by the end of 2015. Major International buyers like Kohls and The Childrens Place have been placing new orders for the company products.
The company won the Best Manufacturer Supplier Award for 2011 and 2012 from Toys R Us of the US. It also won the Best Manufacturer Supplier Award from Gerber Children’s Wear of the US for a second consecutive year.