Raymond is strengthening its global manufacturing strategy by addressing market challenges. The company is commissioning a garmenting plant in Ethiopia with an annual capacity of 2.6 million pieces as part of a global textile hub where the land and building are being provided by the Government and the labour and power costs are globally competitive. The company will benefit on account of duty exemptions in the US and Europe on exports from Ethiopia, making it possible to address the incremental demand from these markets and remain competitive worldwide.
Raymond is also setting up a linen plant in Amravati. Both the Ethiopia and Amravati plants are expected to be completed and commercial operations could start in the second half of 2017.
Raymond Ltd.’s standalone gross revenue from operations stood at Rs. 2,822.18 crores for 2016-17 compared with Rs. 2,791.91 crores in the previous year. The group’s consolidated gross revenue from operations for FY 2017 was at Rs. 5,391.32 crores (previous year: Rs. 5,176.83 crores), registering a growth of 4.14 per cent.
Mr. Gautam Hari Singhania, Chairman, Raymond Group, said: “The financial year 2016-17 was a combination of two extremes: while the first half performance met our internal targets, the second half witnessed unprecedented disruptions due to the liquiduty crunch arising out of demonetization. We believe that times like these bring many positives and opportunities in the long run and we remain optimistic about the growth story of India. We have closed the last quarter on a positive note with double-digit revenue and profitability growth sequentially over the previous quarter on the back of strong portfolio of power brands coupled with a robust retail network that has shown resilience in such a challenging environment. Having initiated the transformation journey, with a vision of “Reimagined Raymond”, we are confident that our strategic initiatives will continue to enhance the shareholders’ value.”
Raymond has state-of-the-art suiting and trousering fabric manufacturing plants in Vapi (Gujarat), Chhindwara (Madhya Pradesh) and Jalgaon (Maharashtra). These plants have an aggregate manufacturing capacity of 38 million metres of suiting fabric extending across all wool, polywool, silk, polyester viscose blend, cotton blend, linen blend and other premium blends.
The Raymond Group has established capacity to manufacture over 110 million metres per annum of fabric capacity in the suiting, shirting and denim businesses. The company is one of the world’s largest vertically and horizontally integrated manufacturers of worsted suiting fabric. It is also globally renowned for manufacturing Super 250s, the finest fabric in the world, as well as the 340s count cotton and 150 lea pure linen fabrics.
The Raymond Group is a white label-integrated supplier to leading international brands. It has set up capacity to manufacture over 9 million pieces per annum of garment, including jackets, trousers, vests, shirts and denim. It’s the only Indian manufacturer with an expertise to craft full canvas premium jackets. There are four state-of-the-art garmenting plants in Bengaluru with an aggregated annual manufacturing capacity of 2.2 million tailored jackets, 2.4 million tailored trousers and 2.4 million shirts.
Cotton shirting business
Raymond possesses 26 million metres of capacity at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Kolhapur (Maharashtra). The unit produces high value cotton and linen shirting and bottom weight fabrics for leading domestic and international brands.
Raymond UCO Denim Private Ltd. manufactures denim fabric and markets a wide range of denim fabric and garments. The business caters to customers across the Americas, Europe, Asia and domestic markets. The business fabric manufacturing facilities are located in Yavatmal (Maharashtra) and Romania with an aggregate capacity of 47 million metres.
Mr. Singhania further said: “The transformation journey at Raymond is conceptualised to create a new-age organisation that is geared to outpace competitors and drive higher growth and profitability. Adopting an asset-light approach with a strong focus on ROCE will enable us to not just survive but thrive in this volatile market. Since inception, Raymond has been held in high esteem for its numerous pioneering innovations, in turn creating a leadership position for itself in the market. As the scope of business expanded over the years, there was a need felt for divestment of ownership and for the management to ensure scalability.
Finally with the proposed GST implementation, Raymond feels that there could be a short-term demand impact. However, business is likely to return to the erstwhile momentum. The company believes that GST will prove a game-changer that strengthens the prospects for organized businesses. As a brand-driven company, Raymond is optimistic of carving a sizable slice of the demand from unorganized players.
Technosmart to Technostretch
Raymond has always worked at the leading-edge of suiting and trousering fabric innovations across natural and man-made fibres. The launch of Technosmart in 2016 helped the company graduate to a feature-laden fabric coupled with a consumer benefit-led marketing strategy that enhanced product appeal and off-take.
The Technosmart fabric is different and it is the result of a new customer-centric innovation process inspired by the millennial generation. Technosmart is arguably the world’s ‘smartest’ fabric with a combination of consumer benefits (UV protection, wrinkle resistance, breathability and a silky smooth finish).
Ever since Technosmart was launched, the company’s looms have been operating 24/7 to address the growing demand for this wonder fabric. The result has been quite unprecedented. Never before in the company’s history has a new product registered sales of 1 million metres in the first year of launch.
Technosmart is a telling example of what world-class innovation, when seamlessly dove-tailed with powerhouse distribution prowess, can achieve. The product was made available across 714 Raymond shops and over 20,000 touch-points, within just a week of launch.
Raymond is taking this innovation juggernaut ahead. The company is extending the Techno series to the trend-setting stretch fabric. It intends to launch this new product around the optimism that just like 2016 belonged to Technosmart, 2017 will belong to Technostretch.
Raymond will continue the product innovation momentum through the expansion of its Techno series, supported by service innovation in tailoring services that will enlarge the tailoring community’s capacities and capabilities. The company intends to drive growth through further increasing channel penetration in semi-urban and rural India.