Trident is one of the largest exporters of home textile products from India, with the export turnover accounting for more than 55% in FY17. Trident exports to more than 100 countries across six continents and its clientele comprises leading global retail giants like Target, Ralph Lauren, JC Penney, IKEA, Wal-Mart, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Sears, Sam’s Club, Taj, Oberoi Hotels, Sheraton Hotels, ITC Hotels and DMart. Trident has over 300 multi-brand outlets (MBOs) in India.
In FY17, 55% of Trident’s net revenue was contributed by exports. In the bath and bed linen segment, 89% of net revenue was accounted for by exports, primarily to the US as the domestic market is dominated by unorganised players.
Trident held 13% share (of India’s 40% share in CY16) in global towel exports to the US, while its share in Indian towel exports to that country was 32%. As the bed linen capacity ramps up, the company aims at gaining share in the US bed linen market by leveraging its existing client base from the terry towels segment.
Trident is aiming at achieving Rs. 1,000-crore sales from the home textiles business in the domestic market by 2020 and double the segment’s contribution by up to 20 per cent. The company plans to add new products, including rugs and pillows as it aims to be a complete home textile brand, besides expanding the retail network here.
Trident aims to achieve these by adding new categories and enhancing the brand presence. The company gets 70 per cent of its sales from the US market, 20 per cent from the rest of the world and 10 per cent from the domestic market in the bed and bath linen segment. “Gradually as we will increase our market share in India the shift will then be 60-65 per cent from the US market, 20- 25 per cent from Europe and the rest of the world and around 15-20 per cent from the domestic market in the next 2-3 years,” says a company official.
The domestic home textiles market, which is estimated to be around Rs. 25,000 crores, has huge potential as the organised segment has only 10 per cent of it.
Bath linen
Trident’s Terry Towel division accounts for a major part of the revenues in the home textile segment. It is manufactured at Budni in Madhya Pradesh, the largest standalone terry towel facility, and at Barnala in Punjab. The company has an installed capacity of 688 looms to produce 90,000 MT per annum / 360 million pieces of terry towels annually. Trident’s state-of-the-art production facilities include spinning, wide-width airjet and jacquard weaving, soft flow dyeing and fully-automated cutting and sewing of towels. The division is equipped with machineries sourced globally, with the current average capacity utilisation of around 50%.
Bed linen
Trident manufactures bed linen at its Budni plant. It has an installed capacity of 500 looms with a capability to produce 43.2 million mtrs annually. Within a short time-span, the company has been able to make successful inroads into the domestic and international markets through its quality offerings.
The company has invested more than Rs. 2,700 crores in expansion over two years till the financial year 2016. Today it enjoys the best-in-class technology and modern manufacturing set-up which will reap benefits for a decade.
Further, in 2016-17, Trident has undertaken modernisation and upgradation of its existing facilities in order to maintain high product standards. It has installed five new Monforts machines at its Budni unit to produce and further strengthen the quality of its bed linen offerings.
“We are committed to producing the highest quality bed & bath linen products, and we know that Monforts has helped us maintain the quality while manufacturing our bed and bath linen. Along with the Monforts machines, we have installed quality air jet looms, continuous dyeing and processing equipment, and fully automatic cutting, stitching, and packing machines. This helps us better our processes and present a better experience to our customers, every single time”, says a company spokesperson.
The company’s vertically integrated operation, right from yarn to bed and bath linen, is characterised by the use of the SAP ECC6 system, thereby ensuring flawless material tracking throughout the value chain. This further safeguards the traceability and authenticity of all products. This also allows the company to generate value at every stage and ensure sustainability for future.
ELLE DECOR
Trident has launched an exclusive range of home textiles under the world renowned French lifestyle brand ELLE DECOR. It has also launched an onshore design studio in the UK and the US with large showcase of bed & bath collection.
The ELLE DECOR collection has been launched in India with a premium range of bed and bath linen under various collections such as the ‘Naive Expressionist’ and ‘Elladro’ for bed linen, and ‘Elegance’, ‘Luminax’ and ‘Finesse’ for the bath collection.
Trident registered revenues of Rs. 29,043 million in FY16, out of which 70 per cent is earned through export business. The home textile products are positioned at various price points and are marketed under brand names like Trident Everyday (for the opening price point consumers), Trident Home Essentials (for the consumers who do not mind spending a little extra), Trident Classic (for premium consumers), Trident Indulgence (for the luxury segment), Trident Organica (eco-friendly product range), Trident Play (youth/sports range), Trident Bath Buddy (kid’s range) and Trident Cuddles (infant’s range).