Raymond expects khadi to become big business vertical

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SME Times News Bureau | 13 Dec, 2016
Fabric and apparel maker Raymond is betting big on khadi and expects it to become a big vertical of its business, its Chairman and Managing Director Gautam Singhania said on Monday.

"There are 11 lakh people who are employed in khadi industry. There is a perception about khadi. Raymond is a strong brand and we are trying to uplift khadi from common fabric to a fashion fabric. We are trying to provide more value addition to khadi, which will give a better realisation to the (khadi) industry.

"Premium khadi from the company will change the perception," he said at an interview with BTVi.

The apparel company recently launched a khadi initiative.

According to Singhania, the firm's big focus area has been apparel. "We are focusing on Raymond and Park Avenue.

"These two brands can really be big. Raymond, per se, is already a big brand while Park Avenue is number one brand in the country. Each of our brands got a unique proposition and they are doing well in the respective space."

On the competition coming from e-commerce space, he said that the best way to counter peers was to keep evolving business strategies.

"I personally do not believe in e-commerce. Your losses cannot be funded by venture capitals. I believe in Uber model because what it is actually doing is increasing efficiency of an asset and charges for services provided," he said.

Singhania also said that basic cost was same for everybody but company like Raymond offered design and heritage.

"E-commerce players understand platform and sales but they do not understand how to make cloth. In India, people want to go to shops for buying products because they are not confident and physical shopping is confidence building exercise. Brick and mortar and e-commerce will co-exist," he added.