Gautam Singhania says Raymond’s business inquiries surging after Bangladesh crisis: ’Ready to grab opportunity...’

Raymond Ltd. received a “huge number of inquires” from global companies after the Bangladesh crisis, and the brand is poised to take this opportunity, reported the news agency PTI on Sunday, September 1, quoting Chairman and Managing Director Gautam Hari Singhania.

The textile and apparel company has invested in its garmenting facility to become the largest suit maker in the world, and is ready to “take advantage” from the current situation, Singhania told the agency.

Raymond aims to shift some of its garmenting business from Bangladesh to India.

“We are hoping so. We are seeing the inquiries. It obviously needs a little bit of time, but we are certainly seeing positive signs on that,” said Singhania when asked about his expectation of shifting the garmenting business, reported the agency.

Singhania highlighted India's position with a better end-to-end supply capabilities linking all stages as the companies similar to Raymonds are present in both the fabric and the garmenting business. This will save time for global brands also on final delivery, said the executive, as per the report.

“Bangladesh does not have a fabric supply. India has got a great opportunity to take advantage of this fabric supply because we have the fabric base here. They have (only) garmenting base,” Singhania told the news agency.

The Raymond head talked about the company's capacity expansion coming online, as perfectly timed.

“So we are lucky to have those capacities,” said Singhania, as per the report. “We are... always looking for opportunities,” he told the agency.

Singhania acknowledged that the cost of Indian labour may be more expensive than Bangladesh but having a Fabric and end-to-end supply will save time, at a cost, as per Raymond's head quoted in the report.

“Look at the totality of the situation. I have a fabric and end-to-end supply. I save your time for which you pay me something,” he said.

India is a politically stable country with a large middle class, and great consumption and manufacturing capabilities, and the country is becoming a preferred sourcing destination, as besides Bangladesh, the world is working on a “China 1 strategy,” said the report.

“This is playing to our advantage, leading to stronger business relationships with existing customers and presenting multiple opportunities for new markets and customer acquisition,” said Singhania, reported the agency.

"Everybody needs a hedging strategy. Nobody would like to put all the eggs in one basket," the Raymond CMD told the news agency. “China is about quantity, if you want cheap quality, go to China and India is about value. They are volume and we are value and quality,” he said.

As per the latest reports cited by the agency, Raymond has a capacity to produce 7.5 million pieces of jackets, trousers and shirts in India, and 3.2 million in Ethiopia.