Raymond may shift manufacturing to India amid 'huge business inquiries' after Bangladesh crisis: CMD Singhania

Following Hasina's ouster from  Bangladesh, textile and clothing company Raymond has received a "huge number of enquiries" from international businesses, and is seeking to leverage the opportunity, says the Times of India.

When asked if Raymond's chairman & managing director Gautam Singhania would shift some of his garment business from Bangladesh to India, he said, "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."

Singhania further said that India is better suited for the company with its end-to-end supply capabilities that link all stages as Raymond has its presence in both fabric and garments business, which will save time for international brands also on final delivery.

'Though Indian labour may be more expensive than Bangladesh, 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," said Singhania.

"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 bases," he added.

Singhania also said that Raymond's capacity expansion has come online, which is perfectly timed. "So we are lucky to have those capacities," he said, adding, "we are... always looking for opportunities".

He stated that India is a politically stable country with a large middle class along with great consumption and manufacturing capabilities.

The company has divested Raymond Lifestyle, which is all set to list this week following its demerger with parent company Raymond. This would house all apparel-related businesses of the almost a century old Raymond group.

Aside from Bangladesh, India is increasingly becoming the preferred sourcing destination as the world is working on a 'China+1' strategy.

"This is playing to our advantage, leading to stronger business relationships with existing customers and presenting multiple opportunities for new markets and customer acquisition," he said.

"Everybody needs a hedging strategy. Nobody would like to put all the eggs in one basket," the CMD added.

Moreover, the quality of apparel-related work in India is better in India than in China.

Singhania said, "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."

Raymond's Garmenting Unit is a white-labelled manufacturer that supplies high-value clothing products to leading international brands.

According to Raymond's latest annual report, it has a capacity to produce 7.5 million pieces of jackets, trousers and shirts in India and 3.2 million in Ethiopia.