ENTREPRENEUR SPEAK
(IPO). It has now become the third largest infants’
wear manufacturing company in the world. As an
export-oriented company, we were able to offer
employment to 10,000 people across 24 states
in India. Over the past two decades, we have
functioned as a garment exporter, specialising
in kids’ wear as well as fabrics for products
such as bodysuits, sleepwear, rompers, burps,
bibs, and training pants. Today, 95 per cent of
our products are sold in the American market,
and the remaining five per cent finds its way into
European markets.
TODAY, KITEX IS A HOUSEHOLD NAME
IN SOUTH INDIA. WHAT MADE IT SO?
We started as an aluminium product
manufacturer way back in 1968, and later
diversified into other sectors, extending business
to the manufacturing of food, spices, textiles, etc.
Today, we also manufacture school bags under
the banner ‘Scoobee Day’, to cater to the needs
of schoolgoing children.
With an expertise in business, I began Kitex
Garments and set up this factory in 1995. We
make clothes for infants and children of up
to 24 months. Over time, we have developed
technological expertise in fabric weaving,
processing, and garment manufacturing. Today,
our company has an annual turnover of R1,000
crore from the textile division alone.
We started business with Gerber
Childrenswear without any mediators, with
an initial sum of US$5,000. Business with
them helped me to realise opportunities in
the American market and the infants’ clothing
sector. In 2005, our garmenting unit restructured
into a 100 per cent infants’ garment producer,
concentrating predominantly on the export
market. We had stringent tests in place to ensure
that the garments are absolutely safe for children.
A series of tests, including the saliva test, was
conducted; even the threads in the garments
are subjected to tests under CPSI (Computer
Programs and Systems, Inc.). Given all the
regulations, we made a decision to set up our
own processing unit in 2007.
We have opened a design studio in New
Jersey that provides clients with services based
on their unique requirements, purely as a value
addition. We expect to capture a larger pie of
the infants’ wear value chain through our forward
integration, with the launch of our own brand,
Little Star, and licensing of private labels, Lamaze,
in the US market.
APPAREL
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