Apparel June 2019 Apparel June 2019 | Page 87

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 I June 2019 I 81