TEX-FILE
Raymond UCO Denim evolving rapidly
with strong focus on Product Development
Raymond UCO Denim, one of the most respected names in the Indian textile industry and in the global denim space, recently
completed two decades of its successful journey. With an annual global capacity of 50 million metres of denim fabric and catering
to premium and premium plus segments, the company is creating a perfect balance between domestic and overseas markets with
an almost equal share in both. Using 3 to 5 per cent of its total capacity on product development (PD), the company definitely has a
forte in this area. While most of the denim mills across India or even globally are facing multiple issues of overcapacity and smaller
order sizes, it is indeed remarkable to note that Raymond UCO Denim last year was able to increase its capacity by 15 per cent. In
a candid discussion with Apparel Online, Arvind Mathur, CEO, Raymond UCO Denim, Mumbai and a pass-out from IIT and IIM,
discussed about the company’s unique growth strategy that led to such a great success and other allied issues.
R
aymond UCO Denim (50:50 joint
venture with Raymond and
European denim major, UCO NV of
Belgium), which started with the
goal of offering a versatile range
for customers’ diversified needs
and to be completely innovative,
has made significant progress in
its journey so far. Over a period of
time, it has achieved a commendable
track record of adding new things
in denim. “If you look at the top 10
denim brands of the world, we are
catering to 70 per cent of them. This
is how we are placed and are able
to compete in that space with the
topmost denim fabric manufacturers
of Turkey, China, Pakistan and other
countries. Hence, we have a strong
presence and are very much in tune
with the global landscape. Raymond
is one of the most respected names
in the premium segments,” says
Mathur, who as CEO, is responsible
for the the overall success of the
business. The company has state-
of-the-art manufacturing units in
Yavatmal (Maharashtra) as well
as Giurgiu (Romania), though
the major production happens in
the Indian unit. It is also able to
offer full package services with
Everblue Apparel Ltd., Dodaballapur
(Bangalore) which is a state-of-the
art denimwear facility.
Talking about the issues of
overcapacity, adoption of buyers/
brands’ system to have minimum
inventories, Mathur believes that
overcapacity, although existent in
the market, is not really indicative
of a recessionary trend. “Yes,
globally the denim business is
facing challenges but there is still
low single digit growth. Europe was
32 Apparel Online India |
An Electronics &
Telecommunications
Engineer, and an
MBA, Arvind Mathur
dedicated his life to
the textile industry
as he worked for
almost 3 decades,
most of it outside
India, for the famous
thread company
Coats. He proudly
informed, “There
has never been a
dull moment in this
industry. There was
a time when people
used to say that this is
a ‘sunset’ industry, but
I must say that there
is a lot happening
now, especially in the
new era of technical
textiles and digital
technologies and
processes. It is a
thriving industry and
there is no better
place for this than
India. When you
go around and find
people making things
in a very different
way, you always learn
something new and
this is what has kept
me in the industry for
so many years.”
Arvind Mathur, CEO, Raymond UCO Denim
going through a difficult phase but
now it has kind of stabilized. Some
European brands are showing real
recovery which is an indication
that the denim industry would
continue to grow. Large developing
markets such as China and India are
contributing to this too. And in these
circumstances, the mantra that
JULY 16-31, 2017 | www.apparelresources.com
works for a supplier is how you can
differentiate yourself from others.”
He further adds that the other
important thing is the way in which
fashion and inventory levels are
changing and the impact these are
going to have on lead times, average
order sizes and MOQs. According
to Mathur, “Now everybody is