Dollar Industries: Catalysing Change in Indian Hosiery

With a legacy spanning over five decades in the hosiery industry, Dollar Industries continues to strengthen its presence in India while steadily expanding across global markets. In this feature, Divya Shetty delves into how the company is not only growing its footprint but also diversifying its product range—from innerwear to outerwear.

Founded in 1972, by the Chairman Din Dayal Gupta, Dollar Industries is making waves in the hosiery market with a 15 per cent market share. The company spans across 29 states. And their reach doesn’t stop there. As the go-to Indian innerwear brand in the UAE and the Middle East, Dollar is making a mark in spots like Oman, Jordan, Qatar, and beyond. Ajay Patodia, CFO, Dollar Industries, walks us through the company’s expansion plans, and how is Dollar strengthening the hosiery sector in India.

Operations at a glance

The overall hosiery market is valued at approximately Rs 170 billion for men’s innerwear and around Rs 560 billion for the women’s segment. Over the last four years, the sector has registered a CAGR of nearly 7 per cent.

Within the Rs 170 billion men’s market, about half is organised. Dollar’s revenue in the organised sector was Rs 17.10 billion in FY25. Their presence spans both innerwear and outerwear, with innerwear contributing 80 per cent of their sales and outerwear making up the remaining 20 per cent. The athleisure segment, in particular, is growing rapidly with a year-on-year rise of 30 to 40 per cent.

Patodia mentions, “We operate manufacturing units in four major locations: Kolkata, and three facilities in Tamil Nadu—Tiruppur, Erode, and Dindigul. Our Ludhiana plant focuses on the thermal garment range, while Delhi handles socks and women’s wear. We also manage 20 depots across India. Last year, we produced 30 crore units and registered sales volume of 250.47 million pieces.”

In 2020, during the pandemic, Dollar restructured its brand architecture through a digital relaunch. Earlier, the company had 15 to 16 sub-brands, which created confusion among customers. Now, the company operates under a streamlined six-category structure.

“Looking ahead, we plan to open 50 exclusive brand outlets (EBOs), especially in South India. This is strategic, as unlike some competitors who thrive in organised retail, we follow a distributor-led model. Each distributor connects with over 100 retailers, which means we work on tighter margins compared to brands that sell directly at MRP,” informs Patodia.

Sustainability in focus

The textile industry continues to grapple with massive amounts of textile waste ending up in landfills. However, Dollar has introduced a solution to address this challenge. Patodia adds, “We have implemented Project Lakshya, which has mapped about 2.9 lakh retailers across India, of which 74,000 are active users. This model is unique—it allows retailers to place micro-orders, even for as few as four pieces, and receive delivery. This lean distribution model has proven highly successful and has been running for four years now.”

In addition to this, Dollar has made significant investments in renewable energy. The company operates an 8 MW solar plant in Tiruppur and four windmills located in coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, generating approximately 170 lakh units annually. The company is also considering expanding its solar capacity by 1 to 2 MW to enhance cost efficiency.

Dollar’s market impact

According to the Wazir report, the Indian hosiery sector is growing at a CAGR of 7 per cent. Innerwear, often referred to as a second skin, is a necessity, so demand will remain consistent.

Patodia says, “From our perspective, the market outlook is positive. Raw material prices are expected to stabilise over the next two years, which will support healthy growth. Dollar is actively contributing to industry expansion through Project Lakshya. Wherever we have implemented this model—be it Rajasthan, Karnataka, or Haryana—we’ve witnessed stronger performance and better margins compared to our competitors.”

Last year, the company expanded its spinning capacity from 22,000 spindles to 42,000 spindles. Additionally, they scaled up their warehousing capabilities to prepare for increased demand. The current infrastructure allows Dollar to ramp up its production by 20 to 25 per cent should the market require it.

Performance and projections

Dollar Industries achieved an overall growth of 10 per cent last year, which is well above the industry average of 7 per cent. This positions Dollar Industries as the fastest-growing company in the Indian hosiery segment, with an 11 per cent CAGR.

For the current year, the company is targeting a volume growth of 12 to 13 per cent. A key focus area for them is to reduce their working capital cycle. “While our peers operate with 180 to 231 working capital days, we have brought ours down to 160 days, and we aim to further reduce this to 140 days,” adds Patodia.

Leading product ranges

“About 80 per cent of our revenue is generated from the men’s segment, followed by 15 per cent from women’s wear and 5 per cent from kidswear. The women’s segment is particularly important as it delivers higher EBITDA margins,” informs Patodia.

Dollar Industries recently introduced athleisure products for women, which is already showing promise. The company is targeting a 20 to 25 per cent growth in this category. On the men’s side, Dollar is also expanding its athleisure range to cater to growing demand.

Global expansion strategy

Dollar Industries’ export performance has been modest, but they are seeing strong demand from Nigeria, South Africa, and Myanmar. These regions offer promising growth potential, and Dollar’s goal is to achieve double-digit growth from these markets.

“We are also focusing on the Gulf countries—Oman and Kuwait are currently key export destinations. However, we don’t cater extensively to the US and UK markets. This is primarily because our core product range is 100 per cent cotton, which is not suited to the colder climates in those regions. These markets prefer cotton blended with nylon, which we currently do not offer,” concludes Patodia.