Raymond to invest Rs 350 cr in 2017

Raymond Limited, textile and apparel major, is planning to invest Rs 350 crore in capacity and retail expansion this year. This will help ramp up its apparel sale and grow the fabric business over the next few years, a senior company executive said.

“Of the Rs 350 crore, Rs 200 crore will be allocated to manufacturing expansion, both in India and offshore, while Rs 150 crore will go towards retail expansion,” said Sanjay Behl, CEO, Raymond. The company is setting up a large suiting manufacturing plant in Ethiopia in Africa that will be operational this year and has also undertaken a significant expansion in Amravati in Maharashtra for cotton fabric.

“The Ethiopia plant will manufacture two million jackets, and the Amravati plant has a capacity of 3 million metre of linen fabric that will be added this year,” Behl said. Raymond is also looking to expand its retail presence to about 1,500 stores by 2020. The company will open nearly 150-200 stores this year. Raymond has more than 1,000 retail stores that are franchise based.