CHAIRMAN K.P. RAMASAMY stitched up KPR Mill, much like piecing together a T-shirt-one step at a time. First, the front and back pieces were sewn together with its yarn and fabric businesses; the sleeve attachment came next with the garment business; the addition of fabric processing, printing, and embroidery capacities reinforced it like the side seams and neckline; and the sugar and ethanol business to fulfil power requirements served as the hem for a good finish.
"We didn't bring in everything suddenly. We went step by step," says Ramasamy, the patriarch of one of India's largest vertically integrated knitwear garment manufacturers, which exports to top global fashion brands like Marks & Spencer, H&M, and Primark. The profitable family-driven business generates more than ₹6,000 crore in revenues annually. Founded four decades ago by Ramasamy and his brothers, it had evolved into a yarn-and-fabric maker by 2010, catering to both domestic and international markets, with a small garment export business churning out 50 million pieces. Given the low profit margins on yarn and fabric, it made sense to broaden the scope of garment exports.
Initially, KPR Mill outsourced washing, dyeing, printing and embroidery due to a lack of crucial fabric processing capabilities in-house. But 5% of the consignment would get rejected by buyers due to damages. "When we tried it in-house, the rejects fell to 1% and we saved money," explains Ramasamy. This led them to focus on integrating spinning, knitting, processing and garmenting during 2010-15. KPR Mill now has 15 factories to spin cotton into yarn, knit yarn into fabric, process the fabric, and produce 150 million garments for export annually. It ships more than 140 million pieces, mostly to Europe, North America, Australia and the rest of Asia. Now, garment exports account for 40% of its revenues, or about ₹2,400 crore, up from ₹230 crore in FY10.
Esta historia es de la edición March 17, 2024 de Business Today India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición March 17, 2024 de Business Today India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
"Inaction is worse than mistakes"
What was the problem you were grappling with?
TEEING OFF WITH TITANS
BUSINESS TODAY GOLF RESUMES ITS STORIED JOURNEY WITH THE 2024-25 SEASON OPENER IN DELHI-NCR. THERE ARE SIX MORE CITIES TO COME
AI FOOT FORWARD
THE WHO'S WHO OF THE AI WORLD GATHERED AT THE TAJ MAHAL PALACE IN MUMBAI TO DELIBERATE THE TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT OF AI ON INNOVATION, INDUSTRIES, AND EVERYDAY LIFE.
Decolonising the Walls
ART START-UP MAAZI MERCHANT IS ON A MISSION TO BRING INDIA'S FORGOTTEN ART BACK HOME
"I'm bringing Kotak under one narrative, one strategy, one umbrella”
Ashok Vaswani is a global banker who spent most of his career overseas at institutions like Citi Group and Barclays, among others.
CHOOSING THE CHAMPIONS
The insights and methodology behind the BT-KPMG India's Best Banks and NBFCs Survey 2023-24.
'INDIA IS AT AN EXTREMELY SWEET SPOT'
The jury members of the BT-KPMG Survey of India's Best Banks and NBFCs discuss developments in the banking sector and more
FROM CRISIS TO TRIUMPH
Dinesh Kumar Khara stewarded SBI through multiple challenges during his tenure, while ensuring that profits tripled, productivity soared, and the bank consolidated its global standing
AT A CROSSROADS
BANKS ARE FACING CHALLENGES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALANCE SHEET-ASSETS AS WELL AS LIABILITIES-WHICH ARE PUTTING PRESSURE ON MARGINS.
EXPANSIVE VISION
Bajaj Finance, an outlier in terms of digitisation, faces stiff competition. But it continues to expand its reach