Arvind Mills’ denim to dress up top global brands soon

Arvind Mills, one of the world’s largest denim manufacturers, is expanding its reach in the global markets and will soon start supplying fabric for some of the top international brands including GAP, Marks & Spencer, Zara, H&M, Next Abercromibe and Fitch.

‘‘Our strategy is to cater to international brands by developing and designing products as per their specific needs. With this objective we are in talks with international brands in Europe and USA such as VF Corp, Marks and Spencer, Zara, Mavi, H&M, Espirit, Gap, Nautica, Abercrombie and Fitch,” Arvind Mills’ India marketing head Rajat Passi said. Differentiated products, which cater to needs of big brands, now constitute a significant percentage of Arvind Mills’ products. The company has already tied up with most of the international brands as preferred supplier of denim. ‘‘In some of the cases, our samples have been approved and soon we will start supplying the products to them,’’ he added.

The company, which was facing a financial crisis due to sudden drop in denim prices, has been focusing on denim exports after the market started reviving. ‘‘Export is likely to constitute over 50 per cent of our total turnover,’’ according to Passi. Arvind Mills had recorded a total turnover of Rs 700 crore in the fiscal 2001-02. The company has shown an increase in turnover by 7 per cent at Rs 354 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2002 compared to the corresponding quarter in 2001 at Rs 330 crore.

Indicating a positive trend in the denim trade, Passi said, ‘‘The company’s net profit jumped to Rs 25.5 crore in the quarter ended June 2002 compared to a loss of Rs 68 crore in the corresponding quarter previous year. The business is likely to grow even further with 4-6 per cent growth in the exports business and 8-10 per cent growth in the domestic market.’’