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Boby Kurian

Bangalore , July 18

THE country's largest branded apparel company, Madura Garments, part of the A V Birla Group, has recast its export business with the creation of a strategic business unit to drive contract export earnings in the post quota scenario.

The new unit will have a full-fledged team headed by the newly-recruited Chief Operating Officer (COO), Mr Partho Kar, and will also have a separate manufacturing outfit to cater to international clients.

Mr Vikram Rao, Director & Head of Madura Garments, said, "The company has created an end-to-end strategic business unit (SBU) to take advantage of the post-quota scenario in contract exports, especially given our expertise in dress shirts to casual shirts to trousers, and in suits, of late. It will give our contract exports, hitherto mixed up with our brands and branded exports, the much-needed focused attention."

The COO, Mr Kar, will report to Mr Rao. Mr Hemchandra Javeri, as President, who also reports to Mr Rao, heads the company's mainstay domestic branded retail business.

It is learnt that the company's contract export earnings during the financial year 2004-05 stood at around Rs 60 crore, even as it expects accelerated growth in the coming years. Notwithstanding the fact that the company has one of the oldest contract export ties with a slew of international clients, its earnings from the same remain considerably smaller in comparison with other export houses.

The Rs 475-crore company's focus in the last 15 years has remained on creating the largest branded apparel retail business in the domestic market, with a string of blockbuster brands such as Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England. The A V Birla Group acquired the company from Coats Plc for Rs 236 crore in late 1999, and has outlined a vision to propel its topline to Rs 1,000 crore by the year 2008.

Analysts tracking the branded apparel sector said business was in the "sweet spot of growth", beginning to rise 15 to 20 per cent year-on-year. "So, it requires focused attention to balance between the two enormous growth opportunities presented by the take off in domestic branded sales and the post-quota surge in contract exports," analysts said.

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Madura Garments recasts export operations to tap post-quota surge in biz

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