Arvind Mills in tie-up with Birla Cellulose

Arvind Mills has entered into an exclusive tie-up with Birla Cellulose, an Aditya Birla Group firm, to create the world's softest denim fabric for women, marking the textile major's foray into the women's wear segment.

The fabric, 'Excel Denims', would be manufactured in Arvind Group's production facility in Ahmedabad, which has a capacity of 120 million metres of fabric per annum.

While Birla Cellulose would be involved in the R&D to create the fibre made of super refined wood pulp, Arvind would be manufacturing the fabric and selling them both in the domestic and international markets.

"This tie-up is a significant development and I believe this relationship will accelerate business for both organisations. Arvind is shifting gear to progress more in the value-added women's segment with a product differentiator and Excel Denims has been a product that facilitates our plan," Arvind Denims CEO Aamir Akhtar told reporters here today.

Arvind, the world's largest producer of denim, supplies fabric to players like Levi's, Pepe, Energie, Diesel and Tommy Hilfiger, among others.

The new fabric has qualities such as superior strength, lustre, bounce, softness and comfort, he said, adding the focus primarily will be the women's wear market.

Arvind has invited designer Rajesh Pratap Singh to design an exclusive collection of Excel Denims.

Arvind Denims, with a revenue of $320 million, enjoys a 12% market share in the 400-million metres of denim market globally and is growing at a CAGR of 15% Year-on-Year.