Bombay Dyeing draws strategy to revive retail business

Reinvention started more than a decade ago, soon after company decided to exit textile manufacturing

Nusli Wadia's 137-year-old flagship Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Company has drawn up a major strategy to revive its textile retail business and is looking for a turnaround in 2017-18.

"We are reinventing and major investments are lined up," Nagesh Rajanna, the company CEO for its retail segment, said here today while announcing the company's revival strategy.

The reinvention started more than a decade ago, soon after the company decided to exit textile manufacturing.

"Manufacturing will be outsourced. From now till 2020, the Wadia group-owned company plans to invest more than Rs 100 crore in the brand, double its multibrand outlets to 10,000, more than double its franchise stores to 500 and introduce 3-4 new products every year," Rajanna said.

Rajanna said these measures would help the segment more than treble its revenues to Rs 1,000 crore by fiscal 2020 from Rs 305 crore last year.

"The retail in textile segment currently contributes 17 per cent to the company's overall revenue. It will expand to 33 per cent by 2020," he added.

Stating that eastern India had a huge potential in the sector, Rajanna said that market share in this region could be enhanced from 12 per cent at present to over 20 per cent.

Admitting that competition from cheap imports from China and the unorganised sector had rendered its factories unviable, Rajanna said Bombay Dyeing is aiming at revamping the loss making flagship textile business by investing in the brand, expanding store network, growing product portfolio and tying up with international designers.

The company is also setting up its in-house design studio and system for high-tech digital print to boost production in premium segment, Rajanna said. Adding tie-up was also being made with e-commerce companies like Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal to reach the product at the customer's doorstep.

With its manufacturing plants divested, the company is attempting a makeover in the textile segment with a young team at the helm.

"So, opportunity for bed and bath category is good news for Bombay Dyeing, as people would become more conscious of their home decor," he said.

Rajanna also said that the aim of the transformation of the textile business was "to reach millennials" with a change in product portfolio, wider reach and a change in the look and feel of the brand.

The company has decided to outsource the entire merchandise to give itself flexibility in its production and products, Rajanna said.

"Bombay Dyeing retail primarily concentrates on the home textile segment which constitutes bed and bath linen," he said, adding "The organised industry in this business is worth Rs 1,000 crore but the unorganised players are worth more than Rs 45,000 crore."

However, Bombay Dyeing would remain present in all price points focusing on the youth and infant category, besides maintaining its positioning in premium segment, Rajanna said.

To attract customers, the company would have products from Rs 799 onwards in the bed linen category and Rs 199 in the bath linen segment, he said adding price of the premium category would start from Rs 7,000.