Amul banks on hosiery sales surge

J G Hosiery Pvt Ltd, one of the oldest players in the organised innerwear market and is popular under the name of Amul Innerwear, is targeting a turnover of Rs 325 crore next fiscal, from Rs 150 crore last year, on the back of new product lines and increased focus on national footprint.

The company is planning a new manufacturing plant in Delhi this year with an investment of Rs 10 crore.

Currently the company has two production facilities at Tirupur and Kolkata, where it produces 3.5 lakh units per day.

After the expansion, capacity will go up to 5 lakh units per day.

At a press conference, Sandeep Seksaria, executive director of the company, said, "We are planning new premium innerwear for children and women in the price range of Rs 50 to Rs 150. Currently our products cost between Rs 40 and Rs 100. We are also looking at new products in cotton and blended fabrics for that extra comfort and premium designs."

The company's promotional budget this year is Rs 15 crore.

It is also in the process of introducing a new television campaign.

Currently the innerwear market is estimated at Rs 5,162 crore.

While some are in the premium segment, the brands like Amul are in the mass market.

According to Seksaria, "We entered the innerwear market as we realized the potential for organised players in this largely unorganised industry. With the increase in production capacity & further aggressiveness in brand building initiatives, we are aiming to be the leading national innerwear brand by the year 2010."

Amul Innerwear is reportedly the third largest innerwear brand in the country at present.