Grasim to dress up women too

Grasim Industries, an Aditya Birla group company, is planning to enter the growing market of fabrics for women.

"The number of working women in India has gone up significantly. As a result, the demand for ready-to-stitch formal wear has gone up. So we are looking forward to enter into this market in a couple of years," S Krishnamoorthy, president (textiles division), Grasim Industries, said.

Currently, the company manufactures a minuscule quantity of fabrics for women, mostly for exports.

Krishnamoorthy said the demand for bi-stretch and stretchable fabric was catching up and if it increased further, the company would increase production of women's fabrics to 30-40 per cent of the total production of 15 lakh metres a month.

On the company's plans to enter the ready-made garment market, Krishnamoorthy said, "Grasim is currently focusing on the ready-to-stitch market. But we are open to enter the readymade market, based on demand." The domestic readymade market is estimated at Rs 17,000 crore an annum.

After metros, Grasim is now eyeing tier-II and tier-III cities. "As spending power among consumers in these cities increases, it creates a lucrative market for ready-to-stitch fabrics," said Abhijit Ganguly, brand director, Grasim Suiting, said.

The company intends to focus on cities with a population of less than five lakh, as these markets offer tremendous opportunity.

Grasim hopes to increase its market share to 20 per cent of the Indian men's fabric market, up from the present share of 12-15 per cent over the next two- three years. The Indian men's fabric market is pegged at Rs 2,500 crore annually.