Jindal arm to set up unit in Uttarakhand

Artd'inox, a brand of the lifestyle division of Jindal Stainless Ltd, will invest about Rs 25 crore in setting up a unit in Uttarakhand and to open 25 retail outlets in the next financial year in the country.

It is evaluating options of opening exclusive retail outlets in Dubai, Colombo, Bangkok and Singapore.

The company offers a wide range of lifestyle products in the medium of stainless steel, ranging from office desk accessories to kitchenware, tableware and bathroom accessories.

At present, the company has a manufacturing facility at Rohad, near Bahadurgarh. Recently the company has doubled the production capacity of the existing unit from 4,000 units per month to 8,000 units per month by investing Rs 5.5 crore.

Speaking to Business Standard, CEO Sugato Bose said, "We will invest about Rs 10-12 crore in putting up a unit in Uttarakhand, which is likely to be operational within two years."

At present, it has eight exclusive brand stores in Mumbai, Delhi and the NCR, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, and Bangalore.

Apart from these it has a presence in around 300 multi-brand stores and select outlets across the country.

"In order to tap the north market, we have opened a store in Chandigarh, the company's biggest in India. We are looking at Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala for opening new outlets," Bose said.

As far retail expansion is concerned, Bose said, "We will infuse about Rs 12.5 crore for opening 25 stores in the next financial year. We will open our retail outlet in Ludhiana by April. Also, we are looking at Ambala, Indore, Kanpur and other tier-II cities to open new stores."

The company exports 70 per cent of its lifestyle products to 28 countries like Canada, the UK, the US, Australia, etc.

Commenting upon growth, he added, "We are growing at 300 per cent every year and want to sustain the same growth in coming years.