Ramraj Cotton to enter north

To invest Rs 100 cr for setting up weaving unit

Apparel manufacturer Ramraj Cotton has launched formal and casual shirts as part of expanding its product portfolio. The company, which has its presence in the four southern states, is planning to expand to North India through franchisees from April.

It is set to reach a turnover of Rs 600 crore by the end of March and is expecting around Rs 1,000 crore by the end of the year, said K R Nagarajan, founder and chairman of Ramraj Cotton.

“We have been mainly into the traditional dhoti market so far. With the major share of the population below 35 years, we wanted to cater to them also, which led us to enter the shirt segment,” he said.

It has also announced cricketer Ashwin Ravichandran as brand ambassador for its newly launched segment focused on youth. The company has augmented its production, from making 10,000 pieces of shirts a day, to 30,000 pieces. It has invested around Rs 50 crore into its facility, he added.

The company has now added diversified products like ready made pure silk shirts, ladies wear, linen shirts, new premium inner garments, T-shirts and kids wear, he said.

The shirts are priced between Rs 600 to Rs 6,000. It would only sell white clothes and has around 6,000 people weaving 2,500 varieties of dhoties annually. At present, almost 50 per cent of the turnover comes from TN, while the rest is from the other three states. The dhoti business accounts for 70 %of the turnover while the rest is contributed by undergarments and others.