Raymonds to introduce premium suit next year

Raymonds Ltd, a textiles and apparel sector major and among the top two manufacturers of worsted suitings in the world, is set to introduce high-end suit lengths made up of world's finest wool. The company has recently procured the world's finest wool for $297,000 at an auction in Melbourne, Australia.

"The 11.8 micron thickness bale was produced at the wool factory in Western Victoria, and we will use the wool to make high quality suits. The bale was even finer than the one sold by Queensland's Goodrich Brothers for $675,000," said a senior official of the company in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

The company would introduce 69 limited edition suit lengths made from this wool with a price tag of around Rs 1.18 lakh per piece by mid-next year. This marks the entry of Raymonds into Super 230s wool category. The company plans to export a significant portion of these suit pieces to the US, Europe and other countries.

Earlier, the company launched the world's most exquisite and finest fabric, Super 210s' as a part of its Chairman's collection, followed by limited editions of Super 220s.

Raymonds is the only company in India, apart from two others in the world, which has technical know-how and the expertise to manufacture suiting in the Super 200s wool category.

Super 230s is an elegant and exquisite fabric made from 11.8 micron wool. This wool is not easily available and comes from a special breed of the Australian Merino sheep called Saxony Merino, which are maximum 12 months old and are renowned for their fine fleece.

"All across the globe, the production of Super 220s (12.7 micron thickness) wool plain fleece in 2003 has been 200 kg. Since the fabric is so rare, priceless and precious, we are creating only limited suit lengths of this fabric," said the official.

Super 220s are available at the select Raymond shops across the country in classic designs of chalk stripes, elegant stripes and fine herringbones in three colours""navy blue, charcoal and worsted grey.

"Extensive research is being carried out for the making of the Super 230s. Right from the fibre development stage to spinning, weaving and finishing of the product. The combination of luxury wool and superior weaving technology will give this fabric a soft butterfly texture with great durability and drape," said the official.

Perceived to be a pioneer and innovator in the Indian textile industry, Raymonds first introduced polyester wool and polyester viscose wool suiting in India.

In 1995, the company introduced superfine pure wool under the Lineage Line of Super 100s to Super 140s series followed by the Renaissance collection made up of Merino wool blended with polyester and specialty fibres.

The company introduced the Chairman's collection of Super 150s made from Merino wool and cashmere followed by Super 160s to Super 190s. In 2002, the company launched Super 200s (13.5 microns) fibre under Chairman's collection followed by Applause wool-rich home washable suiting in 2003.

Now with the wool bought at the Melbourne auction, the company has positioned itself for launching Super 230s (11.8 micron) fibre by mid-next year.