Royal Classic to go public in April '07

Tirupur-based Rs 225-crore Royal Classic group, which owns the brand Classic Polo, is planning to enter the capital market in April 2007.

Announcing this on the sidelines of launching their 'Smash' range of innerwears, R Sivaram, executive director of Royal Classic Mills, said that the money raised from the issue would be used for expansion and increasing the number of spindles. But he felt that it was too early to comment on the amount of money that would be raised from the issue.

With the acquisition of 'Smash' from the Mumbai-based Apeego Garments Plc in September 2004, Royal Classic group has relaunched the brand in the innerwear segment. Priced at a competitive rate, Smash products come in five variants "� Vitals, Classics, Clubs, Elites and Evaporex and are positioned as upper-middle segment products.

The products make use of double mercerised cotton and imported super dry fabrics that ensure dryness even in summer months, according to Sivaram. With the launch in Chennai, the penetration of the product in South Indian market is complete and it will be launched in Maharashtra and Gujarat by January 2006, he added.

The group has plans to increase its number of exclusive stores from the present 14 to 25 before March '06 and will also increase the spinning capacity of its mills from the present 16,000 to 25,000 spindles with an investment of Rs 23 crore by the end of the current fiscal.