Raymond To Relaunch Parx, Hires Designer

Textile major Raymond, as part of its expansion plans, is relaunching its mens casualwear brand Parx by refurbishing and modernising the brand image.

The company has roped in Hong Kong-based designer, Katie Padget, who has designed for brands such as Armani, Tommy Hilfiger, Polo, etc to give a new international look to Parx in terms of new cuts, designs and colours.

The company is also changing the logo of the brand. The Parx brand was launched just one and a half years ago.

Katie Padget said, "We are redesigning the entire Parx brand in terms of new designs, fabrics, colours. We are also expanding the product portfolio by introducing, printed shirts, shorts and denim jackets." Parx will be a total wardrobe solution for men, she added.

 

According to industry sources, Parx has lost some sheen as compared to other brands such as Peter England. However, company officials do not agree with the industry perception but agree that it does not have a direction in terms of a fashion statement.

The Rs 75 crore Parx brand is sold through 25 exclusive retail outlets, besides selling at multi-brand outlets. The company exports Parx range to Middle East, Sri Lanka and Nepal too.

The company has recently launched an exclusive designerwear pret line under the brand name of 'Be:'. With this launch, which also marks the entry of Raymond into the women's ready-to-wear segment, a new unexplored market. For the pret collection, Raymond has brought under its umbrella 8 fashion designers that includes Raghavendra Rathod, Ashish Soni, Rajesh Pratap Singh and so on.

A couple of months back, the Vijaypat Singhania group has changed the name of its wholly owned subsidiary JK Bombay to Raymond Apparel. The arm is also the legal owners of the brand. Apart from Parx, Raymond Apparel's portfolio includes Park Avenue formal menswear, Manzoni, a premium range of shirts, ties and suits, and Parx casual.