Indian apparel firm Raymond Lifestyle to hire 9,000 workers for hundreds of new stores

Raymond Lifestyle

22/10/2024 08:05

By Praveen Paramasivam
       Oct 22 (Reuters) - Indian apparel firm Raymond Lifestyle
 RAYL.NS  will hire about 9,000 workers for hundreds of stores
it plans to add in the next three years, Group Chairman Gautam
Singhania told Reuters.
    Founded in 1925, Raymond's  RYMD.NS  business, which also
includes its real estate and engineering units, spun off its
lifestyle division earlier this year to simplify its group
structure, attract more investors and help the carved-out entity
access more capital.
    The apparel firm is looking to hire 10 people per store, on
average, at the 900 outlets it plans to open, Singhania said on
Monday, without disclosing the size of its current workforce at
its nearly 1,500 stores.
    Additionally, Raymond Lifestyle will also hire for roles in
its factories as it aims to increase its garmenting capacity, he
said without elaborating, as Bangladesh - a major apparel
production hub - grapples with political unrest and floods.
    The firm, which counts apparel chains such as J.C. Penney
and Macy's  M.N  among its customers, is receiving a large
number of inquiries from its global clients as brands "have
decided to move to India to meet their requirements," Singhania
said.
    Its garments business, which exports to the United States,
Europe and Japan, reported sales of 11.39 billion rupees ($135.5
million) last year, accounting for over a tenth of the group's
revenue.
    Separately, Singhania said Raymond Lifestyle, popular for
its men's suits, is exploring the burgeoning fast fashion space
in India, noting that Tata Group-owned Zudio  TREN.NS  "has done
very well" in this category.
    Indian retail firm Trent, which owns Zudio, has been
outperforming its peers as consumers looking to refresh their
wardrobes on a tight budget flock to its stores to snap up
everything from dresses to perfumes at less than 999 rupees
(about $12).
    

($1 = 84.0700 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
 ((Praveen.Paramasivam@thomsonreuters.com; +91 867-525-3569;))