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Rupa eyes Rs 200 crore turnover in the current fiscal year

Joy Roy Choudhary - Kolkata

Kolkata based Rupa & Company the leading producer of hosiery products in the country is eyeing a turnover of Rs 200 crore turnover in the current fiscal year. “Last year, our revenues stood at Rs 187 crore and this year we would touch the Rs 200 crore mark”, said Mr P R Agarwal, chairman of the company. Mr Agarwal told Express Textile in an exclusive interview that the company plans to strengthen its presence in different parts of the country. “We have recently set up a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Howrah to strengthen our position in the country,” he said.

Rupa already has a manufacturing facility at Tirupur in Tamil Nadu. Mr Agarwal said the state-of-the-art unit set up at Domjur, Howrah at a cost of Rs 14 crore conforms to the international standards in dyeing and finishing, compacting and calendering. The unit has a capacity of handling 5 tonnes of knitted fabrics a day, in any desired finish. The machineries have been imported from leading manufacturers of hosiery machineries from Switzerland and Germany. These machines take care of most of the processes like twisting, dyeing, compacting and calendaring with utmost possible perfection. Mr Agarwal said that the set-up is backed by an in-house laboratory and R&D facilities to develop high quality fabrics, which will meet the international standards. Since inception, quality has remained the key-stone of our success. ‘Rupa’ is much more than a mere brand name, he added. It has changed the face of the hosiery market to symbolize maximum ‘araam’ (comfort) and uncompromising quality. Mr Agarwal said he alongwith his two brothers Mr G P Agarwal and Mr K B Agarwal set up Binod Hosiery in the late 60s, which today has grown up as Rupa & Co and has reached new heights. According to the chairman,”Rupa branded products right from innerwear, outerwear, socks, winterwear, casualwear stands for excellent quality and unmatched comfort. Our products like ‘Euro’ (French cut briefs for men) and ‘Bumchums’ (casual wear for both men and women) are market leaders. ‘Thermocot’ range of winterwear has registered significant growth in sales in northern parts of the country where the winter is much more severe. The company has recently introduced a range of innerwear for women and girls, which have proved to be a major hit for the company. We would soon start manufacturing a range of ‘babasuits’ for children,” he said.

The company has already gained sufficient acceptance through its determination and concerted efforts in the US, UK, Middle East, South Africa, Australia and several European markets. “We would be targeting these markets in a big way in the near future,” he added. The company has taken up an aggressive marketing campaign to promote its range of products. It has roped in cine-stars like Aishwarya Rai, Saif Ali Khan, Govinda, Celina Jaitley and others to endorse the ‘Rupa’ brand of products.