Aditya Birla Group’s fabric brand Liva is soon going to expand into men’s wear and home textiles, a Senior Executive said. Currently, serving women’s apparel segment, “We are moving to other segments like menswear and home textiles very soon,” Birla Cellulose Chief Global Sales & Marketing Officer Rajeev Gopal told. Birla Cellulose is also going to infuse about Rs. 4,000 cr in its Vilayat factory in Gujarat to increase the capacity of fibre manufacturing, Rajeev Gopal said.
As of now, domestic men’s wear segment has brands such as Mufti, Wrangler, Levi’s, Numero Uno, and Raymond brands to name a few. Aditya Birla group has in-house apparel brands such as Louis Philippe, Allen Solly, Van Heusen, Peter England and People which compete with these brands.
Talking about the rising customer expectations and increasing competition from natural fibres such as cotton and polyester alike, Rajeev Gopal also said that cotton farming is expected to see a downward trend as it needs a lot of land and water to grow. Hence, man-made cellulose fibres will fill the gap. Meanwhile, Liva has collaborated with FDCI to promote greener, sustainable fashion. Liva Eco is Birla Cellulose’s enhanced version of Liva fabric that is made from wood derived fibres. The fabric will be in market by April 2019.
Recently, it was announced that Grasim Industries has signed an agreement to acquire 100 per cent equity shareholding of Soktas India (SIPL). For an enterprise value of Rs. 165 cr, subject to net debt and working capital adjustments as of the closing date, the company will be taking the control from SOKTAS Tekstil Sanayive Ticaret which manages its operations from Turkey. Birla Group has been in the textile industry from 1948. Started as Grasim Industries, the company now has brands Liva and Liva Eco as its subsidiaries. Birla group is currently the world’s largest viscose manufacturing company. The company also acquired fashion-chain Pantaloons from the Future Group and manages it.
