Textile firms making comeback in home textile segment with premium products for better margins

Textile companies are making a comeback in the home textile category with premium products to build better margins in a segment that is still fragmented and unorganized. The trend of premiumisation has started gaining hold in the home textile segment.

Recently, Raymond have evaluated and re-entered the home segment and now want to go premium with its bed-sheets and towels under Raymond Home as there is a clear opportunity to make profits in the luxury and premium side in the home segment. They plan to have exclusive Raymond Home Shops along with a digital focus for the brand, said Sanjay Behl, CEO, Lifestyle, Raymond.

The company had entered the home furnishing space under the brand Be: Home, but discontinued the format. Now, it hopes that re-launching its bed sheets, towels, quilts and blankets with ‘luxurious’ fabrics is going to make a difference to the business.

They have studied the segment and premiumisation will lead to profitability and their first exclusive franchise store has been launched in Kolkata. Raymond Home will be pitted against brands like Portico and D’décor.

Welspun India is also set to bring in the UK-based luxury home fashion textile brand Christy despite having a mid-priced brand, Spaces Home & Beyond, in its portfolio.

Welspun India is planning to launch towels (Rs.2,500) and bed sheets (upwards of Rs.12,000) in the domestic market under the UK-based Christy brand, which it acquired.

There is a remarkable change in consumer demand. There is a niche 5-10 per cent of the population willing to pay for technology-led products. They are ready to bring their luxury brand Christy, stated Dipali Goenka, Managing Director, Welspun Global Brands.

Bombay Dyeing, another textile player, no longer wants to be seen as a ‘discount’ brand. They are reducing the number of discount sales held in a year and removing its lower priced offerings and renovating stores with an upscale look and feel.

The market, which is estimated at Rs.18,000 crore with penetration of organised retail at a mere 8 percent, is making more textile brands upgrade their offerings since consumers are willing to pay a premium.

There has been an overkill with their sales, but now they are rectifying it since Bombay Dyeing is changing its imagery as an aspirational brand with price points which have been extended to Rs.9,000 for our bed sheets, said Ashok Kaul, CEO, Retail Division, Bombay Dyeing.

New entrants like Portico already claim to have captured a majority share in modern trade and have roped in designers such as Neeta Lulla to give boost to its premium offerings. As the growth of modern trade outlets have also started promoting the premium end of the home market.