India’s Patanjali to launch indigenous apparel line

Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved Ltd is gearing up to launch an indigenous line of apparel, including denims, for men, women and children. The apparel line will be available across 250 exclusive retail outlets by April 2018 with an initial annual sales target of Rs 5,000 crore, his spokesman SK Tijarawala told a popular Indian business daily.

 
The company, which will offer apparel products catering to customers of varying economic strata, will start with woven clothes, knitwear and machine-made apparel, including denims, said Tijarawala. A suitable brand name aligned with its ‘swadeshi’ agenda is being worked out, but ‘Paridhan’ (Hindi for apparel) is an option, he said. The company may even opt for multiple brands.
 
The products will be sold at Patanjali stores as well as other apparel retailing outlets across India, including the Big Bazaar chain, with which the company already has an alliance. It may also explore the possibility of selling the line through retail outlets of government-managed Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

Patanjali has already teamed up with a few hundred handloom weavers in northern India and plans to set up its own manufacturing units, said Tijarawala.
 
Patanjali Ayurved  started off selling herbal medicines in 2006 and later forayed into selling a wide variety of FMCG products, ranging from hair oil, shampoos and skin creams to  juice and noodles.