Raymond expects textile recovery to take time, hopeful of modest growth

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jul 13, 2021

Branded textile manufacturer and retailer Raymond expects textile demand to recover gradually post-pandemic and expects modest growth driven by vaccine uptake and the upcoming wedding season. 

 
Recovery in the branded textile segment will occur in a “mid-term time frame,” according to Raymond’s latest annual report on its branded textile business, accessed by the Press Trust of India. The business noted expects modest growth in the current financial year as retail open back up but numerous challenges remain. 
 
“With vaccination gaining momentum, there is an uptick in consumer sentiments leading to pent-up demand, increased footfalls and higher conversion rate,” said Raymond in a statement, the Press Trust of India reported. “Key sales drivers like impending wedding season, festivities and markets reopening fully are expected to amplify demand.”

The business also faced the challenge of competing with deep discounting by large-scale e-commerce businesses keen to offload stock post-lockdown, it said. Other challenges in the textile sector include low export volume, competition from the ready-made garment sector, and low levels of consumer spending due to the financial effects of the pandemic. 
 
“The unprecedented market disruptions and continuously prevailing uncertainties have impacted the consumer sentiments, leading to limited visibility for the short to mid term,” said Raymond.

“As we enhanced and strengthened our digital capabilities to enable seamless customer journeys across platforms, the challenging year triggered us to present an increased number of technology interfaces for consumer convenience and safety for shopping both virtually and physically.”