'Let's work together and regain the lost glory of Indian textiles' – Varun Jiwrajka

12 Sep '11

10 min read

He explains, “As long as there is a calculated risk and it is viable, it is necessary to take risks in order to grow at a quicker pace”.

Lunch time means all the six members of the Jiwrajka family – three of the first and three of the second generation involved in the business, sitting together at the lunch table in the office, where they discuss business and other details. However at the dinner table, business talk is avoided at all costs, unless really necessary.

Alok was incorporated in 1986 and clocked revenues of Rs 1 billion in 1996. In 2000, turnover more than tripled to Rs 3.5 billion over 1996. In 2001, Alok undertook an expansion of its weaving facilities and installed wider width processing capacities at a cost of Rs 2.25 billion. The following year it crossed a turnover of Rs 5.5 billion.

In 2003, Alok forayed into home textiles and the very next year in 2004, revenues touched Rs 10 billion, nearly double than that in 2002. In the same year, Alok initiated an ambitious expansion drive at a capital outlay of Rs 11.75 billion, which was followed by another expansion in 2007 at Rs 11.10 billion and another one totaling to Rs 11.80 billion in 2008.

These expansion drives enabled Alok to post sales of Rs 18 billion in 2007, Rs 43.11 billion in 2010 and a staggering Rs 63.88 billion in 2011. From just around Rs 1 billion in exports in 2004, exports skyrocketed to Rs 22.17 billion in 2011, accounting for around 33 percent of the turnover in the year.

Apart from setting up greenfield projects, Alok has been busy acquiring companies abroad. In 2007, it acquired a majority stake in Mileta International in the Czech Republic and in 2008; it bought a stake in UK retail chain – Store Twenty One. It has also set up a lifestyle retail chain in India in the name of H&A. Varun manages this domestic retail arm and is also currently learning the ropes of Alok's polyester business.

In the last week of August 2011, H&A unveiled and launched an activewear collection of Brett Lee, the Australian cricket fast-bowler in India. The collection is in the value premium range and comprises of track pants, shorts, tees, capris, bags and several other accessories.

Alok is also into manufacturing of technical textiles fabrics with a capacity to produce 20 million meters per annum, all on state-of-the-art looms. The company produces various types of high-performance fabrics like protective, odour-free, insect-resistant, water-resistant, fire-retardant, etc. Alok is also exploring possibilities of producing polyester performance fibres which will also find end-use in technical textiles.

Each of the brothers of the first generation of the Jiwrajka family handles one of the three major revenue generating divisions independently - home textiles, polyester and apparel fabrics. Each of the six family members make it a point to be at the plant in Silvassa and Vapi, Gujarat for at least two days in a week to ensure plant upkeep and discuss strategies with the plant heads to optimize efficiencies.

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