Kitex to launch ‘Little Star’ brand for infants in the US

Kerala-based Kitex Garments aims to launch its own brand of infant wear called 'Little Star' in the US market by October next year. Established in 1992 as a part of the Anna-Kitex group of companies, Kitex Garments, in 2014-15, reported a turnover of over Rs 524 crores.

The company has entered into a license agreement with Lamaze International for manufacture and supply of infants’ garments in the US and Canada. The company has informed the BSE that Kitex USA will open its office in New Jersey by October 2015. Through Lamaze Brand, the company is aiming for a turnover of 50 million dollars (over Rs 300 crores) within the next five years.

In April to June 2015 quarter, net profit of Kitex Garments increased 10.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 15.97 crores and its total income increased 9.3 percent to Rs 114.98 crores. The company manufactures 5.5 lakh pieces of infant wear per day, becoming the third largest player in this segment, globally. It now plans to further invest Rs 102.50 crores from 2014-2018 to increase its production capacity from 5.5 lakh pieces per day to 1.1 million pieces by 2018. The goal is to increase capacity utilization from 65 percent in 2014/15 to 75 percent by 2015/16.