Bombay Dyeing changes its course

The Wadia Group flagship, Bombay Dyeing, is aggressively transforming into retail.

Bombay Dyeing has about 350 stores across the country and the plan is to triple them. Established in 1879, the firm is one of India’s oldest and predominantly into manufacturing textiles. Interestingly its retail business will be focused on a strategy ‘home & you’. Under this, the company will offer consumers a wide range of products including home furnishing, sheets, towels, business wear, leisurewear, sportswear and accessories. The vision is to move from square meters to square feet. The group plans to create a portfolio of products for use across economic classes. The ‘home & you’ concept is the group’s strategy in many segments, actually — be it food and snacks to realty, textile and travel, through group companies Britannia and GoAir. Currently Bombay Dyeing is focusing on the mid-segment but it eventually planning to move to the premium and mass segments too.

The brand access to its customers is already strong and now the group aims to focus on expanding with a wider range of products. Bombay Dyeing already makes products for the home textiles segment. For others products the group plans to source both in-house and from outside. While the company is looking at unlocking value from its vast real estate assets in Mumbai for the expansions, the management will continue to drive the textile franchise by keeping with the times, by building its own retail network. The company is assessing the new strategy and deciding operational transformation to be executed over the next few months.